Water Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Twenty-Three - Darien

Darien brought their dirty breakfast plates into the kitchen, dropping them in the sink. The clatter of them hitting the metal basin was a pretty accurate representation of his feelings. It also caused Ashley and her kids to jump where they sat. The youngest, who was around a year old, started to cry.

"As always, you're so considerate of everyone else," Ashley seethed. She picked the crying boy up and bounced him around. "Come on, it wasn't that scary, Billy. Just some plates going boom."

"Boom!" her oldest son, Luke, cheered. He was closer to three.

Ashley glared at him. "Eat. It shouldn't take you an hour to finish cereal."

Unable to watch them anymore, Darien gazed into the sink. He wanted to leave, but where else was he going to go? It was too soon to go back to the room. That would result in him losing his temper and lashing out. Ideally, he'd swim in the pool, but he knew for a fact that Brian and Connor liked to go there around that time in the morning. Seeing any of his brothers was a bad idea. If he stayed quiet enough, maybe Ashley would leave him alone.

"Trouble in paradise?" she sneered, and she was probably smirking as she did so. He couldn't see her, but he could certainly sense how smug she felt.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry I upset Billy, okay?"

"It was just a question," she said. "I'm not trying to punish you or anything. You have your own mother. I mean, she's dead, but there's no way I'm going to try and fill those shoes given your track record. Besides, that's just not one of my fetishes."

Darien pressed his lips together tightly. Say nothing. Just say nothing. Ugh, she's horrible.

Sighing, Ashley got up from her chair. The next thing Darien knew, she was at the kitchen sink with the remains of Luke's breakfast. "In all seriousness, you're going to be happy this is happening now. Every boyfriend I've ever had, it's the fights that made our relationship not only more interesting but stronger."

"Can't say I've ever seen you fight with Tommy," he mumbled.

"That should say something." She dumped the leftover cereal into the garbage. "And before you get all judgmental on me—"

Darien held up his hands. "Wasn't going to say anything else." Only the naïve would look at Tommy and Ashley's marriage and call it strong. Tai thought he was naïve, but not so much where he believed that.

"Everyone is going to give their love advice whether you want it or not," she continued. "So, here's mine. Fight with her when it matters. Let it go when it doesn't. Respect her feelings, and make sure she does the same for yours."

He hated that she made so much sense. Anyone but Ashley and he'd have been receptive of it immediately. "Thanks."

"I like her. Figured I could be helpful for her sake."

"As good of a reason as any."

Ashley glanced over at him. "You're not the worst person here either. I know you have a fierce loyalty to your brother, so you dislike me for obvious reasons. Understand my perspective and you might actually be able to make things work with Tai."

"Since we're being honest with each other, I dislike you because you try to push all of his buttons and end up making him miserable." Darien tightened his jaw. "Understanding your perspective has never been a problem."

"Next time I push his buttons, remember what I said about fighting." Ashley finished taking care of her mess. She glared at him for a moment before going back to her sons. "Okay, we can go and do something now. Maybe take a nap? Nap sounds great."

Pointing out that they'd just woken up would have been a bad idea, so Darien watched them leave before starting to wash his and Tai's plates by hand while he thought over Ashley's little nugget of advice. What part of her perspective didn't he get, though? He understood that both she and Tai had been uprooted from their homes and forced into a new one. Their anger was certainly deserved. What was he missing, though?

When the plates were washed, he dried off his hands and was finally ready to go back to Tai. He walked into the room. "Look, I know that..." He stopped when he saw Tai was no longer in bed. "Tai? You okay?" Darien made his way to the bathroom to see if perhaps she was relapsing. Perhaps having such a lavish breakfast was a bad idea after all.

She wasn't in the bathroom either. He checked the closet next, then the office. Tai was gone from the room completely. Just as he was about to ask her telepathically, he saw the note on the bed pillow.

His stomach churned as he picked it up to read. "I'm sorry."

No other explanation was needed. Darien put two and two together once he noticed his wallet was emptied out on the bedspread. Only his credit cards and cash were gone. Tai had taken him up on his offer to leave.