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I observe Caden, tilting my head as I smirk at him. ”I think I’m rubbing off on you.” I tell him before I dig through the drawers and pull out a wide tooth comb. ”Do you think this will work?”

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I frown when she texts back. Thanks, but are you sure you’re okay? I type out and erase the message multiple times before I send that one. The picture of her sketch amazes me though, and I find myself zooming in and out to find every detail.

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I grin at them and hop off the counter. I take the comb and put it back. ”Have you never brushed your hair?” My tone is teasing, but I am genuinely curious now.

I poke around the drawers and pull out some detangler and a paddle brush. I spray the detangler along the mid portion of their hair before I start tackling the tangles, working from the bottom up.

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I sigh when I read Nic’s next message. It would be so much easier if he didn’t notice things. I pull the hair tie out of my hair and the decorative hair piece out and toss both things onto the counter.

Ya… Just tired. A lot of emotion for an empathic introvert today. It’s not a complete lie. There was a lot of emotion today, and I am drained from experiencing a lot of different emotions today.

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I pour at him. ”It’s never been this bad before… usually I just grab whatever’s nearby.” I tell him before I play with the gem of the sweater I’m wearing. I don’t even remember changing.

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Is there anything I can do to help you? I’m glad I didn’t upset her, but I’m still worried. I start getting dinner ready, prepping enough to make plates for Jane and Kat.

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I smile as I continue to brush their hair. ”That’s okay. I don’t mind.” I brush through their knots and tangles, ensuring I don’t pull on their hair too much. Once I’m finished, I put everything away and smile at them. ”Okay, now can I play music for you?”

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I’m crawling into bed when Nic messages me again. Wayland merps and crawls up in between me and my phone. He automatically starts purring, staring at the phone.

Nic, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. There are other things you should be worrying about, I say. I scratch Waylands head and kiss his fluffyness. Wayland says hi. It amazed me still, even though my cats had an intense knowing that Wayland knew when I was talking to Nic.

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I beam up at him, trying not to laugh at him. ”Lead the way, maestro.” I say, even though I know where the music room is. I can’t hide my excitement to finally hear Caden perform.

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I smile, happy to hear about Wayland. My boy knows when I’m near ;) whether physically or via phone signals I almost ask for a pic, but I’m still worried something’s wrong.

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I pull Nero along to the music room, thinking of what I may want to play for them. Piano is generally the easiest to make sound good no matter what, but I feel more like the violin. Maybe it’s the irony factor of playing the violin for a demon of hell.

I walk into the room and lead Nero to an oversized lounge chair to sit in. I grab a blanket for them and even pour them a drink. I go over and pick up the violin and begin to test it. ”Any requests?” I joke.

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It seems he does :) I send and plug my phone in. I set it up so I can still see it, but now my hands are free to give Wayland plenty of scratches and loves. The other two aren’t on the bed with us and I have a feeling they will be sleeping elsewhere tonight.

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I get comfy, which is easy to do with how Caden just took care of it. I sip my drink, wiggling happily under the blanket. ”Handel?” I ask with a head tilt.

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Please give him all the loves and cuddles for me <3 I request.

Will you be heading to bed soon or do you plan on staying up?

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”Mmm, I can play you some Händel.” Once I have the violin tuned appropriately, I lift the violin to my shoulder and rest my chin on the rest. I shift my stance once and take a deep breath before I begin to play. The song I chose from Händel is fast and enchanting. It’s in a minor chord, so it evokes a certain sense of chaos. I pick the song, though, for how it ends. It slows and becomes mournful, making it an easy transition into a much more haunted song. As I start to play the second song, I close my eyes and sway as I play. Each stroke of the bow is drawn out and tight like there will be no release until the song ends. I pull the bow slowly across the last note and take a second to reset before I begin a third song, moving back into Händel to finish.

The third song almost feels like the completion of a journey or a task. There is still a sense of something unresolved, but a moving forward that can’t be stopped as well. My favourite part of the song comes near the end with the last few bars, where there are some fun little flourishes that change the feel of the song to signal the end.

I pull the violin away and look at Nero. I feel confident in my ability to play, and even though I hadn’t played in a while, I didn’t miss any notes. Still, music shows a vulnerable side, and I am unsure how Nero will respond to my mini-composition.

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I’m just settling in for the night, ya. Part of me is glad Wayland is with me. He’s helping me to relax and settle, to feel and be comfortable feeling. But that is making me sad. I don’t want to stop talking to Nic now, even if we are talking about nothing, but I also can’t keep talking to Nic. He has someone important in his life. All I am is the person who helped save his dad. It’s my job, really, nothing more.

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I’m entranced as Caden plays, watching how he moved with each bow stroke and how delicately he executed vibratos. He really is good with his hands… my face warms at the accidental innuendo and I’m glad Caden is too focused on his playing to notice it. When he finishes the little trill notes towards the end of the alegro piece, I grin widely up at him from my seat. I set the now empty glass in my lap so I can give a polite golf clap. ”I would throw roses at your feet, but I’m fresh out.” I say teasingly. Despite the joking tone, I really did marvel at how well Caden could play.

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how comfy is your bed? I ask as I get settled into the couch. Jane and Kat had come and gone already and I’m settling into the couch to try and sleep. The couch isn’t big enough to truly work as a bed for me, but I still don’t want my dad to sleep on it.

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I chuckle a d walk over to the chair Nero occupies. ”How about a kiss instead?”

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I feel my ears and then the rest of me get hot as I read and then reread that text. It wasn't meant to be anything but it felt intimate to me all the same. I shouldn't reply, I tell myself, I should just pretend to fall asleep and apologize in the morning. That's what I should do, but I was never good at doing what I should.
Quite comfortable actually. I've managed to find the comfy spot right away.

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I shift in the chair so that I can stand up, a smirk playing on my lips. "I don't know, there's this guy who's pretty possessive of me." I tease, but lean forward so that I can wrap my arms around Caden's neck.

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I'm jealous I text, shifting a little so that I could find a comfortable spot myself. Get really comfy on my behalf, okay? :P I want to tease her a little, be flirty, but I don't want to scare her off.

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I grin and play along. I raise my eyebrows, wrapping my arms around Nero’s waist. ”Really? Well, I hardly think he’ll know if we kiss. Unless he’s inhuman,” I declare.

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Okay. I really shouldn’t be texting him about any of this.

Don’t worry, Wayland is taking advantage for you. I send. I kiss Wayland’s head before I get this little itch in the back of my head, a signal of my intuition working. You’re sleeping on the couch, aren’t you?

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I mirror Caden’s expression, smirking myself. ”Oh, he’s practically a god, so… best not to get on his bad side.” I wink at Caden before giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

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that’s my good boy I smile at the thought of Wayland and Cass cuddling. The next message from Cass makes me sheepishly chuckle.

I wouldn’t make my dad sleep on the couch I send with a little sweat grin emote.

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I close my eyes when Nero kisses my cheek. My arms around them tighten slightly, and I turn my head to whisper in their ear. ”I’m willing to risk it.” I pull my head back, find Nero’s lips with mine, and kiss them deeply.

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No, I didn’t think you would if your dad was staying with you. I debated asking why Nic didn’t just go stay at his girlfriend’s house, but I refrained. Of course, Nic would want to stay with his dad for a few days. Is he sleeping okay?

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He has to know what that does to me each time he whispers in my ear. I enthusiastically kiss him back, jumping a little so that I can wrap my legs around him too and deepen the kiss more.

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so far so good! Sometimes it sounds like he’s starting to have a bad dream, but I think your herbs have been helping to keep it from going into a full blown nightmare truthfully, my dad reminds me of a dog having a dream about running for the most part.

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Nero jumps into my arms so I don’t have to pick them up. I slide my hands down to cover their butt and support them. Nero is so light it doesn’t even feel like I’m holding them. Our kiss deepens rapidly while I hold Nero. I debate whether I should sit here or walk back to the bedroom.

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Do you think he’ll go and talk to someone? I sent Nic the information the other day, so Mr. Wu could talk to the people he needed to in order to help him heal.

I shift in my bed to give my hip a break. I keep my phone on, staring at the previous messages I sent to Nic. I feel like I could stay up all night and just talk, even though I told myself that I was tired.

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I wiggle when his hands go to my butt, inhaling a bit sharply, before I take the opportunity to bite a little aggressively on his lower lip. I move one hand to hold his cheek and the other grips Caden at the nape of his neck. I want to be closer to him, but I'm already wrapped around him as tight as I can be.

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I think back to the conversation my dad and I had earlier in the day. I had broached the topic of seeing a therapist to him and he stubbornly said he didn't need it. It remains to be seen I send back before adding a follow up message. I think he still wants to pretend that it never happened :/ A couple of the people on the list Cass had sent me even worked at my hospital and I offered to go with my dad, but he still refused. I sigh, running a hand through my hair.

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My eyes pop open in shock at the aggression from Nero but it doesn't make me stop kissing them. Bedroom it is. I close my eyes again, using my other senses to help me navigate back to the bedroom.

Our kiss turns to something more ravenous. A primal need more than a want or desire. I kick the bedroom door shut behind me and find the bed, flopping down with Nero on top.

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I read and reread Nic’s texts. His father won't talk to anyone, more content on moving forward. I fidget in my bed until Wayland meows in protest.

Do you think he wants to forget about supernatural creatures or forget the entire thing?

It was likely a trauma response. That want to dissociate a little and forget it ever occured. If it was one part of the memory, I could help with that, if it was the whole thing… I couldn't take that much away from Nic's dad.

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I can’t help but giggle a little bit at Caden’s reaction, but I don’t have time to dwell on it as he navigates his way back to his bedroom. He lands on the bed so that I’m straddling him.

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I think about it. Did my dad want to just forget it? I don’t think he wants to forget, but I’m going to keep chipping away at it and hope that he agrees to it down the road I have to rewrite this message over and over again before I finally just send it.

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It's a few minutes before Nic responds and I wonder if he's fallen asleep on me. I smile at the irony. My phone dings and I read over Nic's message. I already know what I want to say but I still hesitate for a minute before I type — with encouragement from Wayland.

I'd being willing to talk to him if he doesn't want to talk about it with anyone else. It could be possible that Nic's father didn't want to burden Nic, but I had been there. I didn't see Mr. Wu's wife die, but I did witness what they had been up against.