Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty- One

Danica

T he door closes with a soft click and I turn to Jonathan, glaring as I slap his shoulder. “Really?”

Jonathan’s attempt to assume an innocent expression on his face is broken by the grin he can’t contain. “What?”

“Don’t give me that shit, you jerk. You know exactly what. You were deliberately trying to egg him on.” My hands rest on my hips, not bothering to hide my indignation as I glare at my friend.

“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. I am going to stay here overnight to help keep an eye on things. I also know that you don’t need a babysitter, you are fully capable of taking care of yourself. And you are ‘our girl’.” Jonathan lifts his hands in a helpless ‘what?’ gesture.

Muttering under my breath “I don’t belong to any of you, asshole,” but he hears me anyway and breaks out into a belly laugh. Quirking my eyebrow, I give him my best stern look in response. “Baby girl?” His response is nothing more than a sheepish grin. “Laying it on a bit thick there, aren’t you Quinteros?”

Abruptly, Jonathan jumps to his feet. Even after years of self-defense lessons with this finely-toned man, I am still in awe of the way his lithe body moves, the way he commands every inch of his defined muscles. With how big he is, you would think that he wouldn’t be so graceful. But despite his height and the size of his bulky frame, his movements are quick and graceful, a predator seeking his prey as he moves towards me. Pulling me into his arms, he dips me low into an elaborate move, as if we were dancing, before lifting me into his arms and placing a quick peck on my lips. With a sweeping gesture, I am quickly lifted into his arms, bride style, and he wiggles his eyebrows enticingly as a wicked grin splits across his hard features. “For you, Ellis? Always.”

I hadn’t noticed that he was carrying me down the hall until I am unceremoniously thrown onto my bed with a plop.

“Sweet dreams, baby girl.” With a wink, he turns on his heel and walks out into the hall, leaving my door cracked.

The next several days pass by in a blur. In-between the myriad of phone calls from Caleb and Bash checking on me, all my time is spent either notifying the clinic’s clients that we are temporarily closed for “minor maintenance” or dealing with the police and Finn’s company while the investigation remains ongoing. I have so little time to myself that I can hardly think straight as I trudge numbly into The Magic Bean Stop.

Both a coffee shop and bookstore rolled into one, The Magic Bean Stop used to be a slowly dying relic until Quincy stepped in. When she started almost four years ago, the few travel books on the shelves were dusty from years of neglect and the coffee shop itself was always empty. QT stepped in and brought this place back to life with her passion for books and caffeine. (QT being a nickname her sister and I came up with one night when we were a few too many margaritas in at one of our bi-weekly slumber parties, both stand for her name: Quincy Theresa, and who she is as a person: an all-around cutie pie.)

Catering to the university and med school nearby, she has transformed the little cafe into an oasis for the overworked college crowd. With 24-hour service, there are study spaces, a huge assortment of genres (though the focus has largely centered around new and upcoming indie authors, local talent, children’s, and fantasy novels, and of course, medical texts for the med students) and the coffee selection itself has been expanded to include a lot of newer favorites .

The final shift came with the official rebranding from the “Bean Shop” to “The Magic Bean Stop” when Quincy had finally saved enough to buy the store outright (after a well thought out business presentation and a few silent investors joined to help her start up). She had worked her ass off for years to get to that point, and I am still amazed every day at her fortitude and work ethic, all while balancing her schedule around being a single mother.

Speaking of, it is Quincy’s beautiful face that I see smiling at me from behind the register as I walk up to place my order.

“Hey there, QT. How are my two favorite people doing today? And where is my adorable godson? I need my morning hug with my side of coffee.” I grin at this woman who has become a sister to me over the last half-decade and she nods towards the office in response.

Not bothering to ask first, I let myself behind the counter and make my way over to the manager’s office which also acts as a playroom for my favorite little boy.

The door is cracked open about a foot, and as I walk closer, I can see that Wolfie is sitting on the floor, quietly stacking blocks into different towers sorted by color. I let myself into the room, my footsteps soft as I approach, and sit next to him on the floor, crisscross applesauce. “Hey buddy, how’s my favorite little man doing today?”

Wolfie doesn’t respond, his gaze fixated on his blocks as he continues to work on the task at hand. But then, I wasn’t expecting a response. “Mind if I play with you?” Reaching out, I grab a series of blocks from the bin that he has not yet touched and begin stacking my blocks carefully next to him as I mirror his play. “What are we working on today? Are we making towers? Or rocket ships that can fly to outer space?” Still no response, but I remain unphased. I continue my one-sided conversation as I play parallel to him, making sure to interact without violating his defined space. After a short time, I hear a soft knock and glance up to see his mother observing us.

“I brought you your favorite.” She speaks to me, but her eyes are focused wholly on her son as she gazes at him, a soft smile on her face.

“Oh, QT, you didn’t have to do that!” Even as the words of protest leave my mouth, I am still reaching out eagerly to grab at my cup of liquid heaven. She just shakes her head, a soft chuckle her only response. “Seriously, though. Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

Quincy’s soft smile breaks into a full grin as she glances over at me now. “Oh, I know. It’s why I’m your favorite.”

I can’t help the scoff that escapes me, and I glance down quickly at Wolfie. “Now that is categorically untrue. We both know that your son is my favorite. You were, however, the vessel that brought him into my life, so I guess that makes you a close second.” I say this last part with a grin of my own, and Quincy just rolls her eyes at me. She knows I adore her, every bit the little sister that I never had.

“Whatever. I guess that puts me ahead of Sierra anyway, so I’ll take it.” We both laugh. Sierra has been my best friend since my freshman year of college, but I have a special bond with her younger sister, Quincy. We both stepped up to help when Quincy found out she was pregnant and had to leave her abusive home situation. When she ran away, it wasn’t even a question in our minds that she move in with us while she dealt with the challenges of becoming a single teenage mom. With all the shit she has been dealt in life, it’s honestly a wonder how she has come out so strong on the other side. But then, when your whole world revolves around a precious tiny human that relies on you for every aspect of their existence, I guess that doesn’t leave a lot of other options. Still, I am in awe of the strength this beautiful woman radiates from her very core.

“Anyway, the reason I came here today was to see if you wanted me to take Wolfie to work with me today? I finally got the all-clear from Jay but we haven’t officially opened back up yet. A few of the team will be on site though, going through all the new security protocol training but otherwise it will be pretty quiet. And of course, we have beefed up staff security, just to be safe. Jay will be there, too. But I figured I could take Wolfie for the day; work with him a bit. I know his routine was really thrown off with everything that happened this week, and I would like to help him get back on track.” I grimace.

Normally, Wolfie comes to Prism twice a week for official therapy sessions with his Occupational Therapist. He does a group class afterwards that he seems to enjoy most days, and then I try to bring him at least another two evenings a week to work with him one-on-one after the center is closed while QT has her classes in the evenings.

On top of being a bad-ass bitch that has built this coffee shop back up from the rubble, she is also now working diligently to put herself through school. She tells me all the time that she wants to set a good example for Wolfie, since she has the means to do so, and finish school. Not all teen moms have the support and financial means to go back and finish school, and I know she is grateful every day for the support system she has in place between myself, Jay, Finn, and her best friend Maya .

After everything that happened over the weekend, it really screwed up the normal therapy routines for a lot of our kids, which I hate. Thankfully, I have connections with several other gymnastics programs in the area and was able to arrange temporary use of their facilities for the kiddos who absolutely needed their regular on-site therapy sessions. Everyone else, I am going to be comping for the days that were missed. It’s important to me to provide this space and most of the families that we work with are not in a position to be able to afford classes that get canceled on them left and right. At least by comping those missed classes, they will be able to make it up without the families having to worry about an added financial burden.

“Wolfie hasn’t spoken much the last few days.” Quincy glances down at her little boy as she says this, a contemplative look on her face. “It’s not just that he missed a few days of class and being with you, he also was thrown off at school too. They had a sub the last two days and that always makes for a difficult transition for him. I was called to pick him up early yesterday because he was triggered and his on-site assistant couldn’t help him work through it with their normal methods. After discussing the incident with her and the principal, we decided I would keep him home for a few days until his teacher comes back.” A pained expression passes over Quincy’s features.

I grimace sympathetically, knowing all too well what Wolfie is like when he is triggered. Most of the time, between his on-site assistant at school and his therapy team, he can work through his episodes without it becoming overwhelming for him, or too disruptive for the rest of the class. But QT is right, between his school and afterschool routines both being disrupted, our poor guy has definitely had a rough week, and so has Quincy.

“You’re absolutely sure it is safe for him to go back? Are you safe?” This time, Quincy’s concern is directed fully at me. She may be four years younger than me, but sometimes you wouldn’t know it, with the weight of the world she always carries on her shoulders.

I nod. “You know I wouldn’t ever knowingly put either one of you at risk. This last incident was a huge escalation from the previous notes and issues I have been dealing with, but Finn and Jay are taking appropriate precautions. In fact, they are going rather overboard. But in this case, given the fact that the vandalism took place at the center, I agree that there can’t be any chances taken.

“They already had one of their high-end security systems in place, but they have put in tons of hours beefing it up and are now providing on-site, round-the-clock security personnel from their own company as well. People that Finn and Jay have hand-picked. Still, I don’t want to alarm the other families, so while I will be sending out a letter to notify everyone that there was a vandalism incident and that we are increasing security, I have also insisted they dress inconspicuously. Don’t want to cause any further stress to my students or their parents.”

Quincy nods. “I know you’ll take precautions. And I know that you put Wolfie’s safety above everything, including your own safety. But I will worry about you, you know.” She bites her lip as she eyes me, giving me a quick once-over. “You haven’t been sleeping well.”

I can’t help the scowl that crosses over my features. “Yeah, well. That probably has more to do with being forced to see Theo again than with the vandalism incident.”

A loud squeal pierces my ears, and Wolfie glances up at his mom momentarily distracted from his playing, before once more resuming his careful construction of blocks. “Damn- I mean, dang! Warn a girl next time, will you!” I rub at one ear before taking a large gulp of my coffee.

“Shut up! Why didn’t you tell me that you saw Theo again?! OHMYGOD! Have you told Sierra? What happened? I need details!” QT excitedly bounces on her heels before plopping down ungracefully to sit next to me.

“Uh. . .” I look between where my friend is sitting, and the door. “Not that I don’t want to recount such a lovely encounter or anything. But shouldn’t you be getting back up front?”

“What” She appears to be confused for a minute before my words register and she waves a hand airily. “No, we’re good. Macy’s got it. I’m on break right now.”

I eye my friend wearily. “O-ok then. If you say so.”

She just pats my leg excitedly. “ Now dish!”