One New Message (Random Updates)

Chapter 14

"So..." Corey trailed off as they walked back to his car once she was done with her shifts.

"No," She said sternly as she shook her head.

"Okay," Corey nodded even though his curiosity was in overdrive.

"I'm not ready to talk about it," she said looking out the window.

"Okay," he said. "Can I at least see them?"

"No," she shook her head. "They will just lead to questions I'm not ready to answer."

"Okay."

The rest of the car ride was in silence and while Corey's mind was racing with all sorts of ideas, he knew that he couldn't push it right now. They arrived at the mansion and he raced around to open the door for her. "Holy shit..." she whispered as she looked at it.

"Yeah," he said kind of sheepishly, "well with there being fourteen of us, we kind of needed a large place so we could have our own rooms and still be together."

"Fairy lights?" She asked, staring at the white Christmas lights that were wrapped around the porch.

"That would be Gabe's doing," Corey smiled. "He loves decorating."

"Hey, you're finally home," North smiled as he opened the front door. "Did you stop and get some dinner? If not I'll reheat some dinner for you two."

"I brought her straight home," Corey shook his head, "Working two jobs at the same time, she barely had time to rest, I figured she would be exhausted by the time we got home." He grabbed Jade's hand and started pulling her toward the house.

"Well, Gabe's getting your pajamas and was about to text if you wanted him to just lay out one of Corey's shirts for tonight so you didn't have to go searching through boxes to find your clothes."

"That would be perfect, thanks North," Corey smiled as they reached the porch.

"GABE JUST GET CORE'S SHIRT FOR TONIGHT!" Luke shouted from the staircase.

"Seriously Lucian?" North glared and slapped the back of Luke's head. "You didn't have to yell."

"Yeah I did, I can't remember where I put my phone," Luke pouted rubbing his head.

"Well, where were you last?" Nathan asked. "It's probably there."

"Nope," Luke shook his head. "I was in the tree hanging the birdhouse Silas made and Gabe painted when Corey and Cupcake showed up. It's not in a tree."

"It's probably at one of your candy stashes," Marc chuckled as he came out of the living room.

"Oh yeah!" Luke beamed as he took off up the stairs.

"Come on, let's get some food in your tummy," Corey chuckled as he took a step to the left.

"I'm not hungry, thank you though," she shook her head, "really just exhausted."

"Well I'm not surprised, working two jobs at the same time," Corey smiled. "Fine, tonight you can skip as long as you have some breakfast in the morning, deal?"

North opened his mouth to protest but the small shake of Silas' head made him shut it.

"Two jobs at the same time?" Kota asked.

"Tattoo parlor and the bar next door," Corey nodded.

"Tattoos?" Raven asked excitedly. "You do tattoos?"

"I just draw them out," she shook her head.

"Are you just an apprentice right now?" North asked.

She shook her head, "No, I can give them, I just don't."

"Why?" Many of the men asked.

"Because I don't," she shrugged. She looked at Corey, "Tired."

"Oy, up here," Gabe called out from upstairs. Corey gave the men a look then put his hand on her lower back as they went up the stairs. Gabe met them at the door, "Your bath is fucking ready and Core's shirt is on the goddamn counter. The box in the closet is your clothes I just fucking grabbed and dropped so everything is all goddamn mixed up in it. Your fucking clothes in that so called dresser I just dumped in there. Whenever you are fucking ready we are fucking going on a goddamn shopping spree, okay? Fucking great, goodnight."

He left the room and Corey laughed at her shocked face, "You'll eventually get used to Gabe, DreamKitten. Do you want to take a bath or should I drain it? I don't want you falling asleep in it if you are too tired. Gabe won't be upset if you are too tired, I promise."

"No," she shook her head, "it sounds really good right now."

"Alright," he hugged her, "I'm so glad you are here."

"Not like I really have a choice," she mumbled into his shirt, "you practically kidnapped me."

Corey noticed she was tense and hadn't wrapped her arms around him but he didn't take it personally. He could tell she was very confused and apprehensive so he would just continue being patient. He chuckled and stepped back, "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I have no regrets about it either. Enjoy your bath, my little DreamKitten. Good night."

He shut the door behind him and she gasped as she took in the black four post canopy bed with purple sheer canopy curtains. There were purple lights weaved around the top of the bed and around the posts. Her vampire teddy bear Nosferatu was in front of her pillows waiting for her to cuddle him.

She walked into the bathroom and her breath hitched for a second, there were lit candles on the counter and a bluetooth speaker waiting for her to use. Her toothbrush and brush were by the sink. The room smelled of lavender and Corey's shirt was folded up on top of some towels. She quickly undressed and dropped her clothes in the hamper that was in the closet. She looked at the four clawed tub and smiled seeing all the bubbles.

Sinking into the warm water, a soft gasp escaped her lips as her body started to relax. Catching herself starting to fall asleep, she forced herself to rinse off and drain the tub. After drying, she slipped on Corey's shirt and found her favorite black leggings in the box in the walk in closet. Pulling her hair free from the bun she decided to just brush it in the morning. She climbed into the bed, cuddled Nosferatu and decided to figure out what the hell she was going to do tomorrow. Soon sleep overtook her.