Chapter 3
Three
Drozel
Ihad no clue why Meri didn't want to be in the hospital anymore, but she didn't, and I wasn't going to make her. That was fine. I could handle that part. The thing that bothered me was how foolishly light this girl was. I could've carried her with one arm!
But when she curled up against me, pressing her brow into my shoulder, I tried to give her what reassurance I could.
The trick with these girls was to be soft, Zasen had said.
Gentle, slow, and quiet. If I wanted to keep from scaring them, I had to treat them like a scared little puppy - and it pissed me off.
Meri had become this amazing thing in the short time she'd been here.
The girl who'd started off scared of everything had turned into a woman who gave of herself without hesitation.
Not because she was forced to, but because she wanted to.
I couldn't even wrap my mind around how someone could abuse that!
So I stretched my legs. Yeah, I was going to have some explaining to do.
Omden would be shocked, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't have a problem with taking care of Meri.
He liked the girl. It was Lessa who worried me the most. Likely her jealous streak would rear its ugly head again, and if she didn't dump me at least once, I'd be impressed.
Soon enough, we reached my place. Getting the outer door open with only my tail was a little tricky.
Thankfully, Omden heard something and came to check.
The moment he released the latch, I swept in with our little sparrow still tucked to my chest and didn't stop until I made it all the way across the house and into the guest bedroom.
"Droz?" Omden asked, trailing behind me. "Why isn't Meri in the hospital?"
"She didn't want to be," I told him as I eased her down into the bed. "Hey, tiny bird. Do you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm okay," Meri insisted, looking around. "Why am I back in bed?"
"Because," Omden said as he pushed around me, "you aren't done healing."
"But..." She looked between us with wide eyes.
So I crouched down beside her, doing my best to make myself small. "But what, Meri?"
Her little pink tongue darted out to lick her lips.
"In the compound, there weren't enough beds, so once we were good enough, we had to go home to finish healing.
Most women weren't even allowed to use one.
I just..." She glanced at Omden, then back.
"I don't want..." And then she swallowed hard.
"Since the baby is Jeera and Brielle's now, I was supposed to leave, wasn't I? "
"In Lorsa," Omden said, moving to sit on the edge beside her, "you can use a bed until you no longer need help."
"Oh." And she dropped her eyes to the blankets. "I messed up?"
"Nope," I said before Omden could make her feel bad. "You did what you know, and I helped. Now, we're going to take care of you right here. It's fine, Meri, and this way you don't have to worry about everyone wanting to talk about the baby, right?"
She stilled. "Really?"
"Which part?" I asked, looking to Omden in the hope he could help me out a bit.
"I don't have to talk about it?"
"Not unless you want to," Omden assured her. "But what you do need to do..." He grinned at her, then hooked a finger under her chin and made her look up. "We have to get you cleaned up and in something more comfortable. You, Meri, are on bedrest for a few more weeks."
"Do you know what bedrest is?" I asked, having a bad feeling about this.
Those deep royal-blue eyes of hers slowly found mine. "Maybe?"
"Try?"
"It's when a man is hurt so badly, he can't care for himself and needs someone to do all things for him. His wife will even bring him a bed pan and his meals."
I made a little noise, proving that wasn't what we meant.
"Maybe for Moles. For us, bedrest means you can't do anything hard.
You're allowed to sit up and read, or sit down and sew, or go lie on the couch.
You can visit with Lessa, but you cannot pick up heavy things.
Nothing more than a glass or a plate of food, okay? "
"But..."
I lifted a brow. "Hm?"
"I keep thinking I have to do things," she admitted.
"Nope," Omden said. "I mean, if you want to design Droz some decent-looking clothes while you're stuck sitting all the time, I certainly won't complain, but you don't have to."
"And I can get you all the books you want," I promised.
But she made a face at that. "Books are more Ayla's thing."
"Crochet?" Omden offered.
And Meri's eyes went wide. "I could do that?"
I lifted a finger, begging him to wait. "Is that a happy question or a dreading one?"
"I like to crochet," she assured me. "I'm not as good at knitting, but needlepoint..." And the smile? That proved she liked it.
"I'll pick up some thread tomorrow," Omden told me. "You get some fabric from Lessa."
"I need to head over there anyway," I admitted. "Give Meri one of my shirts, some of your shorts, and get her hair washed while I'm gone?"
But that made Meri tense up. "I don't think - "
"Over a sink," Omden hurried to assure her. "Meri, you can't have a bath until the cut heals a little more."
"Cut?" Then she sucked in a breath. "Oh, the incision?"
"It'll mess it up," Omden said. "I've been sewn up enough to know that. So that means washing will be with a basin and cloth. Hair is harder, but I can do it in the sink, and we can put it up to dry while you wash the rest of you, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed.
I stood, making sure I did it slowly. "I'll leave you both to do that, and when I come back, we'll have something better for you to wear, okay?"
She pressed her lips together before answering, looking between us one more time. "Thank you," she finally said. "I don't mean to be a bother."
"Be a bother," I told her. "My closest friends are the ones who bother me the most." And with a smile to prove that was meant to be funny, I left.
Omden immediately took over. I could hear his silky voice explaining things to her.
I couldn't make out the words, but his tone was clear.
He was trying to help. I also knew he hated himself for slapping Ayla when we'd found her.
Knowing now what we did about the way these women had been treated down there?
They all deserved to have someone finally treat them with a little bit of kindness.
He and I had talked about it a few too many times.
The little we'd heard was the stuff of nightmares.
I couldn't even imagine being that small, weak, and helpless, and I wanted to make sure it was something these women forgot.
My boyfriend? He was even worse. He could imagine it, since he'd been bullied as a boy for being too delicate.
He'd made himself a fighter because of it, giving up his childhood dreams for far too long.
I thought about him as I headed over to Lessa's place next door.
My partner was the best man I could imagine.
I was sure he had faults somewhere, but I was blind to them.
From the time we'd met nearly a decade ago until now, he'd become the person I judged everyone else against, and Meri?
She was more like him than I'd expected.
Lessa wasn't. She was the polar opposite. I knocked on her door, bracing myself for the tirade I knew was about to come. So, when she opened the door, I decided to just tackle this head on.
"Meri wanted to leave the hospital, I caught her as she reached the stairs and - "
"Where is she?" Lessa demanded, pushing past me as if ready to rush to her.
So I pointed to my house. "I picked her up and carried her back. Less, she doesn't have a place anymore. With Jeera and Brielle taking the baby, she's homeless. Well, was."
Her golden eyes narrowed on me. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," I said, bending down to look her right in the face, "that Meri doesn't want to live with the baby. No, they didn't kick her out. She was running, I think. Add in some stupid Mole horsecrap, and it makes the most sense for her to crash in our guest room. Well, one of them."
"I can clear a room for her!"
"I know you can," I promised, keeping my voice calm so she wouldn't bite my head off. "I planned on that."
"And?" she pressed.
"And," I went on, "she's fine. Omden's explaining to her how to clean up. Shit, he's probably washing her hair right now." Then I stepped closer, palming her cheek. "Relax, beautiful. We've got your girlfriend."
Lessa grunted at that. "She's not my girlfriend."
I murmured, making it clear her denial didn't mean much. "She needs some clothes. We'll have to run to Jeera's to pick up what little she has, but Meri needs some girly stuff."
"It's not - "
I cut her off before a tirade could start. "The post-birth kind."
"Oh."
Yeah, and now I was struggling not to laugh in her face.
That would set her off all over again. Then again, Lessa wasn't really a hard person to deal with.
She was just emphatic - about everything.
It intimidated a lot of people. For me, I found it endearing.
She was strong, bull-headed, and absolutely amazing.
"So," I said, turning her back to her place, "how about you show me what I need to carry, hm? Meri said she likes needlepoint and crochet, so if you have anything to keep her from getting bored while she heals up..."
"Remember," she said, catching my hand and towing me after her, "you asked for this."
"Girl, I will follow that tail of yours anywhere," I promised. "I also like how lifting heavy things makes your hands feel me up, and your mouth tends to follow."
"And Omden's home," she reminded me. "He deserves a little of your attention right now."
"Mhm," I agreed as she led me through her house and towards the fabric room. "He's getting it. We also need a big, beautiful bitch to baby us after all that running and hacking we did the other day."
She stepped into the room, letting go of my hand, and started digging through the fabric. "So, you're saying he needs a massage, huh?"
"Considering he's being a sweet man and washing Meri's hair? Yeah." And I slid in behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist to make her pause. "He likes her, Less. He happens to need a friend, so don't you dare chase him off."
"Ommy?" She glanced back, pure confusion on her face.
"I know you like her," I pointed out. "I also know you get mean when you're jealous."
"But he isn't into women."
"I know."
And she rolled her eyes. "Which means," she informed me, "that I'm not jealous of him."
So I hooked her chin, turning her to face me with that paltry contact. "Oh? Does that mean you're jealous of me talking to the girl?"
Lessa's teeth clamped down on her lower lip. "Maybe a little."
"Don't be."
"But I know you like gold things." And she gestured to herself.
Okay. She wasn't wrong. She'd also forgotten the important part.
"Less, that woman just gave birth to her rapist's child.
I'm pretty sure the last thing she wants is a man touching her.
My part in her life is to be the big, strong brute who keeps her safe.
You get to make her fall in love with you.
Omden gets to show her how Dragons handle friendship. "
But she stepped closer, trailing a finger down my bare chest. "I think you're the one missing something, Droz.
Meri? She's not weak. She's smart, and sweet, and many, many things.
Weak is not one of them. She pushed through everything that man did to her and came out the other side with her head held high.
She may have been terrified, but she actually did it, and that takes more guts than shooting them with a bow. "
"I know."
"And you," she went on, "are nothing like a Mole. You, Drozel, are big, yes. You're also nice. You're considerate. You are the antithesis of every single thing she knows about men."
"Okay? That's kinda what I was saying."
She caught my neck and pulled me down toward her. "But not smart. Because, Drozel, if you were smart, you'd realize that if you keep this up, Meri might fall in love with a man like you." And she stretched, pausing with her lips a hair from mine. "And I'll only be a little jealous."
I kissed her before she could say anything else. Mostly because that was a conversation I knew I'd lose. I always did when she set her mind to something. It was my favorite thing about her.