Chapter 7
Felix waved to Liam as the were pulled out of his parents’ driveway. Had all of that really happened? Felix rubbed his temple, a migraine still lurking. From the screaming coming from the house behind him, that wasn’t going to get better anytime soon.
Goddamn you, Felicia.
Felix turned and trudged to the kitchen door, past the late model station wagon packed to the gills in the driveway.
A smile crossed his lips despite the situation, remembering all the road trips his parents had dragged them on when they were kids.
Felix sighed. His sister wasn’t terrible back then, at least no more than a sister was supposed to be.
She hadn’t gone off the deep end until right before she’d graduated high school.
His father was convinced that was entirely due to Marcel, the guy Felicia had been dating, who was also Cruze’s father.
Felix couldn’t disagree. The siren had certainly lured her off the straight and narrow, but it’d been Felicia’s choice to stay there after he’d disappeared and left her high and dry.
Felix huffed out a breath, struggling to navigate the shovel’s width of cleared space to the kitchen door.
Whether Axle knew it or not, he was gonna haul his ass out here after he got home from school and do the job properly.
Aunt Helen breaking a hip was bad enough, but if Felix’s mom went down, they were all screwed.
The decibel level increased exponentially when he opened the door, and Felix winced as he went inside. His mother turned with a look of profound relief on her face.
The screamer wailed louder, and Felix put a hand to his ear, cringing. There was definitely a banshee somewhere in her genome.
“Oh! Thank Heavens you’re here! I’ve been anxious to get on the road; they’re supposed to get snow in the mountains.” She looked out the window. “Where’s your car?”
“In the shop. A friend dropped me off.” Felix’s brow knit. Was that what Liam was now?
“Then I hope you’re planning on having them bring your bags later,” his mother said.
Shit. He hadn’t even thought about packing. God, this day was so not going the way he’d planned. “Um, yeah. Don’t worry. I have it all worked out.” His mother didn’t look like she believed him. Smart lady. “So, what have you told the urchins?”
“Nothing, and I’m not going to. Neither are you.
” She shook out a puffy, mini-ski suit and frowned, trying to hold it up to the screamer as she thrashed.
Good luck shoving her into that. It was giving him hardcore Christmas Story vibes.
“Don’t you look at me like that Felix, we will, but I can’t do that to them so close to the holiday. ”
Considering what Sway had said about Axle crying, it might not be the most ill-received news they’d ever gotten. Felix opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. His mom didn’t need that weighing on her conscience, too.
“Fine, I won’t say anything, but I’m not lying if they ask.
” It’d always been a personal pet peeve of his when adults spouted bullshit to their spawn, and he wasn’t about to perpetuate the practice.
He crossed to the mustard enameled fridge and searched for the urchins’ schedule amid all the crappy crayon drawings littering the front of it.
Ah. He pulled it from under an AARP magnet. Seemed straight forward enough—
No. Wait a minute.
“What’s this about pageant rehearsals?”
“Oh!” His mother beamed at him and picked up the screamer.
“Cruze got the role of the Spirit of Christmas Past!” She bounced the little blighter, and it wailed louder.
“Yes, she did! It’s going to kill us not to see her perform, she’s been so excited about it.
You’ll do me a favor and record it on your phone so I can watch it later? ”
Felix slumped, his shoulder smacking into the appliance and threatening an avalanche of bagged snacks from above. “But she’s in middle school. I thought it was just for the elementary kids.”
“No.” His mother shook her head, trying to jam the screamer’s fat little legs into the snowsuit as she thrashed, red-faced and bawling.
The slag glass pendant light above the table swayed on its chain.
“All the big roles are filled by middle schoolers. The rest of the cast is younger kids. Don’t you remember how angry you were when they wouldn’t let you audition for Rizzo in Grease? ”
Vaguely, and he was still convinced he’d had the chops to pull that role off, but he hadn’t thought his age had been the determining factor. Whatever, it wasn’t important, and the school system’s questionable choices in live theater productions aside, this wasn’t happening.
“There’s no way I can juggle work, this rehearsal schedule, and the other two.”
His mother huffed a curl from her eyes and hiked the screamer’s snowsuit up.
Felix winced and resisted the urge to cup himself.
“Now you listen here, Felix Christopher Simms. It’s two measly rehearsals and then the show.
That little girl has been practicing her heart out.
After all her hard work, she’s going to be devastated enough that we can’t make it.
If you take it completely away from her, I will never forgive you, and neither will she. ”
He rolled his head on his shoulders and sobbed at the cracked popcorn ceiling. “Why me? God, I know it’s not my karma—”
“No, but it is your family,” his mother snapped like that was the end of the subject.
“You’re just going to have to make do like the millions of other single caregivers out there trying to get by, and thank your lucky stars it’s only temporary.
” She zipped the screamer up and shoved a hat over her curly dark hair.
The urchin hiccupped and shoved her thumb in her mouth.
Felix’s brows shot up. “It’s self-corking?”
His mother glowered at him. “She’s a very empathic child. All this upset isn’t good for her.”
“Oh, well, then taking her to the ER is a great idea.”
Felix’s mom gave a long-suffering sigh. “Promise me you’ll take Cruze to her rehearsals, go to the pageant, and that you’ll record it for me, Felix. This is important, and I’m trusting you to take good care of your nieces and nephew.”
Felix rolled his eyes. “Fine. But after the New Years…” Shit.
He couldn’t even say that, could he? If Felicia had bailed for good, he couldn’t not help his parents.
Christ, they’d be in their nineties before the screamer started high school.
There was no way they could do this alone. Not physically, not financially…
His mother looked like she was waiting for him to finish his thought, and he shook his head. “Yes, okay. I promise not to drown them while you’re gone. I’m sure Jena will help me if I beg hard enough, and I’ve got to meet with her later anyway—”
His eyes widened. Shit. The manifestation spell.
“No. I won’t be here for that either.” His mother frowned, following his train of thought. “But twelve coven members should be enough, and you can always stand in for me. Jena can pull on the node, after all.”
“What the hell am I going to do with the urchins while I’m there?” No way could he take them to the ruins, especially at night. There were way too many opportunities out there to kick off an ER visit, or Matilda would turn them into frogs—actually that might not be a bad idea…
“Get a sitter,” his mom said, hefting up the screamer. “You’ll only be gone for a few hours. If you order pizza, they won’t even notice you’re gone.”
“Make sure you go heavy on the pepperoni.” His dad came in and nodded to him. “Son. We appreciate you doing this. I just went around and double checked that all the doors and windows are locked. Thermostat’s set to sixty-eight—and it stays there,” he said, pointing a finger at Felix.
“Sure,” he said like they both didn’t know it was going up to seventy-five as soon as the car cleared the driveway. Felix’s bigger concern was where the hell he was going to find a sitter. He turned back to his mom. “You know anybody I can ask to watch them?”
“Felix, you have so many friends. I’m sure one of them would be happy to lend a hand.
” Which was mom for, “I’ve already burned all my bridges, so good luck with that.
” She pulled on her jacket, wrangled the screamer onto her hip, setting the urchin off again, kissed Felix’s cheek, and headed out the door.
“Don’t forget to bring in the mail,” his father said, trailing after her. “And garbage is on Thursdays, no recycling this week!”
The door closed behind them, and Felix rubbed his temples. Fuck.
Liam bit his knuckle as he pulled away from the Simms’s house and headed to the impound lot just outside of town.
He replayed those last few moments at Felix’s apartment over and over in his mind.
The feel of Felix’s skin, slippery from the shaving cream.
His cheek against his palm. The look in his eyes after.
God, Liam wished he knew what Felix had been about to say.
Holding him as he slept—shit, in the kitchen this morning—had been beyond Liam’s wildest expectations.
But when Felix had asked last night, looking up at him from his rumpled covers all disheveled, his tie tossed to the side, and the light smattering of hair peeking from the open V of his shirt…
damn, there was no way Liam was gonna say no.
The sigh of contentment Felix had given, wriggling back when Liam’s arms wrapped around him, Christ, he’d almost come in his pants.
His throat bobbed. Shit, he might come now if he kept thinking about it. His cock was painfully hard. He glanced in the rearview mirror, then pulled onto a trailhead. No way was he getting anything done like this. He unbuttoned his jeans, his dick kicking as he pulled it free.