Like that was awesome insider information.
Hell, I suggested that was built into the app. He sighed and rolled his eyes saying he’d said the same to the owners, but they told him it would be more trouble than it would be worth and no one wanted that kind of advice from the delivery guys.
Wasn’t it sad that was the way of the world? I would have—Ididlove that sort of insight.
But it was so much more than that. He had articles printed out about how to make instant ramen fancier and more awesome. He was trying to get me to have the real college experience. A shopping list—or grab from cafeteria list—of hard-boiled eggs, shredded cheese, bacon, etc to just throw on top of cheaper cups of ramen since I had an electric kettle in my room.
Ways to make me feel normal. Experience it all. I melted.
Iswoonedand flushed as I called him Sir Winter, my hero. There was also a list of places owned by witches and warlocks—mostly warlocks—that he wanted to try but hadn’t been able to.
Meaning he couldn’t afford it. I was grateful he wasn’t leaving them out because they weren’t in his budget, that he wasn’t a caveman like that. He didn’t have to pay for all of our dates and I had money. We could… We’d figure it out.
He also had a whole spreadsheet with notes of what I liked from places I’d tried. He hadn’t been there for when Wyatt had brought me everything from Taco Bell, so he’d asked about that and had updated it. That was… Wow, he really liked to take care of people and manage things. Not in a bad or controlling way.
He was a nurturer. I was pretty sure that was the right way to put it.
Winter also focused on making me stop and check in with myself, put myself first. He wasn’t the best with auras. He read magic better and if people were lying or hiding things. So he must have talked to Taylor about someone being on my detail who did check auras or at least my health because there were several times he asked them to check me.
And if he didn’t like the answer, he hit the brakes on what was going on. Like flat hit thebrakesand didn’t care if I was supposed to have a session with Councilman Reid. He said the man could wait for magic no one else could give him and had me eat and listen to music for a bit to settle my magic. I was floored.
Also touched when Councilman Reid wasn’t upset. He absolutely agreed and so did Wyatt—everyone else there. They said I was young and growing and needed all the considerations I could get especially since I didn’t have a familiar to warn me.
All if this was possible because I selflessly didn’t have a familiar to distract me, but it inhibited me in other ways, so theyhad to accept that. Seriously, they were helping me heal by being so considerate with me.
Saying that upset Tracey. I didn’t understand until later when she said it wasn’t being “so considerate” but basic manners and normal—not being assholes and it hurt her heart that I saw it as so amazing. She promised that the people around me would keep treating me as they should and she wouldn’t fail me again.
I was crushed she took that so personally and as her fault and went to go after her, but Taylor waved me off and promised he had it. I assumed it was some burden only the people in charge could understand?
Either way, Winter said it wasn’t my fault and it had hurt his heart too. Basically, I got to be the kid on this one and accept my scale of being treated well was wonky because of my abusive past.
Fair enough.
Kelton had focused on my quality of life in another way too. Rita had talked to someone at her former job that she trusted—not one of the team she’d managed—and they were having the same problems she’d had. So after interviewing with Tracey and Jasmine, they hired Nelly. She was younger than them, I thought like twenty-five.
And she was a bit judgy. Or at least from what I got from her familiar, but Rita really liked her, so I hoped it was just because she was coming out of a bad situation.
But Kelton had made sure that Nelly knew to stay out of my room and I’d had history with maids harassing me and… Issues. To never go in there and he helped work out a system. I wasn’t going to be home often, so it wasn’t like my room needed to be cleaned weekly anyways.
I was glad he’d handled it and saw it was valid to ask for. He’d also pushed for me to get a bigger room than I’d originally said. I was an introvert and my magic left me unsettled. I’dgrown up trapped and—he said I needed my space. The others were getting what they needed, so I should too.
Tracey fully agreed and asked him for his thoughts on how to accommodate me, taking it seriously when I tried to brush him off. He had suggested a small kitchenette. He said I reached for snacks out of the fridge while I worked without even realizing it and immediately made myself tea when I was done sometimes.
Both were true.
Tracey wouldn’t know that part since she hadn’t lived with me ever. So that was how my suite at home turned into almost a mini-apartment. I had a “master” sized bed and bathroom but also a living room with kitchenette and huge area to work. It was set up like a massive craft room basically, but it was tons of work materials.
When Clare, Tracey, Jasmine, and Kelton all pushed for me to have it right off my room and how I wanted it from the start… I really got into it. I took the time to plot it all out from the massive wall of IKEA storage with drawers and—everything. I laid it all out for all the materials to make toys and more.
I needed to have a room downstairs where I could do the skeins for the blankets because that would be too much to drag in and out of my room—or maybe I was just going somewhere to do that now that I could do a lot but whatever. This was—it was amazing.
And Kelton set it up with Nelly to order what I would need for grocery delivery when I said I would be home and working. I thought that was pretty spoiled—and so did she—but the others reminded me how much each toy cost, so if fresh blueberries while making them helped me then order the damn blueberries.
Yeah, fair enough.
Plus, she would be in charge of getting what I wanted to restock my fridge on campus that Emma would now bring twice a week when she was on my guard duty. Kelton had set that upas well. Just things to take off my plate that were easy and no bother to add to someone else’s.
Nelly would be handling food and groceries at the house. That was her job. What were a few extra things on that list?
