Page 62 of Fairies Never Fall

“Fuck me. Putting me to work in my own house.” I put my phone face-down on the side table. “I missed your texts. Didn’t sleep much last night after the energy drinks.”

“It’s fine. I took the bus from the airport.” He throws himself onto the couch. “You can make it up to me by driving me around while I’m here.”

“How long are you staying?” I’m a little hesitant to ask. Fitzie is a flight risk — a hint of attachment and he dips. I need to keep it chill.

“A month.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, like it’s not the longest I’ve seen him in one go since he left.

“A whole month?”Not chill, not chill. Reel it back, dude.“Gonna have to charge your freeloading ass rent.”

“The gift of my presence not good enough for you?” He catches the expression on my face and groans, scrubbing a hand through his messy ginger curls. “No emotions! Stop that.”

“Shut up.” I nudge his knee with my socked foot. “I’m having them. You can’t stop me.”

“Go shower. You stink.” He pushes my foot away.

I get out of the shower feeling marginally better. Or maybe it’s just that I feel better cause Fitzie’s here. He’s already bouncing around the kitchen, humming as he fills the sink with soapy water and piles dishes into it. The small, genuine smile when he catches sight of me is contagious, and I grin back at him.

“How are your classes?”

“Oh, the kids are amazing. But everyone else is horrible. I hate the parents. The teachers hate me.” He smirks. “That’s why I quit.”

That’s not what I expected to hear. “Youquit? Your dream job?”

Fitzie aggressively rips a long strip of paper towel off the roll. “Yep. I’m jobless, but on the plus side, I sleep through the night!”

I wince. “That bad?”

“Oh, Ez.” His mouth tightens, and a dark look sweeps over his face, so brief I barely catch it. My stomach tightens. Fitzie used to get that look a lot, and I wished I could wipe the person who put that look on his face off the face of the planet. But I didn’t have that power then, and I don’t now, either.

“It was worse,” he chirps. “But it’s all done, and I gave them a big ol’ middle finger on the way out.”

“So that’s why you’re here for a month?”

Are you moving back, is what I really want to ask, but Fitzie vocally hates Greenriver and I don’t blame him. Any time I’ve broached the topic, he says stuff likeMaybe when the asshole who gave me my name kicks the bucket I’ll move back so I can piss on his grave every day.All with the sweetest smile on his face.

“Yep. Figuring out my next move.” He holds up a box of stale granola bars. “Are you eating real food?”

“Those are real food. They’ve got peanuts, and peanuts are nutritionally complete.”

“You’re talking about peanutbutter, and those words don’t mean what you think they mean.” He drops the granola bars in a big black garbage bag. He wasn’t kidding about coming prepared.

I throw him a lifeline. “I eat at the club sometimes.”

“Comped?”

“Obviously.”

“The job is good?” he probes.

“It’s good. It’s great, actually. The team is awesome and the tips are unreal. The club has a ton of events and they run kink nights twice a week, but the vibes are chill.” I stop myself before I spill everything. “I’ll bring you by while you’re here.”

Fitzie’s eyebrows pull down. “Sounds too posh for me.”

“It’s not like that. You’ll fit in great, trust me.”

Whether he meets them as humans or monsters, I know everyone at The Sanctum will accept him just like they accepted me.

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