Free Web NovelChapter 184: My Punch List
I had one of Guru’s boys stall Princess downstairs, telling him to offer her some of the heavy mountain tea Guru kept in the kitchen, while I scrambled into my room. I needed to move, and I needed to move fast. My breathing was already coming in short, sharp bursts as I started ripping every single one of Yuki’s posters off the walls. I was a bit slow due to my pregnancy, the weight in my stomach making every reach and bend a struggle, but I tried as fast as I could. The tape resisted, sticking to the wall, but I didn’t care about the paint. I flung every single one of the posters and merchandise outside the window, watching the glossy paper flutter down like giant, colorful leaves.
"Ouch."
The voice came from directly below. I froze, my hand mid-air with a stack of Yuki-branded postcards. I quickly looked outside the window, then stared down. It was the gardener, Felix, standing among the bushes with a crumpled poster of Yuki’s face resting on his shoulder.
"Sorry Felix, just throwing away some unwanted trash..." I said to him. I leaned out over the sill, the cool Redwood air hitting my face. He looked up, squinting against the morning light.
"Oh, Madam Faye, you are back..." he said with a bright expression, the pain on his head instantly vanishing as he recognized me. He didn’t even bother to brush the paper off his sleeve; he just stood there, looking genuinely happy.
"Yes Felix, I’m just home for the weekend, how has life been treating you?" I said. I rested my chin on my palm for a second, feeling the quiet hum of the estate. It has been long since I last saw him. I’m sure now he is going to inform others of my return. The news would probably travel through the staff faster than a wolf on a scent.
"Same, same. Is Master Kaye home as well?" he asked, leaning on his rake.
"No, I am the only one..." I said with a smile. I watched him nod respectfully. He happens to be the only worker that calls me and Kaye Madam and Master. He used to work for a royal family before Guru hired him, so he got used to calling us those names, no matter how many times we told him he didn’t have to.
We were going to continue our chit-chat, but I heard a familiar heavy footstep in the hallway. I heard Princess knocking on the wood of the door, and I realized my time was thin.
"Don’t come in yet, I need to clear some things..." I said in haste as I turned back to the room, grabbing a pile of Yuki-themed bandanas and trashing everything outside the window.
"Really, you don’t want me to see your shrine of a room that’s sad..." Princess said lazily from outside. I could hear the smirk in her voice, that low, teasing vibration that always made my heart jump.
"It’s embarrassing to see, so don’t come in unless I say so..." I shot back. I grabbed a Yuki figurine from my nightstand and tossed it into the air. Of course it is embarrassing. I used to worship Yuki like some fucking god. To me, she was like a saint, second to the moon goddess, a perfect idol to look up to. Only for her to ruin everything. Even if she hadn’t ruined everything and turned out to be a psycho, I still would have removed them because I don’t want Princess feeling insecure again. And also for my mental health.
"I can hear you running around, the doctor said you shouldn’t stress yourself too much... so stop running around or I will come in..." Princess said. Her tone had shifted from lazy to firm, the Alpha in her starting to peek through the door.
"I’m not running around..." I denied immediately, huffing as I yanked the bedspread off the mattress. It was the worst offender, with Yuki’s face printed right in the center. I bundled it up into a ball. Then I opened my closet and started taking out the clothes that had her face, the limited edition name brand gear, the remaining bandanas... throwing them out the window in one big, messy heap.
In my rush, my foot misstepped on a stray lanyard. I felt my balance shift, my center of gravity totally off. As I almost tripped and fell, my scream was enough to notify Princess. The door didn’t just open; it felt like it exploded inward. Before I could reach the ground, she held me, her arms wrapping around my waist with a strength that felt like iron. When I stared at her, her eyes were glowing blue, swirling with that intense Alpha light. She used her speed, moving faster than my eyes could follow.
"I told you to stop running around..." she said. She was breathing hard, her gaze searching my face for any sign of pain.
I couldn’t say anything, because I was guilty and scared I almost fell to the ground. My heart was thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird. I just gripped her forearms, feeling the heat radiating off her skin.
I sat down on my bed, my legs feeling like jelly, as Princess helped me with what I was doing. She didn’t ask why I was throwing things out; she just looked at the remaining mess on the floor.
"So which ones am I throwing away..." she said, picking up a few loose posters on the floor. She held them with two fingers, looking at the images with a neutral expression. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Those ones..." I said, pointing at the pile near the closet. She looked around the room, taking in the bare spots on the walls and the empty shelves.
"Where is the trash can?" she asked.
"Throw them out the window..." I said, gesturing toward the open air.
Princess walked to the window, staring down at the garden below. She let out a low whistle.
"Wow, that is a lot of merchandise down there..." she said, then stared back at me. There was a look in her eyes, a mix of amusement and something else I couldn’t quite name.
"Just so you know, that was in the past and not the present... can you not say anything..." I said, feeling and looking embarrassed at the same time. I pulled a pillow over my stomach, trying to hide behind it.
"So I should just throw it down..." she asked. I know that was not proper, throwing things into the yard like a litterbug, but one of the workers is going to clear them and put them in the actual trash where they belong. I nodded my head.
Princess did not say anything, she just threw them away. One by one, the last remnants of my obsession disappeared into the morning mist. I showed her everything that needed to be trashed, from the signed picture frame to the hairpins, and she threw them out the window without a single comment.
"Should I throw this too?" she said. I looked at her; she was holding a black, thick book she had found under the bed. It was weathered, the corners frayed from years of being carried around.
"No, that’s mine..." I said, my voice jumping an octave.
"Okay..." Princess muttered, then proceeded to look at the book. She opened the first page before I could reach for it.
"People Who I Owe A Punch..." she muttered as she started reading the page. Her eyebrows shot up. "Tyler Lane, Matthew Young, Tessa Brooks, Philip Hale..."
She kept reading as I stared at her, my face burning. Then she stopped, looking at a specific entry.
"You really do keep the names of those you want to punch?"
"Yes, I even have another one in Oakland, you were my number one on that list..." I said proudly. I crossed my arms, trying to reclaim some of my dignity.
"You have a problem..." she said, but she was smiling now, flipping through the pages of my hit list.
"No I don’t. Tyler Lane called me octopus head during the 7th grade, he deserves a punch, which I already did as you can see the mark sign..." I muttered, standing up and collecting the book from her. I began scanning and checking who I haven’t punched yet, running my finger down the ink-stained columns.
"Ah ah, Mark Rollo, that dude told me he was going to turn me into a robo wolf... too bad he moved away..." I said. I remember it vividly. 6th grade. I accidentally broke his STEM project, a little wooden bridge, and he got so mad he messed up my volcano. It was supposed to bring out fire and red foam, but it started making fart sounds instead, and the rest of the grade called me Vovo-fart for the rest of the year. I took my revenge the next day by putting glue in his locker, then he threatened me he was going to turn me into a robot.
I noticed Princess staring at me. Her blue eyes had faded back to their normal color, but she was watching me with an intensity that made me stop talking. I’m sure she had a lot to say about my petty childhood grudges, but for some reason she was locked in, just observing me.
"You are not on my list anymore... I punched you, right..." I said with a sly smile, remembering the time I actually landed one on her.
"And then I knocked you up, haha, who is laughing now..." she said back. She stepped closer, her hand reaching out to playfully ruffle my hair.
"Hey, you bitch..." I said, reaching out to swat her hand away. But before we could start a real play-fight, I heard my name being shouted from outside my window. The voices were familiar, loud and full of energy.
I rushed to look, ignoring Princess’s "be careful" words as she reached out to steady me again.
When I looked down, it was my friends, my Redwood friends. They were gathered on the lawn, standing right in the middle of the pile of Yuki trash. They heard of my return and came running.
