Chapter Thirty Seven

My bed felt too warm but it was a nice change. I had somewhat gotten used to the colder weather in Washington, but I still craved the warmth of Phoenix. So, waking up almost hot seemed like a luxury. I snuggled closer to the source of my comfort and started to drift back off to sleep. Then my heater moved. Startled, I sprang up and out of bed. Since this was me, I fell right onto my ass on the cold, hard floor. I should have known waking up all comfy cozy warm was too good to last.

"Oh shit, Beautiful, are you okay?" I heard Pretty Boy's voice asking, but my brain was still half asleep, so I was completely baffled by the sound of his voice coming from my bed.

I quickly looked down, relieved to find myself still dressed in the pajamas I'd worn to bed. It may have been a silly thing to check, especially considering I wasn't drunk or anything the night before, but it was the first thought to process through my sleepy brain. Pretty Boy's concerned repeat of his question regarding my state of well-being reminded me I needed to assure him I was fine.

"Just a bruised hinney, nothing major." I huffed in annoyance at my choice of verbiage. My mother used to always refer to my backside as my hinney when I was little, and I apparently regressed to childhood jargon when sleepy.

"Well, that doesn't sound like nothing major to me. I happen to be quite fond of your hinney," Pretty Boy responded, laughing at my expense.

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. Of course, that just made him laugh harder. For a moment, I fantasized about bashing him over the head with my cast. It was a pleasant image. Too bad I needed the idiot in top form to help protect me from James. I would definitely have to remember to get my revenge the second James was back behind bars. Hopefully, that would be sooner rather than later.

"What the hell?" Charlie boomed from my now open doorway, causing both Pretty Boy and I to leap up in surprise. Pretty Boy banged his head on the headboard of the bed, and I had to cover my mouth with my hand to hide my smile.

"Good Morning, Daddy," I replied in a singsong tone as I took advantage of his shocked state and pushed past him. I made a beeline for the bathroom, closing and locking the door before either of them could react.

Pretty Boy was the one who decided to sneak into my room last night, so he could be the one to explain his presence to Charlie. I thought that sounded fair. Judging by the sounds that were coming out of my room, I guessed Pretty Boy disagreed. I didn't know his voice could even go that high. It was kind of funny. I decided to take a long shower to make sure he had plenty of time to explain the situation to my dad.

When I finally emerged, I was happy to find my room empty. I hadn't thought to take clothes into the bathroom with me, so all I was wearing was a towel wrapped around me. That would have been truly embarrassing for all involved, although I was almost certain my dad would have been the reddest of the three of us if they had still been in there when I returned. Charlie had a difficult time with anything that reminded him of my being nearly an adult woman. Sometimes I wondered if he would have been more comfortable if I had been born a boy. Not that he ever made me feel like I wasn't one hundred percent wanted by him. He really was a great dad. He was just a tad overprotective.

Finding Pretty Boy in my room that morning probably wasn't going to help me on the whole "I want more independence" thing. With James still being at large, I doubted anything was going to change that anyway. I got dressed and dried my hair before making my way downstairs in case I was in trouble. I'd already decided I was going to play the innocent card and say I had no idea the boy was in my room until I woke, hence my being on the floor when my dad found us. I thought that sounded believable. It's not like Pretty Boy would have left even if I had been asleep when he arrived. I had a feeling nothing would have convinced him to leave my room last night.

Disclaimer: I own a finicky laptop and one with a broken enter key, but I do NOT own the Twilight kids...

A/N: A day late, and a dollar short... story of my life! I hope the chapter was worth waiting for? The next one is going to have Bella bouncing off the walls and Pretty Boy making grand gestures. I'm excited about it :-) This story is so much longer than I expected and I'm still not sure when it's going to end. These two are seriously taking over here...

I'm contributing chapter one of a new story titled Buying Happiness to Fandoms for Autism. I'll post the info on my profile page in case anyone is interested!

Writtenbyabex shared her mad skills and pre-read this chapter for me. She's also making me a banner for Buying Happiness. Woman, you are the butter on my toast and I heart you like crazy!

Keep sending me your words! I love reading every single one, even if I miss something like posting for your birthday :-( Sorry about that. My brain is a scary, disorganized mess!

See you next week!

~SP