Page 34 of Love Heals
"Why don't you guys come inside?" The red-head said, extending a life boat. "I have coffee ready. It's not as great as my wife makes it, but still... It's coffee, right?" He looked at me as if this was supposed to mean something. I could only tilt my head at him.
Had I been a big coffee drinker in my previous life?
"Coffee’s good," Jared said, taking the decision out of my hands.
Slowly, I rose to my feet and followed the other men inside the house. The dog stuck to my side, and I was glad for that. I didn't know Drizzit, not really, and yet his presence gave me a sense of comfort that was hard to explain. It was as if I’d rediscovered a missing piece of me. A very enthusiastic missing piece. As soon as I sat in one of the arm chairs in the living room, Drizzit jumped into my lap and started trying to lick my face again.
"He's totally obsessed with you," the red-head commented. I kind of wished I knew his name. “I think he missed you.”
"I missed him too," I said, which was only half a lie. Already, I dreaded the moment I would have to let Drizzit go again. Burying my face in his fur, I exhaled, wondering why Jared had brought me here.
The red-head gave me a smile. “All right. Let’s get you some coffee.”
"His name is Felix," Jared informed me while the red-head was out of the room.
"Thanks," I said. I also thanked Felix when he placed a cup of coffee in front of me, gesturing at the milk and sugar for me to take as needed. I stirred some sugar into my coffee, if only to have something to do. To appear normal. I couldn't actually drink coffee, but I could hardly let Felix know that.
It was a good thing Jared took most of the conversation into his own hands, even though I got the feeling he wasn't usually a big talker. He asked Felix how his job was going and how the wife was doing, and that distracted Felix enough that he didn't notice that I wasn't raising my mug to my lips.
While the two of them talked, I returned my gaze to the dog. He was such a lovable furbundle, resting on my lap, licking my hand as I petted him. He was warm too, and slightly heavy. His tail hit my belly every two seconds because he couldn't seem to stop wagging it.
"Michael?" Felix's voice was raised, which made me suspect it wasn't the first time he was trying to get my attention.
"What?"
"Tell me what's been going on in your life. I haven't seen you in forever! How did you get off the streets?"
Good question. An even better question was, how had Felix managed to get off the streets? I knew how I had done it, but my former friend had obviously not been turned into a vampire. My eyes found Jared again. Was this his doing? Had he helped Felix get on his feet? That was his job, wasn't it?
Would he have helped me as well, if I hadn't run into Nicolai?
I glanced around the room. It had a cozy fireplace and a big-ass TV, kind of like the one Nicolai had owned but rarely used. This was a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Felix had a job too, a good one, probably, if he could afford to live here. And a wife.
He probably never slept with anyone he didn't want to sleep with anymore...
Was that why Jared had brought me here? To make me feel bad about the choices I'd made? The choices that had been made for me?
"Michael?" Felix tried again, his voice a little more uncertain this time. He looked at Jared. "Did I say something wrong?"
Jared shook his head, then rose from the couch where he sat. "Could we talk in the kitchen for a moment?"
Felix hesitated, then nodded, getting up as well. The two of them left me behind, but I didn't mind, even though I did wonder what Jared had to discuss with Felix. It probably wasn't anything I wanted to hear. Some story about how traumatized I was.
I petted the dog again, trying to distract myself.
I didn't want to be in this house. I didn't want to talk to Felix and think about how different my life might have been if certain things hadn't happened. What was the point?
Drizzit barked at me, complaining because I’d curled my fingers in his fur a little too tightly. Immediately, I let go.
"Sorry, buddy, I didn't mean to." I stroked my hand over the patch of fur I'd aggravated, hoping to make up for my mistake. Drizzit forgave me easily. What a good dog.
Dogs were so much better than people.
It took a few minutes for Jared and Felix to return to the living room. When they did, Jared didn't sit down again, motioning instead for me to get up. "We gotta head back home," he said. "But Felix has agreed to let you borrow the dog for a few days."
My eyes widened and darted to the red-head. "Really?" I asked, because I could hardly believe my luck. Next to me, Drizzit gave a happy bark, as if he totally understood what was happening. Maybe he did. He was a smart dog after all. The smartest.
"Honestly, I only took him because I was the only one who could," Felix said. "My wife's not a fan. She'll be relieved."
