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I gave Cole a pleading look, and he kissed my forehead. “Don’t worry, baby,” he said. “He’s fucking with us. He’s fine.”
“I’m not fine!” Travis called from the hall.
“Serves you right for the party up in the mountains after prom,” Cole called back.
There was a brief silence from the hallway. “Can we maybe not talk about that in front of my girlfriend?” Travis asked.
We all laughed. It felt wonderful to laugh even when we were all feeling stressed and uncertain about the results of today’s injection. We very rarely got to be just two couples hanging out together, two sets of best friends spending a night together.
Once Travis got over the fact that Cole and I occasionally had sex with each other, we settled in to make dinner. Lana had been dying to learn how to make fresh pasta, so I passed on the recipe and method I’d learned from Valentina while Travis micromanaged Cole in cooking up a few steaks.
By the time we were finished eating and cleaning everything up, Travis’s medical team arrived at the house and administered the third dose of shifter serum. As always, it was quite anticlimactic. Once the IV was placed, we made small talk while we waited for the serum to enter his bloodstream fully, and then the doctor gave us care instructions before heading on his way along with the rest of his team.
We decided to watch a movie to pass the time and distract Travis from any psychosomatic sensations that might result from his anxiety. It worked, or so it seemed, until the effects of the medication started to set in. Travis started to complain about the heat and then about feeling achy, so we got him set up in the guest bedroom. Cole and I focused on supporting Lana with whatever she needed for Travis—cool compresses, water, anti-inflammatories.
The night was long, and there were a few touch-and-go moments, but Travis finally fell asleep when his fever broke and his chills stopped. Cole looked exhausted when I looked up at him, and I reached out a hand for him from where I sat with Lana. He walked over to me and put his hand in mine. I brought it up to my lips and kissed his knuckles.
“Why don’t you get some sleep?” I said to him. “I can tell you’re tired. Lana and I can keep things going from here.”
Cole nodded and pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Thanks,” he said. “If something starts going wrong, just give me a holler.”
I nodded. “Good night.
Lana and I watched Cole leave. Once he was gone, Lana leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here for this one,” she said. “I know I play boss bitch all the time, but I really think I would have been a mess without you here.”
I let my head rest on hers. “I’m glad to help. Hell, I figure it’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done to help me.”
“You know I don’t think that way,” Lana said. “I’m just happy you’re thriving. I’m happy I got to help with that.”
“I’m happy, too,” I said. “I mean, all things considered, as bad as it has been sometimes and with all the stress, it’s still a vast improvement to my quality of life. Even with the stalking and everything that happened with Wyatt, I’m so much happier now than I ever was with him.”
“Yeah,” Lana said. “I can’t tell if that’s a testament to how strong you are or how fucked up your life was up to this point.”
“Maybe a little of both,” I said.
“You and Cole seemed a little less tense today,” she commented.
“We had a talk last night, hashed some things out,” I said. “We’re both feeling a lot better about things now that we aren’t avoiding each other. We’re still sort of at an impasse until I make my decision, but he promised to do his best to be supportive either way.”
“Have you decided?” Lana asked. “I mean, what do you think about all of the shit that’s gone down with this?” She gestured to Travis.
“It’s scary, of course,” I said. “A lot of good things are scary at first. But no, I haven’t made my decision yet. There’s a lot I want to take into account.”
Lana nodded, still looking at Travis. “I really don’t want you to be hurt, Marley. I want you to live for a long fucking time because I can’t imagine my life without your friendship in it. And even though I wish I would have taken Travis’s transition more seriously, even though I regret a bit that I went along with it so willingly, I still want you to be whoever you want to be. Even if that might put you at risk.”
“Really?” I asked.
Lana nodded. “You can’t live your life to make other people comfortable. You have to live your life as you see fit, you know? Because no one is more of an expert on you than you. And you’re the only one answering for your decisions at the end of the day.”
I nodded. “I don’t want to build resentment doing something because someone is telling me what’s best for me. I don’t think Cole could ever be like Wyatt, but that doesn’t mean I have to accept being told what is and isn’t okay for me to do.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “How did he take it when you told him that?”
“At first, not great. But he seemed to be on board when we spoke about it.”
“Good,” she said. “I like you guys together, and I really didn’t want to have to get on the dump-your-boyfriend train.”
“Yeah, I would hate to be on that train, too,” I said.
