Ironically, Joey seems to have accepted Reve completely since he whipped Mark. Maybe also because Jerrek likes him. But the two are becoming inseparable, and it warms my heart because Reve is just so… mine.
I can’t imagine life without him now. And he seems to be adjusting to life outside the dream realm.
Now if only I can convince him to stay here.
I’m daydreaming on my day off, Friday, when the phone rings with an unidentified number.
“Hello?”
“Is this Jen Hastings?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“This is Joey’s teacher, Mrs. Ralston. Do you have a moment?”
“Oh, Mrs. Ralston. Of course, yes. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great. Thanks so much for asking. And Joey is such an… interesting child. I like him a lot. All the children do, but the reason I’m calling…”
She trails off for a moment, and my heart feels like it’s hanging off the edge of a precipice.
Joey has been in trouble for fights so many times before… This is his fresh start. Please don’t let him be in trouble already.
“Well, one of the students claims Joey whipped him.” Mrs. Ralston finally finishes. “Though we haven’t been able to locate the whip, there are multiple eyewitnesses.”
I suck in a breath. How on earth am I going to explain this? “How much trouble is he in?”
“If he apologizes and turns in the whip, not that much. The kid in question has also had behavioral issues. However, we can’t have violence, and we definitely can’t have weapons. So we need Joey to explain and apologize, and we need to find the whip to prove it’s been taken away. Also, how is Joey getting whip lessons?”
I flinch, being put on the spot. “His uncle.” I lie because there’s no way to talk about fairies. “I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to him and make sure it never happens again.”
“Oh, thank you,” Mrs. Ralston says, sounding so relieved. I guess she wasn’t sure what to expect from the mom of a whip-wielding hellion. “And can you make sure he never leaves home with a whip in his bag or on his person?”
“Of course,” I say, my heart still pounding because this could have gone so much worse. “I’ll talk to him, and it will never happen again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Great,” she says. “Thanks so much. I really hope Joey can fit in here, but it very much depends—”
“I get it,” I say, wanting to cut off any further discussion on it. Joey already has it worse than a lot of kids at this fancy school because he has only one parent.
But I’m determined he’s not going to lose his spot at this school.
We’ll show the world who he is. A really good little boy with a lot of love to share if someone can understand him.
Reve is in the living room, talking to Jerrek who came to visit. I was in the kitchen giving them some time alone when the phone rang.
But now I need to address this with my mate.
Dream mate? Oh God, he has me talking just like him now.
“Reve?” I say, sliding the phone back in my pocket. “Can we talk for a moment?”
“Sure,” he says, nodding to Jerrek, who gives me a smile and a wave before disappearing in a poof of red smoke. “What is it, soul bond?”
I love when he calls me that. Ever since he explained what it means, that I’m connected straight to his soul, that he wants to bond with me above all others, I’ve been so fond of the term.
Even if the thought of forever with him terrifies me.
Even if the thought of anything outside my little world seems frightening.
And even though his interference got my son caught whipping another kid.
“I heard you talking to someone in the kitchen,” he says, moving back on the couch and patting it for me to join him. He looks gorgeous today, his ash-blond hair falling carelessly over one side of his forehead, his teal eyes bright.
That big, relaxed body, so delicious.
Focus, Jen.
“That was Joey’s school,” I say, folding my arms and staying standing rather than sitting down with Reve.
“And?” Reve sits up slightly. “Why’d they call? What happened?”
“It seems Joey has been caught with a whip,” I say, biting my lower lip. “No one can figure out where the whip went or why he had one, but there are witnesses that saw him whipping another boy.”
Reve is silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Then the other boy needed to get whipped.”
My eyes fly wide in shock. “What? Reve, that is never appropriate.”
“I know Joey,” Reve says. “I taught him well, and he knows when using a whip is appropriate.”
I put my hands on my hips, practically huffing. “It’s never appropriate in the human world!”
“Agree to disagree,” Reve says. “I can think of situations—”
“No,” I say firmly. “It’s not a matter of agreement or not. Joey can not use a whip, Reve. I just…”
I didn’t think he’d disagree with me on this. I feel outnumbered. If Reve really can’t even see that Joey can’t be doing dream fae stuff in this world, the one he’s growing up in, then how will he be convinced to stop?
And if he doesn’t and he keeps teaching Joey things about being a dream fae, then Joey might get in more and more trouble.
How do I explain that to Reve?
A tear of frustration bites at the corner of my eye, and I swipe it away.
Reve is there in a second, looking stricken as he reaches up and brushes my tear away with the lightest touch from his strong, masculine hand. “I’m so sorry, soul bond. I made light of something serious. I didn’t mean to. It’s just—”
“You have different rules,” I say, calming myself as I swipe another tear away. I smile at Reve, who poofs a kerchief out of nowhere and hands it to me.
It’s soft as silk and smells like sugar cookies.
“Don’t cry, soul bond,” Reve says. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“I just don’t want him to lose his spot at this school,” I say. “There were bullies at other schools, so I thought he just needed a better environment. He’s not violent, not really. But he kept getting in fights.”
“He has a strong sense of justice,” Reve says. “There is a lot wrong in this world.”
That just makes my heart pound and feel trapped again.
“But that being said, if this means a lot to you, I can talk to him,” Reve says.
“What would you say? Tell him not to use his whip?”
Reve rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t know if that would be right. I would tell him why it would be bad if he did, but he’s old enough to know that his whip is a part of him.”
“Because you told him.”
“But it would have been his fist otherwise,” Reve says. “And at least whips require control. Precision.”
I put my hand to my face, grinning. “I can’t believe we’re discussing the benefits of whips.”
He gently pulls my hand from my face, then pulls me in against him, wrapping his arms around me and putting my head to his shoulder. “I promise we’ll deal with it. Help Joey figure out the school thing. But just… give him a moment to explain, right? He might have had a good reason.”
“He’s ten.”
“Ten-year-olds can have good reasons,” Reve says. “Especially when they have awesome moms who taught them to tell right from wrong.”
“Aw, shucks,” I say. “You always know what to say.”
“I try to understand you,” Reve says. “The best I can. When I’m wrong, I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“I’ll try,” I say. “And I hope you’ll try to forgive me too when I overreact to something.”
“I mean, that’s love, right?” Reve says, his teal eyes glittering with something soft and tender. “And I love you more than anything.”
I suck in a breath because it’s the first time he has said it so openly.
He’s said it here
and there in the heat of lovemaking. Whispered words of love and devotion in the dark.
He has called me a dream mate.
He has called me a soul bond.
But he’s here just softly telling me he loves me more than anything.
I think my heart just collapsed from sheer joy.
It’s also nice having someone to talk about Joey with. Someone to give advice but who respects what I want.
Most of all, someone who respects my choices and doesn’t see me as being a failure. Someone who sees me as I am, strong despite what has happened.
Someone who doesn’t just pity me.
The doorbell rings, and Reve and I pull apart.
There’s a knock, then fiddling with the handle.
“That’s Joey,” I say.
“Want me to get it?”
“No,” I say. “I’m his mom. I’ll figure it out.”
“Be easy on him,” Reve says. “Like I say, he’s a good kid.” He looks around. “You know what? I’m just going to go hang with Jerrek. Let you handle this. If I’m here, I might screw up and interfere.”
He’s probably right. He does tend to interfere, and usually, I appreciate it. But we just really disagree on how things should go when it comes to the clash between his and my world.
“Okay,” I say, rubbing his arm reluctantly. He leans in for a kiss just as the door swings open.
He smiles against my lips as if to say, “See you soon,” and then disappears in a puff of smoke.
At the door, Joey’s red hair is standing up in all directions as he walks in, and there’s a dirt smudge on his cheek, but his clothes look fine.
His brown eyes are somewhat defiant as he meets my gaze. “Did my teacher call?”
“Yes,” I say.
He looks at the ground, kicking his shoes off on the mat and then shoving the door shut.
He sighs like the world is on his shoulders and slumps over to the couch, where he sits down and sinks as low as possible, like his ten-year-old body doesn’t have any bones. “I’m in trouble now, aren’t I?”
The old me would have said yes, but just because Reve asked, I’m going to try to hear more of Joey’s story.
“I don’t know,” I say carefully. “Why don’t you tell me why you felt you had to use your whip?”
His eyes sparkle hopefully, and the tension in his face fades somewhat. “I promise, Mom, I wasn’t going to cause trouble. I didn’t want to make things bad for you. But they were trying to put my friend Anna in a garbage can.”
I blink, having never considered this possibility. “I’m sorry, what? A garbage can? Why were they doing that?”
“Uh, well, Anna doesn’t speak too good. She’s, uh, in the special class. She doesn’t walk that well either. She has a walker. But the boys like to take it away during lunch. And she ended up telling the teacher on them. So then today, the guys said she was garbage, and they wanted to put her in the garbage can for getting them in trouble and—”
“Wait, wait,” I say because it’s a lot and I’m trying to take it all in. “So you whipped them because they were picking on someone else? Someone who couldn’t defend themself?”
He nods, looking troubled. “And now they all hate me. I did want to make friends, Mom. But I can’t be friends with someone who hurts someone like Anna. And I really love her, so Reve said I need to protect people I love.”
I put a hand on his shoulder, bending down to put us at eye level. “You did a good thing, actually. But just don’t do it with a whip.”
“With my fists?” Joey asks, looking hopeful.
Reve was right.
“No,” I say. “You have to just call a teacher. Otherwise—”
“So I have to let Anna be put in the garbage?” he asks, looking confused.
I don’t know how to be this selfish. To tell him to watch out for himself and not care.
But it’s not his job to police the schoolyard. If anything, I’m just offended that apparently the rich boys at this school get to bully with impunity.
“I know it’s terrible,” I say. “And maybe you should just yell next time, get attention.”
He hangs his head. “Everyone else was laughing. They’re afraid of the bullies. I thought if I showed them my whip—”
God, maybe Reve is right. Maybe humans are terrors.
It makes me wonder about Joey’s other fights as well.
But maybe Joey is just being extra sensitive. After all, there are lots of good kids who don’t get in fights.
Joey hangs his head. “I don’t know, Mom. I want to say I’ll be good, that I won’t use my whip. But Reve says—”
“Reve is awesome,” I say. “But I get the final say around here. Reve is a little—”
“I want to go to Reve’s world,” he says. “It seems nicer there.”
My heart tenses. Of course it sounds nicer. But if we left this place for Reve and found out more that was bad much later, we’d literally be in another world.
I need more time to decide things.
And I still think I want to raise my son in this world.
I can protect us.
“I don’t know,” Joey says. “But I guess so. I’ll try not to use my whip, Mom.”
I sigh. “I really wish you wouldn’t fight. It’s not your job to be there for everyone. But you know, it was a good thing, what you did for Anna. You have a good heart, and regardless of what school you’re in, you’ll always be a good boy to me, Joey. You’re so awesome, and I love you very much.”
He leans forward, throwing his arms around me. “I’m glad you aren’t mad, Mom.” He leans back. “If I’m not being punished, can I go play?”
I nod. “Go have fun.”
Joey runs down the hall, and I exhale, exhausted, just as Reve appears in the living room again, looking at me curiously.
“So how’d it go?” he asks.
“You were right,” I say. “He was helping someone. But I told him to get teachers or yell or use fists next time.” I put my hand around Reve’s waist. “I still can’t believe you took my scrappy little son and gave him a weapon. You’re basically teaching him to get in fights.” I shake my head. “The worst part is I’m glad he was there. I mean, I hate Joey having to be the one who helps, but someone should…”
“I get it,” Reve says. “It’s complex. But Joey is a warrior. Deep down, he is always going to want to protect. All good warriors do. I’m not trying to teach him to fight. Only that we must protect those we love.”
“It’s the same thing, right?” I ask.
Reve shakes his head. “No. Because if no one was bad, then a warrior like me would never have to fight. Whereas there are those out there who love fights, who love chaos and disorder, and who love hurting people. And they want a fight. And they won’t stop until someone stops them.”
“That’s right,” I say. “These nightmares you talk about.”
“I doubt you have full dream fae nightmares here, despite what Lorien said,” Reve says. “But you have the human equivalent at least, which are people who are soulless and empty but walking around pretending to be one of us. They get much closer than an openly villainous person, and they’re much more dangerous.”
I nod. “Sounds like it.”
“So yes, if you stay here in the human world where there aren’t enough warriors patrolling, let alone kingdoms with order, that won’t be the last time Joey uses his whip. And I’m not sorry that he’s better equipped than he would have been in this world. I am sorry if it causes inconvenience,” he says.
“I guess it’s just complicated,” I say, leaning in against him. “But I’m glad I have you here to help me.”
He raises an eyebrow, amused. “You’re not still mad that I showed him how to use his whip?”
“No,” I say softly. Then I smile. “I’m grateful that you’re helping me understand my son.” I suck in a breath. “Reve, you’ve been so amazing.” I reach up and press my lips to his softly, savoring his little sh
ocked intake of breath. “I love you.”
His body goes rigid, and he pulls back to look down at me, then throws his arms around me, holding me tight.
“Watch the stars with me tonight?” he asks in a whisper, tickling my earlobe. “I have something I want to talk about.”
“Yes,” I say instantly.
All I want is to say yes to him. Everything he wants. Everything he offers.
If only life wasn’t so complicated.
17
Reve
I do like the human stars, I think as I sit on the back porch with my soul bond beside me.
Her soft curves pressed up against me, countering the cool air of the night.
The blanket wrapped around us.
The fact that she says she loves me.
I still feel like the luckiest dream fae in the world to have such an amazing, sweet, gorgeous, strong, curvaceous woman as my mate.
The most important thing is that she loves me. She wants me.
Now it’s just about details.
To be honest, I feel bad it caused trouble for her, but I’m glad Joey had the wherewithal to defend himself and whoever else needed his help.
But whip or not, Jen is going to see that this isn’t the kind of world where a warrior can just sit back and be passive.
There is too much violence and sexual assault and murder and rape and thieving. And bullying.
All things we stomp out of our kingdoms. Things we are trained as warriors to not allow, both in ourselves and in others.
So the sooner I can help her leave this world, the better.
I’m going to start trying to help her see that more tonight.
“It’s getting late,” she says, turning her gaze from the sparkling black sky above us to look at me. “You want to head in?”
I look into her deep-brown eyes, which are reflecting little sparkles from the stars above her.
So damn beautiful.
“I want to be wherever you are,” I say, putting my arm around her and pulling her in tighter. “And to be honest, I really enjoy the sky in the human world.”
“Oh yeah? Why?”
“I don’t know,” I say, staring up at it. “It’s just so chaotic and random. All those fiery bodies, all those planets spinning, all those huge celestial objects, and then us, little bugs looking up and watching it all. Humans live such short lives beneath the watch of things that are eternal.”
In Her Dreams Page 12