Chapter 13: Reasons
Adstrum looked at Callie as he turned on a console and TV. "Okay, talk about what?"
"Why do you bully Marie so much?"
"Ugh...Come on…" He groaned. "I have my reasons."
"Then you mind sharing?
"Later." He said as he looked at the screen and picked up the controller. He was about to play when Callie shut the TV off and the console. He looked at her with an annoyed and angry face.
"This can't continue, Addie…" Callie stood in front of him.
"I'll stop messing with her so much when she stands up for herself, okay?" He rolled his eyes.
"You know she can leave, and this can end."
"I'm bullying her for her own sake, Callie. If she stands up for herself I'll stop. I have a reason."
"When she stands up she may leave, Addie! Granny said that she's already been through enough"
"Well, she moved to Carti Ridge, so I'm just trying to prepare her for the city. She hasn't been there long enough for the trouble to start. But when it does she'll want to be ready." He sat up straight. "You've lived in Carti Ridge for 2 years, so you already know what the city is like. You may have lived in the more business areas, but that still didn't mean you didn't avoid the city's violence and problems. You worked with Anita, a representation of one of those problems. You stood up to her how long after you started working with her? You not only stood up for yourself, but you also stood up for Annabelle. That shows you won't take shit from people. So if people in Carti Ridge mess with you, well, you can handle yourself. Marie, however-" He was cut off by Callie.
"She's afraid of losing me! She can't do anything to you because she doesn't wanna upset me"
"Callie, didn't you tell her to try standing up to me as well? Or to try to mess with me? She shouldn't be afraid to stand up to me. If she does I will actually respect her more and leave her alone. I'll be happy if she confronts me. She used to be all bark and no bite, but now she's lost her bark. It's pathetic and I don't want her to end up being targeted in Carti Ridge! If she was ever messed with by people there and all she did was walk away and ignore it, there's a chance she would wake up the next morning handcuffed to a parking meter or bed. Weak people are easy targets in Carti Ridge. People who show any strength are not messed with twice. It's a violent city, but there are unwritten rules that most people follow. I'm just trying to get Marie to follow them!"
"What rules? What good is that if it endangers the Squid Sisters?"
"Trust me, if Marie was still nothing but bark I would kind of enjoy messing with her. But her not even barking back makes me feel like shit. But I'm trying to help her. I don't want to treat her badly, but I have to in order to prepare her for Carti Ridge. Do you have a better idea? I'm all ears." He looked at Callie with hopeful eyes.
"I-I… don't know… maybe talk to her?"
"Okay." He raised an eyebrow. "And say what?"
"Ugh…" She fell onto her back on the bed, "I don't know…"
"Exactly!" Adstrum jumped face first onto the bed. "I don't know either."
"I'm just really worried. She'll snap and quit."
"Or she'll snap and hit me. I just want her to stand up for herself." He flipped over onto his back.
"Granny said she was seriously considering it and retiring somewhere."
Adstrum pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh my gosh…giving up again? Seriously, Marie?" He muttered to himself.
"She told Granny she has nothing more to lose."
"You think Jack can help?"
"I'm sure she's giving it a chance. I just… I don't know."
Adstrum just rolled his eyes. "I don't know either. Maybe...um...you know anyone that can help?"
"Arisara? That's her therapist friend…. She talks to her a lot"
"A therapist?" He raised an eyebrow. "Maybe."
A quiet knock interrupted them, "Dinner is ready…" Marie spoke through the door.
"Gotcha!" Adstrum sat up and took Callie's hand. "C'mon, let's go." He pulled her up.
"Alright" She smiled a bit.
He held the door open for her as they made their way down the hall, scenery passing by in the window.
Cici had made a hat on Jack's head. It was made out of napkins.
Jack wasn't paying attention as he reached toward the napkin dispenser, raising an eyebrow when he found it empty.
Cici went into the hat. Marie put down a bunch of different dishes on the table.
"Thank you, Marie." Jack smiled as he pulled his dish toward himself, just as Callie and Adstrum sat at the table.
"Enjoy… I think I should get more ingredients next time." Marie made a note to herself.
Adstrum just looked at Callie and shrugged, taking a sip of the stew.
"Cici… you too. Come out here." Marie gently took the hat and sat her beside Jack.
Cici didn't make eye contact, but stayed there.
Jack took a sip, blowing on it first.
Marie gave her a plate full of food. Cici took it and started nibbling bits of it.
Jack looked down at her and smiled.
Adstrum took another sip of the stew, looking over at Callie and smiling.
She was happily eating her cousin's food.
Cici stopped eating. It was like nothing was really changed on her plate.
Jack looked down at her with a worried look on his face. "Um...Marie?"
"Cici? At least keep eating the stew, okay?" Marie petted her head.
Cici sighed and slowly sipped the stew. She drank a quarter of the small bowl.
Jack sighed in relief seeing Cici eating more.
Adstrum picked up his bowl and drank the remaining stew in his bowl. "Done. It was good."
"Th-thanks" Marie seemed a bit surprised.
He stood up and took his plate to the sink, rinsing it out and leaving it in there before walking back to his and Callie's room.
"You okay, Marie?" Callie asked as she sipped another spoonful of seaweed stew.
"Oh yeah. Sorry."
She shrugged and smiled as she ate another spoonful. "This is really good, Marie."
"Thanks. I kinda missed you saying that… It's been awhile since I cooked."
"Didn't you cook for gramps while I was gone?" Callie raised an eyebrow as she finished her stew. "More please?"
"He went looking for you… since Jack was busy he found another unusual helper. I wonder what he was talking about…"
"Another agent? Heh. Wouldn't surprise me." She smiled as Marie took her empty bowl.
"Oh, well he told me they left after there was news of your appearance."
"They?"
"I haven't a clue what gender they are, calling someone 'it' is rude so 'they' is appropriate."
"Gramps's helper?" Callie asked as Marie refilled her bowl and placed it in front of her. "Thank you."
"Yeah, he said that they insisted on wearing a mask… but he said they weren't a squid though."
"Okay. I wonder who this 'They' is. So gramps is doing good. Glad to hear that." Callie smiled as she dug into her second helping. "Not a squid? Oh, I'm so curious now!"
"He refused to say… at least in the chat. Oh well, at least he came back for dinner."
"Chat?" Callie thought a moment. "In person or...on the phone?"
"On the phone, believe it or not. It was in a chatroom of all places."
Callie spit a bit of stew out of her mouth, spraying Jack's face. He scrunched his face up.
Cici quietly snickered.
"A chatroom?"
"Yeah, I was bored out of my mind so I wanted to just chat to randos. Shocking that I found him instead."
"He trying to become a tech savvy or something?" Callie nervously smiled at Jack and offered him a tissue. He took it and cleaned his face.
Cici just looked away as she snickered some more.
Jack smiled hearing her laugh a bit.
"Oh well I guess, we'll never know."
"I think he's trying to become a rapper." Jack shrugged. "As his retirement hobby."
"...Yeah. Apparently so"
"Oh boy…" Callie pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head giggling.
Cici wandered away after putting her dishes away.
Jack watched her before getting up and putting his dishes away in the sink as well, making sure to keep on eye on the small squid.
She dug into her pile of cloth.
He smiled before going to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
Callie finished her bowl again and rinsed it in the sink. "Thanks for dinner, Marie. I'll make the next one." She smiled at her cousin, who was blowing on a spoonful of stew.
"Sure. If you wanna."
"And Marie." She paused as she stood at the entrance to the hallway.
"Yeah?" She stopped eating for a bit.
"If Adstrum bugs you again, let me know. Or stand up to him. He needs a reality check. Your choice." She smiled and walked toward the bathroom just as Jack finished up.
"Oh… yeah… I'll do that" she looked to the side.
"I won't be mad." She poked her head out and waved. "Love you, cousin. Let's hang out tomorrow."
"Oh, okay, love you too" She waved back.
As Callie finished up in the bathroom she walked into the bedroom and immediately got changed into her pajamas. She put on a cozy shirt with a heart on the front and some trims around the ends of the sleeves and bottom of the shirt, along with a pair of shorts with drawstrings.
Marie walked into the bathroom and got ready for bed.
Callie turned toward the bed when she took her socks off, her eyes widening as she noticed Adstrum was laying in it. 'Did...I just change clothes in front of him?' She thought and walked up slowly, noticing his eyes were closed and his mouth agape. 'Oh, good. He's asleep. Heh.' She breathed a sigh of relief before noticing the light in the hall coming from the bathroom. "Good night, Marie!" She yelled, seeing Adstrum not even move.
"Night Callie" She waved with her brush still in her mouth.
Said squid smiled and turned back to Adstrum, realizing he was hugging a pillow in his sleep. She smiled widely and giggled, carefully grabbing hold of his right arm and lifting it off the pillow. She grabbed the cushion and removed it from his grasp before tossing it onto the other side of the bed, laying down into his arms after she did so. She smiled as his arm fell onto her side, feeling him hug her in his sleep. She laughed lightly before closing her eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep as well.
Author's Note: And here's another chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy it. Thank you The Bowser Monster, Nintendo 46, QwertyMcThirty, and Agent 7 for leaving reviews. I really appreciate them.
Hope this chapter answered your question, Nintendo 46. Glad you like the fic.
Thank Apikachua for that ant moment. Apikachua basically writes all of Cici's moments.
Thanks for the reviews, Agent 7. I could never go on hiatus, though. I wouldn't leave all of you hanging around for even two weeks waiting for a new chapter. I hate waiting so I don't want you guys waiting so long. I'm glad this story puts a smile on your face. And sorry, but I don't know any puns.
Thank you all for reading and I will see you next week!
