Page 25 of Bony Bony
Shehesitated for a few seconds before replying, “Yes.”
Oddresponse. “Itlooks great on you.”
Shehuffed and rubbed between her brows as if she was trying to stay calm.Whatwas going on with her?
Icocked my head and asked, “DidIdo something wrong?”
“No,Sebastian.”Sheexhaled audibly from her nostrils and headed toward the kitchen. “Tremblingtoad stools, can you give me some space?”
Irecoiled.Whoa.Shewas capital-P, capital-O,Pissed.Off. “Sure, babe.”
Shescowled and opened the fridge.Thenatural inclination to ask her if she wanted something to eat worked its way to my lips, butIpressed them together tightly.Nowwas definitely not the time.
Everybodyneeded time to themselves.Igot it.Especiallyif they were having a rough day.Giannahad lived here alone before we got together, so she had plenty of time to unwind without someone bothering her quiet time.
“I’mgoing upstairs,”Isaid, finally catching on thatIshould get away from her and leave her be.
WhileIsat in our bed, surrounded by her alluring scent on the sheets,Giannastormed around in the kitchen downstairs, banging cabinets and muttering under her breath.Wow.Ihadn’t seen her in a mood like this for a long time.
Tokill time,Iplayed games on my phone.Maybeshe’d be calmer and ready to talk when she came upstairs.
Butshe didn’t come.
Afteran hour or so,Iwalked downstairs to see if she was okay.Thelights were out.WherewasGianna?AsIturned around,Ispotted a shape on the sofa beneath a blanket, and my mouth fell open.Shewasthere?Whathad happened that she chose to sleep on the couch rather than come up to our bed?Mywolf moaned a woeful sound.
Herlower leg stuck out from under the blanket.Iwalked over and covered it up, careful not to disturb her.AsIheaded back upstairs, one question replayed in my mind:Whatwas going on?
* * *
WhenIwoke latethe next morning, the cold and empty space whereGiannashould be in bed jolted me back to last night.Ididn’t know what bothered her but hoped she’d feel better after a night of sleep.
ButwhenIwent downstairs, that hope shattered.
Shewas still asleep on the couch, something she’d only done before if she couldn’t sleep or after a fight where we needed time to cool down.WhenIwalked downstairs, she stirred.
“Youwoke me up,” she grumbled.
“Sorry,”Isaid. “Areyou okay?”
Shetossed off the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders before heading to the stairs. “I’mgoing upstairs to get some sleep.Pleasedon’t bother me.”
Jeez.Didshe have a rough night or what? “I’llmake breakfast and cover it with foil for whenever you’re ready.”
Shelet out a sound of exasperation. “Alwaysfood with you.”Shedropped her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Areyou even able to go an hour without talking about food or shoving some morsel into someone’s face?”
Whoa!Wherethe hell did that come from?Myspine straightened like a steel rod had suddenly been jammed against it.Whathappened to the woman who smiled in appreciation whenIcooked for her?Herface would light up when she’d thank me for taking care of her.Whendid that turn into shoving food into people’s faces?Thiswasn’t like her.Herirritation bubbled like a cauldron.IfIsaid the wrong thing, it could lead to an epic fight.
BeforeIcame up with anything, she walked up the stairs, the blanket dragging behind her like a cape.Istared after her.Whatwas going on with my wife?
* * *
Ileftour place and drove without having a destination in mind.Ihad time to kill before work.Lucaswas working at theNetworkandDiegowas still asleep.Ifit was after dark,Icould have run in wolf form.Awalk would still be beneficial, soIheaded to walk a trail through the woods.Mywolf sat up, excited at the prospect.
Notyet,Icommunicated.Butwe’ll come back after dark.
AsIwalked beneath the sunlight dappling through the foliage, the cool spring air filled my lungs.Itook deep breaths in and out, following one of those relaxation methods to reduce anxiety.Seeingmy mate in distress affected me with a deep pang inside.WhatcouldIdo to help her?
Theproblem was thatIcouldn’t do anything unless she wanted me to.We’dhad plenty of arguments in the past whenI’dtried to help on a matter, but she’d push back on me saying it wasn’t helpful if she didn’t want me to intervene—it was intrusive.Mynurturing side would clash with her independent streak, but we’d always find a way to compromise.Wasn’tthat what relationships were all about?Hopefully, whatever was going on withGiannawould settle down soon, or at least she’d tell me about it, and we could figure things out together.
