Page 204 of Bride of Choice

“You’re sure?” I muttered, hesitating to add anything further.

“If I ask him, he won’t,” she assured me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled softly, finding it oddly satisfying to see her rocking her tiger mama side, owning that shit. Go, Rosie.

“You wanna talk about it?” she asked softly as we trekked along.

“About what?” When in doubt, play dumb.

Stopping dead in her tracks, the long, measuring look she gave me said Take your pick, I’m all ears.

“Nope. Not really.”

She nodded and kept walking. Never pushing, at my pace. I loved the shit out of this woman for it.

“Read any good books lately?” I was dead serious. She had an epic collection thanks to Zhuii.

“Nice segue,” she snarked, but continued before I could snark back, “Once we get your arm checked out and your hut squared away, you can peruse my library.” Her eyes shined with happiness at the mention of her lady cave.

“Lucky bitch,” I said with a chuckle.

“Don’t I know it,” she singsonged, then laughed happily.

???

Eighteen stitches later, two for each puncture wound, I was unhappily but willingly, lightly sauced and nice and properly numbed. Noyel had thought it best to irrigate each puncture— since I was unwilling to state exactly how I’d gotten them, though it didn’t take a genius to figure it out— then pack them with a salve that was akin to an antibiotic ointment, to prevent infection, which the numbing salve could not completely do its job on because the punctures were too deep— hence the swig of happy sauce laced tea he swore was milder than Prokar’s punch that I was already regretting.

I was tea sleepy and horribly buzzed, so much so that when Rosa asked yet again if I wanted to talk about it, I said yes but then said nothing, and she prompted me to continue, my hooch addled mind had all the little Sponge dudes running around in my head burning all important files, and my body decided the only option was to burst into tears.

It was so bad I was worried the kids might overhear Auntie Joanie’s total nervous breakdown and I was not about to let any of my bullshit affect those sweet babies.

Taking it outside, I insisted I was fine to go home, despite Rosa’s protests and the fact I was still muffling sobs into the tea towel sized bit of kitchen cloth her startled mates had shoved at me.

The cool air chilling my skin offered me some semblance of calm. The threat of vomiting was down to a manageable fifty percent.

My jacket was yet again gross, this time with my own dried, crusted blood. That thing has been through some shit, lemme tell ya.

Frowning in a foot of snow, my wet boot threatening to freeze my foot off with the aid of my damp sock, I stumbled five steps, ignoring Rosa following after me, insistent I stop being an idiot, while Noyel choke-laughingly hurried after, explaining that the Joanster is obviously not totally home right now, and it was just a big ol’ bowl of bullshit soup I was totally done with.

Stumbling, I tripped and flopped right into a fat pile of the fluffy white stuff.

“I’m- I’m erk-ay,” I garbled out. “Canned feel my flace anyway.”

“I can’t just leave her like this and her place is a mess! It’s like a hoarder lives there!” Rosa’s soft screech pricked my ears.

I assumed she was hand-speaking with Tokre or whispering after her outburst, or possibly too softly to Noyel for me to overhear.

“Of course we can make her stay here! Does she look like she can properly put up a fight? I don’t care what she wants!! What do you mean, she’s staying at Celuk’s? Since when?” There was a pause. “Why didn’t I know this?” Another pause. “Whatever. It’s too far out. That place will be empty then and I don’t want her there all by herself. Someone or something hurt her.” A much longer pause. “Do that then. Bia knew about this, too? Did he tell Mina? Does she know? What about Khri? Bauheg? Mally? What about that Go’ guy she pals around with?” With a loud huff, she grumbled, “It doesn’t matter. I get it. We’ll sort it out later. Let’s just… worry about right now and get her outta the snow and the cold.”

Lifting up, I started to crawl away. I was just fine. I was pretty warm, in fact, despite losing feeling in my hands and feet.

“Jo?”

“Noo…” A groan left me. I knew that voice. I wasn’t happy with that voice. That voice belonged to the asshole that set off a strange chain of events that some of it I’m both elated about and the other bits I just want to strangle him for.

Crawling around Doogie’s thick legs, and right past him, I could hear Noyel telling her to hold on while he stepped forward.

“Doogie want aphologize,” he started to say, to my butt or somewhere abouts that area, but I just kept mumble talking my thoughts aloud, sniffing and snuffling like a snot nosed twit all the while. “Jo…?”

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