Chapter 10

Danny's POV

"And you are sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Jesus," Lilly exclaimed exasperatedly from the other end of the line, "How many times do I have to say it? I'm fine. Toby's nice-- I like him. You know, after I figured out that he wasn't robbing the flat. You picked a good one."

I closed my eyes with a sigh of relief, nodding once I was reassured for the umpteenth time that Lilly was okay. After calling her mobile over a dozen times that morning, she finally picked up at around 9AM-- claiming that she'd been asleep and had her phone on silent in the living room. Toby had arrived the night before but hadn't called Christopher until early this morning, meaning he'd been there a solid twelve hours at that point. Fortunately, from her account nothing along the lines of turning into a large supernatural monster had occurred.

I mean, nothing was said but I'm pretty sure it would've been mentioned if it had...

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just being paranoid-- you know what I'm like," I mumbled, hugging my waist in comfort.

"Well, that's great. Seeing as you're the one who bloody sent him," She sarcastically praised, "You did screen him before sending him, right?"

"Of course."

"And was there anything suspicious about him?" She interrogated.

I mean he's a freaking werewolf.

I winced heavily and bit my lip as I strained out, "No..."

"Then we're good. Personally, I think he's a sweetheart. We stayed up all night talking, even though he was tired from the trip. He seems like a nice guy. Pretty shy but not at all what I was expecting. Also, he's so young. He's only like, two years older than me; it's mad!" She began, her voice gradually speeding up throughout her reply, "Yeah, like—I feel pretty comfortable with Toby. I can't explain it. It's like we just clicked, you know? I think being so close in age really helped."

By the end of her gushing I'd headed over to my bedroom door and begun to gently bang my forehead repeatedly against it, the tell-tale signs of when my sister had developed a crush making me want to physically reach through the phone and shake some sense in her, "Lilly, please tell me you don't fancy the babysitter..."

I could practically feel her shrug in response, "... Alright, I won't tell you."

I groaned lowly. There go my hopes of her not even liking him.

"What?" She replied incredulously, "He's cute. He's young. He's nice..."

"Yeah, so was Hitler at one point, Lills," I tried to argue meekly in return.

She scoffed, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the babysitter isn't Hitler, Dan. You're being more paranoid than usual. What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just saying," I reasoned, turning and leaning against the door instead of banging my forehead against it, "Maybe it's not the best idea to be making moves on the babysitter when you're so... you know..."

"What?"

I grimaced slightly at the excuse I was taking, "With child."

"Well, you've change your tune. What happened to the whole, women are more than just mothers spiel? Seriously, what has gotten into you?" She replied, her voice taking on a defensive tone as she spoke about the young boy, "Besides the guy is so shy, I'm pretty sure if I just brush against his arm he'd get a nose bleed. He's harmless, Dan. Trust me."

"I know-- I'm sorry. It's just I'm not there to look after you and... no one is harmless, Lill," I warned guiltily, trying my best to caution her without actually bringing up the fact that she was in the danger of becoming this guy's wolf wife. It felt so frustrating because I knew that if I told her outright that she couldn't be with the guy, the temptation to be with him would be even stronger out of pure stubbornness. The forbidden fruit is sweeter, after all.

So if I had to resort to guilt tripping her with her own pregnancy, then so be it-- even if I had spent the past few months drilling it into her not to be ashamed of it. But I also knew I couldn't just tell her about him being a monster.

Either: A) She wouldn't believe me and think my PTSD had taken on a whole new level of weird, the stress of knowing I was one cake short of a tea party three states over causing her to go into an early labour. Or B) She'd believe me, crap herself, stress and just go into a far too early labour anyway; risking her own life along with my unborn nephew's.

Both outcomes weren't exactly ideal.

"Alright, Ghandi. Calm down, I forgive you," She chuckled teasingly, "Oh, the Richard guy gave me your list by the way. There a reason why you're not here to pick everything up yourself?"

I blanked, "Umm, I'm just busy. Everything is a bit all over the place here."

She sighed, "Wow, this place must be fancy as Hell if they can afford sending a guy this far. Well, he left about an hour ago. I packed everything for you last night. Chucked in a few extra bits and bobs. I'm keeping Jess though."

"Fairs," I mumbled, "Just be careful for me, would you? Don't go walking around naked to try and impress him or something."

"Oh yeah, because this beach-ball of a belly is going to be turning heads anytime soon."

"It's a whole kink on Pornhub, Lills."

"Ew," She muttered incredulously, "Listen I'm gonna go-- breakfast is burning. I'll speak to you later."

"Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Love you, Munchkin."

"Love you too, bye!" She replied, before the familiar tone of the line dropping rung in my ear. Sighing, I snapped the phone shut and continued to lean against the door in contemplation. How on Earth was I going to get that guy out of my apartment if Lilly seemed to like him so much?

The vague sound of the front door opening stirred me into action only a few moments later, my eyes blinking as I was dragged back into the present by a familiar voice calling, "Drugs! Drugs, people. Get your drugs!"

Sighing, I pocketed my mobile and turned to head downstairs and greet Yvane. I figured a friendly face would do me some good as I left the bedroom and descended the staircase. Upon entering the kitchen, it didn't take me long to spot her as she dumped a large Tupperware box filled with various bottles of medicine onto the kitchen island. Calling out a greeting, she turned around and beamed happily as she acknowledged my tired figure, "Morning!"

"You seem chipper," I commented, sitting down on one of the stools next to her as she began making herself a cup of coffee.

"Well, why shouldn't I be? It's my baby's birthday in a couple of days and for once I'm not scrambling at the last second to plan everything. Life is good," She chirped, her whole face the picture of happiness as she ripped open a coffee sachet, "Want one?"

"Please," I answered, "So what's happening with Grace's birthday?"

"It's on Sunday. I think the plan was to have it in Chris' garden outback but um, I think we're going to have to move it to the youth centre," She said, pausing and stumbling over her words as she mentioned the party move.

"Really?" I asked curiously, "Why?"

She shrugged, pursing her lips as she busied herself with the coffees, "Well you know, with people not knowing who you are and all..."

"Ah," I mused, catching on that the reason she had to move everything was because of me. I felt a sliver of guilt sneak into my thoughts but quickly pushed it aside once I remembered that it wasn't my fault in the first place. She poured out two cups and placed one in front of me on the counter, "That nugget."

"Yep. But ah well, nothing that some balloons and bunting can't fix. Plus the kid's only turning two, it's not like she'll even remember it," She waved off, still seemingly happy which did ease the subconscious feeling of guilt a little bit.

"True..." I nodded, blowing on my steaming drink and taking a tepid sip before eyeing the box she'd brought in, "So what have you got for me, Doc?"

She made a sound of remembrance as she put down her own cup and went back over to the box. Popping off the lid, she began pulling out various bottles of medicine and placing them onto the counter in front of me, "Couple of kick-ass pain killers and enough Paroxetine to keep you going for a couple of days. I thought seeing as Richard's bringing back some stuff from New York you'd be pretty much sorted. For a little while at least."

"You'd be correct," I confirmed, casually picking up a bottle that looked vaguely familiar but was definitely not my prescription. I examined the small print and whistled lowly as it hit me where I'd seen this medication before, voicing my train of thought aloud without thinking as I asked, "Oh, wow. Lunesta. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while. Who's the night owl?"

"Um, Chris," She muttered distractedly, buried wrist deep in the box and busy sorting through the medicine as she spoke, "Yeah, the guy's a raging insomniac. He got on top of it for a while but, last couple of weeks he's been struggling so..."

She seemed to realise what she was saying and slowed down significantly by the end of her sentence.

"Oh..." I replied awkwardly, not really knowing what to say with this new information.

It did explain what the guy was doing up at 3AM-- and why it seemed that he hadn't slept at 5AM. But even after everything that had happened, I had to feel bad for him on some level. Insomnia was no stranger and for the first year of civilian life I'd felt his pain. It wasn't something to laugh at, and was a definite bitch to get a handle on, "Well, that sucks."

"Yeah... I shouldn't have told you that," She remarked, her voice taking on a tone of both confusion and guilt, "... Why did I tell you that?"

"Got me," I admitted, also finding it weird for a Doctor to discuss her patient's diagnosis with me in such detail. Deciding it was perhaps best to switch topics, I turned to an easy one that would hopefully serve its purpose, "Where's Cody?"

"Dropping Grace off at day-care. He should be back soon," She replied, obviously grateful for the conversation turner, "Why? What's up?"

I shrugged, bringing my coffee up to take a sip and talking into the mug, "Nothing, just wanted to talk to him about something. You in the clinic today?"

"Mhmm," She replied, scoffing slightly as she took another sip of her coffee. I'd come to learn that Yvane was essentially the local GP for the entirety of the 'herd', being one of only a few local doctors within the area, "Just dropping off some prescriptions, then I'm back in the clinic first thing."

"Bummer."

She sighed, "Sure is. But I got the weekend off, so that's something at least."

"Baby, you in?" A familiar voice suddenly called as the front door opened, the very man I was looking for entering the house with an equally far too chipper tone this early in the morning.

"Yes, my pickle-berry! In the kitchen," I yelled back teasingly, smirking at Yvane as she glared good-naturedly before turning to smile at Cody as he entered; perfectly showing off the small gap in her front teeth that only added to her charm.

"When did your voice get so British, babe?" He asked mockingly, making his way over and snaking an arm around her waist before leaning forward to kiss her in greeting.

"Ugh, get a room," Lucy yawned, announcing her presence as she tiredly strolled in and sat down next to me on a vacant stool, "It's too early for this shit. Morning."

I smiled at her dishevelled looking appearance, her hair pulled back into a messy short ponytail and her flannel pyjamas half tucked in, "Morning."

"You know what? I think we will," He smirked suggestively, tightening his grip around his wife before hitching her up and causing her to squeal in shock. With a surprising amount of strength for someone so lanky, he began carrying her out the room and towards the hallway; both of them giggling like school children.

"Wait, before you go I need to ask you something," I called, standing from the stool and abandoning my cup on the counter as I followed them out into the hall. Once in the entryway he reluctantly placed her down with a sigh, keeping his arms around her waist as they both turned to acknowledge me curiously.

"Well, I'm sorry. But Yvane won't do threesomes-- so that's out of the question," He sighed, gaining a glare and a smack on the shoulder from his wife, "Goddamn it-- stop abusing me, woman! I come here, promise you a fine moment of love making and you hit me."

"Shut up," She muttered, her face heating up in embarrassment, "Are you high?"

"On love, Baby."

"Stop flirting! I need a word."

"Okay shoot," He nodded, unwrapping his arms and slapping Yvane's butt before gently shoving her out the room and back to into the kitchen, "Sorry dear, this is man talk."

"Hey!" We both cried in simultaneous outrage, Cody's hands shooting up in defence.

"So what do you want to talk about?" He asked once Yvane had returned to the kitchen and out of sight.

"...I need to go shoppi-"

"No," He cut in before I could finish.

"Oh, come on! I need to get something for Grace's birthday and I'll feel like a right bitch if I don't," I argued, resorting to giving him the best puppy dog face I muster as I tried to appeal to his empathetic side.

"You don't have to get Grace anything. She's two. She'll probably be more interested in the box it comes in," He tried to convince whilst rolling his eyes, but I just shook my head and placed my hands together as if to pray.

"Please Cody, just for a bit," I borderline pleaded, bending my knees in frustration.

He sighed tightly, "Why can't you just order somethin' online?"

"It won't arrive on time; the party is on Sunday. Come on, Codes. Do me a solid here?"

"... Listen, I told you. It's not my call. You get Chris to agree, and I'll come running. You hear?" He replied after a moment of tense deliberation. It was if the guy was borderline on my side with the issue, but obviously he had such a warped sense of loyalty towards Christopher that it wasn't enough to convince him to yield, "Speaking of, what was all that yelling about this morning? Pretty sure you woke up the entire neighbourhood."

I grimaced slightly, "You heard that, huh?"

"I would be surprised if the entire East Coast hadn't heard it. You good?" He asked, genuine concern in his eyes as he asked if I was okay.

"Christopher hasn't told you?" I blinked, the little knowledge I had on the hierarchy of the 'herd' enough to let me know that Cody was essentially Christopher's right-hand man. Surely he should've told him by now?

"I'm heading up to talk to him now. Should I be worried?" He pried, obviously being too nosy for his own good. Was Cody a gossip?

"Yeah, it's just... the guy he sent to New York um, did the soul-matey thing," I muttered, really not in the mood to be discussing what had happened to my sister. Saying it aloud meant that it was real.

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, "Toby, mated? Well hot damn good on him! He's a good kid, whoever she is-- she's one lucky girl."

Only after a moment did he seem to notice how quickly my face had fallen into a scowl, "Is she... not? A lucky girl?"

"Speak to Christopher. He'll catch you up better than I can, I'm sure."

"... And the Lord said unto thee... give me a six!" Lucy proclaimed loudly, slamming the dice down onto the table. Yvane and I both stared wide eyed as we waited for her big reveal, holding our breath as we waited for the outcome. Lucy waited a solid three seconds before lifting the cup and revealing a three and four staring back at her, "Ah, you wanker!"

"Yes!" Yvane exclaimed loudly, cackling exaggeratedly as she realised she was now in the lead. I craned my neck as I tried to get a peak at her cards whilst she was distracted, quickly glancing away and ducking my head when she caught me trying to catch a glimpse.

Her eyes narrowed as she pulled the cards closer to her chest, her gaze suspicious as she used her other hand to grab the glass of red wine next to her to sip. Lucy continued to huff as she sat across from us, sitting back down on the floor properly with an accusing look, "This is rigged, I call bullshit."

"Just because you don't throw dice well."

"Bollocks. I want to restart."

I groaned loudly, throwing my cards down as I leant up onto my elbows from my semi-lying down pose, "We've already restarted like three times!"

"Then you won't mind a fourth."

"Lucy..." I whined, nudging her with my newly sock clad foot as I tried to reason with her, "Come on, don't be a sore loser."

"I'm not!"

Yvane scoffed and began muttering into her wine glass, "You kind of are..."

"Alright, fine! Let's just do something else then."

"Such as...?" I sighed, rolling over onto my stomach and shuffling around to face both women. The new pain-killers that Yvane had brought yesterday were working a dream, and I had now reached the point where I didn't even feel sore after the gym. I've said it before and I'll say it again-- I love drugs.

"... I don't know!" She eventually muttered, throwing down her cards as she leant her back against the lower part of the sofa. It was currently 2PM on a Saturday and Yvane had the day off. We'd decided to have a girl's day and open a bottle of wine (Which I was promptly banned from drinking by doctor's orders). Ironically that same doctor was the one drinking it in my stead, so there we were sat in a circle on the living room floor, playing card games as I sipped on my very non-alcoholic lemonade.

And it wasn't even the good kind; it was the American 'still' kind.

"Well, we've still got..." Yvane began, glancing at her watch, "Maybe an hour? Before Rich makes it back. So we better think of something to kill the time and quick because this wine is going down a lot quicker than necessary."

"Go fish?"

Yvane rolled her eyes, "With Lucy? Pass."

"Rude," Lucy scoffed in reply, "How about Poker? I promise I won't cheat."

"You cheat every time," Yvane pointed out with narrowed eyes, leaning her glass forward towards Lucy's shrugging form, "You've got a problem, Honey."

"I do not cheat every time..."

Yvane gave a flat look before the blonde cracked and smiled knowingly in return, "Okay yeah, I do. How about truth or dare, then?"

I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped my lips, "What are you twelve?"

"Alright, fine! Why can't we just talk? Come on Dan. You've been here, what? Two weeks? You must have a bunch of questions... Lay it on us! Spare no expense," Lucy exclaimed, the effects of the wine obviously getting the best of her as she seemed to be getting considerably more excitable by the minute.

I shrugged, awkwardly taking a sip of my lemonade, "Trust me, I'm good."

"Seriously? You don't want to know anything?"

"Nope. The less I know, the less I can deny when the FBI come knocking on my door," I argued somewhat jokingly.

She narrowed her eyes and light-heartedly heckled, "Boo, you're no fun."

"Fine. What do you want me to ask, Lucy?" I amusedly relented, smiling at her increasing tipsy behaviour which was becoming too funny not to humour.

"I don't know! Don't you want to know about where we all came from...? How we turn? Or, um... Chris' dating history?" She replied, visibly trying to think of decent question examples to give.

My nose scrunched up involuntarily in distaste, "No, I'm seriously good on that one. Thank you."

"What why?" She asked in confusion, "Do you seriously not find him even remotely attractive?"

"Come on, Lucy," Yvane thankfully intervened, obviously noticing my taken aback expression and taking pity, "Leave the girl be."

"Oh, as if you're pretending you don't want to know either!" Lucy countered, drunkenly waving her off as she adjusted her sitting position and almost spilt half a glass of wine, "We were literally talking about it yesterday!"

"I--" Yvane began, opening her mouth to retort before shutting it sheepishly and awkwardly looking away. My mouth popped open in shock as the doctor pursed her lips and took a tepid sip of her wine.

I was taken aback by the doctor, "Seriously? You too?"

"... I'm just genuinely curious is all! Usually mates find each other really physically attractive. It's what... get's the ball rolling if you catch my drift," She admitted sheepishly, her tone without an inch of malice or judgment as she asked in such a way that made it seem that she purely just wanted to know the answer for curiosity sake.

I coughed slightly to clear my throat, glancing down at my lemonade as I continued to lie on my stomach. I mean, I hadn't really acknowledged Christopher's appearance in great detail before but I guess he wasn't exactly what you'd call ugly...

I shook my head slightly to clear it.

"It doesn't matter if I find him fit or not. I'm not going to be his mate. So case closed. We don't need to be attracted to each other," I answered firmly, not wanting to get in on this discussion.

"... He's attracted to you," Lucy mumbled lowly after a moment of silence, speaking into her wine glass as she said it.

I looked at her incredulously for her reply, "Bullshit!"

"I'm serious! You're tall, strong, blonde--"

"I'm brunette!"

She stared at my hair for a moment in thought, "... No, I'd say blonde. Yvane?"

"Wha--?"

"... I'd say a dark blonde, yeah." She replied with pursed, thoughtful lips.

"See. Fully his type. Also, he gave you his socks," She declared, gesturing towards my feet.

My mouth popped open as I stared at her gobsmacked, "What? How did you--?"

Yvane tapped the side of her nose knowingly, "We've got a really good sense of smell, Dan."

My nose scrunched up once more.

"Okay, first of all; gross. Second of all, they're just socks," I exclaimed, my voice slightly higher pitch than usual. The conversation was really going in a direction that I wasn't happy with but I felt such a stubborn need to prove that there was no attraction it was palpable, "It doesn't mean anything."

"Ah, but you see it does. Chris doesn't do stuff like that."

One of my eyes twitched slightly in frustration, "You don't know that."

Lucy eyed me knowingly, "Course I know that. I grew up with the ding-bat I know him better than anyone."

"No. Listen, there's no attraction--"

"-- Yes, there is!" She sang, only causing my annoyance to grow further.

"No, there isn't! Look, you want proof? Yvane and Cody are mates, right? And they're all over each other constantly-- no offence, Yvane."

She nodded and held up her glass, "None taken. Is all true."

"And from what you've told me, you're meant to be even worse at the beginning. So tell me then, why am I not out there humping Christopher's leg right now?"

"Human instinct," A new voice suddenly cut across the room, Lucy jumping violently and as a result accidentally kicking me in the side. Exclaiming lowly in pain, I hissed and rubbed the side of my boob with a scowl-- shooting an accusing look at Lucy as she looked back sheepishly and turned to acknowledge the man that had just entered. Following her gaze, the devil himself stood in the doorway with a pretty unreadable look on his face as he watched us all calculatingly.

I couldn't help the involuntarily gulp that ensued once I saw him. Our last conversation echoed through my head as I recalled how we'd essentially established that we wouldn't die for each other, and the awkward silence that had followed along with the rather forced retreat. Realising that everyone was looking at me for a response, I blinked and quickly came to the conclusion that I had no idea what to say, "What?"

"Your body sensed a predator whether you were aware of it or not. Overrode the mating process; man's incentive to live. The ultimate survivors."

"...You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"It's why we're here today isn't it?" He pointed out.

Well, he got me there.

Yvane cleared her throat slightly after a few awkward moments of silence, "Umm, was there anything you needed, Chris?"

"... Yeah, Richard is back with your stuff," He replied, "I trust you can manage?"

Looking at me for confirmation I simply nodded in response, "Ugh, yeah. Yeah, we're good."

"Cool," He muttered, turning to leave the room, "I'll be upstairs."

"Huh, traffic must've been good. He's early," Yvane mumbled, glancing down at her watch as Christopher left to go back upstairs.

Watching him climb back up the stairs, I noted how exhausted he looked. More exhausted than usual which was saying something. The insomnia must have had taken a turn as the bags beneath his eyes were atrocious. I felt myself unconsciously frown as I remembered how horrible lack of sleep can actually be. Pissed off or not, I had to sympathise with the guy, even if just a little.

Blinking back into the room, I turned to get up and happened to catch Lucy staring thoughtfully at my sock clad feet as Yvane stood from her spot and stretched. My eyes narrowed as I brought my hand out and smacked her lightly on the arm, "Lucy, stop-- Ugh, forget about the socks!"

"But--"

"Nope, no! I'm walking away," I declared, before standing and stumbling after Yvane who had already made her way to the open front door. I didn't care how well I got along with her, this sort of discussion was just not something I was comfortable with having. Especially considering that she seemed way too happy with the whole sock situation.

I don't give a shit if he's attracted to me. Sorry, I'm not into bestiality.

Turning the corner and catching up with Yvane, I came face to face with my 'guard' from the other day putting down two rather large, familiar suitcases onto the porch, "Where do you want them?"

"Right here is just fine thanks, Richard. Is there anything else?" Yvane replied, grabbing a duffle bag from the pile that had already been put down by the door. Lucy eventually joined us with a low-whistle as she acknowledged the half a dozen bags and cases that lay before us. How much had Lilly packed?

"I've got another case in the car and a couple of boxes. Your sister was... thorough," He replied, pursing his lips as he straightened his back and looked between the car and myself.

I nodded, "I can see that. Umm, well thanks. For getting them, I mean."

"Don't mention it. You need a hand taking it upstairs?"

"God no, you've already had such a long day. Get some rest Rich, we'll grab the rest," Yvane declared, waving him off as she grabbed the handle of one of the cases and began rolling it inside.

"It's all good. Chris helped me unload most of it so it ain't too bad. You sure you don't want a hand?" He asked, the knowledge that Christopher had helped being news to me. When did he go outside?

"Nah, we'll be alright. Thank again," Lucy grunted, hiking a particularly large looking bag over her shoulder as she waved him off.

"Alright, ladies. Have fun."

"Right," I heard Yvane mutter to herself from the inside of the house, "Let's do this."

*****************

To say I was excited for the arrival of my stuff was an understatement. Once we'd started to get all the cases and boxes into my room, it had really begun to hit home that these were my personal belongings. I never thought I'd miss my bras so much in my life.

"Alright, one more trip and you should be golden," Yvane smiled, clapping her hands together as we placed down another round of cases.

"Thanks guys, you've been a huge help."

"Eh, what are friends for?" Lucy practically groaned as she waved at me from her lying down position on the bed. She'd collapsed on top of the covers after the third trip up the stairs, declaring exhaustion as she dropped my bags unceremoniously onto the floor next to her.

"Well, I'm--"

The sudden sound of the recently shut front door banging open cut across my reply, the loud noise causing me to tense as Lucy visibly flinched from the bed, "Where is he?!"

"Huh?" I mumbled aloud, turning in curiosity to the doorway where I could see the balcony through the partially open bedroom door. What's going on?

"Here we go..." Yvane muttered, turning with a scowl and leaving the room to supposedly go confront the new feminine voice that had just entered the house. Lucy quickly sat up, all thoughts of exhaustion obviously forgotten as she stood to follow the doctor. Whipping my head back and forth over my shoulder, I turned to watch her just as she was about to leave the room.

"What's happening?" I asked curiously just before she left.

"Tinsley," She gritted out between her teeth, her face scowling as she quickly followed after Yvane.

"As in the Christmas decoration?" I asked aloud more for my own benefit, eyebrows furrowed even further as I slowly made my way to the doorway to listen in.

"Where is he? Where's the slimy mother f*cker who thinks its okay to go around and just break women hearts for no--?" The feminine voice continued to shout, the tone and subject matter making me think that perhaps it was best for me to stay out of sight for a second. I peered around the edge of the door frame to see the top of a blonde head of shiny hair halfway up the staircase, the railing blocking my full view but from what I could tell it was a pretty small figure, definitely feminine. "-- Hey, where's Christopher?"

"Hello to you too, Tinsley," Lucy replied sarcastically from her position at the top of the stairs, her back angled to block the doorway and ergo me from sight. What was happening? What did this woman want with Christopher?

"Enough of the attitude Lucy, where is he?"

"Out," Was the Australian's deadpanned reply.

I could practically hear the woman's annoyance, "Where?"

"Side."

I couldn't help but scoff slightly in amusement at that one.

"You're hilarious," Tinsley replied sarcastically, "Alright, fine. When is he going to be back?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "How should I know? I'm not his guard."

"Oh, grow up. I need to talk to him," She snapped.

"Obviously."

For the first time I noticed Yvane was also stood behind Lucy, her voice significantly softer than the two blondes as she sighed slightly, "Don't you think that this may be none of our business, Tinsley?"

"As a matter of fact, no. I don't, Yvane. See, Ashley is my best friend. I'm not going to let some cheating scumbag get away with breaking her heart like this. Even if he is my cousin."

Oh dang.

This was more dramatic than a Mexican Telenova.

I knew that I really shouldn't have been eavesdropping but in my defence it wasn't as if the conversation was a low one. I'm pretty sure you'd have been able to hear her from the fourth floor attic she was yelling so loudly. So Christopher cheated? Not that it was my place to judge but... wow, what a dick.

Good for her to defend a friend!

"Speaking of, where is the little home wrecker? Huh? I know she's staying here," She further questioned, suddenly beginning to descend the staircase causing the other two women to follow hastily. My eyebrows furrowed as I began to wonder who she was talking about, my brain taking a hot minute to think as I tried to figure out if I'd seen anyone else in the house.

I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure it out.

Once I did my eyes widened almost comically. I'm the home wrecker?

"What are you talking about?" Yvane asked, obviously trying to deflect the legitimacy of her claim as she put on her best disbelieving voice. I ducked behind the door slightly as I saw the three of them reach the ground floor below the balcony, the front door still open wide behind them.

"Oh-- don't deny it, Yvane! I can smell her cheap perfume from here," Tinsley snapped, the malice in her tone undeniable. I brought my inner wrist up to sniff, confirming my thoughts; that I wasn't even wearing perfume. What on Earth was she smelling?

She continued to berate me, to the point where it was getting borderline comical with all the colourful names that were thrown my way. It was apparent that Ashley was definitely romantically involved with Christopher and had vented to this woman about my arrival. And the conversations they'd been having were obviously not casting me in the most positive of lights. Lucy and Yvane couldn't get a word in sideways as she went on what could only be described as a three page monologue.

After a solid three minutes of her disparagement, I decided enough was enough and just thought to Hell with it, plastering on the fakest smile I'd probably every pulled in my life as I exited the bedroom and made my way to the stairs to introduce myself. If I give the woman what she wants she may actually shut up.

She obviously hadn't noticed me, her speech not even pausing as I made myself visible for the first time. I couldn't help but wish that I'd changed out of the over-sized maternity clothes that Yvane had donated, thinking that maybe it wasn't the best first impression to give someone who was looking for any excuse to openly criticize me. But in the grand scheme of things I doubt it mattered, and so instead I took a moment to look at the woman who'd formed such a substantial opinion of me without even having met.

From what I could see she actually seemed very put together for someone who'd been screaming her lungs out for so long. She must've been in her mid-twenties maximum, with long shiny light blonde hair that fell in waves down her back and complimented her sun-kissed tan. She wore white pumps and cropped denim jeans with a flowy white top and sunglasses. With a large handbag over her shoulder she looked like she'd just walked straight out of a Thomas Cook advert, and as much as I would have loved to admit that she was heinous; she was actually really pretty from what I could tell. Goddamn it.

"What kind of self respecting woman, would actually allow--?"

"My ears are burning," I interrupted, not really in the mood to hear anymore of how much of an abomination to female kind I was.

Especially considering I'd literally done nothing.

The trio jumped as I began descending the staircase and made my way downstairs to join them, pausing mid step as I saw the new blonde guest visibly become a bit flustered once she'd turn to acknowledge me.

"Oh, um... hello."

I made a point of widening my smile in an attempt to seem politer, "Hi. Tinsley, right?"

"That's right," She replied, clearing her throat and shifting her bag beneath her arm awkwardly, "And you are?"

"The home wrecker," I answered a tad amusedly, the smile still fixed in place. Lucy wasn't exactly subtle as she attempted to cover her responding laugh with a cough, "Danielle Perkins, nice to meet you. And it's not cheap, it's couture."

Her eyebrows rose slightly in confusion, "I'm sorry?"

I couldn't help but make a little defence on my part, "My perfume."

"... Oh," She replied awkwardly, her previously loud and harsh behaviour forgotten as she suddenly went from a 100 to 0. It was evidently clear that this woman was more bark than bite as her cheeks flushed a soft tint of red, "My bad."

Basically, she was as two faced as a two pence piece.

"It's all good," I smiled, my first impression of her really not doing her any favours as I continued to smile politely and attempt to keep it civil, "So, was there anything I could help you with, Tinsley?"

Essentially, let's just pretend that I didn't hear you scream bloody murder just a second ago about how you wanted to wring my home wrecking neck in.

"... I was looking for Christopher, actually."

I felt my smile waver at her attempt of pretending that I hadn't just caught her shouting about looking for me in particular for the past couple of minutes. Involuntarily, I couldn't help but play the bitch card as the unspoken tension began to grow, "I'm sure he'll be back soon. You're more than welcome to stay and wait."

I saw her eye twitch at my invitation. She knew I'd only been here for a couple of weeks and that she was family, however, here I was telling her that she was welcome to stay. I could practically hear her thoughts of, 'Yes I know, bitch. It's my f*cking house.'

"Yes, I know."

Well, I got half of it right.

"Oh, good," I smiled plainly in return, the amount of cynical joy I felt from seeing her expression; being borderline inappropriate, "Well, I'm in the process of unpacking so I'm afraid I won't be the best company."

Awkward silence followed, but after a moment of hesitation it was as if her entire body suddenly perked up. The tense mood from earlier turned slightly as a glint entered her eye, "I could help, if you'd like?"

It was my turn for the involuntary eye twitch as I felt my head lean to the side in suspicion. What was she playing?

I shook my head as my smile faltered, "Oh no, I really don't--"

She interrupted, "--I insist! Daddy would blow his top if he found out that I wasn't courteous to a guest of the pack. Please, lead the way."

Licking my suddenly dry lips, something inside me cringed rather violently at the use of the word Daddy. Anyone over the age of twelve who said Daddy to refer to anything other than a sexual partner was just plain weird in my book. In fact, it was borderline unacceptable.

"Well, if you insist," I eventually managed to awkwardly get out after a moment of deliberation, glancing at Lucy and Yvane as I did. What harm could she really do?

Yvane had plastered on an equally as fake smile during the introduction, whereas Lucy hadn't bothered to hide her disdain in the slightest. I couldn't tell what to make of the situation or Tinsley, however to say that first impressions had gone badly would be an understatement, "Of course. Where's your stuff?"

Turning my attention back to Christopher's cousin, I paused slightly and deliberated taking my acceptance of her help back. Is it too late to just...?

"Spare room. Second door to the right," I blurted out before I could stop myself, the overwhelming British urge to be polite drilled into me too deep as she began making her way up the stairs.

"Great," She replied, smiling with teeth as she breezily brushed past me, "Coming?"

"Right behind you," I mumbled, my smile dropping once she was far enough gone that I could raise my eyebrows incredulity at the girls. Lucy had hiked my last remaining bag over the shoulder whilst Yvane just shook her head and began ascending the staircase after her. I couldn't help but search to lock eyes with Lucy and mouth, Daddy?

She just rolled her eyes in return.

Well this is going to be fun...

*******************

I groaned in appreciation as I adjusted myself into a bra for the first time in weeks, "I never thought I'd actually miss bras..."

"How you feeling, hot shot?" I heard Lucy call from the bedroom as I buttoned up my trousers. Leaning down to search through the pile of clothes I'd brought into the ensuite with me, I realised that I hadn't brought a shirt and huffed.

Not thinking twice about stepping out, I went back into the bedroom with the old maternity clothes beneath my arm. Seeing the girls help unpack some of my stuff, I smiled and breathed a sigh of content, "Like a fresh million quid."

Turning to chuck the discarded clothes onto the bed for pyjamas later, I made my way over to one of the two open suitcases and began rummaging for a decent shirt that would go with my high-waisted navy trousers, "Oh my god, dude!"

Glancing up in surprise at the sudden outburst from the Australian, I found her with one of my shirts in hand staring at my exposed abdomen. Following her gaze, I straightened my posture and froze. Finding nothing but nearly faded bruises and a regular old midriff, my surprise grew to confusion as I tried to figure out what she was staring at, "What? What is it?"

"You're a mallee bull, what the Hell?" She continued incredulously, eyes wide as mine narrowed in confusion.

"A mallee what...?"

She just shook her head in disbelief, coming over and poking me in the abdomen, "How are you so buff?"

"Get off!" I cried, slapping her hand away lightly as I grabbed my shirt from her other hand, "What are you on about?"

"I'm just saying, I was not expecting this much muscle underneath all those clothes," She exclaimed, her tone as if in awe as she continued to scan my body, "You look amazing."

I instantly felt flattered, my mood perking up at the compliment she'd paid. Trying to bring a humour into the situation, I pursed my lips into a smile as cocked a hip out—raising a shoulder to pose triumphantly as I returned the compliment, "Thanks, babe. Right back atch'ya."

There was a sudden cough in the corner that sounded suspiciously like someone trying to cover up a laugh. The fun pausing for a moment, we both turned to look at Tinsley who was emptying some of my shoes out of a duffle bag and shaking her head. Raising my eyebrows, my smile fell as I watched her continue to empty the bag and not acknowledge the sound she'd just made.

"You alright, Tinsley?" I called out, trying to see if she'd actually say anything.

She glanced up after a moment with an innocent expression, "Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm good."

"... Cool," I replied deadpanned, turning to look back at Lucy who merely rolled her eyes and waved it off in return. Shaking my head with a heavy sigh of disbelief, I looked down at the shirt that I'd snatched from Lucy's hands and found it to be my burnt copper short sleeved shirt. This'll do nicely.

Shrugging it on, I tucked it into the waistband of my trousers and smoothed it out. It took a moment, but I almost instantly felt so much better than I'd done in weeks from just having my own outfit back on my body. Lucy had wondered off to continue with the unpacking, myself joining her after a few seconds of content; making my way to the pile of bags by the closet.

Yvane began to lightly chat with the girls as I picked up one of the heavier looking bags, setting it down on the side in order to try and gage the actual number of cases I had. I lazily scanned the pile but quickly did a double take when I saw an all too familiar handle stick out from the bottom. Reaching across, I hauled out the long and narrow bag as discreetly as possible, eyes widening as my suspicions were proven to be correct.

Did she actually pack my entire room, what the Hell...?

Setting my archery kit down to rest on top of the pile as best as I could, I tried to remain discreet as I zipped it open to see if she'd actually sent what I think she had. I was glad that I had my back to the rest of the room as I slowly opened the zip to reveal my bow, quiver and several arrows in their designated slots. My breathing hitched as I stared at the undeniable weapon that had been snuck into my room undetected. Noticing a bright yellow sticky note that had been sloppily stuck on top of the bow, I gently plucked it away and squinted as I struggled to read the small scribble without my glasses; 'In case you need to shoot some hoes ;)'

Well, this'll go down well...

She'd obviously packed it as an attempt at shitty humour, our inside joke for years being that if I were to ever have a chance at finding a partner I'd need to 'shoot the competition.' But I doubt that it would go down well for me to keep the kit in a house where a couple of days ago they'd taken away pens because they thought I was too much of a flight risk.

Swallowing to elevate my suddenly dry throat, I began debating what to do and felt my body tense in contemplation. No one had seen what was in the bag and seemed pretty distracted with my things if the light chatter and giggles were anything to go by. Should I even tell them...?

Making a split-second decision, I dropped the sticky note back into the kit and as inconspicuously as possible zipped it shut. Stepping over the luggage with it firmly in hand, I made my way into the shallow closet and leaned down to store it safely at the bottom, making a point of grabbing some of the already present storage boxes and placing them on top. Can't hurt to have some sort of defence...

"Wait..." Tinsley's suddenly intersected, cutting across Yvane and Lucy's laughter as I froze whilst adjusting a blanket to coincidently cover the majority of the kit. I didn't dare move as dread suddenly flooded my system at getting caught. How did she find out--?

"Are these Christian Louboutin?"

Letting out a shaky breath, I straightened myself to a stand and turned to look at what she was holding. Lo and behold she did in fact have a pair of my nude Christian Louboutin pumps in hand, her wide eyes looking at me for confirmation as I stepped out of the closet, "Oh, yeah. I have a few. Knowing Lilly, she's probably packed them all..."

Thank the Lord they hadn't noticed the case.

"A few? This is the fourth pair I've found..." She exclaimed, her tone almost accusing as she referred to the neatly organized line of shoes behind her.

I shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a sucker for red."

"I'm sorry," Yvane began, pausing from her unpacking to look at Tinsley in confusion, "This is important, because...?"

She looked at her as if she'd grown two heads, "These go for like six hundred bucks a pop."

After that, even Yvane's eyes widened, "... Excuse me, what?"

All eyes were on me at this point as I tied my hair up into a loose ponytail and made my way over to the dresser. I shrugged at the conversation, attempting to seem nonchalant and welcoming the distracting topic. Hopefully they'd be so interested in my shoe collection that they wouldn't question why I'd just kept a case without unpacking it, "Majority of the pumps, yeah. The boots are closer to nine hundred. Actually, I think the most expensive pair I've got is around the twelve-hundred mark."

I wasn't really in the habit of hiding my financial status. I'd worked hard to get where I was and was proud of where I'd reached (Even if a solid chunk of my income was pure hush-money). But I knew people in my circle that'd spent over five grand on a Gucci jacket as if it was the morning newspaper. Six hundred pounds wasn't even that large of an expenditure in my mind.

"Twelve hundred dollars?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock, staring at me as if I'd grown two heads as one of my eyebrows rose at her tone.

I shook my head and leant back against the dresser to face them, "Twelve hundred pounds."

"Holy shit."

"What does your father do?" Tinsley suddenly asked, the question surprising me at it's seemingly out of nowhere timing. She continued to sit on the ground by the bag and look at me suspiciously, her eyes narrowed as if trying to figure out some giant puzzle-game. As long as she's not thinking about the case...

"Um, he was a journalist. Retired."

Her eyebrows rose in genuine surprise, the cogs visibly turning in her brain before she pursed her lips and looked down to pull out another pair of shoes, "I didn't realise there was so much money in journalism."

"What do you mean?"

She couldn't help but laugh incredulously as she shook her head, "I mean, how else could you afford all this?"

Okay, screw the case. Where is this going?

"My father didn't buy these for me. My father hasn't bought me anything worth more than a Tesco meal deal since I was sixteen," I explained, my confusion turning to annoyance pretty quickly as she insinuated that the only reason I could afford all of this was through Daddy's pay check.

"Well then, who did?"

Bitch, I live alone in an apartment in Mid-Town Manhattan.

I don't think I had one ounce of emotion other than annoyance behind the smile I sent her, "I did..."

"How?" She pressed, her hands flying up before she leant back slightly on the floor, "I mean no offence but, you're what— a woman in her mid-twenties? What are you a sugar baby or something?"

"If you are, please put me in contact with said sugar parent." Lucy intervened, all women staring at me expectantly as they waited eagerly for my explanation. I couldn't help but huff at the lack of belief that I'd bought these with my own hard-earned cash, the blatant undertones of the fact I was a woman being a pretty prominent reason only fuelling my annoyance.

You're all women! Come on...

"I'm not a sugar baby, I'm a marketing director in Manhattan," I explained, involuntarily beginning to gesture wildly with my hands.

They all just continued to stare at expectantly. Tinsley jutted her head out and brought up her hand as if to gesture for me to continue, "And that means...?"

Oh, for f*ck's sakes.

"Okay, let me put this in a way that you'll understand," I replied, straightening my posture and looking at each woman individually before landing finally on Tinsley and pointing towards myself, "I'm rich."

For a second the room was quiet as they began clocking on that I was truly the one who'd paid for everything with my own money. I let my eyes scan the room for a reaction and only see blank stares in return. It took a moment, but eventually everyone seemed to get the idea and nod or shrug in reply.

"... So you're the sugar parent," Lucy mumbled, her eyes glazing over slightly as she began mulling things over. Rolling my eyes at her antics, I turned and began working on unpacking one of the already open suitcases, sliding one of the dresser drawers open in order to keep my various pieces of clothing. Even though they weren't the first to assume that I hadn't made my own fortune, it still sucked when people did. I shook my head as I tried to remind myself that they weren't trying to be malicious and were genuinely just curious.

They didn't mean anything by it...

A low thoughtful whistle eventually left Lucy's mouth as everyone got back to work, my back still towards her as I heard her bend down and unzip another bag, "... Damn, my brother is a lucky boy."

I perked up slightly at her words, not remembering her having mentioned a sibling before. Neatly folding my last pyjama shirt, I placed it into the now organised bottom drawer and slid it shut, "Why? Who's your brother?"

"... Chris?"

"What?!" I exclaimed in an almost aggressive form of shock, my entire body jerking to a stand but being cut short as I whacked my head against the bottom of the top drawer that I'd left partially open, "Mother f*cker...!"

"What?" Lucy asked confusedly as I ducked from beneath and rubbed my stinging head with wide eyes. Whipping around to look at the blonde, she'd paused her unpacking and was watching me in confusion as my mouth began to open and close involuntarily due to lack of words.

"Christopher, is your brother?" I pressed, trying to clarify that we were talking about the same person. She'd never once mentioned that they were siblings and they looked hardly alike. What the Hell?!

Lucy's eyebrows rose in surprise as she looked at me as if I'd grown two heads, "You're kidding, right?"

Even Yvane piped up in disbelief, "How did you not know this?"

I looked at both women shocked as I tried to process that one of the friends I'd made in this house was in fact the sister of the man that was the sole reason I was stuck here in the first place. It was as if my mind couldn't comprehend it as it kept debunking everything that would link them, "You're Australian!"

She eyebrows furrowed, "No, I'm an American who went to an Australian boarding-school. You know this."

"But... but...!" I blubbered, trying to think of a way I could prove that she was lying.

Her hands eventually landed on her hips as one of her eyebrows rose in questioning, "You're telling me you thought I just hung around with Chris my entire life for shits and giggles?"

"I just thought... I don't know, I just thought you were really close friends or something," I tried to rationalise, realising that with the more she spoke the more it made sense. She did keep mentioning that she'd known him her entire life and that she knew him better than anyone. I'd just assumed they were really close.

"I live here."

"I don't know! I just thought you guys were a bit weird—how the Hell was I meant to know? I only just found out werewolves existed like two weeks ago. How am I meant to know what's considered the social norm?" I began to rant, pushing off the dresser and slowly beginning to pace across the small amount of floor space available between all the clutter.

"Shifters," Yvane interjected.

"Whatever," I waved off, crossing my arms across my chest as I tried to think things over. Did this change anything? She'd been kind to me for weeks and it wasn't as if she'd lied, she'd just failed to mention this rather important detail. I began thinking back to if anything else would've given it away but came short, thinking instead about all the times I'd vented to her about her supposed 'brother', "... Dude, I've been bitching to you about him for weeks, why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugged, "I mean, he's my brother; so I kind of agreed with you on half the stuff you were saying anyway."

I paused my pacing just to stare at her, scanning her face and trying to find anything that would indicate they were related. I couldn't tell if it was my brain playing tricks on me but the more I stared the more I began realising that they did actually have very similar eye shapes...

"This is mad..."

"Wait, I'm confused," Tinsley suddenly declared, my eyes glancing over to hers as she continued to sit on the floor in the corner, "I thought you were Chris's mate?"

"Ugh, don't bring that up as well," I exclaimed, already done with any more conversation about the infamous Christopher as I turned and grabbed some more clothes to scrunch up and throw a bit too aggressively into the open dresser drawer.

"She is," Yvane answered after my lack of further reply, "It's... complicated."

It took a moment, but eventually Tinsley answered, "But Ashley said—"

"—you know what? Just tell Ashley she can have him. Honestly, just take him away!" I interjected, turning from having my back towards her to face the room and wave one of my newly unpacked socks about with wild gestures, "They can just, go off somewhere and have puppies and she can knit crochet ovens and he can go wrestle a bear and they can all live their happy werewolf lives in a cave; wrestling bears."

"Shifters," Yvane once again corrected.

I felt my eye twitch slightly after my little rant, my emotions getting the best of me as I turned to face the friendly Doctor, "Yes. Alright, Yvane."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thanks again, honey." Yvane grunted as she handed me another two trays of finger-sandwiches, "You really didn't have to."

"It's no trouble," I replied, balancing them on top of each other as we tried to juggle as much food as we could between us, "Not gonna lie, I didn't realise kids ate this much..."

"Oh, trust me-- they do. Plus, the party's more of an excuse for everyone to get together really. I think about a third of the pack are coming, so we had to think big. Too much is better than too little," She explained, turning back to her car in order to grab a few more of the remaining items.

I stepped away to give her some room as she grabbed what seemed to be about four dozen uncooked hamburgers all lined up on some cling-film covered trays, "What are the numbers looking like?"

"People? Ugh, about two hundred I think?" She mumbled, sorting out the food as best she could.

My eyes widened slightly in surprise, "Wow, that's a lot of mouths."

"Tell me about it."

Once I'd calmed down about the Lucy and Christopher fiasco, we'd finished unpacking my stuff about an hour ago-- all the girls bidding an adios shortly afterwards as they had various errands to run. However, surprisingly Yvane was back about an hour later with a full backseat of food ready for Grace's party the next day. Seeing as I had nothing better to do, I volunteered to help out.

"So why are you keeping everything here? I thought the party was moved to the rec centre?"

"Yeah, it is. But their fridges are down and the only other place I know with enough cold space is Chris' pantry. It's in the basement and he said I could use it to store everything until tomorrow," She explained, ducking out from the backseat with several trays balanced in hand. She turned to face me with a grateful smile, stepping away from the car just as her eyes darted behind me to the house, "Speak of the devil. Hey, Chris! You got a minute? Fancy giving us a hand?"

My smile fell as I turned around to face the front door, the man himself exiting the house and making his way towards us. He'd changed since earlier but still had some pretty intense dark under-eyes, so I doubt he'd slept. I instantly felt awkward and averted my eyes, deliberately attempting to avoid eye contact as he descended the porch steps.

"Sure," He replied, locking eyes with me for a spilt second before brushing passed and heading straight to help Yvane, "Here."

Guess I wasn't the only one who was avoiding.

"Thanks," She said, struggling for a moment as he took the trays that she had. It took a hot second, but he eventually straightened himself out and stood at his full height; adjusting the trays to sit comfortably in his arms afterwards.

"Piece of cake."

She smiled warmly in return, her eyes visibly scanning his face after a moment of silence and turning it into one of concern, "... You doing okay?"

He nodded and returned the smile with one that didn't really reach his eyes, "Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yvane, I'm fine," He reassured more firmly, causing her smile to waver, "Stop worrying. You ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as we'll ever be. Thanks again for letting us use your place," She replied, dropping her questioning as she went to grab what was left of the food in the backseat. She returned with four more trays and a bag of bagels in hand, once again ducking away from the open door but this time shutting it behind her with her butt.

"No problem, any time," Christopher replied, waiting for Yvane as they both turned and made their way after me into the house. I watched an uncharacteristic teasing smirk appeared on Christopher's face as he eyed the food that she was carrying, the sight so unfamiliar that it took me back slightly, "Think you got enough food?"

"Hilarious," Yvane countered to his sarcastic comment, shoving him in the shoulder playfully as they made their way up the porch. I stepped back and waited for them as they passed by, my eyes trailing after Christopher in particular as he chuckled beneath his breath at her reply. I hadn't seen him like this before and it was really throwing me off.

"You're quiet," Yvane commented as she made her way into the kitchen with us in tow.

I blinked, fighting back the redness of my face as I realised I'd been staring pretty blatantly. Trying to come up with a better excuse than, 'I'm not used to seeing Christopher smile and it's weird', we reached the same dark doorway that he'd attempted to take me through when I'd first escaped the guestroom. My brain paused and breath hitched as I watched them open the door to a pitch black staircase, however it only lasted a second before a light switch was flicked and the entire room was suddenly illuminated in a soft glow. I let out a small breath of relief, my heartbeat calming as we made our way down the stairs, "Just thinking."

"Alright..." She replied, her tone slightly suspicious as she reached the bottom of the staircase. There were two doorways to choose from, an open one to the left and a shut one straight ahead. Yvane turned and chose the open doorway, disappearing inside as Christopher followed.

Following suit, I entered the rather large cellar that had several tall metal shelves lining the walls with some preserves. The floor was concrete and the walls exposed plastered brick, with a couple of ceiling lights dimly lighting the space. Just as Yvane had described, it looked like a very cold underground, windowless pantry. There was clutter here and there from where they'd obviously ran out of storage, but the space seemed pretty well kept all in all.

Yvane put down her trays with a grunt, the large table where she'd obviously been placing the majority of the trays now pretty much filled to the brim. Chris followed suit, placing them on some empty racking to the side of the room. Scanning to try and find somewhere I could place my own trays, I came up short just as a low vibrating sound filled the room.

Yvane quickly began fishing for her phone in her pocket, glancing at the caller ID before sighing, "I have to take this, excuse me. Hello...?"

She quickly stepped out once the caller began speaking, leaving Christopher and I in silence as I stood there uselessly looking for somewhere to put down the trays. After a few more seconds of searching, I decided to just bite the bullet and attempt to break the awkward silence, "So ugh, where am I putting this?"

He paused in his own food storing to glance up at my figure, shrugging before turning back to whatever he was doing, "Wherever there's space I guess. The shelves behind you are free."

Turning around to look at where he'd directed, I noticed that with a bit of a re-jig the shelf behind me could actually store some things, "Cool."

A few moments went by before Yvane returned, her face slightly dejected as we both turned to acknowledge her, "So that was the clinic. There's an emergency and they need me to head over. Everything is out of the car, am I okay to leave you to it?"

"Sure. Everything okay?" Christopher asked, turning fully to address her as she just waved him off.

"Yeah, one of the kids got a fever and they need a second opinion. Nothing too serious," She replied, grabbing her bag that she'd left by the door and adjusting it over her shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow morning to pick everything up. Try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiled and turned to me, "See you, Dan. Thanks again."

"Drive safe," I instructed with a returning smile, still with a few trays in hand that hopefully wouldn't take that long to put away. Even though I knew she had no choice, I couldn't help but curse Yvane at leaving me alone with Christopher. The awkward tension was becoming too much to handle.

She left with one final goodbye, the room silent once more other than the occasional sounds of trays being shuffled about. I moved around some non-perishables in an attempt to fit a few more items, squeezing in a further two trays.

It eventually got to the point where the silence was too heavy to bare, and my brain began screaming at me to say something just to fill the void. I tried to think of a topic I could bring up that would start a conversation, or even better something that would give me some answers in the meantime.

"So, I met Tinsley..." I began, trying to keep my tone light as I discussed his rather friendly family member, "She has some... strong opinions."

"Ignore her. She's just poking her nose into stuff she has no business poking it into," Was his blunt reply, the tone suggesting that the conversation was done and didn't need to be discussed further. But I couldn't help it-- curiosity got the better of me coupled with the need to fill the air with small talk; just to alleviate the silence that was quickly becoming too much to handle.

I pursed my lips in thought as I rearranged some toilet paper to make room, "... She said she was looking for you. Something to do with Ashley and how—"

"--Danielle," He interrupted, stopping my sentence in its place with his cold tone of voice, "Let's not."

Recognising it as a touchy subject I felt myself cringe even more with how much more awkward I'd made the situation, "Okay..."

Well, that went well.

Having all but one tray left, I scanned the racking to see if there was any space left for me to use and fast. I was very much done with this room and one of its occupants, so the quicker I got out the better. Stepping back to get a better view, I noticed that the top of the racking seemed to have plenty of space left. But from what I could see, it was a tad out of reach.

Not wanting to ask Rover for help, I glanced around for anything I could use to step on and reach the top. Spying a large cinder-block propped up against the heavy door, I shrugged and temporarily placed down the tray to lug it over to the nearby shelf.

Pulling it away, I double checked to make sure the door wouldn't slam shut and was content when the heavy thing didn't seem to wobble too much. Bending down to pick up the block, I took it over to the shelving unit and placed it securely in front. Once flat on its side, I grabbed the tray and steadily stepped up. Using the extra height to my advantage, I shoved a bunch of stuff to the side and slotted it in perfectly.

Fully not registering the soft sound of the heavy door clicking shut behind me.

"... Please, tell me you left the latch off?"

Stepping down from the block whilst brushing off my hands, I turned to look at Christopher in confusion as he looked at me in dread, "What latch?"

"No, no, no, no..." He began to mutter, dropping whatever he was doing and hastily making his way to the exit. I watched in confusion as he began yanking at the handle, the door not budging as he slammed his open palm against the heavy metal, "F**k sakes."

"What is it?" I questioned, my face dropping at what his actions were insinuating. Please, tell me we're not...

"We're locked in."