Otis seemed to calm down as the days passed, and Cutter seemed to greatly appreciate Adoria's help.
Otis's foot wasn't broken, just badly bruised, so he limped heavily until it healed.
Adi sat peacefully reading while Otis was out working with Rufus. She was just enjoying herself, when she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in." Expecting to see Otis, she smiled hugely. She felt a little remorse as her smile faded at the sight of Cutter, but she couldn't help it.
"Hey, kid...Can...Can we talk?"
"Sure. What's going on?" She sat up, patting the bed beside her for him to sit down on.
"Just...need to talk about stuff to get it off my chest. Feels better that way, y'know?"
"Yeah, if you could get Otis to understand that, that would be great.
He chuckled. "I was gonna say you'll never get through to him, but I wouldn't have ever thought you would have gotten as far as you have with him. You cracked him open like a goddamn peanut, and I still can't believe it."
She shrugged. "It took a long, long time for him to be as open with me as he is. He's got some serious trust issues."
"Yeah, because of me." He snorted.
"No, not just because of you. There's been other stuff that's contributed to it. You certainly didn't help, but it's not just you. He had a mountain of hurt before he met you, Cutter."
"Yeah. And I added to it."
"I'm...not going to sit here and tell you you didn't just to make you feel better, if that's what you're expecting."
"No, no. I know. You're always honest. That's one thing that's great about you."
She smirked. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Cutter."
He laughed. "Isn't the expression flattery will get you nowhere?"
"Yes." She sighed. "What did you want to talk about?"
Cutter's smile faded. "Y'know...I...I keep thinking...about what happened..."
"Yeah?"
"And...I...I can't help but feel it's my fault."
"Why is that?"
"Well...If I hadn't done what I did to Otis...Either time...And If I hadn't broken his trust, he wouldn't hate me so much...And if he didn't hate me so much, he wouldn't have done what he did. Hell, even if he did hate me, if I hadn't done that, he wouldn't have exacted revenge in that way, at least."
She sighed. "Y'know...Usually I'm able to sit here and emphatically state to victims that their trauma is not their fault. I do that with Otis a lot-"
"What?" Cutter seemed shocked.
She sighed. "Don't say anything to him. He struggles a lot with guilt and shame. That's why he flips out like he does. Anyway...Usually, I can say with great confidence it's not the victim's fault. But...Honestly Cutter...I...I don't think you're wrong."
He simply nodded.
"I'm not saying that you deserved it, though. I don't think Otis should have done that, by any means. I don't support what he did. But...It's also his fault. He didn't have to do that. So don't...don't shoulder the whole blame, okay? You don't deserve what happened." She awkwardly pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back.
Otis came back into the house and started up the stairs. He opened the door and found Adoria hugging Cutter.
"What the fuck?!"
"Otis, he just came in to talk."
"Get the fuck out of here!"
Cutter raised his hands in defense. "Whoa, calm down."
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! I don't want you alone with her!"
Her eyes narrowed. "Otis, I think I can handle myself."
"I'm not saying...I...RRG! Get out!" He grabbed Cutter by the shirt and threw him out the door, slamming it behind him.
"Are you satisfied?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"Yes. Yes I am. What the fuck are you doing, Adi?"
"He came in to talk to me. He has no one else, Otis."
"He has Baby!"
"You really want her to know what you did? She would fucking tear you limb from limb."
"No, but...Talk to her! Not you!"
"Otis, he wanted to talk about what happened, not to just talk."
"I don't care! You're my girl! He needs to back the fuck off!"
"What do you think is going to happen, Otis? I'm going to fall in love with Cutter and run away with him into the sunset?"
"...Maybe!"
She laughed. "No, Otis. I'm just helping him through his emotions. You could learn a thing or two from him."
His expression darkened. "What did you say?"
"I said. You could learn a few things from him."
"Fuck you!"
"At least he lets himself feel what he's going through, he doesn't just throw a temper tantrum like you do!"
"Yeah, well he was allowed to be a kid, remember, Sherlock fucking Holmes?!"
"Sherlock wasn't a psychiatrist."
"WHAT THE FUCK EVER. He's more adult than I am. He deals with things better because he could be a kid at the appropriate time frame in development." He mocked her.
She crossed her arms and smirked at him. "Do you see me arguing with you? Do you want me to get you your teething ring, little boy? Do you want your blankie?"
She saw the pain cross his features for an instant, but it was quickly replaced with outright rage as he spun on his heels, slamming the door as he left. He knew she was right.
Later, she found him lying in their bed, staring at the ceiling. Night had fallen, and everyone was settling down.
She crawled into bed with him, stroking his chest. "Hey, handsome."
He just looked at her.
"Ohhh, why so grumpy?"
"Fuck you."
"That's what I'm trying to get you to do." She let her hands wander lower.
"Yeah, why don't you hop on Cutter's cock, you two are so buddy-buddy."
"Fine. I will." She stormed out. She heard Otis's feet hit the floor as she left.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!? I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM BEFORE YOU DO THAT, GODDAMMIT." There were no words for his fury as he grabbed her arm. She spun around to meet him face to face.
"NO, asshole, but if you want to be such a little boy, I can play that fucking game too!" She shook her head. "God damn, Otis, what has gotten into you lately?"
"Fuck you!"
She wrenched her arm away. "Yeah, that's what you always say when you don't have an answer or you don't want to tell me." A look of discovery crossed her face. "You're fucking jealous!"
His face reddened. "I am not!"
"Yes you are! You're jealous of Cutter!"
"Shut up!"
"You're fucking jealous because you used to be the only one to talk to me about these kinds of things. And now he is. You don't have the fucking corner on the market anymore. You're not the only one with a pity-me story anymore."
Otis flinched.
"No, no. Don't. That's not what I meant. I'm not diminishing what happened to you. But you're fucking jealous because you're not the only one who's in pain anymore."
"...No I'm not."
She laughed. "Yes you are! It's written all over your face! You're jealous because now I'm spending time with Cutter, too, and it's not you all the time. You're jealous because I'm helping someone else through their emotions, too. And you're jealous because he's better at admitting his feelings than you are!"
"Fuck you!"
"No, Otis. Stop. Stop it."
He felt small. He felt so fucking small in front of her, lecturing him, and he hated it. He began to panic internally. "You were going to fuck him!"
"No, I wasn't, Otis. I would never, ever cheat on you."
"So what, are you going to fucking leave me for him?"
"I'm not having this conversation with you. You can fucking sleep on the couch tonight if you're going to act like that."
So, Otis slept on the couch.
She came down early the next morning and woke him up with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Hey, sweetie."
"Hnn? Hey..." He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She shoved the mug of coffee into his hands. "...Thanks."
She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled into his chest. "Hey. Let's go fishing later today, yeah? Just you and me?"
He nodded. They ended up fishing until sundown, enjoying the day together, and watching the sun set in each other's arms.
"Guess ah...I guess you really do love me, huh? You're not interested in Cutter..."
"Oh god, really?...Of course I do, you stupid, silly man. Of course I'm not interested in Cutter. I would have never bought a house for us if I had any doubts about how madly in love I am with you."
"Still? After all these years?"
"Still."
"Oh, yeah. What about that house, hm? Hid that from me."
She sighed. "It was going to be our present for our four year anniversary. It was just supposed to be for us. But...Since the ranch burned down..."
He nodded. "We were gonna start out on our own together?"
"Yeah. If you wanted."
He nodded. "Guess ah...I guess you really, really do love me...and you'd never...leave me for anyone else."
"God no. Especially not Cutter."
He chuckled. God he loved her.