We stopped by the dry cleaners then returned to Gizmo's home around midnight. Gizmo grunted, fumbling with his house keys, "Be careful, it's foamy." I cringed and nodded, taking his house keys to unlock the door. I stepped over a scattered pile of grain and slid the key into the door. Before I could open it, something brushed my face. I slowly turned my head and came face to face with a red slip of paper. My stomach dropped and I gingerly pulled the notice from the slot in the door. I licked my lips, hands shaking as I read: "CLEANING COURTESY OF THE I.D.J.P AGENCY!" I turned to Gizmo, eyebrows furrowed. I walked over, the card flapping in the slight breeze. He snatched the paper from me and turned it over. He turned a pale which nicely complimented his black leather jacket, oddly enough. He ushered me inside and locked the door behind us.
I asked, arms crossed, "Who left the notice?" He ignored me as he put the helmet away in a closet. I raised my eyebrows as he put on his glasses and ran a comb through his tail. I tapped my foot as he took off his jacket and approached me for the harness.
He kissed my cheek and muttered, "No one you're getting to know." I sighed and started unbuckling the front of the harness. He took his sweet time with the wing harness, gently fixing ruffled feathers as he went. I held back a shiver when he would readjust feathers, clenching my jaw. He pulled the harness off my back and hung it up in the closet. I idled in the mudroom, wings flapping and fidgeting. I licked my lips as he approached me with quaking hands. He took my face in his hands and stared into my heart. "Don't do that ever again. Never." My heart raced and my wings shuffled.
I blurted, grabbing his forearms, "What if I refuse?" He narrowed his eyes and his lips twitched into a grin. He moved into my personal space like a rowdy roommate. My back pressed against the door as I backed up.
"I'll be right behind you to clean up the disaster." Warm lips slammed into me and I squirmed. He backed up and gently stroked my cheek. He hesitated and tipped his head.
He whispered, eyes dark and menacing, "They hurt you?" I didn't answer. It wasn't a question. He drew a breath and stepped around me to go outside. In the doorway, he grunted, "Be right back, parking the bike." The door rattled the glass panes and the floor below me. I stumbled to the couch and curled into a ball. I blankly stared at the wall.
*
"Mom, when did you get here?"
"I talked to Mrs. Duncan. Where have you been, Gizmo? You've missed three classes this semester!" I wandered to the open window overlooking the driveway. I pushed the thick curtains aside. The nurse from the college stood in the driveway, her long spotted tail lashing like a scythe in a wheat field. Her hands were on her hips, and her spine was a rod of iron. Gizmo was hunched, balling and relaxing his fists. His ears lay flat and his tail was tucked in behind him.
Gizmo grunted, staring at me, "I have my reasons."
The nurse snarled, "Oh, you do? Really? Why don't you tell me over coffee inside? Unless you don't want me inside..." I ducked down and released the curtain.
"Really? You really wanna pull that card? Guilt me when I've done nothing but the right..."
The sound of a hand contacting skin sent me scurrying to the kitchen garbage can. My feeble mouse sausage sandwich flew into the can as my wings fell limp. I wretched forever, my stomach churning and ejecting anything it could. I curled against the cupboard as my heaving subsided.
"You know what, Gizmo? I bet I can guess what you're issue is. You're unable to keep up with work, so you're hiding. Hiding away from us and everyone who wants to help you! Just like your father did."
"YOU NEVER KNEW MY FATHER! YOU ALWAYS ACTED LIKE YOU KNEW HIM, BUT YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE!!!"
"You never knew him either. Goodbye." A car door slammed shut and a vehicle drove away. The front door slammed and I whimpered. Swears and curses flew through the air. Before I could respond, silence swallowed the words.
*
"KATE! KATE? WHERE ARE YOU?" My lungs offered no air to my answer. I flapped a wing against the cabinet. Gizmo tore into the kitchen and dove to the floor beside me. Sobs choked the silence as warm arms coiled around me. "DON'T DO THAT." We stayed there for a small eternity, unknowingly in the arms of our first home.
*
I sat at the counter as he mixed the ingredients the next day, flour dusting his soft cheeks. He had a steel mixing bowl in the crook of his arm, facing away from me. He apron was jean, a J-pron if you will. I slid off the bar stool, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt the solid warmth of his stomach through his thin shirt. His muscles were undefined, but very much present. "Are you done feeling me up, or...?" I blushed and tried to pull back. I jerked to a stop. "Where do you think you're going, Kate?" I stared at the back of his head with wide eyes. Warm hands encompassed my wrists. "Maybe I liked that, Kate." I sputtered and flapped. He whipped around to face me, smiling down at me. I licked my lips and stepped back. He mused, a floury "boop" landing on my nose, "Awww, my little owl..." He kissed my forehead and pulled me into a warm hug. I wrapped my wings around him and hugged tighter and tighter. He gently swayed side to side as he hummed and held me. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you little owl... I'm not going to let you go..." He rubbed my back and set his jaw on my head. I snuggled into his apron and pulled him close with my wings and gently cooing. He chattered in response, squishing the worry right out of my tiny bones.
He eventually let me go, and returned to the cupcakes. I wrapped my arms back around his waist, taking in the smell of chocolate cupcake batter and his coconut lotion.
YOU ARE READING
Chai
FantasyWhen two shapeshifters meet at college, neither of them imagined that jumping through space time on a motorcycle would be in their future. However, armed with their undeniable attraction to each other and a desire to do what is right, they must trav...
