Chapter 6 #2
“Fair enough.” It wasn’t like Felix hadn’t been doing the same, but in his defense, he hadn’t known it was Liam…
except there was no other man on the planet that smelled like that.
God, he didn’t have time for this. Felix pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before dialing in to work and putting the phone on speaker.
“Mayor’s office,” Lorraine’s shrill voice barked after the third ring.
“Hey, Lorraine, it’s me. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but—”
“Did you get my message!?” she squawked, the pitch slicing through his temples. “That degenerate’s struck again! I called the sheriff this time, it’s simply disgraceful!”
“I agree,” Felix said, almost wishing he was there to see the sheriff’s face when he was handed a nine by eleven of someone’s hairy ass and balls by an octogenarian. “Absolutely disgusting behavior.”
“When are you coming in?” she snapped.
“About that…I’ve been fighting a migraine all morning, and I think it’s best I stay home today. I’m so sorry you have to deal with this, but it sounds like you have everything handled.”
She sniffed, slightly appeased. “What about the weasel?”
“His kibble’s in my closet. Don’t open the cage. Just dump a half cup into his bowl through the bars.” The last thing they needed was Chambers running amok.
“Fine. Just this once, mind you.”
“Thank you, Lorraine. I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She harrumphed and hung up.
Well, that’d gone better than he’d expected. He could guarantee the next call wouldn’t. Felix freshened his coffee—not enjoying it immensely, damn it—and the phone rang. Crap. It was his parents. He took a frustratingly delightful sip from his mug and hit the button to accept the call.
“Finally! Why aren’t you answering your phone?” his mother’s voice chided.
Felix’s eyes fluttered, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I woke up with a migraine, and I did just answer my phone.”
“You know what I mean,” his mother tsked. “I’m sorry you’re feeling poorly and hate to ask you this, but—”
Shit. “What did Felicia do now?”
There was a pregnant pause, and his stomach preemptively clenched, waiting for it.
“No, not The Renot,” his mother said to someone else. “They left hair in the sink last time. Try the Grand. They might still have rooms.”
Felix’s eyes snapped open. Why were they looking at hotels in Maybach three days before Yule? “What’s going on?”
She sighed. “Great Aunt Helen had a fall. One of those damned cats of hers got stuck in the gutter. She pulled out a ladder instead of calling someone, slipped on some ice—she’s got a broken wrist, and her hip’s fractured in I don’t even know how many places.
I have to be there tomorrow morning to sort out the insurance paperwork before her surgery, and after, the dang rehab center’s got a waiting list a mile long.
The best they can do is send a home health aide to check in on her, but she can’t be left alone all day. ”
Holy crap. His mother’s spinster aunt was old enough to have graduated in the same class as Lorraine and was only marginally more mobile. Felix was also pretty positive she had a commemorative cat for every year she’d been on the planet. “A ladder?”
“I have no idea what she was thinking, but the damage is done, and we need to leave in the next hour or two to make it there by tonight,” his mother said with a long sigh.
“We’re praying for a Christmas miracle, but it doesn’t look like your father and I are going to be back in time to celebrate that or Yule. ”
“Okay.” That sucked, but he could always go to Jena’s. “So, what do you need from me?”
There was another pregnant pause.
“Oh no.” Felix felt himself pale as he put two and two together. “I am not watching those urchins while—”
“Felix Christopher Simms! Those children are your nieces and nephew!”
His front door opened and closed, and Liam sauntered in with a to-go bag from Cups and a drink tray. Felix motioned for him to put it on the table, both irritated and somehow relieved the were had come back, even if his timing was for shit.
“How is this my problem?” Felix asked his mother. “Why can’t dad stay and watch them?”
“Aren’t you the one who told me I shouldn’t be driving?”
God, he could practically see her raised eyebrow.
And okay, yes, he had, and she shouldn’t be, especially not all the way to Maybach by herself, but— “What the hell am I supposed to do with them?” He pulled at his collar, the room tunneling.
Liam came over and stood behind him, rubbing Felix’s arms. He fell back against him, too completely overwhelmed to protest. “I know nothing about kids, or potty training—what do they even eat?!”
“Good grief, Felix, calm down! Cruze, Axle, and Sway are more than capable of finding their own dinners and making it to the bathroom by themselves. We talked about taking them with us, but just one hotel room is so expensive, never mind two. If we could stay at Aunt Helen’s, it would be one thing, but with all those cats—”
“What about the screamer?” He winced, his head throbbing just thinking about her.
“We’re planning on taking the baby with us.”
Felix snorted. Great, so his mom would be changing the kid’s diapers along with Aunt Helen’s. Like she wasn’t going to be enough of a handful. “I don’t see how that’s going to work,” he muttered, exasperated.
“We don’t have any other choice.”
They did, but calling the county to take custody of the urchins wasn’t going to happen.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Goddamn Felicia for pushing her shitty decisions on them.
His parents were supposed to be enjoying their retirement, not spending their energy and savings raising her spawn.
You’d think she’d be getting state assistance and child support from one or two of their deadbeat dads, but if she was, his parents never saw a penny of it.
And neither did the urchins.
Damn it. He didn’t have the bandwidth for this. It was gonna screw him, he knew it was, but his mom was right. They didn’t have any other choice. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
“There’s a spot opening up at an assisted living facility after the first of the year. As soon as we can get Aunt Helen in and settled, we’ll be back. So, two weeks? Maybe three? I should’ve gotten her a room after the stove incident, but…”
“It’s not your fault, mom. It’s Felicia’s for putting you in this situation.”
For once his mother didn’t have anything to say to that. Something rustled on the other end of the phone, and Felix’s dad cleared his throat as he took the receiver. “Ah, so, we figure it’s probably best if you stay with the children here.”
“You think?” Felix snarked. His single bedroom aside, Myx would freak, and there was no way they were getting their grubby paws anywhere near his comic book collection.
Could they even read? The last report card his parents had been bemoaning seemed to suggest otherwise.
Whatever, he didn’t care. “When do you need me there?”
“As soon as you can get here. The car’s already packed and ready to go.”
Of course it was, and his was still in impound. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Did you leave their schedule for me?”
“It’s on the fridge. It’s a little convoluted for the next two days, but then they’re off until January sixth for Yule.
Axle and Sway you’ll have to pick up around three twenty, like you did yesterday.
Cruze gets out of school at two thirty, but then she meets with a tutor.
We’ve been letting her walk home with her friends. She’s usually home by four.”
Usually, huh? “And if she’s not?”
“She will be. They’re good kids, Felix. They’ve just been dealt a bad hand. Your mother and I bought groceries—”
“Groceries?” His heart about stopped. “What the hell am I supposed to do with groceries?!”
“Felix, calm down.” His father sighed. “Cruze can cook, and they all know how to use the microwave. You should be stocked for the week. You know where we keep the spare cash if you need it.”
“Dad, I’m not gonna—” Felix bit his tongue. “Fine, but I swear to God, if Felicia shows up, I will not be held responsible for my actions.”
His father sighed and there was more rustling on the other side of the line. A door closed, and he cleared his throat again. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. Your sister called late last night. She—she doesn’t plan on coming back at all.”
Liam caught Felix as he crumpled against him, his inner wolf frantic with concern.
Damn, Liam wasn’t totally sure what he’d just walked into, but based on what he’d just heard, it didn’t sound good.
It was common knowledge that Felix’s sister wasn’t a particularly fit parent, but Liam hadn’t had any idea things were this bad.
“W-what do you mean, she’s not coming back?” Felix asked, his whole body trembling.
His father sighed again. “She’s living on some ranch out in Nevar. Reading between the lines, it doesn’t sound particularly wholesome, but she says she’s happy there. She—she also said she’s giving up her parental rights.”
“How high was she?” Felix snorted.
“I don’t think that matters. The paperwork’s already been filed.”
The slight warlock went very still. “So, what happens now?”
“We either sign or they end up in the system.”
Liam caught Felix as his knees gave out. His phone hit the floor, and the screen shattered. The kitchen went dead silent.
Felix put a hand on Liam’s chest, steadying himself. “I-I’ve got to go over there…” He pinched the bridge of his nose and swore. “My car’s in impound. I wouldn’t normally ask but—”
“I can take you.” Liam quickly offered, not about to ask any questions. The urge to protect Felix, to do whatever he could to help him, was all-consuming. “Whatever you need. If you want, I can drop you off and sort out your car, too. Jerry’s a friend.”
Felix nodded. “Yeah. Thanks. This…Jesus.” He put a hand over his mouth, then looked at the ceiling, tears in his eyes. “Last night I told Jena I thought it would be better if Felicia didn’t come back. God, if I sent that out into the universe—”
“Hey.” Liam gripped Felix’s shoulders and caught his gaze.
“This isn’t your fault. Your dad said she’d already filed the paperwork.
That takes time. She had to have been thinking about this for a while.
” Felix ducked his head like he didn’t really believe that, and Liam sighed, stepping away.
He pulled a container out of the to-go bag.
“Here, Greta said oatmeal’s your usual. You need to eat something before you deal with all that.
Five minutes isn’t gonna make or break anything. ”
Felix nodded again and shakily took his seat. “You didn’t have to do that…or come back.” He popped the top of his oatmeal and stared at it for a breath. “Why did you stay?”
The smallness of his voice hurt. Liam pulled out the other chair and sat across from him.
“I told you, because you asked, and I-I wanted to.” Damn it.
This wasn’t the time to spill his guts, but…
he took Felix’s hand. “I’m sorry for what happened between us.
How things ended, and I want to make it right, if you’ll let me. ”
Felix watched him sweep his thumb over his knuckles. “Well,” he said, forcing a smile as he pulled away. “Making me a decent pot of coffee wasn’t a bad start.”
“Good to know.” Liam grinned, retrieving his own breakfast from the bag. He glanced at Felix from beneath his brows. “You want to talk about it? Your sister, I mean.”
Felix shrugged. “There’s not much to say.
Felicia’s the same train wreck she was in high school, but now she’s got kids.
They stay with my parents more often than not, and she pops in and shanghais the urchins whenever they get any inkling of stability.
Cruze is a hormonal mess, Axle’s a burgeoning psychopath two grades behind where he should be, Sway’s got a death wish, and the screamer screams.”
“And your parents?” Liam asked before taking a big bite of his breakfast sandwich.
“Have already taken out a second mortgage and don’t have two nickels to rub together to support themselves, never mind the rest of them,” Felix said, throwing his spoon into his half-eaten breakfast. “And living in a hotel for two weeks is going to kill whatever saving they have.”
Damn. What could you even say to that? Liam nodded at the drink tray. “One of those is yours.”
“Thanks.” Felix found his and sat back. “I just don’t get how you could leave your kids like that.”
Liam winced, the question cutting too close to home.
Jenny’s vitriol was what had sent him packing, but— “Addiction is a powerful thing.” And so were shame and regret.
Leaving had been hard, but coming back had been even harder.
Ignoring that little voice telling him it would be better if he left again wasn’t particularly easy either.
“I thought the mother-child bond was supposed to be powerful, too,” Felix muttered. “You’re really okay with driving me over?”
Liam took another bite and nodded. “Yeah. I’ll finish this while you get ready to go.”
Felix met him in the entry once he’d put on real clothes and shaved. They grabbed their jackets, and he shoved his keys into his pocket, then touched Liam’s arm as he went to open the door. “Thank you. For being here. For listening. It-It means a lot.”
Liam’s heart swelled, wishing he could do more. “I’m happy to help,” he murmured, wiping a bit of shaving cream from Felix’s lobe.
His hand lingered.
The slight warlock’s eyes closed for a breath, and a whisper of pressure from his cheek pressed against Liam’s palm.
His heart raced as Felix’s eyes opened and their gazes met.
Felix’s lips parted like he was about to speak, then pressed together, tight.
He nodded, ducked his head, and they got on the road.