LIAM JR

Delilah and I sat under the big shady tree at the far side of the playground. She didn’t feel like playing or swinging today, so we just sat under the tree. She wasn’t very happy for the first day of school like everyone else was.

“Isn’t it great that we are in the same class?” I said, trying to get her to talk. She nodded her head, but her face still looked gloomy.

“Our teacher seems really nice. Miss Jones?” I tried again.

“Mmhmm,” she sighed. She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them.

“Do you want to play soccer after school? Or maybe we can see if Felix will throw the ball, and we can play baseball?” I asked.

“Probably not,” she whispered.

“Oh, uh, okay. We could watch a movie then? Mr. Austin said that we got a couple of new ones,” I said.

“I just want to sit here,” she said, laying her head down so she was facing away from me. I suddenly felt kind of angry. She doesn’t act like this; I am just trying to make her forget about her dad being asleep.

“Fine,” I said, standing up. “I don’t have to hang out with you if you are just going to be sad and bratty!” I didn’t mean to yell at her; it just happened. She flinched a little and curled up tighter. “This is all you do, Lilah, and it’s boring. When you want to be my friend again, come find me!”

I turned to leave but heard her sniffle. My foot froze before I could walk away. “I just want my daddy back….” I listened to her whisper. “You have your mommy and baby sister and even your big sister even if she moved in with her mate. But my daddy won’t wake up, and I love him more than anyone else in the whole world. My mommy is sad, and my daddy isn’t here….”

I turned around slowly and felt really bad looking at her. Was she crying? Did I make her cry?

I kneeled down in front of her slowly, not sure how to fix it. Now I wanted my dad; he knew how to make my mom stop crying. He could tell me how to make Lilah stop crying, but he was too far away to link. I tried to remember how he makes Mommy feel better.Belongs to - All rights reserved.

I reached out and patted Delilah’s shoulder softly. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you.”

She brought her head up. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet. I didn’t like seeing her like that. “I just want my daddy back,” she said in a shaky voice. “When will he wake up?”

“I don’t know….” I told her. I reached forward and hugged her. She put her head in my neck and squeezed me tightly. My shirt started to feel wet, but I didn’t move. I just let her cry and hugged her. I needed to ask Dad how to make her not sad; I didn’t like seeing my best friend cry.

LEMON

I decided to take a couple of days off after the incident. Azalea assured me that she wouldn’t count them against my paid vacation days, but I wasn’t worried about that. I was concerned about those guys coming back.

Axel came by later that night. He was wearing different clothes and smelled freshly showered, but he also brought some take-out from the Italian restaurant in town. I didn’t hesitate to let him in because I was still feeling nervous.

We ate in comfortable silence, and he helped me wash the dishes. He lingered before he left, telling me that he would keep his phone right next to him if I needed anything. He was banging on my door the next morning, about an hour after I usually get to work, worried because I hadn’t shown up. He relaxed when I explained that I just wanted to take a day or two off.

He came by multiple times a day while I stayed away from the inn. He brought dinner every night, and we ate together, washed the dishes, then he would head home. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I felt better while he was there having dinner with me.

I knew I couldn’t stay home forever, though. The night before, I told Axel I would be at the inn the next day, and he promised to come by to check on me. When I exited my house the following day, he was waiting outside to walk me to work. We walked in comfortable silence, and he surprised me by coming inside the inn. I went into my office to put my things down and came back out a few minutes later to find him sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine.

“What are you still doing here?” I asked from behind the counter.

“I thought I would stay here today,” he said casually.

“Why?” I asked. He shrugged. “I am sure you have better things to do. Thank you for walking me this morning but really, you don’t have to stay at the inn all day.”

“What if I want to?” he asked.

I sighed. “I guess I can’t stop you. I have paperwork, though. So, I’ll be in my office. Ring the bell or something if you need me.” He gave me a bright smile and nodded before I turned and headed back to my office.

For the whole rest of the day, Axel was my silent companion. When I left my office to check on some notes left for me about rooms, he followed. When I went downstairs to get the model number for the dryer that wasn’t heating properly, he followed. He was by my side the whole day and even more attentive when people came in or spoke to me. It gave me this weird sense of calm even though I wanted to be annoyed by him.

At dinner time, I was in my office working on the schedule for the coming week. He knocked on my door, getting my attention. “You should take a break,” he said. “You didn’t eat lunch today.”

I grabbed my half-eaten orange and waved it in the air. “I munched,” I said, turning my eyes back to the spread in front of me. “I am behind.” I bit my l*p, trying to concentrate.

Axel came behind my desk and grabbed the fruit from my fingers. “This is not a meal,” he said plainly. He snatched my pen from my hand and tossed it on the desk before grabbing my arm and pulling me up. “Come on, food time.”

His hand shifted down to hold mine, and he pulled me from my office. A blush crept up my cheeks as I stared out our locked hands while he led me to the dining room. We were almost full for the night, but one small table was open in the far corner. Axel beelined in that direction.

He pulled a chair out for me and gave me an expectant look. I huffed but sat down. He sat across from me with a charming smile on his face. “What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said.

“No, really,” I said. “You pulled me away from my responsibilities. You can at least tell me what you are smiling about.”

“That’s fair,” he said. “I’m smiling because you look exceptionally cute when you get all huffy like that. And I am pretty confident that you are a little relieved to be taking a break.”

My jaw dropped open. “What-” I was interrupted by one of the servers bringing us plates of food. I looked down, confused. “We didn’t order yet?”

“Oh, I took care of it before I came to get you,” he said, grabbing his utensils. He had a victorious look on his face.

“So you just knew I would have dinner with you? What if I went home?” I asked.

“You have had dinner with me a few times now,” he pointed out. All I could do was blush and look away. “Plus, if you would have left, I would already know. I was sitting in the front room. You can work as late as you want after dinner; just take a break and breathe for a minute, supergirl.”

“Supergirl?”

“Yea, you’re just like Lu- I mean Lea. You take on the world like a superhero, and nothing gets in your way until everything is taken care of,” he observed. All I could do was blink at him. He casually started eating, grinning at me.

I stared blankly at him for a solid minute, not sure exactly how to respond to his comment. Finally, he said, “Lemon, eat.” I looked down at my plate and grabbed my fork. I slowly took a bite of the special for tonight, chicken and roasted vegetables over rice.

I ate slowly. This was not much different from the last few nights, only Axel and I ate here at the inn instead of at my house. No one came over to bother us, which was fine with me. Axel finished before me but waited patiently for me to finish as well.

When I was done, someone was there immediately to grab our plates, and I suspected Axel was doing the wolf silent mind talk thing. “Can I go back to work now?” I asked him.

“Can I walk you?” he asked with a charming smile.

“To my office?” I asked. He nodded, still smiling happily. “I guess,” I answered, shaking my head. We both stood, and Axel walked next to me as we exited the dining room and headed back to my office. After our 30 second walk, I turned to him.

“Thank you for the break. I appreciate the company,” I said.

“Oh, the pleasure was all mine,” he said happily. “I’ll see you later.”

“You know you can just go home. I will be okay,” I told him.

“What if I don’t want to?” he asked.

“I guess I can’t make you,” I said with a shrug. “But you will be pretty bored. I’m not doing anything interesting.”

He just nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said, turning and walking back around the desk toward the sitting area.

I sighed and went into my office. As I sat at my desk, I just couldn’t concentrate. Everything I tried to do, my mind would wander to Axel. Wondering if he was still sitting in the waiting room, wondering what he was doing. I sat back, groaning in frustration. Looking at the clock, it had only been two hours since dinner. The dinner staff should be gone for the night, and the only person left would probably be downstairs washing linens.

Since I wasn’t getting anything done, I decided I might as well go home for the night. Maybe tomorrow I could get that pest off my mind. I just needed him out of my space so I could think clearly again.

I grabbed my bag and put away my stuff before heading out to the front. There was a lamp on in the sitting room and a dim light coming from the dining room, but nothing else was on. I also didn’t see Axel anywhere.

A strange feeling crept up my spine. Was I really expecting him to be here still? Did I want him to be here? I shook my head, shooing away those thoughts. I was perfectly capable of walking home by myself. I grew up in this town; there was no reason to be worried after Axel.

I made my way out from the desk and over to the front door, but my hand paused on the knob. My fingers shook a bit. What is wrong with me?

“Lemon?” a soft voice said from behind me. I whipped around, a small gasp escaping my lips as my heart raced. But my eyes fell on Axel, who stood a few feet away looking worried. I grabbed my chest, trying to calm myself.

“Axel!” I exclaimed. “Don’t do that!”

“I’m sorry. I was coming back from the bathroom, but you were just standing at the door frozen,” he said cautiously. “Is everything okay?”

For some reason, that sparked my irritation. “Why do you care so much?” I asked darkly. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You don’t have to stay around here and watch me. I’m a grown woman! I can take care of myself.”

He listened to my words as they kept coming. “I don’t need some babysitter always in the background, ready to swoop in and handle all my problems!” He started slowly stepping closer to me. “I am not fragile or afraid of everything. I am the manager here and can take care of everything perfectly fine!” He stopped only a couple of inches away from me. “I don’t need you to hover and watch me like I am going to freak out any second-”

His hand came up and slammed onto the door beside my head. I stopped, stunned into silence. “Did I say you are any of those things?” he asked, his voice lower now.

I shook my head. “Did I say you can’t handle yourself?” I shook my head again. “I am very well aware that you are a full-grown woman,” he said as his eyes dipped lower. They slowly came back up. “All of those things are exactly why I can’t get you off of my mind.”

“What?” I whispered.

“You, Lemon, own permanent real estate in my brain. All day, all night, there you are. My every thought is about you. What is Lemon wearing today? Did she choose the floral perfume or the fruity one? Did she have a good day at work or spill coffee over her receipt book again? Is Luna driving her crazy, or is she running like a top?”

My heart thundered in my chest. Did he think about all those things?

“I was fine admiring you from afar; I can take a hint. But then someone threatened you in our town. Someone took away your feeling of safety, and I am not okay with that,” he said. “I never want you to feel scared here, especially over things you aren’t involved in.”

He paused for a second, his eyes lowering to my lips. He slowly brought his gaze back up to my eyes. “I can smell it. You’re scared when you are alone. But as soon as I come around, you don’t smell scared anymore. So I make every excuse I can to be around you, to take that fear away.” His other arm came up to plant itself next to my head, caging me in between his arms. “And I will keep doing it until you feel safe again.”

“Axel, I-” I started.

“Shhh. You don’t have to say anything. But you should know that I care about you, Lemon. A whole lot,” he said quietly. His eyes lowered one more time to my lips. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, as long as you feel safe with me.”

“B-but I’m not your mate….” I said barely above a whisper.

“No, you aren’t,” he said. I watched his face as his eyes stayed glued to my lips. Something flashed in his expression; was it pain? “But that doesn’t change anything,” he whispered. We stayed like that for another moment before he lowered his arms and stepped back.

He cleared his throat, “Why don’t we get you home?” he said. I just nodded and turned around, my heart and mind racing.