The Omega's Predicament

Chapter thirteen

"Just stay in bed," Bella breathed, trying to curb her frustration. She knew Nana was stubborn but she had been thoroughly testing her patience lately. "Dr. Mallard says you have to stay in bed, so in bed, you will stay," she repeated through gritted teeth, patting her grandmother's hand affectionately.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Nana complained, shifting under the sheets that had been tucked up under her chin. "I'm perfectly fine," she grumbled.

But it was a lie, they both knew it. Nana had been weakened significantly since her heart attack. Even if it was just a mild one. Her recovery was long, much, much longer than Bella had expected, but she guessed it made sense, the older the wolf, the longer the recovery. And looking at Nana now, her face wrinkly and colorless, lying in bed in her thin nightgown, it was the first time Bella properly realized just how old she was. She had never given it much thought, Nana had always been so full of life and vigor, energy had radiated off her. And now? Her eyes looked tired, the thin wrists sticking out from the sleeves concerning, and with her gray hair lying flat against the pillow, not even placed in the curlers or tucked away under her netting, she looked as though any spirit had left her. If it hadn't been for that stubborn set jaw, anyway.

"Well, for once you are going to listen to the medical professional, Gerry," Linda Mallard said sternly as she came into the room, carrying a tray with food that smelled so good it made Bella's mouth water. Dinner. Bella's stomach started rumbling.

Nana had been here for days and Bella had been living off noodles and sandwiches. Or when she was particularly lazy, she went to Carmen at the cafe. She should probably have learned to cook at some point in her life, but she always had such rotten luck in the kitchen, it was as if it hated her. At one point when she was sixteen, Nana had taken the spatula from her hand with a heavy sigh and sent Bella into the living room so she could deal with the fire on the stove in peace. And then the hatred became mutual. Nana did all the cooking after that, but she wasn't there anymore, and it became glaringly obvious to Bella how little she knew and how stupid she was for not learning. She knew Nana would not be there forever, she just never thought about that.

"I'm telling you I am fine," Geraldine growled at Mrs. Mallard, huffing and puffing, shifting in her seat.

"Glad to hear it, but you are staying put. Doctor's orders," Linda said with a smile and placed the tray in front of Nana. "When you get to be our advanced age we need to be a little more careful than most," she added with a wink to Bella. Bella couldn't help but chuckle. Linda was lying, Nana was at least twenty years older than her and but she knew her grandmother would never enjoy being reminded of that.

Linda stepped back and gave Bella a pat on her shoulder. "I am so glad we're to be family. I was shocked when Lukas told us at first, I didn't even know you two were seeing each other." She laughed and shook her head, her blonde bob bouncing across her rosy cheeks. "It just goes to show how much goes on under my nose without me realizing it," she continued laughingly. "Why on earth did you guys keep it a secret?"

"Yes, that's what I want to know," Nana growled, stuffing a fork loaded with food in her mouth. She chewed slowly, shooting Bella a pointed look, and swallowed. "You kept insisting Lukas was only a friend."

Bella's shoulders slumped, she didn't know what lie to feed them. Both her grandmother and Linda, a woman she cared very deeply for as well, were both staring her down, expecting some grand love story to spill from her lips. She couldn't do it. "We just... didn't know... if we... should tell or not," she ended up with. Well, that was stupid. "We didn't know if it was serious enough to tell anyone yet," she tried to clarify, but she could tell it wasn't enough. It would have to be, she couldn't for the life of her try to make anything else up. Not now.