Olympus Drive Book 3: According to Plan

Chapter 37

Thyme

We had to stop for the—well I don't think it was night. I think Dara just fell asleep. Or someone took her walkie-talkie away. I didn't mind though. 

Anna curled up on my lap like a kitten, her head resting on my chest. It was perfect. I slept like that all the time as a kid, usually on my grandpa or Raven, sometimes on my mom, my face in their chests as they put one arm around me. Anything was more comfortable than the floor. 

When I first got back my dad or Lisa had to hold me like that or I couldn't sleep. Now I get to hold her like that. I'm the safe one. I'm the one keeping her safe. I absolutely love keeping her safe. 

She relaxes in my arms. Other people don't. Even my dad, he'd never fall asleep holding me, no one ever relaxes when I touch them. Except her. I don't have the same—aggravating effect I increasingly have on people. 

Hell, Dean was afraid of me last time I saw him. Doesn't he remember who took him to get his driver's license? Who helped him practice driving? Who went and scared bullies when he was getting picked on for being little and fat in the second grade? And third. And fourth. He had a rough childhood. Point is it was me. I protected him. He's afraid of me now too though. They all are. 

Even Lisa jumped last time I walked in unannounced. Dara isn't calmed by me. But she's no flower herself. She's quite the hazard all on her own; we just fit together her and I. Anna it's different. With Anna, she doesn't even react like the others do. She loves me. She's happy to see me. That's it. I'm not the monster.

I snuggle her while she wakes up, stirring a little.

"Shh," I say, rubbing her cheek with one finger.

"Mmm," the idiot fell asleep too, he put his head on my shoulder. He might not be dead. He wakes up pressing his face sort of into mine, and starts to kiss my cheek.

"I'm the only member of my family that's straight, please don't spoil it for me," I say, gently moving him away.

"What---sorry----I'm used to my boyfriend," he mumbles, suitably horrified when he recognizes that it's me.

"You're the only member of your family that's straight?" Anna mumbles.

"Yeah you knew that," I say, rubbing her arm.

"What about your mom?"

"My mom is not a member of my family, Anna. We talked about this last Thursday."

"That's weird," Hugh says, standing up and stretching.

"You just woke up trying to kiss the nearest person I don't think you have room to comment," I say.

"I always fell asleep against my boyfriend—watching TV, he'd be watching, I'd fall asleep after working out," he says, a little wistfully.

"Shh, don't ask him about his life," Anna says, sitting up properly now. I comb my hands through her hair.

"Better?" I ask.

"Yeah, you look great, really great," she says, putting a hand on my face.

"I sleep anywhere," I say, standing and helping her up.

"Are we really shitty parents?" she asks, looking at her hands. She looks sad. Dean is right she does look much sadder than she normally does.

"You two have kids? And you're down here?"

"No," I say, "I mean, I don't know. When I was the twins' age, I was living in a prison cell with at least one of my family members, sometimes even my mom. And my mom used to spell me into stopping crying. My grandpa would make her quit if he was around. But. It still hurt, and he wasn't always around. I'd fall asleep with that pain all over my face."

"That's horrible," Anna says.

"You were where?" Hugh is invested now, "And you said not to ask me about my life?"

"I spent the first nine years of my life in prison, I was also born there," I say, helpfully.

"Don't feel like you have to talk to him."

"Point being. The twins are stuffing their faces with waffles with their great grandma, they have nice warm, safe beds, nobody is spelling them to stop crying. They know their mommy and daddy love them, and are gonna be home soon. We are doing pretty okay," and they know that daddy loves them even if he can't live at home with them anymore. And someday they'll be big enough to come be with me. But for now they know I love them. They have to know that. It's more than I had. I couldn't believe my dad would love me.

"Okay, yeah—thanks. I just---I don't want to screw up on them," she says, quietly.

"We aren't. We've got this."

"Aren't you both in hell?"

"You know what? Explain your personal life again if you're feeling like judging people," Anna says.

"Seriously, they're fine. I took them to my grandma, they were happy," I say, thinking of my sweet, fresh faced boys. Such happy things. I wasn't so happy at that age. Maybe I was but it was about different things. Escape attempts. Praying for my dad to come rescue me each night, right up till the night I rescued myself.

"Oh. I left them with Dean because it's still his fault we got them," she says, rubbing her face.

"We don't know we conceived them at the rave, it could have been in the back of my dad's car. Or at your mom's house," I point out. We had sex, multiple times in those weeks prior to finding out she was pregnant. Never said we were smart. They're good kids though, it doesn't matter. We're glad to have them.

"Yeah, no, I blame Dean that's why I make him watch them---stop raising your hand Hugh we're not gonna explain this conversation."

"I just don't trust Dean to supervise Dean," I mutter.

"He calms them down," she says, a little quietly.

"Yeah," his mellowness generally abates my aura, and it over powers the kids. "You're right." Of course she is. We always have to be kept on a leash. "Do you think they're both like that?"

"Hard to tell. They're always together though honestly I think it's just Phin," she says.

"Well we're not splitting them up to tell." My mom staring us, saying 'dad you haven't slept in thirty six hours put the hell-child down' and my grandpa saying it was fine I was scared he'd hold me till I fell asleep. No, we're not singling Phin out and telling him he's the monster who can't be around people.

"No definitely not, it'll be a surprise later," Anna says, lightly, "Okay which way are we going?"

"You've had twins?" Hugh is still on our conversation.

"Yeah?" Anna says, scoffing.

"Be careful what you say next," to be fair she does not look like she's birthed twins, most women gain and keep more weight than she did, and her stomach recovered well. I think she looks beautiful but then I always have pregnancy never changed that. She was just beautiful and pregnant.

"Nope, you're right--- moving right on—which way were we going?" Hugh asks, looking up and down the street.

"Ah—shit I don't know, Dara, come in, are you awake?" I ask, holding in the button on the radio.

"Go down the street towards the bridge. Follow the path until you reach a gate," Dara says, immediately.

"That doesn't sound hard," I mutter. But it probably will be.