Page 15 of Tangled Threads Of Fate

WREN

Ihadn’t realized quite how exhausted I was until I stopped going to work. I started sleeping late, and for the first time in so long, I got the amount of rest I needed. My body still ached, but after a couple of days, I felt refreshed. As refreshed as someone could be, while being used as an energy bank for three other human beings.

I hadn’t really seen Nate since the appointment, but he’d started delivering food outside my door, the way I had with Mrs. Byrne. It was sweet—too sweet—and I gave myself another stern talking-to about the hazards of getting attached to him. Hell, attached to any man.

I’d sat down and budgeted once more, applied for other jobs, even applied for welfare, because the days of being too proud for government handouts were long gone. I’d researched what I should eat, what I should be doing, and had thrown myself into the role of being an expectant mother.

I was staring at the vegetables in my fridge, wondering what I could make that would stretch the week, when there was a knock at my door. Padding over to it in bare feet—because all my socks were uncomfortably tight on my swollen ankles—I looked outthe peephole. I was surprised to see Nate, and my gut did that bubbly little swooping thing.

I opened the door to see him holding a big bag of takeout. The smell of garlic bread hit me, and my mouth watered.

“Hey, Nate.” I stepped to the side so he could come in. He had to duck his head to get through the door, and I once again felt residual guilt that he was so willing to give up his apartment for mine. He looked like a giant in a doll’s house.

“I brought you dinner.” He made it sound almost like an accusation. “Italian. You need the carbs.” He placed it on my tiny dining table, then turned back toward the door.

“You aren’t staying?” I tried to hide the disappointment in my tone by sifting through the bags, but I doubted that I’d done a great job.

His eyes took in my face, those blue irises burning like flames. I wanted it to be from desire, or need, or something other than pity, but I hadn’t reached that level of delusion yet. Still, when he shook his head, my chest felt tight with disappointment.

I walked him back to the door and held it open. “Thank you for this, Nate. Actually, thank you for everything. You’ve been a lifesaver.”

He paused just inside the doorway, his eyes snagging on my lips, and for a crazy second, I thought he might kiss me. These hormones were like being on a bad trip; I second-guessed everything.

He raised his hand and traced my cheek, and my lips parted. Okay, maybe I wasn’t imagining it then. But instead of leaning forward and taking my lips with those mesmerizingly plump ones, he stepped out onto the landing. “Goodnight, Wren.” He shut the door softly, and I stared at it, my heart pounding like a drum behind my ribs.

What the hell was that?

Shaking my head and extra confused, I walked back over to the food. Complimentary bread sticks weren’t confusing—they never gave you mixed messages. Indigestion occasionally, but never mixed messages.

He’d bought me enough pasta to last a week. Spaghetti. Lasagne. Some kind of thick noodles with a pumpkin sauce. There were also two loaves of garlic bread. I tried not to get teary at his thoughtfulness.

Taking out the pasta that I thought wouldn’t last quite as well in the fridge, I broke off half a loaf of bread. I was suddenly starving. Loading up my goodies, I went over to the couch to watchLust In The Sun.There was nothing like forgetting about your own problems by watching a bunch of people make out in a hot tub, then fight about it the next day.

I was so full, I was fairly sure that the babies would have to make room for the food baby I’d just ingested, and I wildly hoped it would stay down. I wasn’t sure my carbonara would taste quite as good coming back up.

Mentally, I rearranged the apartment to fit in three cribs. Maybe if I got rid of the dining table, and possibly the couch, I could fit three in. It wouldn’t leave much space, but it would be doable. Luckily, they wouldn’t need a lot while they were young, so I’d have some time to figure out the next step.

I spent the next hour researching how to transport three babies. There was everything from baby-wearing devices, to how to strong-arm three baby capsules at once. Transporting them was definitely going to be the hard part. I really was going to need a car.

By the time I stopped doom-scrolling my way through YouTube videos, it was late. I’d already put the rest of the Italian food in the fridge, and I quickly washed my bowl.

There was a noise on my landing, and I wondered if Nate had come back. Maybe one of the dishes was actually his? I mean,that had been a hell of a lot of Italian food for one person. Or maybe it was the rat that Mrs. Byrne had been trying to get rid of for at least a year, which somehow managed to dodge death, like he was Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Or maybe he wanted to kiss me.

Nate, I mean. Not Splinter the Rat.

I smiled at the thought as I watched the shadow stop in front of the door. Lifting my hands to my mouth, I tried not to worry that my breath now smelled like garlic and I had indigestion from the rich cream sauce.

The shadow outside my apartment didn’t move. Was he summoning the bravery to knock? Nate didn’t seem like the type to hesitate, but he also didn’t seem like the type who wanted any kind of romantic connection either, so what did I know?

I watched the shadow for a little longer, and when it disappeared, I tried not to feel too disappointed.Platonic friends. Platonic friends.That was my new mantra.

The door crashed open, making me scream, scrambling backwards until my ass landed back on the couch. The shadow in the doorway definitely wasn’t Nate. I didn’t even knowwhatthe fuck it was. It was huge and black, like a creature from a nightmare. It didn’t move so much as ooze its way into my living room.

This wasn’t real. It was a nightmare caused by too much garlic and carbs before bed. That’s all it was.

I tried to wake myself, pinching my skin until it turned red, but nothing happened. The nightmare was still right there, moving toward me in a way that made my hindbrain scream torun. But run where? There was only one way out of my apartment, and the shadow monster was standing in front of it.

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