Instead of going down to the bar to watch their games, I opted to stay in the room and watch television.
The guys argued with me for a bit, obviously worried about me, but all reluctantly left once I agreed to text them if I was going to leave the room.
Eating snacks Grant had gone and gotten for me, I lounged on the couch, nude, and tried to relax.
My cell phone rang and I answered it on speakerphone so I could keep lying on my side and eating chips. “Hello, Theo.”
“You haven’t called me since you got there,” she huffed. “I thought we were friends.”
I rolled my eyes at her dramatic-ness. “I’m sorry. Things have been … interesting.”
She paused. “What happened?”
I told her everything that had happened so far and felt tears prickle the corners of my eyes when I finished. Quickly, I wiped them away.
“Do you want me to put a curse on the wolf bitch?” she asked instantly. “I could make all her hair fall out.”
I laughed and felt a little of the pressure ease. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, and you know I’m serious. I’ll curse a bitch faster than you can say, ‘tacos.’”
The truth was that I wasn’t even mad at Samantha. She was doing what her pack told her to do, following orders she thought were right. In her mind, she was trying to get back what should have been hers all along.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I said. “How’re things going with you?”
“Tristan and I got into a fight and are sort of broken up right now,” she admitted with a sigh. “I don’t really even remember how the fight started, but it was a stupid one and we both overreacted.”
“I’m sorry. I know you really like him.” Even if I didn’t like the dolphin, he had made Theo smile a lot.
“Well, I did meet a new guy,” she said. “His name is Damien. We’ve just gone on one date so far, but he’s really sweet.”
“Is he a shifter, too?” I asked, curious.
“I, uh, actually don’t know,” she admitted with a soft laugh. “We both have a love of dramadies and spent a lot of our time talking about those instead of ourselves.”
“Sounds nice,” I admitted.
“Silver misses you,” she said quickly. “He’s been pouting since you left, but won’t admit it’s because he’s worried about you.”
I flinched. “Don’t tell him about the incident, okay?”
“Promise.” I could just imagine her miming zipping her lips shut.
“How’s work? Anymore vampire drama?” Talking with my best friend made the pain and pressure ease until it was barely noticeable. It also made the time fly by and before I knew it, Jong-min and Jong-hyun returned to the room.
They both stopped inside the room when they saw me, naked on the couch surrounded by chips and empty hard seltzer bottles.
“Uh, hi, I, um. I’ll clean this up,” I said and stood. The bag of chips I’d had fell off the couch and spilled on the floor.
I flinched and bent to start sweeping them inside the bag.
Jong-min sighed while Jong-hyun laughed.
“You are a mess,” Jong-min said as he walked over to me.
I thought he was going to help me clean, but he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up into a standing position. He turned me around, arms still on my shoulders, and pushed me towards the bathroom.
“Where are we going?” I asked.