Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
After the episode, I was too weak to move. I stayed in bed, sleeping most of the time. Laila woke up every so often to eat, but I felt myself slipping away more and more. Mike was on the phone sometimes, trying to be soft as he tried to convince me I was safe. Nothing felt safe, though.
My bedroom remained on lockdown, but I knew Laila only put the house on lockdown at night.
Finally, she got fed up after three days.
Slipping her hands under me, Laila carried me through the house.
Not outside, but in front of the window facing the water.
It was sunny outside, and I felt warmer as it hit my skin.
“You need to come out into the light and take a breath.” Laila sat next to me, handing me some Parmesan cheese chips. “Otherwise you’re going to wither away like a pale skeleton.”
Sighing, I rubbed my eyes. She wasn’t wrong.
I couldn’t live like this. This would affect my little girl.
I was losing my grip, unable to get any decent sleep.
The sun tingled against my skin, but it didn’t feel bad.
It was about midday and a nice mild-seventy degrees with the breeze from the water.
“How can I distract you?”
“Mike said you can call Peter from the line. He will trace it and make sure it’s clear to allow Peter to call.”
She put her forehead on my shoulder. “Yeah, but…what if he’s mad? Or if…he just yells at me.”
I snorted. “You kind of deserve it.”
“Hey!”
“What? It’s true! Instead of talking things out, you just completely shut down and turned rebellious. You fought everything, and you’ve literally wasted years of your life. For what, Lai? To prove that you do actually suck at being an adult?”
I turned around and pulled her into a hug. “It’s time you took responsibility for your actions, Lai. Yes, he might be mad. Yes, he might yell at you. He will, however, be more relieved that you’re alive and you’re okay.”
“What do I tell him? I’m sure he is going to ask me where I am. Or tell me to go home.”
“The truth. You tell your mate the truth. Just don’t say you’re with me.”
Her nose wrinkled. “You know what? Fine. If it gets your mind off everything. I’ll do it. I’m not happy, but I’ll do it.”
Getting up, she disappeared for a moment before bringing the phone out with her. She sat on the chair next to mine, staring at the phone for a moment before letting out a long sigh. I tried to keep my smile from spreading too wide, but Laila noticed, sticking her tongue out at me.
Typing in a number, I raised an eyebrow at her. She chuckled and shrugged. So much for her not caring. Knowing Peter’s number by heart just drove home how much she still did care for him. I reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. My eyes shut, and I listened as the call connected.
“This is Peter Alford.”
Peter’s voice sounded very much as if he were working. Though the number we were calling from was probably coming up as unknown on his end. Glancing up at Laila, she froze, her eyes looking down at the phone. Sighing, I squeezed her hand and nudged her.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” He asked again.
“I…um…hi, Peter.”
He sucked in a breath on the other end, something banging in the background. “Laila?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” She sounded so small and bashful.
Again, I squeezed her shaking hand.
“What…where…?” He took another breath and paused for a moment. “Are you okay?”
“I am. I’m okay. I am…” She looked down at our hands clasped together. “I’m working for someone right now. I’m helping them with daily chores and stuff to help get be back on track. Um…just…I wanted to call to tell you I was okay.”
Peter let out a soft cry. “Laila, you have been missing for weeks. I couldn’t find you. You scared me to death. I’ve been searching everywhere. Where are you?”
“I’m safe. I’m being taken really good care of right now.” Laila squeezed my hand and smiled. “I’ve…paid off the debts I owed. I’m sorry, Peter. I know I messed up. I just…”
“I don’t care, Laila. Just hearing your voice, knowing you’re okay, that’s what I needed.” He sounded exhausted. “Will you come home? Please?”
She took a breath. “Not yet.”
“Laila!”
“No, Peter. I am responsible for helping someone. For protecting them. At least for a little while. I owe them a lot. So, I’m going to stay for a while.”
His growl came over the line. “Not long ago you could barely take care of yourself! How in the world are you taking care of anyone else? Look, Laila, I’m sure they would rather have someone qualified…”
“I will come home soon. I just need sometime. I’ve done…some thinking. Gotten more than a few lectures. I’m ready to come home and talk to you. Not yet. I will, I promise.”
“Where are you?”
She blew out a breath, frustrated with him. “France.”
“France? Again? Are you in Paris? Did you think you could hide going to another runway? Or trying to do something stupid?” He snapped back at her.
I squeezed her hand again, and she sighed. “Yeah. I guess I deserve that.”
“Laila…”
“No, no. I get it. I’m not in Paris. Or doing anything with fashion.
I’m just helping a friend. They aren’t safe right now, and I can help.
I might not be an Alpha, but I am still a dragon.
I can help.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll call and check in more often now.
I promised I would. Then, when I come back…
we can talk about the future. What you want for us and all that. ”
Peter was quiet for a moment. “Alright. But I swear, Laila…if this is some ploy.”
“I’m not asking for money! I’m not asking you to bail me out! Gods! I know I don’t have the best track record, but damn!” She huffed and shook her head. “You know what. Whatever. I shouldn’t have called. This was stupid.”
She started to hang up on him, and I reached out, stopping her.
Laila looked at me before she rolled her eyes.
Honestly, I expected Peter to blow up far more than this.
I told her he would be worried more than anything.
Her telling him she wasn’t coming back without giving a full reason would not end well.
I would know. I’ve tried it often enough with Marcus.
Him exploding when I went to the appointment with Dr. Cardiff was one of the best cases in point.
I was lucky I got to go anywhere after that.
Peter had far more grounds than Marcus did.
I might be pretty flighty, but Laila beat me in that regard.
It came from years of knowing I might have to make a run for it, being an Omega. Going into hiding like I was now.
Sighing, I felt the heaviness weigh on me.
Peter and her were barking at each other, but I didn’t listen.
This was going to happen the first few times they spoke.
Eventually, they would run out of things to bark at each other, and they would get down to their relationship.
There was something soothing about it. Maybe because it reminded me of falling asleep while Mike and Sabrina were talking.
The nightmares lately had been worse. Alpha Genesis finding me, tearing me apart, and making me watch as Ebony took Marcus. I whimpered and curled up. It wouldn’t come to pass. We would save him. We would save him and be happy.
The sound made Laila look up at me, worried. Swallowing the pain, I shook my head. Her nose wrinkled, and I knew she wasn’t paying attention to anything Peter was saying.
“I have go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait! Laila! You can’t just interrupt me!”
She scoffed. “I’ll call again. I promised to call. I called and I’ll do it again. Just…chill. I’m still on the job right now.” Her wink lifted the pain just a little.
“I swear, Laila. You haven’t changed.”
Her face fell and laced my fingers between hers, shaking my head. She had changed. It just wasn’t going to be enough for Peter to accept when she wasn’t doing what he wanted. Laila seemed to understand that as well, but there was a sadness being it.
“Think what you want. If you don’t want me to call, then I won’t.”
Peter backtracked quickly. “Wait. Okay. Just…you need to call me every day…”
Laila barked out a laugh. “Not even! I’ll call you when I want. I’ll answer when I want. Don’t push me, Peter. Reaching out wasn’t my idea. I don’t mind going silent again for a while.”
“Fine.” The word was barely audible amidst the growl that came out of him.
She smiled. “Good. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good day.”
He started to talk again, but she hung up on him. I let out a laugh, and she joined me. However, I could see her hands shaking and the tears she held back. Her grip was tight on the phone.
“Well, that went well.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I was expecting worse.”
“Maybe. Still. He’s such an asshole.”
“Help me up. I’ll make us some dinner.”
Laila wrinkled her nose. “I can make something for you. You’re still really weak.”
My lips pursed, and I sighed. “No. I’ll get up. I don’t want to waste the groceries we got.”
“My cooking isn’t that bad!”
I chuckled. “Yes, it is. Yesterday, I thought the sandwich was going to eat me, not the other way around.”
“I…but…it did not!”
Laila pouted, and I chuckled. Holding my hand out, she helped me get up from the chair. I leaned against her a little more than normal. Sighing, she shook her head.
“After you eat, you can go back to bed and sleep.”
“What did you think I was doing? You were the one who rudely interrupted me and told me to come out into the light.”
Rolling her eyes, Laila scoffed. “You were digging yourself into a hole in that brain of yours. Not resting. You need to lie down and actually sleep.”
I sighed and nodded. “I will. What did you want me to make?”
“Whatever you make, I’ll eat. You know that.”
Chuckling, I nodded. She wasn’t kidding.
Laila couldn’t cook for the life of her, but she loved my cooking.
More than even Marcus did. I didn’t know what she had been doing for the past few months, but she acted like she was a starving child.
I knew dragons ate more than wolves normally did, but Laila would eat almost all the food and still ask if there was more.
The kitchen was still foreign to me. Sometimes finding pans or specific utensils had me searching through all the cabinets.
Eventually, I would figure it out, but for now, I moved things around to make them easier to find or grab.
Certain shelves were too high for me to reach.
Or, much to Laila’s amusement, too low for me to reach without having to squat down. Which took effort to get back up.
“Do you want me to help?”
I pulled out some of the fresh zucchini, yellow squash, and ground sausage. “No. I’ll make something simple right now. Don’t worry.”
Making a triple portion, I mixed all the ingredients together in the skillet before topping with some Parmesan cheese and basil.
Plating it up for both of us, I made sure that I had everything I thought I could eat in mine.
Knowing I might not get a chance at having seconds if I left any back for myself.
Sure enough, Laila wolfed down the food. She shook her head, trying to speak with her mouth full, but I slapped the back of her head. Swallowing, she barked out a laugh and shook her head.
“Why does everything you make turn out like a restaurant made it?”
“When was the last time you’ve eaten in a restaurant? My food is passable at best. I’ve cooked for myself for a long time. You and Marcus both don’t understand that my cooking is nothing special.”
Laila frowned. “Yeah, well, fuck him.”
“Lai…”
“What? Since you somehow aren’t mad at him, I’ll be mad at him for you! After pulling that shit and putting you in that situation…”
I let out a sigh. “Don’t. Please. There is enough going on right now. You can’t be mad at all the Alfords. Stick to being sassy with Peter.”
She laughed. “Fine. For now.”