He was relentless!
Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.
Grateful for the interruption, Susan immediately scooted off Ravyn, got to her feet, and straightened her rumpled clothes. "Come in."
The door opened to show Erika, who looked past her to see Ravyn stretched out on the mattress.
Ravyn snorted as he rolled to his side and curled into a very catlike pose. "Hey, kitten. Got any change?"
Erika wrinkled her nose as she stepped past Susan, into the room. "What is he? High?"
"Yes. Very," she answered, duplicating Erika's clipped tone.
That appeared to amuse her a great deal. "Man, any idea what it is?"
Susan folded her arms over her chest as she watched Erika slowly approach Ravyn, who was now singing something that sounded like it might be a lullaby in a foreign language, while lying on his side. "I'm not one hundred percent sure. Why?"
" 'Cause whatever it is, let's up the dosage. He hasn't called me kitten since I was ten." Erika gave her a wide, delighted smile, which might have amused Susan had they met on better terms. But given Erika's blase attitude toward both her and Ravyn, Susan wasn't feeling overly charitable toward the younger woman.
"Is there a point to your visit?"
"I just wanted to make sure he was all right." There was an underlying tremor in her voice that made Susan feel like a heel for being so short with her. After all, Erika had known him all her life and with her father off in Hawaii, Ravyn was the only family she had here.
"He's fine," Susan said, softening her tone. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, but there was something in her eyes that was sad and hurt. "I just don't like people dying on me, you know?"
"Yeah, being alone sucks."
Erika tucked a piece of hair behind one ear. With that one, hesitant action, she went from being a snotty teenager to a little girl who needed someone to tell her everything would be okay. "You've no idea."
"Actually," Susan said, stepping closer to her, "I do. By the time I was your age, I was an orphan, and I've been alone ever since."
"Was it hard alone?"
Susan swallowed as old memories haunted her. "Yeah, most of the time. You stand there alone on graduation while all of your friends are surrounded by their families. You're alone the first day of college with no laughing mom and dad to tease you while you find your dorm room. Unless someone feels sorry for you, there's no place to go when the dorm's closed. But the worst are the holidays, especially Christmas. You sit in your house, looking at the one gift under the tree that you bought for yourself, and you wonder what it would be like to have a mom or dad, or just anyone to call."
Now she didn't even have Angie and Jimmy anymore. Angie had always been the one who'd invited her home. She'd always taken care to call her on Mother's Day and Easter to make sure she was okay. And she'd always lied and said she was fine, even though inside it still hurt to have absolutely no one.
She glanced over at Ravyn. How much harder were those moments when you knew your family was alive, but not to you?
It explained why he was so understanding of Erika. Annoying though she could be, she was better than being alone. Better than watching the rest of the world take for granted the very things you would sell your soul to have.
She saw a grudging respect in Erika's blue eyes as the girl nodded in mutual understanding. "I'm sorry about your parents. I lost my mom a few years ago... It still hurts."
"I know. I'm sorry, too."
"Thanks." Erika looked over at Ravyn, then frowned. "You need anything? Like a cage or flea repellent?"
Smiling, Susan paused as she watched Ravyn move his hands as if he were singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in that lyrical language of his. "An antidote would be nice."
"I don't know," Erika said teasingly. "He's kind of amusing like this. It's like having a big kid around or something."
Ravyn rolled over onto his stomach and tried to push himself up. Susan rushed to his side to keep him down on the mattress.
"I need to go," Ravyn said, trying to push her back.
"No, no. You're right where you need to be."