Chương 72: Pee Pads and Possibilities

Shelly The guest bedroom was nice, but it wasn't mine. It was Abe's house and I was living in it rent-free while the actual owner slept on a recliner in the living room because he apparently couldn't be bothered to use his own bedroom anymore. This was weird, right? This whole situation was weird. I stared at the ceiling, listening to the sounds waking up around me. I could hear the birds outside as well as Derek's truck pulling into the driveway. He was early, as always.

I ignored the hammering and other sounds that followed. It was just more of Abe's money disappearing into repairs for damage the Wild People had caused. Although I'd bought groceries and a few other items for the house, I still felt a little guilty. I was basically living in his house rent-free. As for my house, well, it was not really mine either. Abe had been letting me rent one of his cabins, which was one of the ways he earned money. Now that I was living here with him, he'd lost that income.

Not only that, but he'd allowed the werewolves and druids to use the house as a base to coordinate with each other, free of charge. Although Abe didn't know I knew, he was almost broke. Well, maybe not broke, but he didn't have a lot of money to spare any longer. He still had enough to live, but that wouldn't last long if there were any more surprise expenses. I'd even offered to pay him rent to stay here, but he'd refused. He said something like 'friends don't make friends pay rent to stay at their house.'

Still, I knew that I needed to do something to help. Especially after what happened last night. It was also the reason why I didn't want to get out of bed. When I heard crying in the other room, I'd snuck out of bed long enough to see what was happening. Then I wished I had stayed at my old cabin. The sight of Abe crying in his sleep had been heartbreaking. It'd kept me up much of the night while I tried to come up with anything I could do to make things better, or at least remove some of his burdens.

Finally, I realized I couldn't put it off much longer and forced myself to get up. I slowly got dressed and walked to the kitchen. There, I found Tala, perched on the counter. She was toward the living room, at Abe most likely.

"Morning," I whispered, trying not to wake Abe up. Tala jumped slightly before turning to look at me.

"Oh. Hi Shelly. Good morning."

"How is he?" I asked.

"Fine," she said too quickly.

"Just tired. There's a lot going on with the construction and the... everything." I nodded like I believed her. Then I quietly grabbed a coffee and a donut that Derek had apparently brought. It made me wonder, W hy can't Pierre be more like Derek sometimes? Then I sighed. Pierre was sweet in his own way. As for Derek, I needed to speak with him, which wasn't difficult since I could see him through the window. I walked outside and around the cabin until I reached him.

"Thanks for the donuts," I said. He paused, gave me a nod and a smile, and then went back to work. See, that's what I mean, I thought. The man's a machine. He works all day, every day. Unlike Pierre. Besides his stupid combat drills, the main work he did was trying to get me out of my pants. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Realizing I was getting distracted, I focused on why I had come outside in the first place.

"Derek, I don't want Abe to know, but I'd like to help pay for the repairs. He looked at me, confusion crossing his face.

"Uh, okay. I can be a little creative with the books." Seeing his confusion, I felt like I needed to explain.

"I'm living here. I should contribute. It makes me feel less…" I trailed off. Less what? Less guilty? Less useless? Less like a freeloader? I wondered. He studied me for a moment.

"Alright. But you know Abe doesn't expect you to…"

"I know. But I expect it from myself." I was about to say more when Pierre texted. I smiled and gave Derek a small wave before moving to a more private spot so I'd be able to yell at Pierre if he came up with one more excuse to cancel on me. Three times this week he'd already canceled on our plans. I was starting to wonder what was more important to him, training or spending time with me. As soon as I read his message, I felt like screaming. That… stupid dog had stood me up again.

Instead of yelling, or asking him who he was seeing, or being a whiny bitch, I calmly typed "Okay, be safe."

"Mangy mutt. I hope you get fleas," I started muttering, looking for an outlet for my frustrations. It wasn't anger, not really. Pierre was doing important things. But damn, I miss that guy. I understood what he was doing mentally, just not emotionally. Understanding didn't make me miss him less, though. It didn't make the cabin feel less empty when he was gone. Although I'd wanted to move in at first, now I was feeling like a third wheel.

I'd been more help in the beginning, but now I was feeling like I was in the way. Also, part of me wanted to move out again so that Pierre and I could have a place of our own. Pierre had been sweet and asked me to move it, but it seemed too sudden. Then again, it might have been because everything was changing so quickly. I'd always been laid back. With everything that was happening, everyone was busy though. The druids were busy with their own concerns.

As for the Fae, several of them were already expectant mothers. That made me think about Ignis, the baby dragon, which was odd since he'd appeared in front of me at that very moment.

"Hello, Shelly!" Ignis said.

"Hey, Ignis," I said, managing a smile.

"How's the hoard?"

"Excellent! I've reorganized the pennies by shininess now. I put the dullest ones on the bottom of the pile." He settled beside me on the porch with a content sigh.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just… nothing," I admitted.

"That sounds boring," he said before asking.

"Want to watch Dragon Tales with me?" Despite everything, I smiled.

"Sure. Why not." We moved to the garage where Ignis had his setup. There, we watched in comfortable silence for a while. The show was actually kind of cute. However, Ignis was much more entertaining than the show. He provided running commentary on every biological and physical inaccuracy he noticed. I found myself relaxing for the first time in days. There was something soothing about it. That was when he asked me, "Do you ever think about having babies with Pierre?" The question came out of nowhere.

My mind shut down completely. Finally, I managed, "Uh, not seriously. We're not there yet. We haven't even talked about... I mean, someday, but..." Ignis wasn't going to let it go, though. He asked, "Well, when you do, will the baby be a werewolf or a human?" Again, I had no idea what to say. Where is this coming from? Was all I could think of. Ignis didn't let up. He was like a dog with a bone.

"Will you use pee-pads? Also, what are pee-pads?" Wait! What? It took me a moment before I realized something.

""Why do you think I would need pee-pads if you don't know what pee-pads are?" I asked suspiciously. Ignis leaned in, as if sharing a secret.

"Abe said I should ask Pierre these things the next time I saw him. However, I couldn't remember all the questions he told me to ask so I thought I'd just ask you instead." My mind shut down after that. I wasn't sure whether to be furious or… Actually, would it be so bad to have kids with Pierre? Well, we're not there yet, but I bet he would make a good father. I could maybe see myself spending the rest of my life with him. Perhaps I should give him a reason to not blow me off any more. Yeah, I should do that.

First, though, I decided, I need to visit Victoria's Secret. Also, I need to order a new comforter and some throw pillows. My old ones don't match Pierre's house. That made me wonder, What else should I order? I pushed aside thoughts about what I would do to Abe for later. I'd give him a day or two to start feeling better. Then I'll pay him back.