93- Blindness and bubbles


    “Leaving you alone is worse.” he confirms.


    “Well, then keep your eyes shut while I’m in the bath and you can stay.” I suggest. He tilts his head to


    the side.


    “You’re willing to let me stay?” He repeats in confirmation. I nod.


    “If you close your eyes. I know you don’t love that part, but it’s the bestpromise I can offer. Decide


    before the water gets cold please.” Bemy’s eyes dart around the room. His eyesnd on the window.


    Like most bathrooms, it’s a small window that isn’t easily essed. I doubt it’s even visible from


    outside. Appearing to make a decision, he marches towards the door. Huh, he’s leaving? Or not. He


    reaches the door, locks it then sits himself on the ground. with his back against the door and closes his


    eyes.


    “I won’t look. I promise.” he assures me. I quickly strip out of my clothes and chuck them on the floor by


    the vanity. The water is hot, butfortable when I climb in, clutching the edges of the tub to prevent


    myself from falling. I can’t help but nce over at Bemy. I do trust him to keep his eyes shut, but I still


    feel weirdly paranoid about it. I settle down into the water, careful to keep my bandages dry and on the


    edge of the bath. The bubbles easily reach my chin. The warmth immediately begins to seep into me


    and I can’t help but let out a groan of relief. The adrenaline rush that I must have been experiencing


    earlier is finally starting to fade now that I feel safe. I’m a little awkward having Bemy in here, but not


    enough to burst my bubble of bliss right now. I look over at him and he looks… ufortable. The tile


    floor is probably cold and not so nice to sit on. He’s still sitting with his back to the door and his eyes


    closed, but he has his legs pulled up and is hugging them into his chest. His head is tilted back against


    the door.


    “You’re going to hurt your neck sitting like that.” Iment. He groans and sits up straighter, rolling and


    cracking his neck. He starts fiddling with his string bracelet, twirling it around his wrist over and over.


    “You’re right.” He admits.


    “You look really ufortable.” I add. He just shrugs at that.


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    “I don’t mind. Do you want to talk or would you rather have your bath in peace and pretend I’m not


    here?” he asks. I can’t help butugh.


    “Bemy, I don’t think I could ever sessfully pretend you aren’t around, especially not in a situation


    like this. It will still be peaceful if we’re talking as long as we don’t argue or bicker too much.” I assure


    him. That pulls a smile from him.


    “I’ll be on my best behaviour. Do you… do you want to talk about what happened tonight?” He asks


    cautiously. Huh?


    “I already told you what happened didn’t I?” I ask.


    “No, well, yes. But that’s not what I mean. You told me what happened, but not how you feel about it all.


    You also probably have questions about how I reacted. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it all


    yet, but you definitely should at some point. If not with me then with Megan or Darrien. Aaron would be


    eptable to talk with as well. I suppose you could talk to the Incubus if you felt you had to.” He adds


    reluctantly at the end. I can’t resist the urge tough.


    your


    “I really don’t know what problem is with him. His powers haven’t influenced me in years which means


    he’s just a guy friend. You don’t have a problem with Aaron or Darrien.” 1


    point out. Bemy sighs.


    “I know them, it’s different. I know they respect me and our rtionship and wouldn’t do anything


    against it. They support us. The Incubus is your friend, but he isn’t mine. If you ask him for advice he’s


    not going to have the same context or knowledge about Shifters and he won’t care about my feelings


    when talking to you. It also worries me that he’s known you longer than I have. That’s something I can


    never win. There are times that he got to be your friend and be there for you when I wasn’t and it’s hard


    to forget that.”


    “He and I were close as children, but until we met up by ident that first time when I was


    with you, I hadn’t seen or spoken to him in years. He’s more like a sibling or cousin than a friend.” I


    wonder if there’s a way I can help Bemy feel morefortable about my rtionship with Harry. I


    feel like a significant part of the problem is that all he really knows about Harry is that he’s an Incubus.


    Maybe it would help if he actually got to know him better as a person rather than as a vague figure. I


    suspect his imagination is far worse than anything that could actually be happening.


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    “How would you feel about hanging out with Harry sometime? Like we could all go do something


    together as a group. You might feel better if you knew and trusted him a bit.” I suggest. I look over to


    see Bemy’s reaction. He doesn’t look thrilled, but I don’t think he’s instantly rejecting the idea either.


    “Maybe.” he answers reluctantly. Well, that’s good enough for me. I’ll chat with Harryter and see what


    he thinks. Actually, I have barely looked at my phone today. I should really check the group chat at


    some point. I keep forgetting. I’m not used to actually having one friend to keep up with, much less a


    whole group of them. Actually, while I’m thinking about it, I don’t think I have ever seen Bemy


    hanging with someone socially, other than myself


    and Megan that is.


    “Bemy, do you actually have friends?” I ask bluntly. As I say it, I realise that it sounds.


    vaguely insulting.


    “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I just meant that I haven’t really seen you hanging


    out with anyone and you haven’t mentioned any other friends. You’re not exactly a shy person so I just


    thought it was odd that you haven’t talked about anyone…” I trail off. Bemy sighs.


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    “I’m honestly not sure anymore. I used to have friends, but when my parents passed and I became


    Alpha basically overnight, everything changed. All my friends were Shifters and all my rtionships


    became so… formal. I used to hang out with Shaun, Aaron and Alex asionally. There’s a reason I


    picked them to be your guards after all, I trust them. But 1 don’t know how to act around them. The


    dominant part of me demands their respect and obedience, those aren’t things that work too well in a


    friendship. Aside from being Alpha I also inherited the securitypany that they all work for so I


    be their boss as well. The whole dynamic is just off. It created a distance between us and I


    haven’t managed to find a


    new bnce for it.” he exins. Well that makes some sense I suppose.


    “What about Darrien?” I ask. Bemy shakes his head.


    “He only moved here a few years back, I didn’t know him that well until recently. He became Megan’s


    guard because he requested the position and Shaun vouched for him.”


    “Oh, right. I forgot about that. I do think you should try and spend some with those guys. though.


    They’re all really great and super loyal to you. I suspect more of the friendship is


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    intact than you realise. As you said, you’re the one with the power in the group, they’re naturally going


    to follow your lead. If you step back and treat them formally they’re going to do the same. So it stands


    to reason that if you rx with them a bit more then they will likely do the same.” I suggest. Bemy


    slowly nods.