NERTHUS
“Ouch,” I groan, trying to lift the death weight off me. “You are heavier than you seem.”
Danny wails with his head hanging. “I’m sorry, Ambaaa.”
“Oh my God, Danny. Are you drunk?”
He starts groaning and sobbing, and I try to calm him before he wakes up the entire house.
“Shhh. Danny.” I finally get him to stand up, even if it seems hard for him to keep his balance.
“Come on, let’s get you some water,” I whisper, closing the door and pushing him into the kitchen.
Looking at the bar stools, I am pondering over whether I should better take him to the couch. “Can you sit…?”
“Sure,” He answers full of pride as he hops onto the kitchen island. “I learned that a long time ago.”
I laugh, turning to take a bottle of water out of the fridge.
As I hand him the bottle, he sighs deeply, letting his arms slump into his lap. “I’m sorry Amber. I didn’t know where to go.”
“It’s okay, baby. You can come over whenever you need to. Now drink!” I cross my arms, gesturing to the bottle in his hand with my head.
Clearing my throat, I feel it closing just at the thought of mentioning his name. “Does Arawn know that you are here?”
“Oooh, don’t tell him.” He wails and groans at the same time as he sways to the side. “He hates it when I go out with my friends to have fun.”
I snicker, shaking my head. “He is just worried about you.”
“Ah, pfft. He is a cringy grampa. He isn’t a slay like you are.” Taking another sip of his water, he smiles widely while closing his eyes.
“Ah, you and your coded speech once again.” I chuckle, taking the bottle out of his hand and helping him down my kitchen furniture. “Let’s get you to the couch for a good night’s sleep.”
He remains silent the entire time I get him the pillow and the blanket, and as I tuck him in, his smile gets even bigger, making me laugh even more.
“Good night, cutie pie,” I say, kissing his forehead.
Snuggling himself in, he murmurs something incoherent and starts snoring right away as I walk back to my bedroom.
Taking a deep breath, I dial Arawn’s number and clear my throat several times before he finally picks up.
And he never made me wait this long.
“Rodberg.” He growls, and I guess I deserve this as I ghosted his romantic gesture.
And on top of that, I’m bothering him in the middle of the night.
“Hey. Sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you.” I say, forcing my voice to sound as normal as possible.
He groans, and I can hear the clinking of a glass. “What is it?”
Straight to the point, alright.
“Erm… Danny showed up at my apartment. He… He will be sleeping on my couch, which is no problem at all, but maybe you have his mother’s number or something? You know, so I can text her and tell her that her son is alright.” My voice fails me in the end, and I suddenly feel stupid.
“It’s a Friday night, Nerthus. She wouldn’t care. The possibility is that she is in a worse state than him anyway.” He seems so annoyed that it breaks my heart twice.
“Oh,” I just say, and he speaks again.
“Also, why should it allay her fears that he is there with you? Seeing what you are.”
“Touche,” I chuckle stupidly, falling silent again.
He waits a few heartbeats until I hear him exhale. “Do you want me to pick him up?”
“Oh, no,” I say faster than I intended to. “No, he can stay. He just fell asleep, and I don’t want to wake him up.”
After another deep sigh, he grumbles an annoyed ‘okay’ and ends the call.
Wow. Just wow!
Sitting on my bed, I breathe deeply. I know that I deserve it. I should have at least thanked him.
“I’m sorry. But I never got anything like that. I would never know how to react.”
I close my eyes feeling stupid about talking to myself, as I don’t even know if he is still intercepting me. I remain seated for a few minutes before my head starts spinning again.
“Oh, oh,” I whisper to myself as I climb back into bed.
I have barely cuddled in as I register bare feet tapping over the floor. My heartbeat can’t even accelerate in time as I feel someone getting under my blankets.
“It’s scary outside. There are strange noises.” Danny mumbles, cuddling in next to me.
As my heartbeat normalizes, I chuckle and hug him close. “Don’t worry. I’ll fight off any ghost wanting to take you away from me.”
He laughs, and I caress his hair. “Did you call him?”
I confirm it with a hum, making him sigh. “What did he say?”
“Oh, he was very worried about you, and wanted to know if you were doing fine and if he should come and pick you up.”
He stirs and must have moved his head to look at me. “He would have come to pick me up?”
“Sure. He loves you, and I’m sure he would do anything to make sure that you are safe.” I could bet that he had a big smile on his face as he cuddles in, wrapping his arms around me.
“I’m safe here as well.” He says lowly, and I hear how his voice breaks.
“Of course you are, my love.”
It doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep again, and for me to follow him.