I smiled at him. “I know, Yoden. I’m making him cookies. You’re helping”
He groaned. “My stomach is having a love affair with you. I hope you know that. It’s a little weird. It’s very unorthodox, but he’s very much in love with you. It’s to the point that he almost revolts if I eat food made by anyone else. He’s not happy about it and he’s very loud about that fact.”
I laughed at him talking about his stomach like it was a whole other person inside him. “My stomach feels the same about Vinny. So much so that t think Adrik got a little jealous in the beginning.”
It was his turn to laugh. “Is he capable of getting jealous? I’ve never once seen him jealous with you.”
“Not when it comes to you guys, ro. Not usually. Although he did struggle with feeling jealous this last time I got hurt. I spent so much time with all of you guys since I did nothing but sleep and apparently I’m incapable of sleeping on my own anymore that he started to feel jealous. It’s why you guys only just found out about my eyes. That’s been happening for quite a while now. He wanted to keep it just between us for a while,” I said. “But he’s very possessive in front of other people that aren’t you five.”
“Huh. I never noticed.”
“Because you’re too busy analyzing what’s been said or what you have noticed. Your brain is very busy. You should cut it some slack for not noticing insignificant things,” I said. “Guilty. It’s a gift and a curse,” he said. He followed me to the pantry so I could hand him everything I needed for this project.
“I think it’s more of a gift than a curse. You just struggle with believing in yourself so you’re overanalyzing. Your first instinct is always right. Stop second-guessing yourself. Whoever told you that you were du mb when you were younger was completely wrong.”
“You’re not supposed to be fishing in my head, remember?” he said, as I piled ingredients in his arms.
“I wasn’t. It’s so obvious that I didn’t need to fish. Much like Ivan doesn’t want people to know how wise he is because he values his peace too much, you don’t want people to know how wise you are either. But it’s because you’re insecure with your wisdom. For the record, I find it endearing, but also hilarious. You’re seriously one of the smartest people I know. Especially when it comes to how best to mindf**k someone. I’m guessing you felt very misunderstood as a kid?” I asked.
He squinted his eyes at me, like he was unsure he wanted to answer. He sighed, but agreed. “I was. I was very quiet as a kid. My sisters are loud as f**k. So are my parents. I stuck out. While they are loud and obnoxious to distract from what they don’t want people to see, I took the opposite approach. I was always quiet, never talked much. My middle sister used to tease me relentlessly for it. She would tell her friends that I was re tarded and they would all pick on me. My youngest sister always went along with everything the middle one did, so when she got old enough, she would tease me as well. My oldest sister would join in sometimes, but not always. She never stopped it though.”
“Do you want me to kick your sister’s a ss? Because I’ll do it,” I asked.
He chuckled. “No, I think she’s already getting her own Karma. I don’t talk to iny sisters often, but my mother keeps me updated on them. My middle sister is on her fourth husband. She struggles to keep a job for very long. It’s because she’s a miserable human being, but of course she blames everyone else.”
“What about your youngest sister?”
“She’s not much better, although she hasn’t gotten married yet. That’s mostly because she has a very loud reputation for being very easy. She’s slept her way through the entire town we grew up in. She moved to a larger city, trying to increase her chances of finding a husband. I think she only increased the number of STD’s she has.”
I couldn’t keep from laughing. “I’m sorry. That’s not funny. I shouldn’t laugh at that.”
Sephie
“I don’t know about that, but I do know that your sisters were very wrong about you,” I said, putting Stephen to work washing a few dishes I’d dirtied.
“On some level, I know that too. There’s…” he started to say, but he didn’t finish. He was quiet for long enough that I knew he wasn’t going to finish. “I know there’s more, Stephen. You don’t ever have to tell me. I know you’re struggling, but I won’t pry and I won’t fish. You know the best way to conquer your demons, Voden?” He shook his head no. He was still facing away from me, his shoulders slightly slumped. I knew this was difficult for him. “It’s to stop fighting them and make friends with them. They have no power over you that way. The more you try to ignore the monster you’re trying to keep locked away, the bigger and stronger it grows. You have to make friends with it before it consumes you.”
I went back to what I was doing, not wanting to force him to talk anymore than he wanted to. I heard him turn the water in the sink off, then he dried his hands, tossing the towel back on the counter. I felt his hand on my arm as he gently turned me around, then he pulled me against him so tightly, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe. I heard him sniffle a few times. I kept my arms around him just as tightly and would do so for as long as he needed.
“I’ll be right here the whole time, Stephen. You don’t have to face it alone.”
I thought there was no way he could hold me any tighter, but I was wrong. I was so wrong. I knew he was struggling, but I didn’t realize it was this much. I heard him inhale sharply, like he was choking back sobs and my heart just hurt for him.
“I love you, Yoden. And as much as whatever you went through su cked and still su cks, it made you into my absolute favorite vampire of all time. Without you, no one would know what enabling is,” I said, trying to sound serious, but unable to hide my smile.
He laughed and his grip on me loosened. He wiped his eyes before he let me go completely. “I didn’t realize how much I needed that, Seph. I still don’t understand how you do it, but please never stop.”
“Can’t stop, won’t stop,” I said, grinning at him, which made him laugh again. Now come here, I could use extra hands for this part.”
Stephen’s phone beeped while we were waiting for the cookies to come out of the oven. “Henry will be here tonight. Viktor said Boss wants you at the meeting, so whatever we’re doing needs to be finished by 6.”
“He’s very bossy today,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest.
Stephen pretended that he was typing a reply to Viktor. “Sephie says you’re not the boss of her and you can su ck it. Send.”
I laughed. “Even with your lightning fast vampire thumbs, I could see you weren’t even touching the screen. He’s always so sweet about ordering dinner when I need a break, but I seriously think it makes him grumpy when I don’t cook.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.