My sister is such an interfering busybody.
“I haven’t met someone non-gendered before.”
“Wren is non-binary. Not non-gendered. And Wren is someone we have to look after for a little while for the president of the club.”
“Well, why isn’t Grudge looking after them himself?”
I shake my head. “Not Grudge, not our local president.Thepresident of the national Outlaws.”
Mom places her hand on her heart. “That’s a big responsibility, Son.”
“Yeah, and it’s one you and Willa shouldn’t be gossiping about.”
She brushes my comment away. “Willa said you were asking about how to make Wren comfortable.”
I keep unpacking. “I was.”
“Well, Neptune has just gone direct and is in a forward orbit, so this is a good time for them to let go of unrealistic expectations and listen to their inner voice. You could get Wren a journal, if they don’t already have one.”
I stand and put my hands on my hips. “Ma. I didn’t ask for a hocus-pocus rundown on where the planets are at.”
“That’s because Neptune Direct can also encourage us to live in denial while simultaneously encouraging us to let go and feel our way through the next six months with our heart.”
There’s a dangerous glint in my mom’s eye. “You just made that shit up.”
She huffs. “No, you daft baboon, it’s an omen. But here.” She turns her chair and goes to her crystal shelf, and it’s all I can do to not just walk out. “Selenite, to bring good vibes to their space. Hematite to bring their nervous system back down to earth by grounding them and protecting them.” Mom’s naturally blonde hair swings as she turns to look at me. “Is Wren in trouble?”
I swallow. “Yeah.”
She grabs something that looks like a small brick of black coal. “Black tourmaline. It’s the best for a very raw kind of protective energy and helps with creating a sense of safety from the root chakra.”
“I’m not giving them lumps of rock.”
Mom rolls her eyes. “Sometimes I think Iraiseda lump of rock. You will take them, and you will give them to Wren. And you will tell them they are sent with love from someone who prays for a higher level of protection over them, just like I do for you.”
What can a man like me born to a woman like her say to that?
“Fine.” I take them, and she aggressively kisses my cheek.
“Now, if you’re not staying for coffee, go, get home and shower, before I make you take a salt lamp too.”
4
WREN
You’d think that after sleeping on thousands of beds and sofas over the years, my body would be a little less picky when it comes to a place to lay my head.
But despite the fact the mattress I’m napping on is clean, warm, and new, it somehow isn’t enough for rest.
My stomach twinges painfully, like my gut can’t relax.
Breathing deeply hurts.
Since the confrontation in the kitchen this morning, I’ve hidden in here all day, trying to find leads as to why the FBI has this chapter of the Iron Outlaws in their crosshairs beyond the fact Lucy’s father wanted it so. I raise the blackout blind and see it’s already going dark. I have no idea what time of day that happens in Colorado. It could be three o’clock in the afternoon, or it could be seven. I have no clue beyond the fact I’ve fitfully worked and napped the day away.
Yesterday, shit went down at Lucy’s parents’ estate…which…who talks like that? I’ve never met anyone with enough money to own an estate.
I assisted with some of it. Accessing security cameras, and hearing Catfish try to organize the club’s response. Yet, I don’tknow how it ended, beyond Lucy being safe. I don’t know what happened to the intruders or who they were.
