Addicted

Chapter 12: The Stages of Grief

Maree was still laying in the bed when Shane woke. There was no rooster crow this morning, but the angry red letters on the alarm clock assured him that it was indeed six o'clock. He sighed then rolled over towards her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in. "Good morning, Chick," he said smelling the dirt in her hair. She didn't shower before she went to sleep that night, like she always did. Dried clumps on mud and blood in her hair and on her face. Her eyes stayed fixed on the end of the bed where Shithead and Debra slept, curled together. The pillow underneath her was wet from the grief over the rest of her hens.

"Morning," she whispered, unmoving. Though Shane empathized with her he didn't know what to say. Maree smiled half-heartedly at the two creatures, just happy not to be alone this morning.

Debra cooed in her sleep, chunks of feathers missing. Shithead had soft snores as Shane realized that he had dried blood caking his fur. Shane's mind wondered for a moment as he realized that this wasn't the first time he'd seen a chicken in the house, but it was a first for seeing the dog in the house. Maree let out broken breaths as her tears had stopped, but the crying hadn't. The emotional bond that Maree had with her chickens was something that could not be replaced, she considered them to be her children, and three of them had been taken from her in the night. Maree had made a small fortune from her chickens; they were a large part of her farm production. She, herself had raised each one from a hatchling, giving them names, and even at times, letting them eat from her own plate.

Shane could hear noises from the other side of the bedroom door. "Someone's here," he whispered, sitting up and letting go of Maree.

"It's probably Jake," she sighed. "If it's a robber, let them take what they want. Nothing else matters." She sounded so defeated, her eyes welling with more tears as they stayed fixed on her animals.

Voices could now be heard from the door. Shane sighed and climbed over Maree, out of bed. He slid on his house shoes lazily, then stretched into the air, causing his back to pop. "Well, if it's a robber, I'll show em where you keep the good tequila. If it's just Jake, I'll let him know that you're awake. He'll probably wanna talk about- about last night." Shane made his way through the bedroom door, closing it quietly behind him.

"Hey, hey dude-bro," said Jake from the front door. "I recruited these two down at the carpenter lady's house. They've helped me get up all the um- well the dead animals from outside. And we buried Maree's girls. I know she wanted it that way. We were taught to waste not, want not, but I don't think she'd want to eat her babies." Jake scratched his chin, beside him stood Sam and Sebastian. Jake was still wearing his new pajamas from Maree, matching Shane, who Sebastian had commented on when seeing Shane appear. "Oh, and uh, I got all of her errands done for the day. The hole she blew threw the coop floor, well the carpenter lady said she'll get to it tomorrow. So, everything else is done. She can rest all day. I- uh- I know it's gonna be hard. And I started some coffee for both ya'll. Coffee heals the soul."

The four men stood there looking at each other until Sebastian broke the silence, "How did you bag the farmer? General curiosity."

Shane opened his mouth to answer but heard the bedroom door open. Shithead bounded over the furniture and stopped between Shane and Jake, slightly growling at the two other men in the room. Debra began to walk and cluck out of the bedroom, behind her Maree. Her face tear stained, her body a mess, and a joint hanging from her lips. Dark circles could be seen under her eyes as she made her way towards the men, rounding them and going into the kitchen. The men followed, curious as to what she was doing since they all assumed she would be in bed all day, mourning the loss of the ladies. She pulled two bowls from the cabinets and set them on the floor, filling one with chicken feed and the other with water for Debra. Her stance seemed more irritated that sad as she side eyed the intruders in her kitchen. Maree squinted her eyes at Jake, then smiled slightly. "Sorry for the mess, I'm a terrible housekeeper," she said, knowing that this was only the second time that Sebastian had been in her house. She made her way to the coffee pot next and poured herself a mug, reaching into the cabinets again to pull out another shot bottle, but this time not finding one. She wound around the kitchen and reached above the laundry area to the good tequila, brought it back to her coffee and then poured some into it. "What?" she asked looking towards the men and sipping her coffee.