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“Do you think it will go away eventually?” Ellie asked as she ate some ice cream. We were sitting outside watching the breeze brush through the trees and shake the fall colored leaves.

It was chilly, and the ice cream increased it, but it felt nice to do something so odd.

I had a notebook with me just in case I couldn’t get my point across, but Ellie was invaluable in helping me adjust to a single-handed sign language. Cy and Odie helped too, and we updated them on everything, but we both needed the distraction, and what better distraction than putting your full focus on learning a new skill?

It better, or I will throw a fit. Fuck anxiety.

“I’ll trade you.” Ellie stuck a large spoonful of chocolate ice cream into her mouth with a raised brow.

I love you but no. I took a bite of my vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls.

“We both know you would. I’d never ask you to though.”

She was right, but I didn’t acknowledge it.

“Can we have dinner as a family tonight? Maybe family isn’t the right word since Oliver and Alastor will probably be there.”

Do you want them there?

“Take it, or leave it, honestly. Maybe we could invite Sloane, Leona, and Iker, too, as a thank you for helping. I didn’t get to say anything to them…”

Ellie trailed off, but I thought it was a great idea. I couldn’t set it up alone, so I pulled out Cy’s cell, which I had commandeered as my own. She ordered a new one and planned to give me that one when it arrived, but I didn’t care about how new the phone was. This one had a pretty case on it that was as damage proof as possible.

I tossed her a text, letting her know what Ellie had said. She got back to me within seconds and was working on it with Odie. They’d get it handled but wanted to know what she’d like for dinner.

“Surprise me. I don’t want to make a decision.” I couldn’t argue with that. I had been there plenty. I passed it along, then Ellie stood up. “I’m going to go hang out in my room. I think I need some alone time.”

I didn’t say anything, but I assumed my facial expression held some level of concern and surprise.

“I’ll text you or scream if I need anything. You don’t have to worry so much, Mine.” Ellie walked away with her ice cream bowl in hand.

I watched her go through the small garden between us and the mansion, then enter the back door. No matter what she said, I was going to worry. She hadn’t mentioned anything that happened in detail but made cryptic comments about it in passing. I knew this took time, but sometimes time didn’t do shit. I barely made it out of my teens after losing so much and causing harm to those around me without even trying. Something like this would have pushed me over the edge. I kept an eye on her as much as I could, but I had to sleep sometime, and without invading her privacy and forcing someone to guard her around the clock, I didn’t know what else to do.

That wasn’t an option though. Her privacy had been invaded to the extreme, and her ability to choose was revoked. I couldn’t repeat some of those things even if they were steps to protect her.

I sat there a while longer and finished my ice cream before finding Odie and Cy to see if there was anything I could do to help, either with dinner or anything to keep my mind off of Ellie.

“Do we get you all to ourselves today?” Odie smiled at me as I walked into the living room where they had set up shop. Odie had her feet kicked up onto the coffee table with an e-reader in hand with Cy sitting cross-legged with a laptop on her lap as usual.

For now. Ellie is in her room. What are the plans for dinner?

Odie and Cy were getting better at reading the one-handed sign language as well. It made things a lot simpler than having twenty notebooks scattered around the house.

“We decided to do a dinner of favorites. Cy is putting together a list before going shopping.”

What favorites are we having?

“Rabbit stew,” Odie said at the same time Cy said, “corndogs.”

I scrunched my nose. This was going to be an interesting dinner if that’s where we were starting.

And?

“Whatever you decide as your favorite for the evening, plus Alastor requested mac and cheese and even gave us his mom’s recipe, and Gerard’s is apple pie with vanilla ice cream. He’s a sweets person.” Cy said all of this without looking up from her laptop. “It’s certainly going to be… a unique meal.”

“Ellie has always enjoyed the appetizers no matter what the event was, so we are also having jalapeno poppers, deviled eggs, corn ribs, and fried pickles. We’ve already talked with the kitchen staff, and they are all on board. They’ve been known to groan and fuss if Gerard makes a last minute request, but they all love Ellie and would do anything for her.” Odie turned and curled her left leg under her so she could look at me as I sat down on the couch beside her.

I hope everyone makes it. That’s a lot of delicious food. My mouth watered at the mention of it all. There wasn’t a bad thing in the bunch, and I didn’t know what I could add to top it all off.