Heartless?

Chapter 13

I sit on the bed scrolling through Instagram on my phone. I update my location and what's happening with everything. I read small bits of stories people wrote about me and Will and smile.
I hear a knock on the door and quickly shove my phone between the mattress and the bed post. I stand up and walk over to the door.
"Hello," I say opening the door. The girl from yesterday walks in and sits down on the chair beside my desk. I close the door and lock it. I then walk back over to the bed and sit down.
I grab the phone from under the mattress and show her the messages to Will. She takes the phone and reads through them smiling. She hands it back to me when she's done.
"He'll come," she says to me. I nod and smile. Another knock comes from the door and I hide the phone while she stands up and opens the door. Two children stand outside, their wings trailing on the ground. She lets them in and closes the door after them.
"These are my kids, Ray and Cali, " she says. The kids walk up to me and hand me a small basket. I take it and set it down beside me on the bed. I pat the space beside me and they fly up to sit next to me. I look at their mom.
"You don't know your mate, do you?" I ask their mom confused. She shakes her head no. I look at her confused and she sighs.
"My mom found out that my mate is going to be female and she didn't like that, so she forced me to be with a guy. I had those two troublemakers with him before Tucker sent him out to go do a mission. Then he ended up not coming back," she says, her voice void of anger or sadness.
I look over at the two kids and they smile up at me. I look back at her and see tears in her eyes. I stand up and wrap my arms around her. She leans into me and cries softly.
The kids walk over to her and hug her legs. She pats their head and stands up. She wipes her eyes on her sleeves and looks up at me sadly.
"And to think I'm only twenty," she says. I smile at her softly. She had to have had her kids at fifteen. She smiles down at the kids and they grin up at her.
We walk over to the bed and I open the basket. Food sits in it and I take it out. I rip it apart and take out the white pills. The kids stare at them horrified.
"Mom. What are those?" Ray asks. She looks at him and smiles. She ruffles his hair and pulls him on her lap.
"I take those out of your food too. They are pills that make you obey Polly and Tucker, " she tells them. I continue taking the pills out but I stop as I remember something.
"What is your name?" I ask her. She looks up quickly. I smile at her and she relaxes.
"My name is Cocoa," she says. I nod and finish taking the pills out of the food. I give some to the kids and they take it gratefully. I try to give some to Cocoa but she pushes it back towards me. I shake my head and put it on a napkin for her.
I start eating my part of the food. Cocoa finally takes the napkin and starts eating hers. The kids finish theirs and throw their trash away. I give them the rest of mine and throw the wrapper away.
I grab my phone and check my texts. I frown when I see none. I set the phone down beside me and see the kids looking at it. Cocoa finishes her food and throws away her trash.
"What's that?" Cali asks me. I look at her confused and she points at the phone. Cocoa looks at me sadly. I grab the phone off of the bed and go onto YouTube.
"Search up something you like," I tell them. Ray grabs it from me and searches up food. A bunch of cooking videos come up and they look at me confused.
"What now? " they ask. I take the phone and click on one of the videos. A human starts baking a cake and the kids stare at them in awe.
"Where are their wings?" Cali finally asks. I smile at her and mentally think about how to explain.
"Well, they are a human. I used to not have wings but then I met my mate and he gave me wings by kissing me. Humans don't normally get wings," I explain to them. They nod and watch the person bake the cake.
Cocoa waves me over and I go sit by her. She watches as her kids talk excitedly about the cake.
"I want to get them out of here," she say. I nod. They finish the video and walk up to me. I click on one that shows how to make salsa and guacamole. I hand them the phone and they go sit on the bed again.
"He'll be here soon. I know it," I tell her. She nods and waits for the video to finish. The kids hand the phone back to me and they leave the room, promising to come back for dinner.
I hear my phone chime a couple seconds after they leave. I open my phone and look at my messages.
Will: We're on our way.