Chapter 19
“No, I’m sure a lot of people don’t know about Taylor and Tracey,” Link argued and fell in step with me. “Again, I’m good. I noticed.” He cleared his throat when I didn’t say anything. “It’s my job to notice the changes in people, Bev.”
“Fair, but I feel like I’m a bad friend that I didn’t notice,” I mumbled.
“I didn’t notice from Tracey. I noticed from Taylor.”
I opened my mouth but then closed it. “I want to ask, but that seems private, but they’re part of what I want to talk to you about. Well, in a few ways.”
“Okay, me knowing probably makes that easier,” he hedged when I didn’t continue.
Probably not actually. If he knew and wasn’t worried then I might really be stepping in something? I wasn’t sure.
“Is there a time when a man can abuse their partner and it’s not like they are—it’s not the obvious stuff?”
“Yes, of course. Abso-fucking-lutely,” he said and immediately.
That was what I needed to hear. “Like during sex? Being too rough and—”
Link grabbed my upper arm and spun me to face him, making me lose my feet again. I flinched at the dark rage thick in his eyes. “Winter? You guys weren’t having sex, only you and Sergey, right? He would never go too far with you. Did you start with Winter and he fucking hurt you?”
“Not me,” I managed to squeak out, so surprised that I couldn’t say more in that moment.
He frowned and some of the rage slowly left his eyes and then a bit more before he flinched. “Taylor? You think Taylor could ever hurt Tracey?” Link burst out laughing when I shrugged. “Oh, Bev, she’d feed him his balls. Never doubt that about your friend. She’d—do not worry—”
He laughed all over again and kissed my hair.
Okay, good. I shared a look with Loki though and I was surprised when the familiar glanced away. So he knew Link wasn’t always calm and chill?
Of course a familiar would know if his warlock had some rage most didn’t. Totally fair that Loki wouldn’t bust Link either.
“Wait, okay, so this is about Taylor and Tracey,” Link muttered and shot me confused looks when we got back to jogging yet again.
“I said that,” I reminded him.
“Right, you did.”
“A few times,” I drawled. “And Winter would never hurt me.”
“Good to know,” he said, his voice bland.
I felt the need to defend him or say more for some reason. “We’re not even having sex yet.”
“Not my business.”
No, it wasn’t, so I was really confused. “So yes, this is about Taylor and Tracey.”
“He is not hurting her.”
“How can you know that he isn’t during… You know,” I pushed.
“Because…” He sighed. “I can tell you that anything they’re doing is consensual. Tracey would never allow anything else. I busted them because Taylor has started watching her the way Wyatt watches you.”
“Maybe not the best example given what happened between us.”
“Yeah, fair,” Link said, clearing his throat. “I meant he watches her in that—never mind. What are you—give me context here, Bev. Just spit it out and—”
That was probably best since dancing around was causing misunderstandings and making things more uncomfortable.
“Woodchuck and Cheese were both telling me things when they realized I figured out from their joint session,” I tattled.
“Woodchuck was saying how much Tracey had to heal herself after and that Taylor was too violent with her compared to other men she’s been with.
She was around now even if they started at his apartment.
“Cheese agreed since he was at his apartment the one time and it scared him. He’s worried about Taylor’s anger issues, and while he understands women scream during sex, this was too much, and I was not going to be the one to try and navigate this.
I’m going to have to tell them to talk to their familiars, but then I realized they would actually know best.
“Well, maybe not Cheese because he’s not as tight with Taylor, but Woodchuck would.
She’s always at Tracey’s side. Well, not during sex, but of course she would know Tracey’s sex life.
And I realized I’m the last person to handle this, and you’re right that Tracey wouldn’t put up with being abused except maybe Taylor given the situation we’re in.
“I mean she would if he still kept me safe. She totally would. We both know that. She’d died for me.
She’s not only said that but shown it. She believes in all of this enough that she will die for all of this, so what’s Taylor abusing her if it meant my protection?
Or maybe she doesn’t understand it’s abuse or can’t see it’s over the line like I did with Wyatt?
“And what do I know about any of this? I’m an idiot most days about social anything and then I really don’t know about relationships.
So maybe it felt good, but it was too much, and she doesn’t know how to go back and change things?
And he doesn’t check again and that could be abuse?
Maybe? I don’t know, but it seemed too much.
“What they were telling me was too much. Like real life isn’t porn.
Even I know that even if I haven’t watched much porn, but Cheese said Taylor had to fix his bed.
And that was too much. The floors were scratched and Taylor was weirdly amused and Cheese didn’t like it.
He doesn’t know Taylor anymore and now that they’re connected—he didn’t like it.
“And okay, that could be a bevy of things that would be weird for a familiar who knew a kid and was relinked to a man. Maybe? But—maybe Woodchuck was letting Cheese influence her? Or one opened the floodgates and let it’s worry in along with everything else.
I really don’t know, but I didn’t like what I heard from them and it was upsetting.
“I have that a lot. Like a lot. The familiars tell me way too fucking much. Even what Loki tells me—I shouldn’t know all of that and it’s difficult.
Really difficult, but this time I was worried and I can’t—I can’t fail Tracey, and I feel like I did for not being able to handle this and be the friend she needed.
It really upset me and so I ran to you—asked you to run I guess. ”
I kept rambling and that helped me not be embarrassed as to the specifics, but Woodchuck gave me the list of how Tracey was hurt. Some of it was understandable.
Her hips? Sure, I felt that even from my limited experience.
Lower back? Yeah, that was after Wyatt’s desk for sure. My butt too.
Totally understandable.
Her wrists? That was worrisome. Why would her wrists hurt? That sounded like he could have forced her or held her down in a bad way. Holding her down for fun wouldn’t hurt her wrists.
Right?
So I rambled on and on.
I don’t know how long we were running for, but I was startled when Loki thundered up next to me, not having noticed that he’d gone off anywhere, and when I turned to look at him, an arm grabbed me. I let out a scream and reached for Link… Who wasn’t there.
And then I was on Loki.
Sitting on Link’s lap.
Facing him in an awkward position.
“What the fuck?” I blasted him, hitting his chest harder than I should have.
“Yeah, my question exactly,” he grumbled before telling Loki to slow down.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I snapped as I grabbed onto him, the change in Loki’s speed making me lurch into Link.
“Yeah, me too, Bev,” Link growled as he held me tightly. “Just chill, okay? I’m still trying to—fuck, my everything hurts and like—I think we need to get you checked out.”
I pushed against his chest to see his face, but he was stronger than me… And my arms felt weak for some reason? I groaned as they hurt and so did my legs—all of me?
“Yeah, something happened, and I think it’s going to hit you bad, so trust me, okay?” he begged me. “Let me take you to Aunt Marilyn at least, okay?”
I nodded and sank into his chest, every inch of me hurting like I needed to stretch and pushed too hard. There was no way we ran that long or… What was going on now?
He put a circle under the three of us and then the light changed.
“Don’t sleep, Bev. I don’t know what this is, okay?” Link said too loudly, worry in his tone.
And he didn’t get worried.
“What has happened?” Mrs. Oliveria demanded, her voice pretty close.
“I don’t—she can seriously infuse her magic into her body. I was sprinting after her and I couldn’t catch her. Finally, I just jumped on Loki and had to—I’ve never seen anything like it, but she’s feeling it now,” Link rambled as he slid off Loki with me in his arms somehow.
I could be impressed with that later.
“She got upset about the topic and wasn’t like hearing me that she had to chill or like not run off without me,” Link continued. “Then I’m—I’m in pain too. I was sprinting and—”
“Yes, it was bad if you’re this rattled,” Mrs. Oliveria muttered. “Call Rita. She was trained as a healer and will keep this quiet. At least get us a starting point since Professor Wyatt is still in class and Mark is in session.”
“Yes, ma’am,” a voice I sort of recognized said.
“Bevin, how do you feel, darling?” Mrs. Oliveria asked as I was gently laid on something.
“Sore,” I managed. “Really confused.” I groaned and blinked my eyes open, trying to focus on Link. “I didn’t hear you, I swear.”
Rita arrived and actually brought a healer she knew well and had been with in a weird twist of fate. I learned later that the woman wasn’t happy in her current job and Rita was taking her own initiative to help us find good healers who could be assets for the familiar spa I was planning.
“Forgive me for overstepping or if this is rude, but you’re the one I’ve heard about at Morrigan not having a familiar, correct?” the healer asked when she was done checking me.
“I’m not sure what that has to do with anything,” Mrs. Oliveria replied, her voice tight.
The woman wasn’t offended, simply chuckling and shooting her a glance before focusing on me. “Well, at least you’re well-loved, which contradicts what’s reached my ears and I tend to be out of the loop.”