AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Absolutely,” I agree, sliding my hand over her thigh.
She leans her head against my shoulder. “Anyway, when I was younger, I got into a lot of trouble, and because of who my parents were, I was let off with a warning and given community service, and since I spent so much time in the hospital anyway..." She trails off, and I wrap my arm around her. "So when I moved here, I guess I missed it. One day, I was having trouble with a game I was working on and decided to take a break. I got in my car and started driving, and I ended up at the hospital. I guess it's in my blood, my parents being who they were and all. I've been volunteering there ever since." She looks up at me with a smile before resting her head back on my shoulder.
This woman... She doesn't cease to amaze me.
I pull her in tighter and kiss the top of her head before looking out the window and taking in the view outside as the sun begins to set.
“It’s pretty here.”
“I know.”
“We meant what we said. If you want us to stay here, we’ll make it work.”
She lifts her head to look at me and shakes it. “I won’t lie and say that just because I’m willing to work things out with the both of you, everything is miraculously fixed. We have things to work through, and they’ll take time. Trust is funny like that. It’s hard-earned because of how priceless it is, but once it’s broken, it can never be restored to what it was before,” she whispers, delivering the blow softly, but it doesn’t lessen the impact.
As if sensing that, she slides her hand up to cup my jaw, tugging me until my lips are a whisper from hers. “That doesn’t mean you can’t make something just as beautiful from all the broken pieces. Some things are prettier because of their flaws, not despite them.”
I close the distance between us and kiss her softly, pouring into it everything I can never find the words to say.
“We’re here.”
I pull back at Slade’s words and see the hospital.
“You can park in the reserved spot marked AM, near the entrance,” Astrid directs, making Slade whistle.
“You have your own parking space?”
She shrugs, looking uncomfortable. “They wanted to do something nice for me. Anyone can use it. But once the invites go out for the Halloween celebration, people tend to leave it for me.”
“Well, that makes things easier. I’m an old man, so carrying the entire contents of the forty-seven toy stores you emptied was making me worry a little.” James laughs.
“You think I went overboard?” She bites her lip.
Yes. She abso-fucking-lutely went overboard.
“No, not at all,” I lie through my teeth.
As Slade parks, she chuckles and leans over, kissing me quickly. “Liar.”
Slade climbs out and opens the door for Astrid, taking her hand as I help guide her wings out so she doesn’t break her neck. Once she’s clear of the car, they both wait for me and James to get out. We move around to the truck as James adjusts himself, making me snort.
“Laugh it up, penguin boy. Be grateful you don’t have to worry about your costume riding up your ass.”
“I really did not need to know that,” Astrid states as she reaches in for a stack of gifts.
“Whoa, what are you doing?” I take the boxes from her with a glare.
“Carrying some of the gifts in?” She frowns, confused.
“Nope. Not on my watch. You have three strapping men here now to carry them in for you.”
“Wait, I do? Where are they?” She looks around the parking lot, and Slade pokes her in the ribs, making her squeal.
“You’ll pay for that later, pet,” Slade murmurs in her ear loud enough for the rest of us to hear.
“Thank fuck we’re at the hospital. I think my ears are bleeding,” James states, and Astrid giggles as I nudge her out of the way.
Once our arms are full with as much as we can carry, we head inside, turning heads as soon as we step through the doors. We follow Astrid, and it takes us ten minutes to get to the children’s unit after climbing about a million flights of stairs. She had told us the elevators tend to break down more often than they work, so it was better to take the stairs, and we agreed. The last thing we want is to be stuck inside one all night and miss all the fun. I could only imagine the looks on the fire crew’s faces at rescuing a fairy, two secret agents, and a vampire with a chafing issue.
