Page 28 of Silver
I carried the one from the van inside first and Niam accepted it with a smile and placed it up against one wall. Silver came in behind me, his hand filled with bags which I then helped him with.
Julie helped out, too, emptying the glove compartment and doing a deep search through the van to make sure we hadn’t accidentally forgotten something.
The dealer was kind enough to take the van and teardrop trailer, too, giving us a discount in return.
Our new RV had room for seven people, with one queen sized bed, one bunk bed for two, one sleeping platform just where the driver sat, and then the couch could be pulled out to a queen-sizedbed, too. We didn’t get the sleeping pods we’d first seen in the RV since it was another model, but that just meant we had a small kitchen and bathroom instead. Since only two pairs could sleep side by side it worked perfectly. Julie and Altair would sleep in the bunk beds, Niam and Xarius on the queen bed, and then Silver and I on the pull-out couch.
Xarius walked past me with the last of their things from the van, then started working immediately on some fairy lights above the bed frame. From the way Niam eyed him with hunger, it meant something to him. I was glad there was a sliding door, separating their room from the rest of us. It sadly also meant that Silver and I couldn’t get too touchy in the middle of the night anymore. I suddenly missed the teardrop trailer.
We waved goodbye to the van, as awkward as that might’ve seemed, but it felt like we were saying goodbye to a specific part of our lives and were getting ready for the next one.
Xarius and Niam sat in the front occupying the only two chairs we now had. Xarius was driving yet again and Niam held the locket so they could follow its direction.
“What did you think of Snowflake and Leon?” Silver asked Julie. We sat in the living room area, right next to Xarius and Niam.
She beamed. “They’re amazing! I can’t wait to see yours, too,” she gushed. She’d met the others in the motel room as they’d guarded the door. But since we’d had our own room, we’d yet to have ours visible around her.
“You’ll get to meet them soon,” Silver promised. We’d decided that Snowflake and Shamus could be inside familiars, so they were allowed to sleep inside the RV at night, but we wanted to wait until we could call them all to us before telling them that, hoping Leon and King wouldn’t get too mad about it.
There was no way I was sleeping with Leon in the RV. I would fear for my nose and wouldn’t get any sleep.
“How long do you think we have until we reach Altair?” Niam asked Xarius. We all waited to hear his verdict. He was the best at estimating distance by the light and even though we knew he couldn’t give us a 100% accurate time, it was still better than nothing.
“I’d say three days. If Julie drives, too, then even less,” he replied calmly.
“I don’t mind taking a nap now, and then taking over in a few,” Julie said, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. “I just need someone to guide me so I know I’m going in the right direction.”
I looked at Silver, knowing he’d want to help out and since he was the best out of the two of us at reading the locket, I thought it would be best for him to help. He seemed to know what I was about to say and smiled at me, then looked at Julie and told her he’d be helping her out.
“Let’s get some sleep, too, then,” I said, getting ready to push out our sofa bed.
“Take our bed,” Niam said, looking back at us. “Otherwise, we might keep you up with our talking and let’s face it, you could probably use some quiet time, too.”
I knew they wanted to talk privately as well, but I still thanked him and dragged Silver back to their room, waving to Julie as we passed the bunk beds. Niam and Xarius could use some privacy and so could we. If we all had to survive like this on the road, then something like this would be perfect for all of us. Ensuring all bonded pairs got some quality time.
Chapter 24
Silver
Who would’ve thought that a clear sign from Niam to go and get our sexy on wouldn’t translate to my bonded. Not me, that’s for certain. So, imagine my disappointment, when Wilston had laid down and patted the space beside him, still fully clothed, and then snuggled with me. No kisses. No exploring hands. Nothing.
I sighed as I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes. Niam had woken us, ready for me and Julie to take the next shift. I poked Wilston and told him he could sleep on the couch or in the empty bunk bed, knowing Niam and Xari would want their bed back.
He followed me and lay down on the couch, grabbing one of Niam’s books and settled in as Julie got behind the wheel. Niam had given me the locket which now rested against my chest. I sat down on the seat next to her and then we began driving. Slowly at first since she needed to get used to driving a huge vehicle, but she quickly got the hang of it.
“So, tell me, Silver, what did you do before Xar and Niam found you?” Julie smiled at me, and I returned her smile.
“I was a stripper,” I said, noticing she didn’t react like other people normally did.
“Cool!” she exclaimed. “I was a stripper, too, once.”
“You were?” I asked, truly surprised, giving her the reaction I’d been expecting her to give me.
“Yep! I was fresh outta high school and found myself homeless. I had a girlfriend at the time and my dad wasn’t a fan.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling like maybe you needed childhood trauma to get invited into our family, or maybe we were just cursed or something.
“I was in a bad place back then, but I actually liked stripping. I had no family to worry about with my mom having passed and mydad being… well, himself, and no friends I had to worry about seeing me naked. It was sort of freeing in a way.”
