Acceptance | ✓

Chapter 21

[ANDREW]

I've been seeing Christopher around; at the supermarket, on the street, around the corner... I've tried not to let his presence get to me. I even checked online to find out why he was here in the first place and found out he had some sort of conference going on for about two weeks. I just had to survive seeing him for the period.

I didn't take any chances, though. I didn't leave the cabin without Ethan or Roxanne, and when Ethan and Devein were out in school I stayed in the same place as Roxanne and made sure the doors were locked.

Ethan helped me stay sane too. He Locked up the cabin at night and woke up at intervals to check if the locks were still in place to ease my fears.

I sighed, watching the chickens parade about the yard from the kitchen window. It was early noon, and Ethan had already left for his classes. Devein hadn't gone to school today since she wasn't feeling too well.

"I'm on my period," she had plainly said, curling in pain as I'd tried to hassle her form bed this morning. I had called my mother for some advice and she'd told me to give Devein a hot water bag to rest on her tummy. She also told me to avoid giving Devein anything too sweet or proteinous.

My mother had been calling every hour or so to check in on Devein since then.

MOTHER.

Thurs, 1:23 PM.

Tell her to rest her tummy on the floor, it helps.

I read the text immediately it came up on my phone. I nodded at it, putting my phone away before filling a new hot water bag.

I headed to Devein's room with a cup of tea and the hot water bag in hand.

"How are you doing?" I asked as I walked in on her lying on the bed with a scowl of pain on her face. Roxanne was on the bed too; nuzzling and licking Devein's ankle. The scene made me smile softly. Somehow, my problem had put Roxanne's mindset to think that licking against an ankle was the solution to all pain.

"Fine — I think," Devein muttered in response as I took a seat on the edge of her bed. I dropped the mug of tea and the hot water bag on the side table.

"My mum said you should try lying on the bare floor for a while, that it helps," I said, passing on the information from my mother.

Devein nodded into her pillow before bringing the now cool hot water bag from beneath her. I collected it, passing her the new one afterward.

"You'll be fine," I said, running a hand through her hair that was covered in sweat. She gave me a blank stare, not looking so convinced before curling into a ball in pain.

"It feels like fucking footballs are being thrown at my tummy consecutively," she groaned, gripping her stomach.

"Language," I said, flicking a finger over her forehead. She pouted, rubbing her forehead before muttering a quick sorry.

She moved up a little so that her head was pressing against my clothed thigh.

"Your mum's nice," she muttered, tracing invisible shapes on my thigh as I ran through her hair. I smiled, thinking about how mother and been panicking through the phone over a girl she hardly knew.

"I guess," I said, looking about her room. It'd transferred from the dull guest room it used to be to a lively teen's room with clothes discarded about the place and posters of bands I couldn't make out decorating the walls. I'd changed the carpet on the floor to a fluffy black one that she's promised not to mess up. Ethan had helped her cover up the brown walls with dark pink wallpaper. It was odd to think she only had about a month and a half left here.