A Matter of Convenience

Fourteen

~Isis~

Wasn’t it enough that I embarrassed myself in front of Ericson by going to see him earlier and proposing that ridiculous plan? I figured that I wouldn’t have to worry about him because that was enough to have him keep his distance. Nope, I was so wrong.

I look past Ericson to catch sight of my father. He’s still in bed, asleep. I wanted him to get rest, but he seemed determined to stay awake while I was in there. I decided to go for a walk just so my dad would sleep. I didn’t expect to return to Ericson standing in his room.

Realizing that I’ve been a bit lost in my thoughts, I quickly clear my throat. “Sure, we can talk.” I turn and walk to the door, not waiting for him to follow me. Once I step into the hallway, I know he’s behind me because I can feel his body heat. I swallow thickly as I lead us outside to a small garden they have set up for the patients.

I sit down on the bench, and Ericson sits on the other side. We sit in silence, and I take the time to look around the garden. There are hummingbirds in the area, flying around the flowers and feeding from them. Bees are buzzing around the fragrant flowers, and I smile at the scene in front of me. “So you wanted to talk.” I don’t turn to look at Ericson because I’m still reeling from before. I just want to get this over with so I can go spend time with my day.

“If we’re going to join together, I think it would be a good idea if you could look at me.” My breath catches as I play his words over and over in my mind. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Is he agreeing to my original proposal? I slowly turn my head to risk looking at him. His eyes are on me, but there’s no emotion on his face.

“Wwwwhat do you mean?” Ericson sighs and leans back, letting his head fall. Silence consumes us, and I try to give him space. I’m on edge, wanting to understand his meaning so we can move forward.

“I’ve been thinking about it and I think you’re right. We should work together so we can get what we want.” Well, sh.it! I didn’t expect the change at all. I wonder what made him change his mind. “We need to be clear though, we need to hammer this out.” I quickly reach out and place my hand on his leg. I realize what I did and quickly remove my hand as his eyes land on the spot where I touched him.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that if we are talking about the same thing, we need to not discuss it here.” Ericson looks up at me and nods.

Where are you?

Finishing up a training. What’s up? Is your dad okay?

He’s fine, Miles. I need you to sit with him, though. I have something I have to take care of.

On my way. Dad’s in no danger; I just want to spend all my time with him. If I have to go talk to Ericson for a bit, and he wakes up or gets worse, I want to know. I stand up and motion for Ericson to follow me.

We walk further away from the clinic, keeping our movements calm. I take him on a path that is rarely used by anyone so people won’t see us. We aren’t just being seen together, but he hasn’t been released yet, and I don’t want to have to answer any questions.

I lead him through an area of trees to an abandoned-looking shack. We are still in neutral territory, but this is a place that Miles and I have dubbed our own long ago. We’d come out here when we wanted to get away, but we didn’t want to alert other packs that we were in the area.

The shack looks old and rundown. Branches and vines grow all over the exterior. We purposely left them there, wanting people to immediately bypass this place if they happened upon it. We didn’t want to attract anyone or have unwanted visitors.

I ignore the front door and walk around to the back of the structure. There are doors at the back that lead down into the ground. The grass is high around the doors, making the entire scene undesirable. I pull a door open and start down the stairs, flipping a switch as I pass it. “Close that door back, please and press that red button when you get to the switch.” I continue down the stairs, listening for the sounds of Ericson doing what I requested.

Miles and I went a bit overboard when we got older and decided to customize this place. We have extra doors that slide into place to ensure no one comes inside. They also help make the place soundproof. To be honest, we went a bit overboard with the idea that we’d have a hideout for adults. The imagination can go wild with the right motivation.

I step off the last step and walk into the open room. It has clean, concrete floors and minimal furniture. There’s a sleek, modern leather couch and a coffee table. We have a mini fridge in the corner, along with a small cabinet where we keep snacks. There are two doors to the right. One leads to a small restroom that only has a toilet and a sink. The other leads to a small closet. We are still in the design stage, but this is completely functional right now.

I plop on the couch and gesture to the other side. Ericson sits on the couch and looks around the room. “I’m not even going to ask. It can be one of those stories you tell me later.” I nod and get comfortable on the couch.

“Back to what we were saying. You want to work together, to hammer this out.” He nods slowly and looks around again.

“Why did you bring me here?” I lean forward and rest my elbows on my thighs.

“Ericson, if I’m reading you right, you are agreeing to trying to fool the elders. We would have to lie to them to get what we want. It isn’t smart to talk about that where anyone could hear us.” I join my hands and take a moment to collect my thoughts. “I’m assuming you want to go over some guidelines and whatnot.”

“Yeah, I mean, we would have to have some things spelled out to make sure everyone wins. For example, you can’t fall for me.” I throw my body backward, the laugh spilling out of me. He can’t be serious, can he?

“Fall for you? Like fall in love with you? You must be crazy! I can’t even stand you.” I calm my laughter and wipe my eyes dry.

“I can’t stand you either, which is why we ended guidelines. We need to decide what is and isn’t acceptable. We have to decide just how far we should take this.”

“How far do you want to take this, Ericson? How far are you willing to go to get your pack?” I turn to look at him, waiting for his response. I don’t have to wait too long.

“At this point, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do.” I nod and settle back on the couch. “I was thinking there should be a time limit on this. We can stay with it until we don’t. We can leave when we know that no one will be able to react negatively to this.”

“So, like a contract? What do you propose, Ericson? How long is long enough?” His expression changes as he internalizes my words. If he wants to set up limitations, I have no problem with that. I just need to know that we are in agreement and that we have a timeline. I have to have a light at the end of the tunnel.

“One year. One year should be enough time to fool the elders and get what we want.”