32. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cody
Cody had let Yana take care of Nyrah, washing the blood off in the bathroom and helping her change into cozy pajamas before retreating to the guest room.
Now he watched as Yana silently curled up next to Nyrah in their bed.
Cody wasn’t sure if it was necessary, but he found some rope and tied Nyrah’s wrists to the bedpost. Sure, Yana could untie her, but he didn’t think she would.
But it felt safer to have the nekofae restrained, at least for the time being.
He would rather keep her close, where he could keep an eye on her.
It’s not like he wanted to get the cops involved in any of this mess.
Plus, she had Knife now. Once she was awake, he wanted to make sure his friend had safely transferred into his new host.
When he went back into the kitchen, Morgan was exactly where he left her, sitting at the table with that same stunned expression, her pale skin looking a sickly white. She had a dish towel wrapped around her arm where Nyrah had scratched her. He went over to her and gently grasped her shoulders.
“Hey,” he said softly. “We need to get you cleaned up, okay?”
Morgan briefly looked at him but turned away, completely silent.
“Come on.” Cody helped her stand and coaxed her to the bathroom.
Morgan sat on the closed toilet lid and he unwrapped her arm so he could properly disinfect the wound and dress it with proper bandages.
Luckily, they had all the necessary supplies in Grandpa Sam’s first aid kit, and the scratches weren’t that deep.
“It’s not that bad,” he told her. “We’ll keep it clean and redo the bandage in the morning, okay?”
She didn’t respond and he decided not to press it. She was clearly in shock.
Cody was reminded of the night of his return to Cornerstone, while he’d sat in the bathroom and let Morgan fuss over him. That was just over a month ago, but it felt like years had passed since then. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.
Cody realized he had blood on his clothes, so he quickly washed up and got changed. He helped Morgan do the same, dressing her in one of his T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants that were a bit too big. He ushered her into his room and tucked her into bed before climbing in next to her.
It was a wonder he was even able to fall asleep. When he opened his eyes next, the pale morning light was shining through the window. Morgan was curled on her side, quietly watching him.
After a few moments of lying in silence, looking into each other’s eyes, Morgan finally spoke: “I am so sorry.”
“I know,” Cody told her softly. “But it’s okay. Nyrah’s okay.”
“How is she…?” Morgan blinked a few times as tears began to well in her eyes. “I don’t understand. She was dying, Cody. Because of me.”
“I have a lot to tell you.” Cody expected Knife to intervene and tell him to shut up, don’t do it, but there was nothing. It was an even heavier silence now than when Knife was giving him the silent treatment. Now Cody knew Knife, his friend, his once-constant-companion, was truly gone.
“It feels like you’ve been holding back so much.” Morgan’s voice sounded shaky as she held back more tears. “I want to know. I want to know everything.”
Cody took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he began.
“The night you found me…I had slipped and bumped my head and…I don’t know, I might have died, I’m not really sure.
” He’d gone over how he’d try to explain things to Morgan, but all those mental notes were gone now.
He was realizing this was much harder to explain than he had anticipated, and he had anticipated it being really fucking hard.
“Anyway, I woke up in another world. I was stuck there for the past decade. But I fought my way back. I found a way to return, so I could be with you.”
Morgan remained silent. It was a little unnerving, but at least she wasn’t immediately telling him he was crazy.
“Nyrah is a nekofae, basically a catgirl fairy, who is from that world,” Cody added.
“I almost died in that other place, but I was stabbed in the heart by a cursed knife, being wielded by a goblin. The knife chose to save me and attached himself to my soul. Now that same knife saved Nyrah and is bound to her soul.”
Morgan blinked a few times but still didn’t say anything.
“I’m telling the truth.” Cody started to feel panicked, wondering if Morgan was actually believing a single word he said.
“You saw Nyrah. Her wings, and tail, and ears. They wear magic gemstones that make them appear human. If Yana removed her necklace, you’d see she’s actually half orc, half elf with green skin and pointy ears.
I originally met them when I rescued them from a burning temple.
And the lady with pink hair who runs Goddess Gifts is well, a legit goddess…
or something. The jury is still out on that one.
But we think she feeds off of chaos. She wanted this to happen, all of this.
She brought a lovesick nekofae girl into this world to, I don’t know, ruin my life and my chance at happiness with you, the love of my life, so she could feed off of the chaos that would sow.
I bet she had a fucking smorgasbord with everything that’s happened in the last few hours. ”
Morgan visibly swallowed.
“Morgan, please say something. Please.”
“That’s…a lot to digest.”
He gave her a half smile, thinking he barely scratched the surface. He hadn’t even told her about the game stuff yet.
“We don’t have to talk about it right now,” Cody said. “But I’ve been wanting to tell you. To explain where I’ve been and what I’ve been through and what I went through to get back home. I never stopped thinking about you.”
Morgan took in a deep, shuddering breath, and then closed her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
“Cody…” Her voice cracked before she could say anything else.
She took a few more deep breaths before she spoke again.
“I killed that girl. She would be dead if you didn’t have that… that magic knife thing.”
Cody wrapped his arm around Morgan, pulling her in close. She tucked her head into his chest, crying. “For what it’s worth, it was self-defense, right? She attacked you.”
“Yes, but…I was so angry. I don’t like that I was that person. That I was capable of…that.”
He rubbed her back, trying his best to soothe her. “I mean, that’s good, right? You feel bad because you are a good person, when it comes down to it. You were put in a tough situation and reacted how most people would, fighting for your own survival.”
He couldn’t help but think about his time in Velasarin and the amount of monsters he had slain.
The number of lives he had taken. And the dream he had, about the goblins with the spears, and how he was ready to lay down and die.
Because he was so tired of fighting, of taking lives just so he could survive.
“We’ll get through this,” he said. “You have me. And I have you. And we’re going to get through this. Together.”
She gave him a squeeze. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Cody grabbed some eggs, veggies, and cheese, a bit of salt and pepper, and some bread and butter.
He piled all the ingredients into a frying pan and stuck the whole thing in the oven.
A moment later it was done, and there were two big omelets and some toast, cooked to perfection.
He divided it up between two plates, and turned to head back to his room, but Yana had appeared.
Cody jumped, not having heard her enter the kitchen.
“Jesus, Yana! You scared me. Don’t sneak up on people like that.”
“I’m sorry.” Yana’s eyes looked red around the edges, as if she’d been crying.
She wasn’t wearing her necklace, so she was in her natural mint green appearance.
He supposed it didn’t matter that much, now that Morgan knew the truth, but she might still find the sight of a green-skinned elven-orc woman unnerving.
Yana pulled at the long sleeve of her pajama shirt and fiddled with the cuff, barely able to look Cody in the eye. “Is she…okay?”
Cody let out a long sigh. “Physically, yes. But she might need some time to wrap her head around everything. How’s Nyrah?”
“She’s sleeping.”
“I need to talk to her later.” He wasn’t exactly looking forward to that, but knew he had to. He needed to know how dangerous she was and figure out what to do with her. He also wanted to make sure Knife was okay.
“I didn’t know…” Yana started, but her face scrunched up, like she was about to start crying, but managed to hold it in.
“I knew she was hurting but I didn’t know it was that bad.
I didn’t know she’d actually do something like…
like that, to Morgan. I’m sorry. Everything is my fault.
I should have noticed something was wrong. I should have stopped her.”
Cody set the plates down on the table and took a few steps closer.
Yana let the floodgates open and was full-on crying now, her shoulders hunched in, as if trying to make herself as small as possible.
He felt the intense need to hug her, so he did.
She flinched at first, but then softened into the hug, resting her head against his chest. She sniffled, no doubt getting tears and snot on his shirt.
But he didn’t care. She clearly needed the hug.
“It’s not your fault,” he told her. “None of this is your fault.”
“Can I be there when you talk to Nyrah?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Yana gently pulled back, so he released her. She gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
“Can you fix your own breakfast?” he asked her. “Or would you like some help?”
“I can do it myself, but thank you.”
He left her to it and picked up the plates of food, retreating back to his room.
Morgan was sitting up in bed, pillows propped behind her, and was sipping from her coffee mug.
Her hair was messy and she was wearing one of his old T-shirts and sweats, but when she looked up at him, he was once again overwhelmed by how beautiful she was.
It never got old. He was pretty sure he’d feel this way ten years from now, twenty, even when they were both old and gray.
He wanted nothing more in the world than for her to be okay, always.
Morgan set her coffee mug down on the nightstand so she could accept her plate of breakfast. He sat on the bed next to her, sitting cross-legged and resting his plate on his knee.
“It looks good, but I don’t even feel like eating.” She eyed the plate, not picking up her fork.
“Please, eat. For me.”
She gave him a small smile as she picked up a piece of toast and took a bite.
They were cocooned in a comfortable silence as they ate.
It was a sunny morning, and he could hear the usual cottage country noises through the open window: the wind rustling tree branches and leave, the gentle lapping of the waves on the beach, birds singing, and the occasional moo from one of the cows on the other side of the dirt road.
Life was definitely still moving forward for the rest of the world, even if it felt like they’d hit pause inside the cottage.
Morgan finished her breakfast and set the plate aside before turning to him. “Tell me more. About that other world you were in. What was it like? What did you do for ten years?”
He didn’t hear a hint of skepticism in her voice.
That was a relief. So, he told her. He told her everything he’d been wanting to say to her since that first night he arrived home.
He told her about the dungeons and the near deaths, he told her about the good times in taverns, he told her more about the temple fire and first meeting Nyrah and Yana, even though it had been a brief encounter.
He told her about Temica and the fetch quest she had sent him on, promising to let him return home.
He told her about the game mechanics of Velasarin.
He told her about how Temica was here, now, still fucking with his life and how he was once again trapped in a game.
“So, you’re basically a hero. And you’ve stabbed people before,” Morgan said slowly. “You’ve killed people. Or monsters and stuff.”
“Orcs. Trolls. Goblins. Not that far off from humans, really.”
Sadness gripped his heart as her lower lip trembled and she started to cry. “So, w-when do I start feeling n-normal again?”
“Morgan…” He pulled her into a hug. He had a feeling he was going to be giving a lot of hugs over the next few days.
Weeks. Months. Whatever it took. But he gave her his honest answer: “You don’t.
You just learn to live with it.” Her body shook as she cried harder and he rubbed her back.
“But we’ve been over this. She didn’t die. You didn’t kill anyone.”
“It still feels like I did.”
He lay back in bed, cradling her against his chest and letting her cry.
“I have dreams. Nightmares. I’m pretty sure I have PTSD.
Knife used to help me wake up when I got stuck.
” He wasn’t really sure why he was telling her this part, since it wasn’t exactly helpful.
“Just…know that you’re not alone, okay? You have me. ”
“And you have me.” She pushed herself up so she could look down at him. She had stopped crying now, but was studying his face intently. With one finger, she traced across his eyebrow, down the side of his face, and along his chin.
He gently clasped her hand in his, pausing her exploration. “What are you doing?”
“I was thinking…you were gone for ten years.” She was still looking at him closely, as if searching for something. “It made me realize that technically makes you thirty-eight, doesn't it?”
He laughed softly. “But I’m twenty-eight. Again.”
She gently drew her hand away from his. “But in here,” she said, pointing at his forehead, “and in here,” she continued, placing her palm over his heart, “you’re actually pushing forty.”
He placed his hand over hers on his chest and shook his head. “Hey now, let’s not get carried away. I am back in my twenty-eight-year-old body, so for all intents and purposes, I am twenty-eight and I am not ‘pushing forty’, thank you very much.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re older than Doug now.”
“I am not older than Doug!”
She laughed softly and smiled, and for a moment looked more like herself again.
“See?” he said. “You’re still you. It’s not going to be all doom and gloom for the rest of your life. But it’s okay if it takes some time to feel relatively normal again.”
She lay down with her head on his chest and hugged him, giving him a big squeeze. “I want to stay locked in this room until I feel better.”
“We can do that.”
“I have work. And Gracie.”
“Call in sick. Please, Morgan. I don’t want you going to work like this.”
She nodded against his chest. “Okay. I guess I can call Doug.”