Shifting Boundaries

Chapter Thirty

Everett

I could admit that Spencer's parents' house – which we had taken to calling the bunker – was the best place for us now, but I missed home.

We had been here for five days now and the whole living situation was starting to wear on me. I was videoconferencing into every meeting at Delta, even the ones I really should have been present for. When I explained the situation, no one argued with me about it, but it still felt wrong. We always had a guard outside the house and Felix's friends from the defense team kept stopping by all the time. I wasn't fooled and neither was he: they were visiting during their time off to provide us with another layer of protection. It was really generous of them and I did enjoy meeting more people from Felix's life, but I also wanted quality time with my family in our own home.

The worst part about staying in the bunker, though, was Griffin's reaction to it. He panicked when we first brought him here and wouldn't stop wailing at night until I brought him into the bed I shared with Felix. He was so used to shuffling houses, I suspected he thought we would leave him now, too. That had been the pattern of his life for too long, and it broke my heart.

Felix and I hadn't had any real privacy since we moved in here. He agreed to adopt Griffin with the condition that we took time for us, at least a date night each week. This was a special circumstance, of course, and we were in agreement that we shouldn't leave Griffin's side, but that didn't make this feel any better.

Mel and Magnus, as well as my mother, had taken to coming over right after work and staying until bedtime. Magnus didn't arrive until after dinnertime because the swim team he coached was practicing after school. Mel and Felix had holed up in Griffin's room – the one he never slept in – while I got some work done in the office. I could hear the occasional squeal of laughter from Griffin and guffaws from Felix. Whatever they laughed at seemed to be at Mel's expense, since she was complaining instead of laughing along with them.

This kind of disruption had once driven me mad. I had high-end noise-cancelling headphones that I always used to wear as a rule in the office, and people were used to needing to wave a hand in front of my face to catch my attention when they needed to talk to me. I liked hearing my family, though. Even in these close living quarters, in a house I hadn't left in five days, I loved hearing Griffin shouting "Pop" to get Felix's attention, and I loved hearing Felix doing absolutely anything. I even enjoyed hearing Mel heckling anyone in the room except Griffin.

Even so, even being as happy as I thought possible in a situation like this, I snapped my laptop shut and sprinted to the front door when Magnus knocked, calling "I'll get it!"

I let Magnus in, shutting the door and snapping a series of locks shut once he was in the entryway of the bunker. The bio locks should make all of the other locks I was engaging redundant, but I felt better knowing we had back-ups.

"How are you holding up?" Magnus asked as he kicked off his shoes and hung his jacket.

I shrugged. "Everything's fine. Griffin won't give us a moment of peace, but that's hardly surprising."

"Where is my nephew?" Magnus asked, grinning widely. He was enamored with Griffin.

"Down the hall. I was actually hoping you could do me a favor, though."

"Name it," Magnus said, rolling back on his heels with his hands in his pockets, the image of relaxation.

"I'm hoping you and Mel will give me and Felix some alone time. I think between the two of you, we might be able to buy an hour before he starts asking for me."

Magnus smiled wryly. "No problem, Ev. We can handle it."

Magnus went down the hall toward Griffin's room while I went to the kitchen. I had a macaroni and cheese bake keeping warm in the oven and I pulled it out along with five bowls. This was the first night my mother hadn't come visiting since I told her my plan to get Felix alone. She was enjoying getting to know Magnus and Mel, but said she could use a night at home. After so many years of living alone, I imagined it must feel strange to be as surrounded by people as she had been since transferring to Lakota.