Page 39 of I Dated a Holiday Hero
Chapter Six
Keera woke in Worro’sarms, where they were sleeping on the couch, and she jolted as the knock on the door repeated.
Worro unwrapped himself from her and walked to the door, scowling. “What?”
“Oh, good. You are together. This will be easier, then.” The woman, made of silvery shadows, walked in and took a seat at the kitchen table.
Keera felt so much familiarity with the woman. “Do I know you?”
“I am four years younger than you and have been trying to push you into places you need to be since we were little, Keeks.” The shadows flared and flickered. “I was the second important person to leave your life. Our mother left first when I arrived.”
“Cloud?”
“Yes, dearling. Now, Zera called me to help you two. Mistakes were made all the way along this disaster, but if you and Worro would like, I can smooth the edges of the hurt. Basically, it will share your emotions on either side, and you will each see through the other’s eyes.”
Worro blinked. “Keera? I will if you will.”
Keera rubbed her face. “What? Sure.”
“Great, this is best done with a sleeping mind and an empty stomach. Sit down.” Cloud turned her smoky tendrils around and said, “Yeah. Either side of me, hold hands. I don’t need you to touch me. I do all the work.”
Keera asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Because Zera called me and paid me a shit ton of money. And there is no better minder than me.” Cloud chuckled. “I am very good at what I do. I am very angry that they didn’t call me when you were attacked, but that was then, and this is now.”
The tendrils turned from Keera to Worro. “Are you both sure that you want the other, but only the circumstances are in the way?”
Keera looked to Worro, and he reached his hands to her. “Yeah, we are.”
“Cool. Invite me to the wedding. I like cake.” Cloud chuckled and then sobered. “I am going to walk you through the situation and the treatment. This is not what I would normally engage in, but it is what it is. We are going to go through your lives, and at any and every stress point, you are allowed to comfort and support each other. Every. Stress point.”
Keera blinked. “Oh.” She watched as Cloud’s tendrils rose in the air, shifting and moving, pointing at them in a deadly display.
Worro nodded. “I want to be there, even if I couldn’t be.”
Keera looked at him and nodded. “Me, too.”
“Well, then, let’s get you two under before my ex shows up.” Cloud chuckled. The tendrils became mist.
Keera felt wrapped in supportive warmth, and Worro’s gaze was on hers. They were wrapped in mist, and then they were falling. She held Worro’s hands as they fell into the past. He was with her this time, and they started at the beginning.
* * * *
Cloud got up and madeherself some coffee. They were going all the way back to the underwater cavern where Keera had been born and her mother had been contained.
They went through all of it, including the Hyreno male who fathered Cloud, coming in one day and never again. Cloud still had to beat the hell out of him. He was on her list, but first, Keera had to get stable. She was dangerous now, and Worro was depressed. Zera was right to have called her in, but she still owed Cloud one in addition to the half a million that she was charging the head of Z-Corp.
Cloud remained with them for the hours that it took for them to work through their traumas together. They had been there for every stressful moment in their partner’s life, knowing they couldn’t fix it, but they could be there.
She had a fresh pot of coffee, water, lemonade, and some hot chocolate for them. They were going to need fluids, and she wanted to be ready.
Keera slowly sat up and blinked, tears flowed, and Worro did the same. They walked around the table and came together.
Cloud smiled and kept her mist around her. “Right. You need to hydrate.”
Worro nodded and kept rubbing Keera’s back. “We will. In a minute.”
Keera chuckled and held on.
