Her One and Only

In Code

Miles

The sun shines through my eyelids, rudely waking me from a much needed rest. I blink the sleep away and glance down, Nyght is curled up beside me. Her head is just under my left arm, tucked into my ribs. Her mouth is open just slightly, and her hair is everywhere. She has so much hair. I stayed in her room with her last night, accidentally mostly, we stayed up so late talking about her feelings regarding the rejection. Alex called and texted her relentlessly, making less and less sense as the night went on. I guess eventually sleep just took us.

I breathe in deeply which causes Nyght to turn over. I take the opportunity and get up to start coffee. I slowly pull myself out of bed, careful to not disturb her. As much as I needed the rest after that long night, she needed it so much more.

I've never heard Nyght yell like she did last night, and Alex has made her pretty mad before. She had every right, though. To accuse and attack her like that when she's never given him any reason to distrust her was absolute bullshit, I would have snapped too.

Though I am also curious about where the bitemark came from.. Especially if it came from me.

I pull myself out of my thoughts and turn my attention to the sputtering coffee pot. I grab two mugs, one for each of us, and prepare Nyght's coffee the way she actually likes it.

I go into the fridge and pull out cold brew, creamer, and caramel sauce. Everyone deserves a nice caramel iced coffee after a hard night, especially Nyght.

It takes me about ten minutes to fully prepare the iced coffee. From figuring out the milk frother, to trying to make the caramel drizzle look nice, it was a time consuming process. Nevertheless, I ended up making a pretty nice drink.

I gather the drinks and put them on the edge of the counter while I do light clean up. As I'm cleaning I remember the existence of joints. What a wonderful addition to morning coffee!

----

I walk into the room and see Nyght has sprawled out on the bed, taking up all empty space. I set down the drinks and her joint and notice her phone ringing on her nightstand.

"Incoming Call: Alex Wright"

Gross.

I grab her phone and turn it off, gently tucking it into her nightstand's drawer for Nyght to find later on.

"Hey Nyght, are you awake?"

No response.

I sit down on the edge of her bed, holding her coffee in one hand.

"Do you want iced coffee?"

I see her eyes open and blink a little, then she pauses and turns to me. Her eyes fall from my face down to the coffee in my hand. Her face slowly shifts into a beam of excitement, you'd never know the stressful night she had prior.

Just when she thought it was the best morning ever, I pulled the joint and a lighter from my pocket. "All yours, Nyght." I smile and hand everything to her.

She sips her coffee and sets it down beside her bed, smiling graciously at me the entire time.

"You're funny if you think I won't be sharing this with you."

"Her morning voice is so sexy."

Of course. Wouldn't be my life if I didn't have an immortal dog objectifying my roommate incessantly.

As I'm internally shaming Lumen I feel the joint hit my lips. I focus my eyes to see two amber orbs staring at me, with a bright smile to match. I take a hit and remove it from my mouth to put into hers, you know Uno Reverse Card style. This makes her laugh, and choke a little.

____

Nyght

I take a breath after what feels like 20 minutes of coughing to see Miles has already put out the joint and has my coffee in her hand ready for when I was finished choking.

"Thanks for the help" I laugh.

She just smiles at me.

"So, where did you put my phone and why?"

My question makes her pause. "I put it in your drawer here, he was calling when I brought in coffee and I figured a morning without that is probably a better one."

We both laugh, and she hands me my phone at my request.

I hold it in my hand for a moment, do I really want to disturb my own peace with this?

I mean, Miles has worked so hard to give me a nice morning...

I set my phone back down and turn to Miles.

"I don't think I want to deal with that yet."

Miles nods.

"You want breakfast? I can cook or we can order something."

I shake my head.

"No, I should probably call Miya. It's been... An eventful twenty-four hours." I laugh weakly.

She gives me another nod.

"I'll leave you to it. I'm here if you need me." she places a comforting hand on my shoulder, then turns out of the room.

___

"I'm proud of you, Ny. It really sounds like you dodged a bullet."

I feel the anxiety melt away as my brain processes Miya's words.

"You don't think I'm going to die alone and un-mated?"

She laughs.

"No, sweetie. You're gonna be just fine. You won't believe how many guys I've heard excitedly gossiping about the break-up."

I guess that's good, right?

I nod.

"Yeah but like. He was supposed to be the one, you know? It sucks that he turned out to be-"

"A complete and total ass? Absolutely intolerable? An unbearable excuse for a man? Yes, I agree. You deserve much better than him."

I can't help but laugh.

"I love you, Miya, thank you for being so supportive. Being twenty-one was supposed to be so rad, this sucks."

"Hey, at least you have you know who! You two seem to be getting along so well. I'm a little jealous honestly."

I can tell she's joking, but there is a glimmer of truth to it.

"You know who did say that you should.. fly out sometime so you can meet.. Everyone. They said they'd be very glad to meet you. But I know it would take a lot of... Preparation to do that so, maybe get in contact with... Someone to get that situated."

Talking in code is so hard.

She laughs.

"Yeah I'll ask your dad about flying out."

I smile, talking to Miya makes my cheeks hurt.

"I should probably get back to uh, hanging out with everyone. I miss you so much." tears sting my eyes.

"I miss you more. Be careful. I love you!"

We wave to each-other and hang up simultaneously.

I really do miss home, but things are so much more peaceful out here it's hard to say I want to go back.

I mean, since I came out here the only person I see everyday is Miles, and she is so unbelievably easy to be around. The only stress I've experienced since we started living together was caused by people not in this house.

I flop backward onto my bed.

I broke up with Alex last night and people are already talking about it. Being the Alpha's daughter is like being Regina George sometimes.

My internal monologue is interrupted by a gentle tap on my bedroom door.

"Hey, sounds like it went pretty well?"

I smile at her sudden presence and nod.

"She really wants to come out and visit us. I think she's a little jealous of you getting to hang out with me all the time." I smile, but it fades to a slight frown.

"I miss her. I miss Aries. I miss my parents. I really love it out here, but it's hard not being able to see and hear them all the time like I was before. Even when I do talk to them, I have to do it in code. Do you know how hard it is to act like you are on the other side of the world?"

She walks toward me and rests a reassuring hand on my knee.

"I don't, actually."

Her response makes me burst into giggles.

"Thank you. You're so good at taking me out of my head."

She smiles and sits down at my feet, on the edge of my bed.

"Do you want to go get an iced coffee?" she raises an eyebrow and grins at me.

I return her expression and nod excitedly.

It's crazy how well she already knows me.

____

Miles' truck is beginning to feel as safe as her house. I mean, it smells so strongly of her, and a little like weed. That's probably my fault.

We decided to go to a fairly popular donut chain, just to get two birds stoned at once. We all know I love to eat, and these little food runs are my favorite thing these days.

It's nice going out into human civilization. The pack isn't really allowed to leave the grounds unless my dad approves it, and since he knows we're going out to buy food, and fun stuff, he hasn't been allowing anyone aside from trusted members and business partners.

It's cool having this much freedom, I never have before.

"So, what's your favorite donut?"

I take my turn breaking the silence this time.

"Boston Cream, what's yours?"

"Strawberry frosted. I love a classic."

She nods.

"Classic for good reason, they're fantastic!"

I smile, feeling complimented.

"And what's your coffee order?"

"I love a french vanilla iced latte. I know it isn't technically coffee, but espresso deserves a pass I think."

"I didn't know they had a french vanilla flavor."

I nod.

"It's not on the menu, and some people don't know if you ask for it. But, it's just the regular amount of vanilla syrup with two pumps of hazelnut."

"Wow, you take your french vanilla seriously!"

We both giggle.

"What's your coffee order?" I ask.

"It's going to surprise you, considering the difference from my usual morning routine, but I love just regular coffee with cream and sugar."

I squint at her.

"That is... exactly what you drink every morning. I am not any bit surprised."

She laughs, "But I'll bet you didn't see it coming!"

I smile and look down at my lap.

She's got me there...

When I bring my gaze back upward, I realize we're pulling into the drive through.

Miles doesn't even ask, she just orders.

"Hi! Thank you. We'll take a half dozen donuts, make it half strawberry frosted and half Boston cream. And in addition to that I'd like one medium coffee with cream and two pumps of vanilla syrup, and one iced french vanilla latte."

I feel a smile creep wider across my cheeks. Miya doesn't even memorize my orders.

Miles pulls the truck up to the window and we're handed our box of donuts.

Next comes her coffee, and then my latte. She thanks the person in the drive through one more time, and we pull off and head home.

___

"I'm surprised you still got iced coffee with how cold it is outside."

My attention shifts to the drink in my hand. The ice hasn't even melted a bit. The whole outside is just a big refrigerator right now.

"I'm a woman of consistency, what can I say!"

She smiles.

"I like that about you. So many people don't know what they want, you seem like you mostly have it figured out."

Her words stick in my brain like slime in a carpet.

I don't know why it bothers me, but it does.

She blinks at me, waiting for me to say something and end the silence.

"So, uh, you want another donut?"

She pushes the box across the couch towards me.

She carefully watches me stare the box down.

"Or maybe a bowl first?"

I feel my smile return, and give her a nod.

✨🌙☀️✨