A quick one- been helping a friend who's sick :)
I am on wattpad now as Corinder! You don't have to follow me there but I loved being able to create a cover for my 'books' and to add music for each chapter! So feel free to take a peek if you're curious- I'm working on getting it uploaded there now, and trying to get music for each chapter. :D
This was what had worried me. I sat there, head in hands, horror at what he'd said.
"Well, aren't you going after him?" Nick's voice made me jump. He was wide awake too, shifting up, flipping the light on. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"He said he's in love with me." I said, the pain of this news hurting far more than I expected, because I loved Reece. Not like Nick, sure, but I loved him and the last thing I wanted to do to him was confuse or hurt him.
"Yeah, and you love him. So go drag him back and go to sleep." He blinked sleepily at me, the words confusing me now, and I stared at Nick. Tried to see some sort of teasing, or humour, something to show that he was teasing and that I could be angry with him for this. Nothing. Just his serious, if slightly confused and sleepy, expression.
"That's not funny, Nick. I love you. Reece is different, he's something else to me, and you... you're my mate. This isn't funny. This isn't a game." I snapped. I wanted to be angry with Nick. It had been his idea. "Fuck, Nick."
"Calm down." Nick reached for me, stroking my back gently, sliding closer. "It's not that bad. I knew you love him. You think I'd have wanted anyone else to share you with? Pressure you to be with someone you didn't care about? Go get him, tell him it's fine, and make him come back here." He yawned, flopped back, and shut his eyes. He was acting like it wasn't a problem at all that Reece was confused. What was wrong with him? Did he think I just married him to get laid?
"Fuck, Nick. I married you. I love you. Remember? You're my husband. That's a serious commitment, it's not … it's not like two pairs of socks. Fuck. What was I thinking, letting you get me to do this! I told you. Complicated." I pushed his hands away, so angry with him, sliding out of bed and pulling something on. I went out as he tried to call me back, ignoring Reece's door, too ashamed to look him in the face. The two most important me to me, and now one was upset. Hurt. Maybe not able to be near me again.
I ran right into Antonio, who was downstairs, nearly tipping his hot coffee over the two of us in the process.
"You're supposed to be sleeping." He blinked at me. He looked strained, tired, stressed, and more than he had earlier.
"Nick." I muttered, scowled, and I saw his lips twitch. "The twins down here?"
"All right. Come watch a movie with me. He'll fall asleep eventually. The twins are asleep in the study, very happy, very full tummies." I didn't argue, let him lead me into the living room, an arm over my shoulder as he drank the strong drink.
We sat there a while before I asked the obvious question. "Why... aren't you in bed?"
He shut his eyes a moment, took another drink of his coffee, then his eyes met mine. There it was, something really wrong, and he reached out to squeeze my shoulder. "She's back on the ventilator. She has a fever. I...I'm waiting for news." He glanced at the phone on the coffee table.
"Is it bad?"
Antonio nodded.
"Then you should go. Now." I muttered. "I'm awake. Twins are good. Get the hell out of here."
Antontio smiled somewhat, I saw his shoulders slump. "I don't have to..."
"If you don't, I'll wake Jeremy and make him take you." I threatened. I wasn't sure if Jeremy would actually do that, if he'd really drag him to the airport, but I'd nag till he did. The last thing I wanted, after tonight's fuck up, was for Antonio to not be there for Lillian while she struggled in hospital. The only thing good about a hospital was getting out of it.
"All right. I'll get onto booking a flight. Don't wake anyone." He only picked the phone up when I nodded. "Wasn't Reece going back tomorrow?"
I wanted to say no. No. I was tying him up till we sorted this out. I did not want him to go now. Instead, I just nodded, my nod a little jerkier now. I went for the kitchen while he went upstairs, went for the stash of chocolate I'd hidden in a container amongst all the premade meals that had been rescued and dug right in.
Nick came down, yawning, and reached for me. I grumbled, turning, and he just held on harder. The fact that he wasn't stealing my chocolate showed he wasn't trying to bug me, at least not competely, but I was still upset that Reece was upset, and that now I was upset, and that this was all ...I didn't know. Sometimes I thought Nick didn't always think things through.
"Liz..."
"Shut up." I muttered. Ate chocolate. Was this what a break up felt like? I had this sudden urge to go for ice cream. "Or bring me ice cream."
He watched me for a few seconds more, smile fading, that frown line returning. Nick opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off as Antonio and Reece came back down the stairs, both with packed bags, keys in Antonio's hand.
"Dad?"
Antonio glanced up, a little guilty, but tried a reassuring smile. "We're going in now."
"Is it Lillian?" Nick's hand tightened on my shoulder when Antonio nodded.
"There's four adults. Three toddlers. We'll come."
"Nick, we can't just..."The chaos that'd come with this. Matt, he'd cope, but interrupting the sleep of three three year olds?
"First thing in the morning, Nick. The last thing you want to bring into Lillian's room are three tired toddlers." Antonio crossed the room in a few strides, hand on Nick's shoulder, the other finding mine. "Do you want us to wait?"
I suddenly realised Nick was right. Shit. If we waited, Antonio waited, because you needed one adult per child. Shutting my eyes, I felt the words come out, "No, Nick's right. We'll just have to deal with it."
I felt Nick's brush against my side as I stood up, thankful, an arm slipping around my waist. I was still upset with him, of course, and I saw Reece wasn't meeting my eyes, but first thing was Nick's mother.
Antonio let it go too. "All right."
"How long till the plane goes?"
"You've got around ten minutes to get them dressed, packed, wake Jeremy, and the car seats in. I'll wake Jeremy." Antonio dropped his suitcase and headed upstairs.
"I'll put the stuff in the car and the seats in." Reece picked up Antonio's case and headed away.
The two of us got to work with the rest of it, Matt waking and accepting it without a complaint. He yawned, went back to sleep in his bed, muttering something about wanting a huge tent from New York while I was there. I guessed he meant one of those marquee tents, I wasn't sure, I wasn't sure why he'd even want one.
Jeremy was up now, helping Nick dress the sleepy and confused toddlers, and I packed a bag for the three of them as best I could. Whatever I forgot we'd have to buy, they were more upset about leaving toys behind than clothing, and I wanted to keep them as calm as possible till we got to the other end. Leave the pram behind- they could walk and if not, they'd have to be carried. Antonio helped me as Nick vanished into our bedroom to get our own things, but only for a second, before he muttered something about getting Nicky to hurry up- Nick was not a fast packer.
Somehow we did it though. Three toddlers, Matt informed and happy, and then...
I remembered I was supposed to be guarding Kate and Logan.
Shit.
"What?" Nick was halfway into the car when he saw me freeze.
"I have to stay and guard the twins. Remember?"
Nick scowled. He'd forgotten all about this. Antonio glanced at Nick and Reece, then to me. "There's three of us. Enough for the toddlers on the plane. You don't have to come right now. When they call again, Clayton and Elena, let them know and see what Elena says."
It made sense but I wished I could be there for Nick. He came over, we said quick tense goodbyes- I was still angry with Nick for not thinking- and Reece muttering something similar from the back seat, and I watched them take off into the night with the three already asleep babies. I just hoped she was fine.
Jeremy seemed surprised to see me, yawning as he got a drink of juice, and when I reminded him he blinked a few times. "Ah. I forgot about that."
"I suppose we better not tell Clayton we forgot."
"Probably wise." He smiled somewhat, poured me a juice as well, adding, "But at least you get a holiday."
"Holiday?"
"Only twin babies."
I blinked. Smiled. Jeremy was right. Oh my god, I only had twins with me. Twins. BABY twins, who weren't able to crawl yet, and who wouldn't have to be constantly watched, listened to, chased, wiped, changed, washed, bathed, naughty-stepped, chased, bathed...
Okay, it may only be till morning, but this wasn't going to dampen my spirits. "I might get to read a book!" I exclaimed. "Or paint. Oh my god, Jeremy, I might get to paint."
He laughed, nodded, and we went back upstairs so we could get sleep. Jeremy brought them back into my room and I crawled into bed, still upset about Reece being upset, but too tired to focus on it Instead I focused on the fact that I might have time to paint tomorrow. That cheered me up.
I lay there in bed, the scents of Reece and Nick still strong in my nostrils, trying to relax into a sleep. I was tired, I really was, but I wasn't falling asleep no matter how hard I tried. I missed Nick already. God, how pathetic did that sound? But it was true.
The only way I managed was to put one of Nick's shirts on a pillow beside me, stick another one lower down, both of them mimicking Nick's presence. It didn't really fool my instincts but they two choices- either accept this and let me sleep or keep up the insomnia.
Painting didn't happen. It was the last thing on my mind the next day, even with the 'holiday', I just waited. Waited for Elena and Clayton to call. Waited for Nick or Antonio or Reece to call. Nothing all morning, nothing at all, except for the tenseness and anxiety building up in my own head. It was like once Nick had this immense stress, once he was there, he was back to cutting himself off from me for a while. I wasn't sure how much more distance he'd put between us if it got really bad. And I wished I hadn't gotten angry at him. He'd made it clear that I was equally calling the shots, as far as whether it'd happened or not, and I could have probably made up 'rules' too.
I explored with the twins in the forest, Logan, Kate and Matt leading us around, but Matt would glance at me everytime I looked at the phone and wait. He was old enough to know when something was going on and, even if he didn't count Nick and myself as 'parents', Nick had been more of a father to him than any other man. Maybe he had counted as a parent. I didn't know. We wandered around in the bush for half an hour, the phone checked every few minutes, till they got bored and headed back for the house ahead of me.
Elena called as we were coming in, I was pushing the 'all terain' stroller thing into a space in the laundry so the muddly wheels didn't cause more mess than we already had, Jeremy carrying both twins into the living room for a feed, change and play.
Logan and Kate stole the phone for half an hour, vanishing, only returning it after Elena probably threatened them with additional grounding. Jeremy spoke briefly with her as I washed up lunch and cleaned the renewed mess in the kitchen, glancing at me as he did, and motioning to me to follow him quietly.
Wiping my hands on my jeans, I nodded, made sure the twins were more or less safe and happy in their 'play jungle' thing, and we headed into the living room.
"Where are the kids?" He asked softly.
I listened, concentrating for the sounds of them, hearing them outside in the backyard, something about building a mud city. "Outside. Might need to hose them off."
He didn't smile at my joke, just turned the tv on as low as he could, the phone still in his hand. "What channel?" Jeremy asked Elena, her voice returning, and he flipped channels.
It was the same 'Epidemic' drama, panic, tips, all of that hysteria that I had gotten used to seeing in American news. Only now, there were no images of cute fluffy dogs, there was only this image of a hospital. I didn't know what state it was- the only 'shortcut name' I knew for a state was NY for New York.
Jeremy frowned at it as he listened, Elena quiet, and I tried to get what was going on. He didn't answer when I asked.
"Sixteen more deaths have been reported in Seattle of this disease. The government has yet to release a statement but scientists have reported that the disease appears to be a mutated version of the canine fever."
"Bloody hell! Sixteen de..." No, more than that, this was 'more deaths', not 'total'. It didn't take long for the news to tell us the total. Seventy eight deaths suspected to be related to this 'canine fever'. In Seattle and surrounding areas, not in America. I swore again, softly, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Shh, Anne." Jeremy's eyes went in the direction of the backyard. He didn't want the kids to know yet.
I flopped down, feeling a bit stunned as I watched the news, the number echoing around my head. This was today. That many deaths today in one state.
Wait, where was Seattle? I wasn't sure and when I asked Jeremy, he muttered something about Washington. Was that near us or not? I had no clue.
Jeremy sat beside me as he spoke to Elena softly. There'd apparently been a trail leading to Seattle. She and Clayton were already booked on a flight there- she'd call us when she arrived. I suddenly had doubts about this idea- if they cut off Washington somehow, would they be stuck?
Before I could ask she was gone, getting on a flight, and I shut my mouth.
"Jeremy, what does this mean?"
"I'm going to call Lucas and find out." He replied, calm as ever, but there was that tenseness back. "Then Jamie. She's in town. She may hear rumours while she's there. We'll wait before we tell the kids."
I nodded as he left, sitting there, staring at the TV. At least there'd been no reported cases of this outside Washington. The news anchor was pretty clear about this and for people to not panic. It was like the swine flu panic, or the anthrax panic, I hoped. If those deaths were today then they wouldn't have even had time to do an autopsy, led alone know for certain, so whoever those scientists were... they would be jumping the gun a bit.
Suddenly I remembered I'd been waiting to ask Elena about whether I could go to New York or not. Damn.
Finally, when I couldn't wait for them any more, I called Nick myself. This time he did answer and he spoke briefly. Lillian was back in intensive care, back on a ventilator, Nick wasn't allowed in and the doctor said there was nothing they could do but wait and see. Wait and see? Easier said than done.
"God, I'm sorry I'm not there." I flopped into a chair, feeling awful, knowing from the tenseness in his voice how this was affecting him. Not only was she sick again, her heart back to square one, but now Nick had to stay out of the room.
"I'm at home with the triplets. Daniella's here to help. Dad's with Lillian, and if anyone's ...going to help her, it's going to be him." He went quiet a while and I didn't speak, just clutched the phone hard, wishing it was him I was hanging onto. Wishing I could cuddle him, or cook him something, or just be around him. After a while he sighed, a long deep sign, and spoke again. "It's okay. Like you said once. Hospitals are made to keep people alive and get better. You've got a bigger problem."
I blinked. "What?
"Reece is there. You need to speak to him." He surprised me with that.
"What about his job?"
"I quit it for him."
If there'd been an answer I'd been expecting... this would not have been it. "Wait, what?"
"Liz, I knew what kind of relationship you had with him before I encouraged you two … so, you're right. That's why it was okay with me. He wouldn't hurt you. I can trust him with you. So repair it for me." I felt it, heard the smile under his voice, but he didn't sound much happier. A grimace? "I love you. Fuck, I really do. I'd do anything to make you happy. Now, go talk to him and bring him back to Stonehaven. Tell him he's fired."
"Nick, he's ..."
"At Forestwatch." Nick cut me off. There was more of a smile now, even if it was tense, I could hear it in his voice. "He's at Forestwatch. I wasn't going to let him come when I knew how upset you were about him. Trust me. I love you, Liz. You can trust me. Now go get him. I'm coping here." Nick hung up before I could ask. Calling to Jeremy about this, I hurried off for the small building though the forest
Forestwatch? What the hell had he done? I wasn't sure but ...this gave me a really bad feeling. The kind of 'that man deserves to be hit' feeling he provoked when he'd done something really dumb Jeremy nodded when I said I was going to check it from the outside and get some new toys- he just went back to the TV, waiting for confirmation from Lucas that this 'canine fever' was related to us.
I made my way through the forest at a slow jog, along the path that was really starting to wear down now, and hesitated at the border. The last time we'd been here... I didn't even want to think about that. If I did, I'd freak out, and I'd never want to cross this border. So I swallowed it all, fear, shoving it away as far as I could so I could last the walk. The walk, that usually seemed so fast, it became tense, stressed, and I grew more angry at Nick without really knowing why. Again the land was quiet, tense, like nothing was happening.
Quiet was wrong. There was nothing in this forest. No animals, no birds, except for... I noticed with a thrill of fear... a pair of sleeping owls. In a tree near the house. One opened its eye as I hurried past, trying to ignore the urge to turn around and go straight back. There was breathing in the den. Deep breathing, faster than usual, and odd sounds like grunts. Was that it again? In my house? In my den?
It was a monster. Not the kind I was expecting. Reece sat there, arms bound up, face red as he stared at me. Oh, fucking hell, how long had Nick left him bound up like this?
I tugged the gag off.
"I need to pee, Anne, get this off me." He stood up as soon as I'd untied it and hurried for the bathroom, me right behind, Reece hesitating as he stared at the door of the bathroom.
"Go. I'm right here." I muttered. He glanced back, nodded, and slipped inside. It was absurd that anyone should be afraid in this place.
When he was done, he came out, back to avoiding my eyes. I grabbed his arm, tugging him close again.
"We need to talk."
"I'm tired. Your mate just left me tied up all night and day in the fricken den. We'll talk later." Reece added, quietly, "Give me a chance to think, okay?" He was heading away for the front door ahead. Not even waiting for me to answer.
"Reece, come here." I growled, and when he refused to, I pounced, dragging him to the ground, pulling his legs till I could crawl up high enough to pin him under me.
"Anne, please. Just let me ..."
"Stop behaving like this." I snapped, Reece froze, staring up at me. "Nick's my world, my mate, in the terms of heights, he's right up there above the universe. I love him."
"Anne..."
I covered his mouth, not willing to let him stop me till I was done. "And you. You're not my mate, you and I both know it, but you're still somewhere in me that no one's going to get again. Stop it. I love you as well. Maybe we'd never marry, probably not, but I would have dated you in a second if I'd met you before Nick. You're gorgeous. I love you, I love having sex with you, and I did love Nick's idea. But I wouldn't have married you."
"I would have dated you too." He said it, soft, when I finally let go of his mouth. Reece sat up slowly, my body sliding back into his lap, his head flopping against my shoulder. "I ...don't think I'd marry you either. I was confused though. I wasn't sure if this meant I was off the market or ..."
It should have hurt. It didn't. It was a relief.
"And for the record, I love you back." He added, softer, arms tightening around me. "I just ...was confused. You didn't have to worry. I was confused, that Nick would get us to go to this level, as if he didn't know how this friendship was."
"He knew." I muttered. Reece's head went back fast and he stared at me. "That's why he decided he could trust you. He knew exactly what we feel for each other."
"Bloody hell." Reece swore. "I'm going to kick him."
"Reece." I grasped his face, gently, stroking it. "I mean it. You're my best friend. I trust you as much as I trust Nick. You don't have to do anything to prove that I can trust you. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't cared about you."
"Or you. I wouldn't have bothered." Reece's tenseness was fading somewhat and he leaned closer, our foreheads touching, breathing in and out slowly against my nose. "So this isn't true love?"
"It's true love all right, just not the kind that involves white dresses, soul mates or too many babies coming whether we want them or not. You've still got all that joy coming." I muttered. He laughed. "I still liked it. Being close to you like that, when Nick was happy, letting the two of you... be close to me like that. While you're unattached and we're hurting no one. I just didn't want you to be hurt."
"I liked it too. Can we keep it up?" He suggested, softly, a hand stroking down my arm. "With Nick's permission, of course."
"Of course. If you want to. Or we could go back to how it was."
Reece shook his head, pulled back, and fixed me with a look. "You think I can spend five minutes around you two without my head tormenting me with those memories and wanting to drag you both into a closet? No fucking way. I'm having trouble not ripping your clothing off here or kissing you silly till dinner time. Nick's a bad influence."
"What about when you find your mate?"
"You could join us?" He grinned, the tension and stress fading now, and nudged my shoulder. "Or we could let it go. Or something. I don't know. Let's deal with that when she comes home."
I suspected he still was waiting for Daniella, sighed softly, but didn't correct him. Instead we sat there, legs and arms around each other. "I really did like ...it. With you. Now I have to sit there with you and Nick, with others around, and fight the urge to kiss both of you. It's driving me crazy."
Reece laughed, hugged me harder against him, his face burying into my neck. "Same. Except for the kiss Nick part, you're welcome to that part. I'm sorry."
"For being confused?" He nodded against my neck. I jabbed him in the stomach gently. "We're trying to turn two mates into two mates plus best-mate. Who said that wasn't' going to be confusing? Wait till Clayton gets home and smells you all over me. THEN you're going to miss being confused."
Reece tensed suddenly. "Ah, shit, I forgot about that part. He's going to be stalking me all over the house trying to figure it out."
"We'll tell him you're trying on my clothing." I breathed out, slowly. "Okay. So how about this is the agreement. You join us when Nick wants, you don't have to stop dating others, we're best friends who occasionally play lovers with Nick, Australian mates ...or something... and when you find someone you're serious with, we stop." I didn't have to tell him to not cheat on her. Reece wasn't the kind of guy who would. "But we still kiss. Nick kisses Elena all the fricken time, Reece, and half the time it's a serious one. You don't need to hold back."
He reached up, hands cupping my face, lips tentatively finding mine. Reece's mouth was trembling, I felt it, and his hands. It took him a long time before he'd had enough of this, this slow tender kiss, his hands tangled in my hair and around my head.
Finally Reece pulled back, grinned, and nodded. "I guess by serious... how many dates is serious?"
"I don't know. Nick was the first guy I dated, and asking him isn't a good idea, he never went on more than one.." I made a wry smile, Reece laughed, and he nodded. "Ask the woman. It probably varies from woman to woman."
"It's a deal. Should we tell Nick?"
I held up the phone and he took it, free arm draped around my shoulders and pulling me against his chest. I slid up close, relieved, shutting my eyes as I could again be near 'My Aussie mate'. Or something like that, anyway. We'd probably come up with a better term for it.
"Nick? We're now lovers, I'm Anne's mistress now, so your plan has succeeded and we're going to break up when I get a serious girlfriend. Also, fuck you for leaving me here like that. I almost pissed my pants. Next time I see you..." He yelped as I elbowed him. "So yeah. Call us back. No answer." Reece glanced to me, then suddenly he was kissing me hard now, hands trying to pull my top apart, or off, as if he was trying both ways at once.
"We have to wait for Nick." I pushed at his hands, Reece flopped back, quite literally falling backwards and laying there on his back as I sat with my legs still flopped over his thighs. He rubbed his head as he gazed up at me, that smile returning.
Then Reece froze. "Shit, what about work?"
"Nick quit on your behalf."
Reece swore again, sitting up, grabbing the phone. This time it was Antonio he called. I didn't know he worked for Antonio, hadn't really asked, but it seemed like Antonio had expected him to call.
"I'll come in... I don't mind coming in tomorrow. Really. I'm sorry. Ni... yeah, exactly. That's exactly what he is. Thanks, Antonio." He sat up again as he spoke, untangling us both, standing and helping me up. "Anything you need here?"
Just my best friend. I shook my head, now that I had Reece, I had everything except Nick. He was going to love being tied up overnight in a scary house when he got back. "Just you. Come on."
Reece's face softened then, hand grabbing for mine, leading me out of the house a s fast as we could manage. Maybe I should have stuck around to make sure that nothing was missing, or to look for clues, or something but at the moment Forestwatch had this energy to it that I couldn't place. Even in the daylight it made my hackles rise, and the two sleeping owls sitting in a tree beside it did not make that feeling any better.
It was only when we'd crossed into Stonehaven's land that I felt my body ease. From the looks of Reece, it was the same thing, his shoulders visably slumped and he glanced back at the other plot of land for a moment.
I glanced back too, expecting to see … I didn't know. That thing? An alien? A monster? Owls? But it was the same old bush, same old trees, same old rotting log that we'd dragged up to both sides of the fence to make it easier to jump across it as a wolf, human or kid. Reece stood so close that our arms brushed.
"Something's going on in the world, huh." He muttered. We didn't move. We stood there, staring, and his gaze remained fixed on the bush we'd hurried through. It was like he was hoping to see some sort of obvious clue.
"You mean in there, or in general?"
"In general. In there too, I suppose, but … shit, Anne. You've got all these supernatural beings suddenly getting sick as all hell, suddenly the pack's got a sorcerer or witch here at any time, you and Nick are respawning the world three babies at a time, some powerful sorcerer family is going nuts at anything that moves and some other group trying to go nuts at anything that isn't on their side. Which is the whole world." Reece said it softly. "Think that thing's connected?"
"If it was some kind of spell to freak us out, sure." I stepped back, pulling Reece with me, and we turned to make our way quietly back to the house. Stonehaven really was some kind of haven. I felt better the closer I got to it, every time, even if Forestwatch had become the home I wanted to build. Stonehaven was home. No matter how much I tried to ignore that, it was always true, always the place the pack came back to.
Jeremy came out, giving me Rose as she started another 'change me!" cry, distinctive to my ears, and raised an eyebrow at Reece. "Where were you?"
"Nick tied him up and left him in Forestwatch. Overnight." I was not impressed.
"Did he/? I'll let Tonio know."
"He knew." Reece muttered, coming over to nuzzle at Rose as she fretted. "He showed Nick how to tie the knots perfectly."
"What the hell for?" I snapped. Antonio was always so calm, I assumed,and yet yesterday he'd threatened an old lady with a scary face and tied Reece up?
"He agreed with Nick. We had to make up." Reece scowled, Jeremy's eyes went up a moment, but he didn't look as surprised about this as I felt. "I'm going to go shower and change."
I did the Mama duties, the smelly one of them, and once I had Rose and Reece were happy again, entertaining themselves so easily, it made me wish I could be as easily entertained by a foot or a hand as they were. The world was getting clearer to them clearly.
We sat in the living room as 'big' Reece ate, little Reece and Rose played, and Jamie joined us as Reece got into enough food for six humans. She stared at him, though I knew she was doing her best not to, and I knew why. Like any werewolf, Reece was the worst to eat with, gobbling it all down. I wondered if he even chewed it any more than to break it up small enough to get past his throat. With the occasional burp, probably not. He was a pretty good looking guy but I'd have to remind him to not eat like this on a date. Women would go running. Somehow he miraculously managed to avoid covering himself in food, or maybe this was another 'instinct', because food on skin or clothing was food wasted. We did not waste food.
"Jamie, what's this?" Reece held up a drawing. A really good drawing of what we'd seen. Just seeing it on paper shocked me, made my heart race, skin get sweaty.
There was a long pause, as Jamie stared at it, her own eyes darting to an empty part of the room and then back to it. "Burn that paper." Jamie snatched it, snatched it so fast neither of us could react, and stood up, hurrying away. I smelt it. She was literally burning the paper in the sink.
"She's burning it." I told Reece, who looked as surprised as I felt.
Jamie came back after three or four minutes, sitting, her own face a little paler. "Sorry. That isn't something you want to draw. Or think about. Or speak to.. I don't know how you found out about it."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. I just got told to burn it by Kristof."
"Who?"
"Savannah's father, dead. Sorcerer." She replied, though Jamie looked distracted now, and a little taken back by whatever this dead person was telling her. "I know. I'm going. He doesn't usually appear like this... Okay." She stood up, speaking at the thin air, but then Jamie's eyes snapped to Reece and myself. "He wants to know where you saw it."
"Forestwatch, twice. Why?" I felt like I was one of the toddlers, suddenly full of questions about a big wide world I didn't get. Answering questions to a ghost I couldn't see wasn't helping much either. "Jamie, was it a spell?"
"Not exactly. It requires one but- Yes, I know." Another look shot at the blank air. "I've got to go talk to Jeremy about this. You'll have to make sure no one ever goes there, till I do, not for any reason." She stood up slowly, eyes darting to the empty place once more, and turned in a quick walk.
"What the hell was that 'bout?" Reece muttered. He dropped his second empty plate and went for the third. "Come here, Anne."
"Why?" I glanced up to Reece. He opened his arms.
"Because that thing I drew freaked me out and you're snuggly to cuddle. Like a teddy bear. So come here."
"I give the orders, remember?" But I stood up anyway. He was right, even the image gave me chills, and Jamie's reaction had not helped. I didn't cuddle against him though, I curled up on my side on the couch next to him, my head against one muscular thigh. He offered chicken, pushing it against my lips, grinning when I went for it... and then yanked it out of my reach. "Nope. Mine."
"Fine." I snatched the rest of the plate of chicken, scooting up. "Mine."
"I'm hungry, give that back." Reece twisted around, standing on the couch, towering over me as he tried to get it out of my hands. I curled around it, bent over it like it was my little stash, and started to stuff it into my face, blocking hands, squirming when those hands started to tickle sensitive sides instead. Hands that lingered over the sides of my breasts, apparently.
He had knelt behind me, hips grinding against mine, growling as I refused to let him touch the food. "Anne..."
"Mine. Grr. Stop humping in public. People will consider desexing you." A mock growl and bending over it so far that it almost brushed my chest did not ward him off. I was grabbed suddenly around the waist, lifted up, chicken falling all over the place as he yanked me backwards into his lap with the plate still clutched against my chest.
"Mine." Reece lay back, hand sneaking across breasts, pulling chicken off me and eating it. He grinned, apparently liking this. Eating food off me. I didn't know how we'd keep it secret like this. "My mistress and my chicken."
"No, you're my mistress, and that's my chicken. Give it back." I twisted around, chicken pieces falling between us, trying to grab them off him. We fought, just playfully pushing and hitting each other, teeth finding necks and arms and shoulders, ignoring Jeremy as he came in. Nothing we were doing was really that far from what we'd done before this, except that he'd been a little more gropey, and Jeremy didn't seem to notice or care if anything had changed. His attention was on the slices of cold chicken now all over the floor and couch.
"One of you are going to clean that up, I hope." He said softly, I glanced up from where I was sitting on top of Reece, flushing.
"I'm her Australian type mate, apparently, I guess I better do it." Reece slapped my behind, sitting up, snatching a slice of the cold chicken off the neckline. "Want some chicken, Jeremy?"
Jeremy raised an eyebrow and vanished again. Maybe he had noticed. I shoved at Reece.
"Stop being so grabby." I cleaned up chicken, throwing it onto the plate, shaking my head as he ate it anyway. "At least rinse it."
"Cold soggy chicken? Yuck." Reece scowled.
I left it to him now, not exactly hungry for fluff covered chicken like he was, and turned on the TV again. The news was, like before, hysterical. It wasn't just an epidemic now- it was a ' pandemic'. Dramatic sounding word. Six other states in America had reported some sort of similar case. I noticed that there were still no official scientists talking, not exactly, but the states were side by side. So it was either spreading or people were getting hysterical.
"What the hell?" Reece sat up and I realised I hadn't yet told him.
"Humans getting sick. They think it's from that canine disease."
He froze, stared at me. "The one that matches ours?"
I nodded and Reece sat up, paying real attention now, all trace of humour or relaxation long gone. When he gestured for me to come back over, I did so quietly, resting back on the now clean couch and lying back down.
Only for a second though. The babies again needed me, so I left him to it and went to them, feeding and changing them as best I could on my own, listening to the news in the background. It did sound dramatic. The problem was, after two years in A merica and having watched the news here, I knew everything sounded dramatic if it'd get them ratings. I couldn't ever figure out which was actually important and which was just garbage designed to hook people.
"How bad do you think it is?" I called, as I changed Rose.
"Looks pretty serious." Reece came out and cringed as the smell of nappy hit his nose. "Ergh."
"Hey, you're not the one with a canine nose." I reminded him, face even, though I had to agree. This was not a smell I could ever get used to, no matter how much dogs apparently liked it, I preferred these babies clean. "Can you change Reece?"
"You don't like my outfit?" He held out his arms, glancing down, then grinned and nodded. "Guess if you can handle that smell, I can."
We worked quietly, trying to not feel wretched as the babies cried, and like usual they both only calmed down when both weren't smelling like that. I lifted up a much happier Rose, her face still damp from tears, a smile breaking the real sorrow as she found herself all comfortable again. She was adorable, all chubby cheeked, her eyes this deep blue, hair curling around all over the place. She almost reminded me of Nick, somehow.
Reece lifted up his little godson, something I really had to get around to doing, and regarded him as mini-Reece stared back. "Looks nothing like me." He pretended to look upset but I knew he was still loving that a baby got named after him. "Can I train him to be Australian?"
"How will you do that?" I snuggled Rose against my shoulder.
"Regular vegemite, trips to Australia, you'll see." He grinned, mini-Reece mirrored it happily now that he wasn't stinking, and lowered him carefully into his arms. "Let's watch a movie."
I followed him into the living room, a baby in each of our arms, and we sat there watching Zombieland. That was, we watched it till the three big kids returned, and then suddenly we had to change it to City of Embers instead. This didn't worry anyone. I played with the babies as we watched, Reece as fascinated as I was, like these kids... however many times they made me change their nappies, however late many late nights, or feeds, or mess... I could never get enough of them.
Falling asleep against Reece's thigh, Rose on my chest, I only woke when the movie was over and the room was again quiet. Reece was asleep too, mini-Reece in his arms, the sound of plates and food consuming going on. Jeremy must have been feeding them dinner. I yawned, shut my eyes, and went back to sleep.
Jeremy woke us by taking the babies away, Jamie saying she'd take care of them while we had a meeting, and we both followed him into the study where he'd already put out several large and very loaded pizzas for us.
"You two can't go to Forestwatch anymore. No one can, until Jamie's cured." Jeremy said it softly, the door show now. "That's Matt too. You need to make sure he never goes."
"Okay. Why?" I had no arguments with him, I just ate and nodded, but I wasn't sure how we'd get Matt to not go there. Tell him to not go and he'd be all the more likely to go.
"The thing you saw. Jamie didn't tell me what it was. She couldn't even tell me how it was brought here." Jeremy frowned somewhat. "No one would tell her. Anne, Reece, neither of you are to go back. Do you understand? Not for any reasons."
"Is it that serious?" Reece asked softly, slice halfway up to his mouth. When Jeremy nodded, he nodded a fraction too, glancing sideways in my direction. "We're not going back."
"No, we're not." I had to agree. This wasn't an order, exactly, but it was pretty serious. After the way it'd made us feel... I hadn't wanted to go back anyway. "So we're staying here?"
"For now." Jeremy nodded, leaned back, and sighed. "I might ask you to pay board though."
"That's fine." I didn't want to depend on him. I didn't have to depend on him or anyone. "Did we do it? Make it ..."
"I don't think so. Jamie doesn't either. But she's only able to see ghosts at the moment, even then only barely, so she's more or less stuck."
That night, I lay there in bed alone, heart thudding, eyes shut. It felt like I couldn't shake that fear now. Not after seeing Reece's drawing, as strange as that seemed, like ...I didn't know. The hoot of an owl did not help. The door cracked open somewhat, I sat up, heart in throat as a dark shape came through it.
"It's me." Reece's voice said, very softly, and I felt him crawl into the bed on 'his' side. "Sorry. I'm a little freaked out. I called Nick- he said it was fine."
"Me too." I slid across into the middle as he settled in, more than happy for a cuddle right now, curling against the familiar scent. "Shit. What is it?"
"Don't even think about it." He growled. "Just … let's talk. Or something. I don't know. Something relaxing. Shit."
"My phone has multiplayer monopoly?" I offered. When he nodded in the dark, I slid across him to get it from the charger, and we curled up around the tiny screen as I turned it on.
For a long time we played, as the hours ticked by, neither of us relaxing all that much. Reece kept winning, somehow, and we ignored the phone as a message popped up. I just wanted to fall asleep. I didn't care who was messaging me... but somehow, monopoly was just not working for me.
Reece fell asleep just after one and I lay there, staring at the game, one of his arms across me as the tension in his face faded into that relaxed expression he apparently got while he was asleep. I closed it.
The message instantly popped up. Nick, texting me just before midnight. I opened it, some alert about some voice mail, and called it as I curled up against my best mate.
Nick's voice was odd. Strained. And, although he spoke clearly enough to be understood, the words were so unexpected, so out of the blue, I didn't understand it.
"To replay the message..."
Again. All my brain could do was hear noise, not words. Frustrated, I tried again, Reece lifting his head as I sat up and pressed the number for replay.
This time I heard it. And this time... I felt it.
"I slept with Daniella. I'm leaving you."