by Kate Kelley
I lay there for a long time before sleep finally took me.
Chapter Fourteen
The sun blinded me as I opened my eyes, but that didn’t hurt as much as my full bladder did. I threw the covers off and leapt off the bed, stumbling right over a big man lying on the floor that I had forgotten about.
I fell flat on my face, my torso thrown somehow over the length of Wolfram’s legs. His hand trailed over the back of my thigh and higher--landing on my ass, before he withdrew his hand and opened his eyes. “Why are you on top of me?”
His voice was scratchy and hoarse. I scrambled up and turned on my knees to face him, then stood up, my face beet red, I was sure. I ran to the bathroom and relieved myself, then washed my face and swished water around my mouth. My hair was tousled sort of nicely for a change, waving in ways that it normally didn’t.
When I came out, Wolfram wasn’t there anymore, so I went down to the kitchen and inhaled the smell of fresh coffee. Wolfram stood in the kitchen in his boxers hunched over the stove.
I came up behind him and peeked into the pan. “Mmm, pancakes. Good choice.”
Wolfram grinned, his sleepy eyes looking me over. I crossed to the coffee pot and reached up to grab a coffee cup, but suddenly Wolfram was behind me, pulling open the ridiculously high cabinet and grabbing a coffee cup. He set it down in front of me and his chest brushed my back. My insides squealed and I turned abruptly, because I was awkward. I got a face full of hunky chest for a moment before Wolfram backed up and I moved across the kitchen.
“Did you want coffee?” Wolfram asked, quizzically. He pointed his thumb at the coffee pot I had just left.
I smiled flatly and tried not to blush as I crossed to it. “Right.”
Rai, get a grip.
I sat down at the bar with my coffee and Wolfram set a plate of a high pile of pancakes in front of me, butter and syrup already applied. The smell was amazing.
“Thank you,” I said before cutting and shoving a bite into my mouth. “Mmm, so good,” I said through a mouthful.
Wolfram laughed and shoveled a bite into his own mouth.
“Are you laughing at me?” I asked between a bite.
“Of course not.”
“You’re laughing because you know I’m going to eat all five of these pancakes.”
Wolfram licked some syrup off the end of his fork as he eyed me. “I’ve noticed you seem easy to please when it comes to food.”
I shrugged. “I like to eat, it’s true. Not a big vegetable fan, though.”
Wolfram bit his lip and a low part of me started to ache again. He was just too fucking hot.
“So,” I said, distracting myself with business, “I’ll call my dad after I eat, we will go pick up my car, and then I’ll drive to my dad’s.” Even as I said the words, my stomach plummeted into despair. Suddenly I was no longer hungry. I set the fork down and drank the ice water next to my plate, taking my time.
I looked up to see Wolfram watching me. “You sure you want to stay with him?”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t feel like lying, but I didn’t want to deny it. I’d said I wanted to leave, and it was true. Well, partly true. I couldn’t be a part of the elemental world, and I didn’t have a job or money. What else would I do? Once again I cursed Evan for not allowing me to make friends.
As if reading my mind, Wolfram leaned back against his chair. “Is there anyone else you can talk to?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to seem so pitiful that I didn’t have any friends.
“What about Row? I thought he was your, er--he said that you and he--” He cleared his throat and my eyebrows clashed low on my forehead. “What are you talking about?”
Wolfram looked at me. “He said he was going to ask you out. I thought perhaps...but if it didn’t end well, then…”
I gaped at him and then burst out laughing. I was sure I looked maniacal. I slapped the counter a few times as the laughing faded. “He’s gay! And he hates me.”
Wolfram frowned. “He’s bisexual.”
I stopped smiling. “Oh. Well, still. We never--oh geez, he is so not my type, but that explains something.”
Wolfram’s eyes were rapt on mine. “What?”
“Why Row treat me like shit and always talked about my tits and ass.”
Wolfram frowned. “He treated you badly?”
I shrugged. “Not that bad, just words.”
Wolfram shook his head. “You should have come to me if he was harassing you.”
I shrugged again. “It’s fine. Don’t mention it to him.”
“This is why I don’t want you talking to your dad. You let people speak down to you and you don’t stand up for yourself. Your dad is just going to treat you the same and you’re going to let him walk all over you.”
I pushed my plate away, looking longingly at the rest of the pancakes. I wanted to eat them, but I couldn’t now. I held out my hand. “Phone.”
Wolfram crossed his arms before standing and crossing to another room. He came back with the phone and set it down in front of me. “Don’t talk about elementals or anything that happened.” Then he left the room.
I stared at the phone, imagining my father’s voice on the other line. Shit.
Get it over with, Rai.
I dialed the number and held it up to my face, waiting on the rings. One, two, three, four...well, maybe he won’t answer.
“Rai? What do you want? Don’t hang up this time.”
My voice came out like cloyingly sweet, sticky syrup. “Hi, Dad! How are you?”
“Busy. What are you doing and where are you? I got a call from a collection agency about rent? In some place called Emerald? Start talking.”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah, um, well, it’s sort of a long--”
“Get to the point, Rai. I don’t like mindless chatter.”
I leapt up and started pacing around the living room. “I got a job up here in Northern Indiana as a Desk Agent of this really, prestigious, historical...museum. And, uh, there was a fire, and it destroyed the place. So, now I’m, you know, short on rent.”
Silence met me and the faint static of the phone was the only noise. I swallowed.
“Just like you to take some mediocre job and not have anything lined up for when it fell through. Always have networking in place in case of incidents like this. If you’d listened to me when you were in high school, you would applied to the right schools, and you would have majored in something useful, so that you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“I guess so.” My voice sounded odd, as if it wasn’t part of myself. Every time I talked to him, I felt like a little girl again, standing in wet pajamas, getting yelled at for peeing the bed.
“You guess so? No. You don’t know. You never listen, Rai. If you knew how to listen to other people, you and Evan probably could have worked something out. He had a great job, you were set up with something great and you ended up ruining that. Men have girls on the side, they always do. These are learning moments, Rai, but your second chances are running on short supply--”
I pulled the phone away from my ear, unable to bear his voice any longer. Angry tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to scream at him, but it was balled up in my chest and my vocal cords were paralyzed. I took a deep breath and put the phone back to my ear. It was quiet.
“Listen, dad, I’m sorry. I just need maybe a week or so of job searching in the city. Then I can--”
A harsh laugh sounded. “You want to stay in my house. Twenty-six years old, staying in your father’s house. I don’t think so, Rai. I think this is a lesson you need to learn by yourself.”
I clicked the end phone call button and clutched it, watching snow fall outside of the small window in the corner. More tears spilled over onto my cheeks and I wiped them away. Why did I let him bother me so badly?
I didn’t hear Wolfram until he was next to me. I jumped and then handed him the phone. “He said I can stay. I just need to go get my car.”
I watched
the floor as I pushed past him and searched for the backpack with my leggings. I could wear dirty leggings. Where would I stay? I chewed on my lip.
Maybe I could find Rosa or Frances. I could stay in my car outside of the inn until one of them worked, and then approach them. That was the best plan I had. I would apply to the news station and anything else I could find.
Wolfram approached me from the back again. I turned to him, but kept my eyes on the ground in front of him. “Do you know where the backpack is? I need my leggings and shirt.”
Wolfram left and returned with the clothes, and quietly handed them over. I went upstairs and closed the bedroom door, taking the boxers off and pulling the leggings on, then my tunic. They smelled weird, but it didn’t matter.
I went downstairs and Wolfram was dressed in jeans and a shirt, waiting by the garage door, keys in hand. The good news was that I could handle the cold now, so if I had to sleep outside, I wouldn’t freeze to death. Food on the other hand…
I opened the garage door and walked to the car, settling into the passenger seat. Wolfram climbed into the driver’s seat. Neither of us said a word as he drove to the apartment building parking lot.
I turned to him. “My keys were in the apartment.” I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were bright copper as he watched me, his face like stone.
I snapped.
“What are you angry at me about now? I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry I’m a fucking loser who can’t hold a job, even if you’re the one who fired me. I’m sorry you had to save my life and get imprisoned and face a Wildfire member and your family who you hate for no reason. I’m sorry you had to give up your bed for a night. I’m sorry you had to drive me all the way here only to learn that the keys are probably at the leasing office. I’m sorry! I’ll do this on my own now.”
I opened the door and leapt out, but didn’t get very far. Wolfram grabbed me from behind and lifted me. I kicked and elbowed his gut, but he didn’t budge. He set me down in the passenger seat. I leapt back up and slapped his face, then immediately regretted it.
Wolfram’s face turned cold. “I’m only angry at you, Rai, for lying to me about what your father said to you on the phone.”
I deflated. “How do you know I was lying?”
“Because I have good hearing. I heard every single word that bastard said. You let him speak to you that way, and then you lied to me. Two bad decisions.” He held up two fingers.
I held up three fingers. “You forgot the slap.”
Neither of us smiled. I looked down at my boots. “The cold doesn’t bother me anymore. I can sleep in my car until I figure it out--”
“And food? What about that?” Wolfram crossed his arms.
“Psh, that’s not going to be an issue for me. I have enough in my account to purchase food. I’m easy to please, remember?”
“But not enough for food and gas. Where will you park the car, by the way?”
I flexed my hands. “You’re the owner of two buildings in this town, and you’re the one who fired and evicted me. Maybe you could extend an olive branch and let me park in one of the parking lots.”
Wolfram’s jaw set. “I have been trying to extend an olive branch to you, if you’ll just relax and stop lying.”
My eyes flew to his.
“You’re rehired at the inn, and you can stay there until you have enough rent to cover an apartment. Unfortunately, your things were already thrown out, but you don’t have to pay to stay at the inn.”
My throat constricted against unshed tears. “Why did you really fire me? It wasn’t because of the peeping tom thing, was it?”
Wolfram shook his head. “I thought you were Wildfire. You were present at both fires, and you could see me during the fires. Humans can’t see me when I go into a glamour. I haven’t met a single Elemental here on Earth until you. And you smelled like Fire. So, what was I to think? I apologize.”
“Now look who’s apologizing?”
Wolfram approached me hesitantly and my stomach flipped as he carefully picked up a strand of my hair and placed it behind my ear. “Don’t take the flame eyes so personally. They don’t always mean I’m angry.”
I watched his eyes, now black. “What else do they mean?”
Wolfram’s gaze met mine, but he didn’t answer my question. “Yours turn violet now.”
I gasped. “What? No!” I turned into the car and flipped down the mirror, peering into my eyes. They were still hazel.
Wolfram smiled. “Don’t worry. Humans can’t see the change in eye color.”
I let out a breath. “Well that’s good. It will be less awkward with Row.”
Wolfram got into the car and I watched as my junky car faded away in the parking lot. It would all be okay. At least, for now, I could avoid my father. I got my job back, and a place to stay that would give me some space from Wolfram’s abs. Now, if the Air Kingdom and/or Wildfire would stay in the Elemental world and not cross over to Earth to pay us any visits, things would be just peachy.
Chapter Fifteen
I plopped down on the bed and bounced a little, taking a gander around the room. I’d been in room thirteen before, but now it was remodeled. It looked the same, really, just with new stuff and wood and paint. The queen sized bed took up the middle space of the back wall. A desk and bathroom lined the right side of the wall, a small closet on the left. It would do just fine, provided the ghosts left me alone.
Rosa walked in, a big smile on her face and a broom in hand. “You comfortable?”
I smiled back at her. “Yes. And I won’t have you cleaning this room. I can handle it myself.”
Rosa crossed her arms over her orange, floral scrubs. “Why, so I don’t see man in your bed? Ah, ah!” She laughed and pointed a finger at me when I opened my mouth to protest. “I always know! I have kids, you know!”
“There’s no man. I promise. I don’t want a boyfriend for a long while. I want to be independent for once.”
Rosa shrugged. “Nothing wrong with man if he’s right for you.”
I shrugged in return. “I suppose.”
Wolfram took up the door frame just then, his eyes settling on me, and my heart skipped a beat. He was dressed in all black--slacks and dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves. “You sure you want this room?”
I smiled wanly. “It’s the least popular room, especially since the fire. It’s a no brainer.”
Wolfram nodded, then drummed the top of the door frame. “I got you a new phone. It has my number programed into it. If you want others, you’ll have to program them in yourself.” Then he pushed off the frame and approached me, his height towering mine as he came up to the bed. He slid a sleek smartphone into my hand. I stared down at it dumbly.
“Thanks, but I can’t afford the payments…”
He pushed something else toward me. A book. I stared at the cover.
“Have you been stalking me?” I asked.
I swore Wolfram’s cheeks pinked. He wiped a hand over his jaw. “I saw you were reading the second one last time, so I figured I’d check out the next one for you in the series.”
I clutched the phone and the book in my hands, and looked up to thank him, but he was already leaving. I leapt off the bed placed the phone and book on the desk carefully, my eyes flicking between the book cover and the pristine screen of the phone. I noticed a phone case was around it. The color violet. Like my eyes, when I get angry?
I didn’t want to touch either of them. I glanced at Rosa to see her raised eyebrows pointed at me. I scowled at her in return.
She tilted her head forward, her eyes still on me, as if silently demanding I speak.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. “What?” I finally said.
Rosa smiled knowingly. “No man, huh?”
“No. No way. He’s the boss, and he’s helping me get my shit together. That’s all it is. He’s like--like a dad to me, really.” I felt my face redden at the lie I spouted and turned away so she wouldn’t see.
/> Rosa wagged a finger at me as she leaned on her broom. “You kids all think I’m stupid. He’s only thirty four years old.” She shook her head, laughing, as she left.
I took a deep breath and crossed down the hall to the foyer. The evening was coming to a close, and I needed to get ready for my shift. I stopped when I saw Row sitting behind the desk. He hadn’t been here when we arrived. I inwardly sighed.
He turned his head, spotting me, then turned back to his computer, a smirk on his face. “Nice job, Zombie Princess. How was he?” He typed something into the computer.
My stomach flipped. “What?”
Row didn’t bother turning to face me as he continued typing. “The boss. Was he a good screw? Don’t try to tell me you got your job back because he wanted to give you a second chance.”
I paused, the anger rising inside of me like an untamed dragon. I tried to breathe through it, tears stinging my eyes as my skin exploded in white hot prickles.
“No response huh? Guess that proves I’m right. Never did take you for a whore, but desperate times call for desperate measures, eh?”
I raised my palm and aimed it at the back of his head. I felt the power inside of me, the kind that traveled into my palms, ready for release. I knew that if I flicked my wrist, I could do some damage to Row. But then I’d go to jail.
I lowered my hand and bit my tongue. After a moment, I felt stable enough to speak. “Have I been added to the roster so that I can clock in tonight? My shift starts in fifteen minutes.”
Row stood, gathering his briefcase, and adjusting his white, fur scarf. I didn’t even know they made fur scarves.
“How many times is he going to let you fuck him? Maybe once a month in exchange for rent? Until he gets bored. Then you’ll have to find another sugar daddy. Hey, maybe I’ll make an offer.”
“Enough!” I screamed, startling us both. Row smirked, but I could tell he was slightly shaken. He swallowed as his gaze landed on my shirt.
