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Annie

“Annie, talk to me,” Ben says as he follows me in to the kitchen. I lean on the counter and shake my head. There is a deep, hollow ache in my chest, and I do not know what he can say to fill it.

“I want you both to be happy,” I tell him, “even if it is without me. I just…did not think…I do not like this feeling.” I put a hand over the place where my human heart beats in my chest.

“What does it feel like?” Ben asks gently, threading his fingers through mine.

“Empty,” I murmur.

He touches my chin and lifts it so I am looking at him. “ Mi amor, you really think I won’t introduce you to people as my girlfriend? Or whatever you want? Fuck, I’d tell people you’re my wife if it’d make you happy.”

I cannot help but smile. “Would Theo be alright with something like that?”

“We can ask him. Annie, I know you’re dead set on…going through with the exorcism–”

“I cannot risk her coming back and hurting either of you, Ben!”

“I know! I understand, trust me, and I’m gonna start working on a way to keep you here.

But if you’re determined to do this, then I’m determined to make these next few weeks perfect for you.

I don’t care what lies I have to tell, or who I have to tell them to, or what I have to do.

I’m going to make you happy if it kills me. ”

I raise my hands to h old his face. “That day in the park, you said that you think Theo is a bright light in a dark sky…but I hope you know that you are mine–my bright light in a very dark sky.”

“You’re both my bright lights,” Ben says, then he points at his own chest. “Me, and you.” He taps over my heart. “And Theo.” He waves toward the bedroom. “We belong together. I’m not going to let anyone take that away. I promise.”

I look up at him, and the hollowness in my chest only expands.

“How can you promise that?” I ask, voice stumbling in my throat. I put my face in my hands and Ben’s arms envelop me, tugging me against his chest and filling my nose and mouth with his warm, rich scent.

“Don’t kill me for quoting scripture,” he laughs quietly, “but…‘love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things’, and I love you, so…I’m going to endure all things for you, Annie.

” I lean against his chest and close my eyes, letting the soft thud thud of his heart tame the coiling snake of anxiety in my stomach.

“I do not mind the quote,” I whisper, “and I love you too, Ben.”

A moment later, I feel Theo’s arms around both of us.

It is perfect, even if only for this moment.

The adoption event is crowded and noisy. There are more people here than I have ever seen in one place before, and a wave of sickness washes over me as we enter. Ben grips my hand tight, but I think he can feel my hesitation, because he turns around.

“You good, Annie girl?”

“There are a lot of people.”

“Yeah, that’s what makes it fun,” he replies with a grin. “Just keep the tail and wings to yourself, and we’ll be fine.” He squeezes my hand as we buy tickets, then Theo texts his friends to let them know we have arrived.

The room is very large, decorated with huge banners featuring images of dogs and cats with their human owners.

The walls are lined with tables where people sell pet-related items such as leashes, collars, and toys.

At the far end is a separate space where I see some small pens and kennels set up, and I presume this is where the animals are being adopted out.

I make a note to avoid the area, since the only animal who seems to tolerate my presence is Roger.

In the center of the room is a large, circular counter where people are serving drinks, surrounded by smaller tables for guests to sit and drink and talk.

I already feel as if there are a thousand eyes on me, as if they can see straight through my facade and tell exactly what I am.

As we walk through the crowd, following Theo, I try not to look at the people around us, for fear of what I might see on their faces, but occasionally I glance up to find someone staring at me.

My instinct is to lash out, to intimidate, to frighten them, but I hold my breath and focus on the steady strength of Ben’s grip on my hand.

In the center of the big room, Theo stops for a moment to check his phone, and Ben pulls me into him.

“People are staring at me,” I whisper, leaning on his chest.

He just grins. “Because you’re so damn beautiful, Annie. Trust me.”

“They’re over by the adoption area,” Theo tells us. He appears anxious too, and I reach out to briefly squeeze his hand.

“Let’s do it,” Ben says confidently. I easily spot Mak’s turquoise, purple, and pink stripes of spiky hair through the crowd.

She is wearing a bright blue t-shirt and standing near the entrance to the adoption area with two young men beside her.

As Theo waves to them and goes to say hel lo, Ben stops short for a moment, his grin widening.

“Mak Thomas!” he calls, walking forward again. “Exactly how many damn jobs do you have?”

Mak looks past Theo and squeals loudly. “Ben? Oh my God, how are you?!” She bounces over to us and throws herself into his arms. Ben lets go of my hand and hugs her back, but I glance at Theo, who is clearly very confused.

“You two…know each other?” he asks, coming over to us with his other two friends behind him.

“Ben used to volunteer at Found Family when I worked there!” Mak tells him breathlessly. “Wait, how do you know Ben?”

Theo’s mouth falls open slightly, too stunned to speak.

“We…uh…I just…” he stutters. Ben takes his hand, then pulls it up and kisses it.

“Theo and I met about a month ago,” he says to Mak, eyes glittering. “He needed a roommate, but ended up with a boyfriend instead.”

Mak’s hands fly to her mouth and she squeals again, making my ears ring. The taller of Theo’s other two friends grins and slaps him on the back.

“I fucking knew it! I told Mak when I saw y’all in the park that you weren’t dumb enough to let a guy like that go.”

“Oh, Theo!” Mak cries. “That’s amazing! Ben, you are the luckiest! You both are, actually.”

“Oh, I know,” Ben says, then he looks at me, “and I think one of you already met Annie, right?”

“Annika!” says Mak, leaning in to hug me. “I’m so glad Theo brought you along!”

“Good to see you too,” I tell her with a genuine smile. It is difficult not to like someone as sweet as Mak. She steps back and pushes the two young men forward.

“B en, Annika–this is Zayd, and this is Jaime.” Zayd is tall and dark-skinned, wearing a white tank top that displays his heavily-tattooed arms, and sporting a gold ring through his nose.

His short, tightly curled hair is black on the sides, but bleached on the top, and he shakes my hand with a friendly smile.

The other man, Jaime, whom I met briefly when we took Monty and Roger to the shelter, is much shorter and paler, with wild red hair that sticks up at odd angles, and a patchy beard.

He is wearing a bright blue shirt like Mak’s, so I presume he is also volunteering at the event.

“How did you all meet Theo?” Ben asks as he shakes their hands.

“Mak and Theo were in a lot of classes together, and then Mak and I were roommates,” Jaime explains. “We all met Zayd when we joined the intramural lacrosse team that he was in charge of. Inseparable ever since!”

“Ah, so you didn’t give up being a jock in high school?” Ben says to Theo, whose cheeks turn slightly red as he smiles. I can tell he is starting to relax.

“It ended up being less of a lacrosse team and more of a ‘sit on the quad goofing off and tossing a ball around’ team,” Zayd says.

“Or a drunk board game team,” Jaime adds, and they all laugh.

Jaime turns to Theo and asks, “Are you still thinking about adopting today? Mak said you might.”

“I think I might, yeah,” Theo replies, peering over at the area where the animals are being kept. There are about a dozen small cages on top of tables on one end of the room, which hold a number of cats, and on the other end is an area with dog kennels. “Maybe just one though, not a pair.”

“Why don’t I take you over and we can do some introductions?” Jaime asks. Theo glances at Ben, but Mak steps between them.

“I want to show Ben something first, and then I’ll bring him over!

” she says eagerly. Jaime and Zayd take Theo through the little fence to where the cats are, and I keep my eyes on Theo to ensure we do not move so far apart that I am pulled back into his body.

Right now, I want to stay with Ben, and away from the animals.

Besides, I can see that Mak has som ething important on her mind by the way she plants her hands on her hips.

“Ben,” she says sternly, “you’re gonna tell me the truth.”

“What truth?”

“How did you actually meet Theo?”

Ben sighs, but keeps smiling patiently. “Come on, Mak. You know what happened to me. I was living out of my car, and Theo was advertising for a roommate. I needed a place to stay. We liked each other. That’s the truth.”

“Fine, I’ll buy that,” she says, then she motions at mine and Ben’s hands, which are clasped together again. “But…this?”

“Well, Annie was hanging around because Theo’s family is hosting her,” Ben says, “and…same story. We liked each other.” He kisses my hand the same way he kissed Theo’s, and Mak’s eyebrows shoot up into her hair.

“So…you’re all together? With each other?” she asks hesitantly. “Like a…poly thing?”

“Sure,” Ben says with a shrug. “Look, Mak, it’s a thing where I really care about both of them and I’m serious about this. I promise, I’m not gonna hurt Theo. I’m getting my shit back together, alright?” When Mak looks at me again, I just give her a sweet smile.

“Ben, you know I’m the last person to judge,” she says, softer now. “I’m glad you’re happy, especially after everything that went down last year. I just wanted to know what’s going on in case I have to run interference.”

“Run…interference?” Ben asks.

Mak lowers her voice. “Well, Niko’s here…”