Free Web NovelChapter 180: Princess Said I Love You First.
"Popsicle, popsicles!" I shouted inside the car as Princess drove to the club. My voice echoed off the windshield, sharp and demanding. I shifted restlessly in the leather seat, the hum of the engine doing nothing to soothe the sudden, icy craving blooming in the back of my throat. I wanted that specific, sugary coldness, and I wanted it before the car hit the next red light.
"There are popsicles in the club, when we get there, you will eat as much as you want.." Princess said. She kept her eyes locked on the road, her hands steady on the steering wheel, but I could see the slight tightening of her jaw. She was trying to be the voice of reason, but reason was the last thing on my mind right now.
"But, I want it now, I want to eat it now.." I said, acting like some five-year-old craving candy. I slumped back against the headrest, huffing out a breath that fogged up the window. My stomach gave a little somersault, and I wasn’t sure if it was the pups or just my own impatience. I tapped my fingers rhythmically against the armrest, the noise filling the quiet cabin.
"Can’t you wait nine more minutes..?" she muttered. Her foot pressed a little harder on the gas, the car surging forward through the empty late-night streets. The streetlights blurred into long streaks of yellow and white against the dark sky.
"I haven’t eaten popsicles in weeks, I want my Popsicle now!" I said. I turned in my seat to face her, my eyes wide and pleading. The desperation was real. It felt like if I didn’t get that hit of frozen sugar in the next sixty seconds, I might actually combust.
Princess took a deep breath, changing direction, telling the monitor to find the nearest ice cream stand. The GPS recalculated with a soft chime, the blue line on the screen snapping to a new route. I watched the map intently, counting down the meters as we swerved into a side street.
It was five minutes away, it was already late at night, probably 1 a.m., the stand was closing. The neon sign was flickering, halfway to being shut off for the night. Princess slammed the car into park and hopped out before the engine had even fully settled. Through the glass, I saw her gesturing wildly toward the metal shutters. Princess begged the man to attend to us, the man refused at first, saying he had to go home, waving a tired hand toward his watch. Then Princess said she was going to pay whatever price he called, because I wasn’t having it, I wanted my Popsicle. She reached for her purse, her movements frantic, her focus entirely on ending my crisis.
The doctor and nurses did not let me eat anything I wanted in the hospital, I have been craving one of the flavors for months... the bland hospital food felt like a distant, dusty memory compared to the vibrant colors inside that freezer. The man sold his entire Popsicle stock to us, waiting for me to finish eating before he could close and go home. He leaned against the counter with a weary sigh, watching us like we were the strangest thing he’d seen all week. We were by the road, even this late at night, Oakland cars were still passing by, their headlights cutting through the darkness and splashing over the sidewalk.
Princess watched as I devoured 8 popsicles in less than 60 seconds, it was like I hadn’t eaten in years. I tore through the plastic wrappers, the sound of crinkling cellophane loud in the quiet night air. The cold hit my tongue, sharp and electric, and I felt a wave of pure relief wash over me.
"Ohh, chill mommy, easy.." she said, telling me to be careful. She reached out, her hand hovering near mine as if she could physically slow down my chewing.
"You have forgotten I don’t get brain freeze.." I muttered, with three stuck inside my mouth, already opening another... The words were thick and muffled by the frozen juice, but I didn’t care. My teeth numbed, but the throbbing need in my head was finally starting to quiet down.
"I know, but the pups might... so just be careful so you don’t choke or give them brain freeze.." Princess said, trying to set aside the remaining, her fingers brushing the cold box. I flared my nostrils and glared at her, giving her the look of don’t you dare, woman... my grip on the wooden sticks tightened. She saw the flash in my eyes and held up her hands in surrender, slowly pushing them back to me in a quick and quiet motion.
Even after eating as much as I could, I couldn’t finish them all, Princess packed the remaining, dropping it inside the car to give to Sir Richard to deep-freeze in case I needed them.
Then we stopped by the convenience store, I wanted chocolate cookies and muffins.. while I was eating them, Princess was busy buying more, trying to stock my cravings, she added different varieties of chips, snack bars, and asked me what else I would want... the fluorescent lights of the store felt blindingly bright. I walked down the aisles like a kid in a dream, my arms already full of crinkling bags. I kept pointing at whatever snacks my eyes spotted, craved them or not, Princess was buying them all. She followed behind me with a red plastic basket that was quickly overflowing.
"You know you should stop eating, I don’t want you to throw up..." Princess said as she was busy loading the car with what we bought and I was busy eating Cheetos... The orange dust stained my fingertips, and I crunched loudly, ignoring the subtle warning in her voice.
"Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw up, the pups are going to eat everything.." I said, touching my heavy stomach.. I felt round and full, but the urge to keep chewing was still there, driven by some primal hunger I couldn’t control.
"You will definitely throw up.." she muttered to herself as she was done arranging. She slammed the trunk shut, the sound echoing through the empty parking lot. "Okay, shall we go home now? You need to get some sleep, this is past four in the morning.." Princess said, showing me the time on her screen. The bright digits seemed to glow with a quiet judgment.
I nodded my head, suddenly feeling the weight of the night pressing down on my eyelids. Then she opened the car and I entered, I heard her telling me to be careful, she was being gentle with everything I did, guiding me into the seat as if I were made of glass.
While we were in the car, Princess was busy driving while I was sipping bubble tea, the little pearls bouncing against my straw. Princess handed me a box, it was a new phone. It felt sleek and cool in my hands, a sharp contrast to the sticky wrappers and snack bags surrounding me.
"What happened to the last one?" I asked as I opened the new phone.. the screen stayed dark, reflecting my own tired face back at me.
"Got smashed." Princess said, eyes focused on the road.. she didn’t elaborate, her voice flat and neutral.
Looks like every phone I ever owned is destined to be smashed. It was a curse at this point, a tradition of destruction that followed me everywhere.
"Thank you, babe," I said, staring at my brand new phone, "Let me guess, you GPS’ed it?" I said, wanting to know if she was tracking this one too. I looked at her sideways, waiting for the confession.
"Yes, put a tracker in your new phone and... your body..." she was nonchalant.
Wow, I am not mad but also wasn’t expecting the body part, well since her wolf sense couldn’t track me, she definitely leans on technology. It made sense in a twisted, protective way. She was a girl of action, and if nature failed her, she’d build her own solution.
"So... where in my body did you put a fucking chip.." I asked, curiously, as I checked my body, looking for a beeping sound or tiny little chip. I felt my arms, my legs, looking for a bump or a scar I might have missed during my stay at the hospital. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Shoulder, under your foot, between your thigh, I think one is around your neck and a place only I should know..." she said like she was listing a grocery map.. Her voice didn’t waver, completely serious about her hardware installation.
"So you just turned me into some chip bitch..." I said. I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window, watching the dark trees fly by.
"I lost you the first time, I let my guard down and I don’t want to go through it... in this world I am the only one who is responsible for your well-being... it’s not just because you are my mate or carrying our pups... it’s because I love you and I don’t want to lose you ever, never...." She said. The raw honesty in her voice hit me harder than any of the physical trackers could. She gripped the wheel tighter, her knuckles turning white.
All I could do was just stare at her, my mind stopped at the one word I was hoping to say first but she got to say it before me... the bubble tea sat forgotten in my lap. The air in the car felt suddenly charged, the teasing and the snacks forgotten.
"Did you just say you love me..?" I said, smiling. The warmth spread through my chest, chasing away the cold of the popsicles.
"Yes, Faye Grande, you are the love of my life... and my only family..." Princess said without beating around the bush... She didn’t look at me, but I could see the softness in her expression, the way her eyes crinkled at the corners.
I couldn’t say it yet, I wanted to tell her on that special occasion, make it feel special, I wanted mine to be as genuine as hers.. I wanted a moment that wasn’t surrounded by Cheeto dust and Yuki’s kidnapping shit.
So all I could do was hold her hand as she kissed my hand. Her lips were warm against my skin, a silent promise that matched the one she’d just spoken aloud. We drove in silence for a while, the only sound the rolling of tires on the pavement.
When we finally got to the club, the first thing I did was run straight to the bathroom, throwing up all what I had just stocked inside my system.. The tile floor was cold under my knees as I gasped for air, the taste of cherry and muffin turning bitter. I can’t believe it, I thought babies were supposed to eat what you crave... my stomach cramped, rejecting the midnight feast with a vengeance. Princess was by the door giving me a look that she told me so. She leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed, watching me with a mix of pity and that annoying ’I was right’ sparkle in her eyes. I wiped my mouth and groaned, leaning my head against the porcelain, feeling completely defeated by my own cravings.
