Chapter 259: Arts & Crafts
*Kids have a tendency to ask the questions we don’t want to consider. Thankfully, they are easily distracted with crayons and glitter. – Karan*
The two friends watched the woman leave. Karan could feel the stress in Chance’s body. This was the protectiveness that the Saints were known for. The reason that she always wanted one of them here.
Karan rested a comforting hand on his back. “Why don’t you take her home?”
Chance smirked. “Have you even met this woman? She sleeps on a pull-out couch, drives a piece of shit car with no heater and pays her own way through college. She’s not going to take a day off unless she’s already dead.”
“And buried in a concrete vault, because otherwise, Zombie Rye would come to work.” Karan shook her head and Chance chuckled.
He turned towards his office and saw that it was empty. “If you need me, I’ll be in Rye’s classroom.”
As he headed to the common room through his office, he did not see the knowing grin on Karan’s face. Or her calling Nessie.
Or hear Werewolf call back to make sure everything was okay. When Karan told him what happened, and that his brother was now in Rye’s classroom, he laughed. Loud and hard. After saying that he owed his wife another fifty dollars, he sent Law over as added security.
Chance approached the doorway quietly as he entered and sat at one of the few normal sized chairs. Rye sat with the kids on the large round rug with a clock face on it. Each student sat on a number, and she sat in the center.
“No, my sister came to see me.” Rye told the class.
“Is she going to come see us?” a little girl asked, and Rye turned to face her. He couldn’t help but grin when he saw that she was on a sit and spin toy.
“No, Darcy, she’s sick right now. But she came by to let me know how she was doing.”
“Our daddy is sick.” Gavin said sadly. “But Mommy takes us to see him every week.”
The twin’s dad suffered from hypothermia during a storm at the beginning of March while working for the utility company. When he wasn’t getting better, bloodwork and other tests revealed that he had a rare auto-immune disease. He was kept in the hospital while the doctors tried to find a treatment that would work with him.
Rye turned towards the twins. “Being sick can be scary. Why don’t we make some pictures for Double G's dad? And they can take them to him.”
The kids were excited to do something for their friends’ dad. They all rushed over to the art supplies. Soon the room smelled like crayons, washable markers and glue. Chance got volunteered to help them with cutting out hearts and flowers. He’d made them before for the class and now they wanted him to fold and cut construction paper all the time.
Rye oversaw the glitter in an attempt to keep it under control. Or at least contained.
Arts and crafts were always popular. Rye did not try to end it early, she just let it go until Diana and Jane came to get them for lunch. She told the kids that they could have a little more time before the afternoon movie. Excited for a full day of arts and crafts, they left everything at their tables and lined up at the door.
“I want a burger. Lunch?” Chance said once the room was empty.
“I think you’re trying to get me alone.” She teased going back to her desk where he stood up from her desk.
He looked around the room and then grinned down at her. “Hate to tell you, but we are alone.”
She stepped closer to get her Wolf Pack jacket off the back of her chair. He reached up and touched her gray patch and for once, she did not flinch or pull away.
Cupping his hand on her cheek, he tipped her face up to his own. “You deserve flowers and romance.” He whispered as leaned down and lightly touched his lips to hers.
Her eyes were wide as he straightened. Slowly, she reached up and touched her lips with her fingertips.
“Why would you do that?” she whispered.
“I’m not sure.” He admitted just as confused as she was. “I… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think we should do lunch.” Rye said quietly and he agreed.
Chance decided that it must have been autopilot that took him to Karan’s office. She looked at him and told Cookie that something came up and she would call him back. After closing both doors, she sat behind her desk and was about to ask what was wrong when he quietly said words that Karan did not think he was capable of.
“I kissed her.”
After her mouth moving a few times with no sound coming out, she finally said the only thing that seemed appropriate.
“What the fuck?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know why I did it. They came and got the kids for lunch, and we were talking about going to get a burger and then I kissed her.”
“And then what?”
“She asked me why I would do that, and I said I don’t know and then she said we shouldn’t have lunch together and I agreed and now I’m here and what the fuck am I going to do.”
“Why the hell do you think I would know?” She asked.
“Karan, I can’t lose her.” He told her softly. “She means too much to me now.”
Karan sighed and looked at her friend who looked equal parts shocked and scared. “Just give her some time and space. You got her to quit giving you her patented three step look. You can make it through this.”
“Thanks.”
“Do I get to tell Cookie?”
“Hell no. I … I really got to figure out what the fuck is going on with us.”
“I can tell you. But you won’t like it.”
“Shut up.” Chance growled as he got up and walked over to his own office. It didn’t take long for Motorhead to fill the small office.
