Page 288 of Bride of Choice

“Oh my god,” Rosa sputtered, mortified.

As we took a moment to get over that, I had to throw my hands up and brush it off.

“They’re… bonding?” I blurted finally, hoping it offered Rosa some way to save face and leave here without my extra pillow case over her head, which turned her sputtering gasps into soft witch cackles.

“Not over THAT, in front of us, they’re not!” Rosa managed to get out between stomach aching snorted-chortles.

Rosa hung out for a little bit longer before encouraging me to have that rest I was talking about as she puttered around my place like a kindly maiden aunt cleaning up my shit after me. She even went so far as to grab ice to make an ice pack for my face.

I was so exhausted from everything, I’d fallen asleep with my face feeling half frozen, to snuffle awake to blankets tucked around me, no ice pack in sight, a good fire going that should last me throughout the night, and an unintended houseguest.

“How did you get past Mama Rosie?” I snarked, rolling over to face him.

“Rosie ask Hyde watch for Jo. Hyde say jes. Rosie say, ‘kay. Hyde smell fire go out, come inside, make more fire food. Jo sleeps. Hyde watch.”

“You watched me sleep?” I repeated stupidly.

“Jes,” he said shortly.

“Whatever. Weirdo.” Keeping my distance, I got some water and glanced to him pointedly. “There’s no bathroom in here and I need to pee.”

He nodded and waited.

Realizing more was required of him, he scratched at his head. “‘Kay?” he half mumbled, wondering if that was the right way to go.

“You need to leave so I can pee,” I pointed out.

“Screen.” His finger shot up and he pointed at the small privacy screen he must have put back up.

“No,” I said simply, pointing at the door.

Glancing up towards the door from his cozy spread out on the floor near the table, he gave a grunt of an answer.

“Because I don’t want to pee in front of you!” I burst out.

“Already pee with us,” he pointed out.

“Well… maybe I don’t wanna piss with ‘you’s right now! You ever think of that?” I wasn’t being irrational. I didn’t feel like wanting to pee in peace was irrational.

“‘Kay,” he said simply, thinking that was the end of that.

“Get out before I piss myself!” I burst out.

Surprised by my shout, he got to his feet and walked to the door. A befuddled frown muddled his brow. Opening the door and waiting, like he thought maybe I’d change my mind, he hesitated.

“Today!” I barked.

He was barely all the way bodily outside when I slammed the door shut on his pouty ass and locked it. Making use of the pee pot on hand, I’d just started going, bladder screaming, when he called through the door.

“Not want see or hear? I hear,” he pointed out.

“Then maybe don’t listen,” I snapped, hovering precariously.

Hyde broke out into some weird song I’d never heard before, singing it quite loudly. Too loudly. By the time I’d finished up and washed my hands, he sounded like he was putting on a concert. A concert for other fellow dying sheep.

I had one hand on my stomach, the other over my mouth, I was giggling so hard.

It was horrendous. He could hum like no one’s business but he was shit at singing.

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