Page 81 of Interference

And now…

Here I was. Living post-Simon.

We still had to pretend we were together for the cameras and the club, but privately, we were both free to move on. And it turned out that, for me, part of moving on included… this. A lazy afternoon walking with Wyatt and our critters. The world hadn’t ended when my relationship had, and I wasn’t just slogging forward, wondering what to do with myself. I felt good.

In fact, now that I thought about it, I kept asking myself the exact same thing I had after a couple of other past breakups: why the fuck had I held on so long?

I almost laughed. God, I was so stupid. I’d been miserable with Simon. Yeah, we’d had good times, but those times were in the past, and the biggest gift he’d ever given me was to cut me loose.

I wasn’t miserable and doomed to die alone. I was free.

More than that, as I sat across from Wyatt, watching him tease Bear with a straw wrapper on the picnic table, I realized I was also still capable of feeling attraction to people who weren’t Simon. There was no telling if that was mutual, but just being able to feel this spark gave me a bigger rush of optimism than I’d had since my name was called in the draft.

I’m going to be okay.

Life after Simon won’t just be good—it’ll be better.

Unaware of my thoughts, Wyatt laughed as Bear pounced on the straw wrapper, the table wobbling under my huge cat’s weight.

Moose, who was lying on the other end of the table, swatted at Bear’s tail. Bear had been so focused on the wrapper, he about jumped out of his skin, leaping straight in the air, back arched and fur puffed up as he spun to face Moose.

Wyatt and I both jumped back, and Wyatt’s eyes were enormous. “Holy shit!” he said with a laugh as the cats faced off.

Moose just glared coolly at Bear, ears turned back and tail twitching as he silently dared his brother to do something about it.

“Boys.” I scratched Bear’s back, making him jump a little, but then he purred and arched into my touch. “No fighting, okay?”

Bear looked innocently at me, his face full of “Dad, I would never!”

Of course that was the moment Moose lunged and bit one of Bear’s paws.

Bear jumped and hissed. Moose sat up straight, looking exceptionally pleased with himself.

And Wyatt laughed, turning me to absolute mush.

Oh my God, I am such a mess for this man.

What the hell am I supposed to do with that?

Chapter 22

Wyatt

I upended the pill bottle over my palm, and a single tablet fell into my hand. My heart sank. I’d known there was only one left, but I’d tried not to think about it. Tried to forget it.

Now I was about to give it to Lily, which meant there was no pretending anymore. We’d reached the end of her antibiotic treatment.

Which meant we’d reached the end of the time Anthony had agreed to let us stay.

Tomorrow…

I closed my eyes and swallowed.

We’d survived six months without a place to live. We’d survive again. Especially since we had some new gear, and Anthony had made sure we could get more if we needed to. The streets were cruel and unforgiving, but we were better situated to face them now. Hopefully.

I wrapped Lily’s pill in one of the Pill Pockets, then tossed it to her. She took it eagerly, and I surveyed our collection of gear, which I still needed to pack. I’d have to do that carefully, making sure it was all as efficiently arranged and easily accessible as I needed it to be. After that, I’d take a good long shower since it would probably be my last decent one for a while, and I’d give Lily a bath. Another load of laundry. Clean my prosthetic and liner extra well.

And then…

---