“Sierra,” Andrei calls, nodding for us to follow after him. I follow him to a large bathroom with multiple shower cubicles and toilets lining the walls. He hands me some clothes that I know belong to Kat. Quickly shifting, I put on the tights and one of her shirts.
“Come here,” Andrei growls. He tugs me to him, his arms wrap around my shoulders as he buries his face in my neck.
“Are you ok?” He asks, and I nod.
I am only worried about Kat. She comes off so strong-willed, independent and connected with herself, and it hurts to see this side of her, a piece of her breaking. Sometimes as I look at her, I forget she is only nineteen. She seems far older than me and appears to know herself better than I know myself. I can’t imagine the weight and pressure on her shoulders, the expectations people have of her, all while navigating through motherhood and a bond with not one man but two.
Andrei leads me out to the living room. Derrick makes coffee and brings it out when Marge suddenly shrieks. When I hear a baby giggle, my heart thumps erratically, looking for danger. Fear is evident on Marge’s face before I realize why. Jonah is holding both of Marabella’s hands, the mittens have fallen off, and she cackles loudly as he waves her arms about.
Marge quickly grabs the mittens. Derrick pulls Jonah away from her, but she smiles a huge gummy grin at him, kicking her legs and arms before pouting and her bottom lip trembles as her hands are covered again.
“I know, sweet girl, I know,” Marge tells her. Andrei observes Jonah and Marabella carefully before scooping Marabella off the floor.
“She didn’t hurt him, it’s ok, Jonah, you’re not in trouble, buddy,” Andrei tells him while bouncing Marabella on his knee. Derrick leans over, handing me a coffee, and Jonah crawls into my lap. Marge brushes his hair from his eyes.
“We just need to look out for her hands, I know you wanted to play. But she has powers like her momma,” Marge explains. Jonah nods.
“Like spiderman?” Jonah asks, and I chuckle.
“Yes, like spiderman,” Marge tells him.
“That’s cool, I want to be spiderman,” Jonah says excitedly before crawling off to play with Eziah.
“Does he have superpowers too?” Jonah asks.
“Yes, but you can touch his hands,” Marge tells him. I can see the confusion on his face as his brows furrow, looking between Marabella and Eziah. I can see he is wondering why Eziah’s hands are safe to touch, but not Marabella’s.
Silence suddenly falls outside, no more snarling or fighting, after ten minutes, Andrei says we should get ready to leave. I wait for them to come in, wondering if anyone got hurt. Getting up, I walk to the door, pull on the peephole, and nearly spit my coffee across the door, choking as some sprays out my nose. I slam the peephole shut, turning my back to the door, my cheeks blaze at what I just witnessed. Andrei and Derrick walk out as soon as they hear me choking and spluttering.
“What’s wrong?” Andrei says, reaching for the peephole. I snatch his wrist away, and he looks at me curiously. My cheeks burn hotter, I just saw parts of Kat and her mates I never wanted to see again.
“We should stay in here, it’s not safe out there yet,” I tell them. Derrick looks worried.
“They still haven’t contained her,” he asks, reaching for the peephole, but I slap his hand away.
“She’s contained,” I squeak, quickly shutting the main door, so they don’t look out the shutters peephole.
“Are you alright? Why are you embarrassed?” Andrei asks, and I try telling him with my eyes, not wanting to blurt out, that they are fucking in the driveway in front of her father. Just the thought of saying that makes my cheeks burn hotter. I don’t have to say anything when lewd noises reach our ears. Derrick freezes, and Andrei scrunches up his face.
“Coffee, who wants more coffee in the kitchen with the blender going?” Derrick says, marching off, Andrei on his heels. Marge looks over the back of the couch at me and snorts with her laughter.
“About damn time, the tension in this house between those three was driving me insane. Mates need each other, as disturbing as that is for Andrei and Derrick. I am glad,” she says, scooping up Marabella and holding her hand out to Jonah.
“Come on, let’s go make something to eat,” she tells him, and he takes her hand.
“Can you grab Eziah for me and the blanket?” She asks, and I nod. I scoop the blanket up, and Eziah and I follow them to the kitchen, far away from the noises coming from outside. Andrei lays the blanket down, and Marge places Marabella down with some toys. I sit Eziah next to her watching them play.
“Well, that was a change of-”
“Don’t say it, Marge, I don’t need that mental image in my head,” Derrick says, the blender on low, drowning out any noise. Kat is going to be mortified, I know I would be. Like doing the walk of shame, I don’t think I will be able to look her in the eye again without blushing.
Marge makes sandwiches, and the kids play on the mat while we chat and drink coffee. Eziah crawls, trying to get underneath my chair, and I pull him out. His hand grabs my leg as he pulls himself up to a standing position.
“He can stand now,” I smile.
“Yes, Marabella tries, but the mittens prevent her from getting a grip on anything,” Marge says, and I can hear the sadness in her voice. Eziah smiles cheekily, proud of himself that he pulled himself up like a big boy. Derrick’s phone starts ringing, he pulls it from his pocket, looks at the screen and answers it.
“Hello?” He asks, switching the blender off. “Ah yeah, he is right here, I will put him on,” Derrick says, handing the phone to Andrei.
“Who is it?”
“The man who was looking into,” he points to Jonah, and Andrei quickly answers it, walking into the hall away from Jonah.
I can feel his nervousness, and I watch him keep glancing in the doorway toward him before his eyes fall on me. His shoulders sag before he walks off, and I hear a door shut.
Looking at Derrick, he also seems concerned. “I will be back,” he says and walks out.