“Don’t really wanna watch TV,” he said before walking into the kitchen.
“Sit with me now! That’s an order,” he shouted. Austin’s ears stood straight, and his tail swayed a bit.
“Yes sir,” he said with a confused upward inflection before taking his place next to Adam.
“We’ll uh, give you guys some privacy,” Roscoe said, pulling me back into the bedroom before shutting the door. “That scared the piss outta me. Is everyone gonna start shouting orders at the guy now?”
“I honestly didn’t expect him to do that,” I said, turning the knob on Roscoe’s old TV. “Wanna watch a movie?”
“Hell yeah! Whatcha in the mood for?”
“I don’t know. You pick. I’ll probably end up falling asleep anyway,” I said plopping down on the old couch. “This thing smells so much better.”
“Just wait until we start havin’ some fun on it.”
“I’m not having sex on this thing.” I gave it a second thought. With how heavy Roscoe was, there was a really good chance he’d end up breaking it. “Actually, let’s do it. Right now.”
Roscoe’s eyes narrowed as he slipped a VHS tape out of its cover.
“What? You told me to loosen up, remember?”
“Since when do you listen to me? Yer up to something.” In a panic, he looked around the room. “You found the bag, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” I said, hoping he’d get worked up enough to lead me to its location.
Sure enough, Roscoe darted out of the bedroom, and I crept into the hallway only to run into him around the corner.
“Nice try. I may be stupid, but I ain’tthatstupid.”
Later that night
Austin cracked open our bedroom door and peeked inside
“Cody, I need you,” he whispered, looking back toward his bedroom. “Adam’s waiting.”
I carefully stood from the couch and followed the large werewolf into the bathroom.
“I thought Adam—”
“It doesn’t work like it does with you,” he said, slipping his fatigues off. “Just give me the order. He thinks what he did worked, and that I’m getting ready in the bathroom.”
“All right. I—”
The door opened, and a disappointed Adam stood on the other side.
“I thought so,” he muttered. “Hurry up.” Adam looked at the floor before walking away.
“This is it, Austin. I mean it this time,” I said, pulling Austin’s chest mane until he was eye level. “Go make love to your kuu mate,” I said, the bathroom light turning silver as Austin’s eyes lightened to blue.
“Yes sir.”
As he ran out of the bathroom, I turned toward the mirror. Was this really helping them? That look on Adam’s face broke me a little, and I felt even more like a piece of shit. Austin was still dependent on the vironoct, and there was nothing anyone could do.
This was my canary in the coal mine. Today, he would need me for a quick fix in order to get in the mood, but like with any addiction, one day he might need more. Mosavi might have had a point, and I didn’t want to find this out the hard way.
My eyes wouldn’t fade back to their original color like they usually did; instead, the half-turn staring back at me hadan almost malicious look to him. The room faded until my reflection was all I could see.
You want to be him, don’t you?
