Never Say Die- Chapter 17

 

Chapter 17

 

 

            Rhys went back and forth feeling ok and feeling crappy over the next few days, he tried to go to work and school but ended up coming back to my house early most of the time. He seemed to prefer to stay at my house than his own apartment, which was flattering but at the same time I’m sure he didn’t get the same attention at his own place that he got from me and Flan.

            By that Friday he wasn’t keeping anything down at all and was seriously dehydrated so Flan and I drove him to the doctor where they proceeded to give him five liters of saline.

            “Geez I didn’t even know someone could hold that much!” I whispered to them when the nurse had left the room after starting his IV.

            “Just because you never get sick…” Rhys grumbled and I raised an eyebrow, so he had noticed. Flan looked pointedly at me, Yeah you un-sick weirdo. I couldn’t help laughing at her and Rhys looked at me curiously.

            I patted his hand without the IV in it, “At least there’s something to be done to help you feel better, I swear your mom is ready to hop on the next plane out here. Imagine how awkward it would be having her show up and you being in my bed.” I was nervous just thinking about it.

            “Saydie we just got back from a weekend alone in Seattle, you think she doesn’t know that we share a bed now and then?”

            “Well I certainly didn’t know that!” Flan exclaimed, feigning shock, and I shushed her as I laughed nervously.

            “I realize that she knows but it’s another thing to have her see it firsthand you know?”

            “Why is it a big deal? It’s not like we’re having sex or anything.” He winked at me and I swatted his arm as Flan let out a loud guffaw from the other side of the bed.

            “That is entirely beside the point.” I said to him, “Shut up Flan.” I turned to her and she had tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks as she fought (unsuccessfully) to stop laughing. With every bit of love that I was able to muster in my heart I flipped her the bird, which only made her laugh harder.

            I could see that Rhys was fighting a smile himself and I finally sighed in defeat, giving up on winning this one.

            “The point I’m making is that I’d rather not meet your mother for the first time with the message of ‘Hey I’m sleeping with your son!’ written all over the situation. It would be rude and embarrassing for that matter.” I blushed a little and Rhys reached out to gently stroke my cheek with the back of his hand.

            “I know baby, we’re just teasing, hopefully this IV will do the trick and you won’t have to worry about my mother showing up unexpectedly.” I glared openly at him, still bitter about their teasing but I definitely hoped he was right.

 

            “No mom everything is fine, I feel a lot better after the IV.” Rhys was on the phone with his mother about 5 minutes after we’d left the hospital, I felt the slightest bit of satisfaction that he’d taken my feelings into account and called her immediately to update on his condition so that she wouldn’t worry unnecessarily and show up unexpectedly.

            “Yes, they said I should be good as new in a couple days, I should be completely back to myself by Monday.” There was a silence for a moment as she spoke, “I promise if I’m not better by then you can come and baby me all you want.” My mouth fell open in surprise at this and he held his finger up to ask me to be quiet.

            He was lucky I was driving as I sat back in my seat and waited out the phone call so I could yell at him when he was done.

            When he finally hung up the phone it did sound like he’d managed to keep his mother at bay.

            “She can come and baby you all she wants? Are you trying to freak me out?” I hissed vehemently.

            “Relax babe I’ll be fine, I know how to work my mother, trust me.”

            “Still, a little warning would have been nice, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” I said grumpily as I reached for the opener for the gate and began to pull into the driveway, before realizing that there was already another car in it, and coming to a sudden stop.

            I eyed the sleek black Mercedes, wondering who could have possibly been waiting for us to get back. They couldn’t get up to the house without the code to the gate or my opening it for them and so they sat blocking the way in. They backed up, flashing their headlights at me to go on ahead; I pushed the button to open the gate, peering cautiously through the windshield of the car but couldn’t get a clear look at who it was.

            “Are you expecting company babe?” Rhys asked and I shook my head.

            “I have no idea who that could possibly be.” I said with tension in my voice as I pulled into the garage and turned the car off. We all piled out and Rhys gently pushed the two of us behind him as he went over to investigate the driver of the other car. The door opened and a tall man with sandy brown hair that fell playfully over his forehead, stepped out, I puzzled over the fact that he looked awfully familiar as I stared at him.

            “Oh!” Flan exclaimed and I turned to her, suddenly worried.

            “What Flan? Who is it?” I hissed in her ear.

            As the words were leaving my lips Rhys was saying, “Why am I not surprised?” Then he and the man threw their arms around each other as Flan replied, “That’s his brother.” My mouth fell open as I processed the information.

            Well It’s better than his mother I suppose, I thought to her. Definitely, she thought back as we came to a stop behind Rhys and waited to be introduced.

            Todd practically pushed him out of the way before sweeping me up into his arms for a big hug, picking me up off the ground and spinning me around. He planted a kiss on my cheek before he exclaimed, “It’s so good to finally meet you!”

            “It’s good to meet you too.” I said breathlessly as he let me go, And good to know that you have no social boundaries with strangers I thought and heard Flan snicker. “I see your mom wasn’t willing to take no for an answer.” I said gesturing to him.

            “No, it took everything I could think of to convince her to let me come instead; she was frantic and needed to see for herself that her baby here was safe.” He replied, putting Rhys in a headlock and rubbing his knuckles on his head.

            “Hey now, cut it out! I am a grown man, none of that stuff.” Rhys exclaimed as he pulled away.

            “Are you done being a wuss in front of your woman yet?” Todd teased.

            “Hey now, don’t pick on him just because you don’t have a woman of your own to be a wuss for.” I interjected and Todd raised an eyebrow at me as though I’d said something quite interesting.

            “Touché, Miss Saydie, I see you’re more protective of my brother than I thought.”

He shot Rhys a look that clearly said “Wuss!” but Rhys just rolled his eyes and laughed it off, it was obviously normal to him.

            I decided that a change of subject was in order, “Would you like to come in?” I suggested and he nodded.

            “I would like that very much, thank you.” He replied before following us into the house.

The boys settled themselves at the bar while Flan and I scrounged up something to make for dinner.

            “Is your stomach ok for solid foods, do you think?” I asked Rhys while keeping an eye on Todd who opened his mouth to speak. “Nope.” I interrupted, and held my hand up to my lips in a gesture that suggested that he zip his mouth, lock it and throw away the key.

            “You’ve really got her trained there bro, she’s all over you like a mother hen. I guess mom didn’t need to come after all.”

            Rhys laughed, “There’s no training, she’s just that good.” He said and leaned in to give me a kiss over the counter.

            “I just love you that much.” I said playfully as I tossed a salad together and he smiled back at me.

            “I think I’ll give some solid food a shot.” He said, answering my earlier question which I’d nearly forgotten already.

            Flan and I threw together some lightly seasoned chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes while the guys chatted away about what they’d been up to lately. While this was going on Flan and I were having a quiet conversation of our own.

            Wow, they look so much alike! She thought and I studied them for a moment.

            You’re right, they do don’t they? Their charm is definitely the same.

            What was it that Todd does again?

            He’s a lawyer for orphans and foster kids.

I stopped for a moment to just share my memories with her of what Rhys had told me and what I’d learned of Todd per our phone conversation, she looked at me with an amused expression while she watched. Neither of us realized that we’d stopped what we were doing and were just staring at each other in silence for a few minutes.

            I was startled when Rhys interrupted my thoughts, “You two are staring at each other like something awfully amusing is going on in your heads.” I blushed a deep red in disbelief that we’d been so obvious.

            “I’m starting to think that something is going on between these two that we don’t know about.” Todd elbowed Rhys in the ribs.

            “I think you could be right.” Rhys replied.

            “Do you not have a best friend and need to pick on that too?” I teased.

            “Wow Saydie, It’s no fun when you fight back.” Todd complained jokingly.

            “You know what they say, if you can’t stand the heat…”

            “Is that an invitation to leave your kitchen?” he asked bluntly but still looked amused.

            “If you can behave yourself you’re more than welcome to stay.” I said and smiled brightly at him, the friendly banter was kind of fun.

            “I think you’ve met your match there, bro.” Rhys muttered through his teeth with a grin on his face.

            “I think you may be right. Thanksgiving isn’t going to be nearly as fun as I hoped it would be.” He sighed wistfully and put his chin in his hands. “Of all the girls in the world you have to go and find the one who would ruin all my fun.”

            “You’re the older brother, you should be setting a good example rather than picking on him.” I said pointedly.

            “God she’s worse than mom, or maybe she’s channeling her.” Todd chuckled and Rhys joined him.

            “I’m not sure anyone could be quite as bad as mom.” Rhys defended me and I smiled happily at him.

            “Yeah you’re probably right.” Todd agreed good naturedly.

            “I would never send my other son to pick on his brother when he was sick.” I said, teasing again.

            “You can’t say that unless you’ve actually had a child, you’d be amazed at what people will do when they have kids.” I noticed that a hardness came to his eyes and was sure that he’d seen his fair share of parents who hadn’t changed in a good way when they had children.

            “Saydie would be a great mom, practically perfect in every way and all that. You should have seen how well she did with Elizabeth and Emily.” Rhys quickly interjected, surprising me with his quoting of Mary Poppins. I felt the blood rush to my face, we hadn’t really discussed having kids but it was nice to know that he had so much faith in me.

            “Look at her turn red!” Todd hooted and I stuck my tongue out at him.

            “I can still kick you out of the kitchen you know.” I threatened, raising an eyebrow at him.

            “He has to get out anyway, time to eat.” Flan announced from behind me and Todd stood up with a smug smile.

            “Saved by the bell pal.” I elbowed him as I took the salad bowl to the dining table.

            “I have to say, I like you Saydie, you can take it as well as you can dish it out, that makes you A-okay in my book.” He declared and I flushed again.

            “Well thanks Todd you’re alright yourself.” I replied smiling.

            “I told you they’d all love you.” Rhys leaned over to whisper in my ear before kissing my cheek gently.

            When dinner was finished Rhys said he was feeling well enough to go with his brother over to Marlene’s to say hello and Todd promised to bring him back at the first sign of sickness. I imagined that it wouldn’t be without a lot of torment though.

            Flan and I decided to watch a movie while we waited for them to return, so we got out the popcorn and piled onto the couch in the media room.

            “I almost forgot to tell you that I have some good news.” Flan said suddenly as the opening credits flashed across the screen.

            “Oh yeah, what’s that?” I asked bemused.

            “You shouldn’t have any more problems with Veronica; she seems to have found herself a new boy toy.”

            I raised an eyebrow at her, sensing there was more to it than what she’d just shared, “Is that so?”

            “Oh that’s not the best part get this.” She stopped for a dramatic pause until I pulled a face that suggested that she get on with it.

            “He’s a demon!” She exclaimed and my mouth fell wide open.

            I could barely sputter a response, “He’s what? She…how is that possible?”

            “Okay he’s only part demon, he seems to be a lot like you in his human ways. Veronica has no idea but she seems to be absolutely smitten with this guy. I don’t think he’s turning the charm on because he doesn’t seem to affect other people. They’re not serious yet but it definitely looks like it’s going that way.” I pondered this for a moment, another part demon in the area and he was associated with people I knew already. I could only hope that he was human enough not to cause any problems for me.

            “Maybe I should introduce myself, if she’s really into him it’ll drive her up a wall.” I suggested vindictively.

            “It’s not a bad idea; I think he’s new so he probably doesn’t know you’re here. Who knows you may even be able to make a new friend.”

            “Oh yeah I’m sure Veronica would love that.” I said sarcastically rolling my eyes at her.

            “You never know until you try, if she’s really into this guy she might finally be over Rhys enough to at least act halfway normal around you.”

            “That’s true, but could you even imagine her reaction if she found out what he was?” I laughed at the thought as something new came to mind.

            “That would probably blow her mind.” Flan replied, laughing with me.

            “Speaking of knowing what you are, does Hadley know about you?”

            Flan managed to look sheepish but I could see that I’d touched on a sensitive subject and raised an eyebrow at her, determined to get a response.

            “No I haven’t told her yet. I’m waiting to make sure she’s the one.”

            “And here you’ve been bugging me to tell Rhys about me!” I exclaimed with mock anger.

            “Come on Say, that’s different, I have no doubt in the world that he’s the one for you. He’s going to be fine with you. I don’t see things in my life the way I do in others, it’s the handicap of the gift. Besides, witches have nothing on demons; I could only wish to have half the power you could have if you gave into your other side. ”

            I considered her words, in some ways she was right, she definitely had nothing on me in the power department, it was like comparing a kitten to an angry tiger…okay maybe a happy tiger to an angry one, despite her laid-back nature I knew that Flan was pretty powerful and was just as humble about it as I was.

            “If it’s not as big of a deal I think that you should tell her, you don’t even have to tell her that you have powers yet, there’s lots of wiccans who consider themselves witches, tell her that little bit and see how she responds.” I insisted, “It’s not like I can tell Rhys, ‘Hey I’m a demon but only a little bit.’ But you have the opportunity to feel her out before completely exposing yourself.”

            “You could totally tell him you’re a demon a little bit, because you’re so human!” She snarled at me, suddenly angry and causing me to pull back in surprise. She’d never gotten an attitude with me like this before.

            “How do you figure? There’s not too many ways you can describe being a demon, either you’re evil with powers or you’re not.”

            “And you fall into the “not” category so what’s the problem?” she threw back at me.

            “I am the daughter of the devil Flan, if there was a way to make that sound any less threatening believe me I’d find it, no matter how much I may try to suppress my demon side, I can’t change the fact that it’s what I am!” I yelled back, “I have no idea what could set me off and turn me over completely to the evil, all I know is that I have to try to keep my emotions under control, which is a ridiculous task when you’re crazy in love with another person. Tell me exactly how I can get around all that and I will gladly tell him anything you want!”

            I realized that I was standing up and yelling now, she was standing and facing me as well. As if it was happening in slow motion, I saw her eyes light up in many colors, red, orange, yellow and mixes of the three. She opened her mouth to yell back, I could see it on her face but she was looking at the ground, slowly she looked up to meet my eyes and her mouth fell open in shock as she took a step back.

            “I see what you meant about that emotional thing…” she trailed off and I didn’t understand what she was getting at.

            Still irritated with her, I put my hands on my hips angrily, I never even paid attention to the burning that seemed to be consuming me.

            “What the hell are you talking about Flan?”

            She pointed silently at me, unable to find words apparently. I looked down at myself and gasped in surprise, I was on fire. I looked back up at her in shock as we both heard the sound of the front door opening, Rhys and Todd’s voices floated in our direction.

            “Saydie? Where are you guys?” Rhys called and Flan and I both wore matching, terrified expressions. Suddenly she grabbed a blanket and threw it around me, wrapping her arms around me as well and pretending to hug me as their voices got closer.

            “Think of anything neutral Saydie, anything at all, find some inner peace, you have to make this stop NOW!” she hissed into my ear and I started to focus knowing that she was right.

            “Picture waterfalls. Peaceful rivers of cool water are flowing crookedly through the rugged landscape of the outskirts of Seattle. Birds are chirping a happy song as you float happily down a lazy river…” She stopped and I heard the footsteps stop just outside the door. The burning had subsided as I focused on her words.

            Am I good? I asked silently.

            “Yes.” She responded out loud just as the door opened and Rhys stopped short in the frame.

            “Are you guys alright?” he asked cautiously. I could only imagine how it looked, the two of us standing there in each other’s arms with a blanket wrapped around me.

            “Saydie was getting cold so I got her a blanket; I was worried that she may have gotten whatever you have.” Flan spoke up and I just nodded in agreement.

Rhys hurried over to my side to help me sit on the couch. “Are you alright? Is your stomach upset?” I finally managed to smile at him.

            “No, just some chills, hopefully I’ll be ok soon.” I tried to assure him but he still looked worried.

            Thank you Flan, I’m so sorry I yelled at you.

            Don’t worry about it you were right anyway, it would hurt me way less to tell Hadley than it would for you to tell Rhys.

            We smiled at each other briefly before settling back onto the couch to watch the movie we’d started. Rhys and Todd both kept a close eye on me but seemed to relax as time went on and I didn’t show any other signs of sickness.

            I was going to have to find a way to keep myself under control, randomly catching on fire was definitely not a good thing.