Page 171 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

I narrow my eyes, trying to read the rest of the email.

“Harlot. Help. Help. He’s gonna eat me!”

I sigh in exasperation and turn to the side, glaring intently, as if I can somehow convey through telepathy how fucking annoying he’s being.

“Bite me, bitches. Bite me. Bite me. Bite me.”

The pink and grey galah bobs his head and then collapses on his back, wings spread, paddling his clawed feet in the air like a lunatic, and he is the most insane bird.

Unfortunately for me, Rosey has decided that I’m his person. I wish he hadn’t been named Rosey, but now if you shout Rose in our house, two of us answer. It’s diabolical.

I get up and hold out my arm. He jumps up and climbs onto my arm, walking up until he’s sitting on my shoulder.

“Hi-ho, Silver.”

I snarl as I walk up from the bunker, passing the photos that are hung on all the walls. All of us, smiling, laughing, loving. I touch the cat bobble-head toy Sage has left on the step for me and pick it up, setting it beside the collection of animals he’s been slowly drip-feeding me.

They make me smile, these tiny gifts.

I can smell muffins. Yum. I smack my lips and moan.

Rosey imitates me.

“The problem with birds,” I say when I walk into the lounge room where the rest of the pack is sitting. King’s fresh out of the shower, but he’s not wearing a shirt, and I admit, I do check him out. “Is how clever they are.”

“Oh?” Rolly says from where he’s sitting, flicking through the TV screens so fast I have no idea how he knows what he’s looking for. He pauses and brings out an orange.

“Hey, Merle, I stole this earlier.”

She sees it, and her eyes light up, but then she slaps Rolly’s arm, climbing on him to try and rescue her orange.

“Oh?” Rosey imitates over and over in Rolly’s voice, almost exactly. It's unnerving.

“Well, that’s just creepy,” Rolly says with no sincerity whatsoever. “Kiss me, and you can have it.”

Merle kisses him, he relinquishes the orange.

“Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me,” Rosey screams.

“You should be listening to all the stuff he’s been saying. No more swearing. In fact, no more speaking around him. No more TV.”

Merle gets the giggles, shaking silently, her eyes sparkling. Rosey sees her and flies across the room to land on her head.

“Fuck!” I say, defeated.

“FUCK!” Rosey screams.

I groan.

“What?” Blaze says with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s just so cute,” I say in defeat.

Daega snorts a laugh and stands up, hugging me. I think it’s sympathy, and to be honest, I appreciate it.

He gets a message and smiles widely.

“Mark?”