My heart swelled with love to have him in my life again, protecting me and caring about my wellbeing. I felt like a genie granted my most fervent wish. I got what I asked for, but the genie twisted the wish so that it was warped and almost unbearable. My five-year long wish came true, but I also loved two other men. At least they were willing to share. I didn’t see how it would work. It’d be too hard.
I grabbed the cooler of blood to take an inventory. I’d filled a bag that morning, so I couldn’t do another until right before we left the next day. There was enough for three more days. “Boys, we need to resolve this in the next couple of days. You can’t keep splitting one bag a day. You’ve got to be weak.”
A huge grin split across Mama Pacha’s face. “If this goes well, we'll be in our homes and celebrating by this time tomorrow!” She bustled out to see if there was another room she could rent for the night. There was no doubt she’d be able to charm her way into a nice place to sleep.
Chapter 15
Elias and Michael ran out to the market to get the toiletries we needed, then we took turns brushing our teeth and washing up for the night. I didn’t bother showering, my hair got oily so quickly I knew I’d have to wash my hair in the morning before we left anyway. As vain as it may have been, I wanted to look as nice as possible for my trek into an unknown world. I was glad I’d been able to pack a little bit of makeup before we took off on this crazy trip.
I was finishing up my teeth when a soft knock came at the door. I cracked the door to see Michael and pulled him into the minuscule bathroom with me. He pressed up against me from behind and rubbed his hands up my spine. It wasn’t an erotic move, more intimate and loving. A shiver swept up my spine at another beautiful moment to remind me how thankful I was to have Michael back in my life.
When I finished rinsing my mouth, I turned and tucked myself into Michael’s arms. “I wanted a quiet moment with you,” he said.
I was glad to have some privacy with him. “Michael. We need to talk.”
He looked down at me. “I know. Big day tomorrow.”
“Yes, tomorrow. But we also need to talk about our future, our kids. And we need to have a more private conversation about the past five years. I understand that what happened to you was hard to tell, but—”
“There’s plenty more. I couldn't go into great detail. It was too much. And I want to hear every detail of what you endured. It was torture for you as much as for me.” He rested his chin on my head. I giggled, remembering the multitude of times he’d done it in the past.
“Why are you giggling?” he asked.
“I was thinking about the fact that I couldn’t count how many times you’ve dug your chin into my head to annoy me. If you told me then that one day, I’d miss the dig of your sharp chin and heavy head on my scalp, I would've called you crazy.” Tears pooled in my eyes. “But I sure did miss it.”
“Of course, right. I did too. I wished and hoped one day I’d feel your breath tickling my neck again, while you hugged me standing on our stairs, so you’d be tall enough. It always caused goosebumps to crawl over my body when you did that.”
I laughed at the memories, and the relief to be able to enjoy those memories again. “Okay, Michael. Like you said, we have a big day tomorrow. Let’s focus on that. Once we're done, once our grand adventure is over, we have to talk about our past and our future. But there's one thing I need to talk to you about first.” I took a deep breath. “Elias and Anthony.”
“Riley, I told you, I’m okay with it. It was our dream for years to form a strong bond, a lasting relationship, with one woman. And if you are happy for that woman to be you, then that thrills me. If you decide you’re not okay with that woman being you, then say the word.” He squeezed my shoulders and pulled me even closer.
“I’m with you, Riley. They’ll be my friends and brothers forever, whatever happens with you. But you and I, we're forever. I chose you fourteen years ago, and when I chose you, I chose you for the duration of your life or mine, even though you didn’t understand it at the time. I chooseus, Riley, whether us means two strong, or four strong.” He turned us around and grabbed his toothbrush.
“I’ve always planned to try to make your life longer. Now we have help, and maybe we'll end up with a huge family with a lot of love. I’m thankful to my brothers for protecting you, for getting you out of there before the Junta caught up to you and turned you into a broodmare.” He brushed his teeth, his back to me. I slipped my hands around his waist and hugged him close.
“You have to let me go tomorrow,” I said into Michael’s shoulder. He stiffened and spat his toothpaste into the sink.
“I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“This seems to be our only option. Your people have been searching for the secret to their long life since…well, since they were created. They haven’t found it yet.” I squeezed him tighter, and he grabbed my hands. He was upset, angry at the thought of me going off into an unknown world, a place he couldn't follow.
“Michael, I’m not sure we can trust Mama Pacha. We need to make sure she goes through first if it even works. Then I’ll go. You have to wait, let Elias and Anthony go if you want to, but wait until you’re sure it’s safe before you go. If something happens to me, you have to be around for the kids. You have to take care of them.” He turned around and faced me again, a glob of toothpaste on the corner of his mouth.
“Please don’t go. Let us research your lineage. Let us try to find out what you are. I’ve never heard of an Unseen species that the Unseen lineage wasn’t dominant. You’ve got to be something rare.”
“Great. Even if we manage to make me Unseen, they’re still going to be after me.”
“Naw, there’s lots of rare creatures out there. They usually leave them alone once they get over their initial novelty.”
Talking about the maybes of the future was wearing on my nerves. I might not even survive the next day. I didn’t want to worry about what we may or may not do once it was over. “Let’s push both beds together so we can all sleep side by side. I don’t think Elias and Anthony would mind sharing the other bed, do you?”
Michael smiled and opened the bathroom door. He walked into the bedroom and asked the other two guys if they’d mind.
Anthony answered for both of them. “Coya, I would snuggle with a porcupine for you.” I smiled and pulled him into a hug.
“I want us to all be together tonight. Tomorrow is so uncertain and scary. I want tonight to be safe.” I wiggled my eyebrows at them. “No funny business. We need our rest.”
They crammed the beds together and we climbed in. As much as I joked about getting rest, we lay there wide awake and talked for hours. We talked about our hopes and dreams. I found out Michael dreamed of having more children. When I told him I was on birth control he seemed disheartened. He perked up when I told him how easy it was to have it removed. “If we survive this, and I can stay with you for the rest of your lives, I’d love to have as many children as my body can handle.”
