A Glimpse of the Dark Side: Adult Paranormal Erotic Romance Collection (25 page)

The look of worry was etched deeply into Tony's
face. Each of the creases was a picture of his fear-a picture that
Meg did not want to see again if she could help it.

"Bruce is fine," she said. He's very pleasant
and I will certainly say he has a sense of humor."

"Is he staying?" Tony pressed.

"I don't see why he can't stay. As weird as it
all is, I don't think sending him away will do any good. Besides,
it's not like the neighbors can talk."

Tony was smiling again, the relief he was
feeling clear on his face. He hugged Meg quickly before running off
to let Bruce know the good news.

As she started to pour the tea into the mugs,
she could hear the excited chatter from Tony in the living room,
something she hadn't really heard much of from him before.

That reason alone was enough to let Bruce
stay.

"SORRY. I'M NOT going to bring you the whole
bottle of aspirin," Meg said, as she entered the living room with a
tray carrying the tea and aspirin, along with a mug of hot
chocolate for Tony she had made as an afterthought. "I don't feel
like accidently killing anyone, imaginary friend or not."

Bruce shrugged before taking the offered mug.
"Fair enough," he said before taking a light sip of the tea to wash
down the aspirin. "This is pretty good."

"I thought you hated tea," Tony said.

"Well, this tea doesn't taste like flavored
water like it does when I make it," Bruce admitted. "I didn't think
it would be that hard to make tea."

Meg chuckled lightly at the comment. "It's not
exactly as easy as boiling water and leaves. But I can show you how
to make good tea if you like," she offered.

Bruce sipped at the tea once more before
answering. "If you can show me how to make it this good, we have a
deal," Bruce said.

Tony watched the scene silently now. The fact
that Meg was more than accepting Bruce was great. Bruce getting
along with Meg was just as good. As friendly as Bruce was, he could
be picky about whom he actually liked as a person.

Many times, Bruce had something sarcastic to say
to people he didn't care for. The fact that he couldn't be heard
was a shield for him. Now that someone else besides Tony could hear
and see him, he had no shield to hide behind.

But it appeared, in this case, he didn't need
it.

That alone made Tony curious.

For once in a long time, he felt comfortable. He
was safe and actually happy. Bruce was great by himself and Meg had
been nice as well.

Together, though, there was a new dynamic. One
that got Tony thinking about something he had never thought
possible until Meg was able to see Bruce.

It would surprise Bruce that there was something
Tony had kept secret from him all this time.

There were times Tony thought of telling Bruce
exactly what thoughts had been in his mind at the time he had read
the poem. But in the back of his mind, there had always been the
fear that, if Bruce knew, he would leave.

It was a foolish thought perhaps but Tony didn't
want to scare off the only friend he had in so many years, the one
who covered his ears when his father went on one of his drunken
rants. The one who made him laugh after a horrible day and the one
who told him stories to help him sleep.

To lose his friend would be to lose hope.

So that was why Tony never told Bruce that he
was what he had always wanted in a father. To Tony, Bruce had all
the important aspects a father could have. He was friendly, full of
humor, creative and protective. Even the librarian part of him had
come from something in Tony's life that spoke of safety and
contentment.

The library was where Tony would hang out for
hours on end. From opening to closing, he liked to sit among the
stacks. Reading a book and sketching in his sketch pad, he was
temporarily safe from reality and from his father. Adding in the
profession of librarian to his ideal imaginary father was only
natural.

Looking at them both now, he saw the only good
remnant of his past life in Bruce and the shine of a bright future
in Meg.

And maybe it was foolish to think this but a
part of him wondered if, maybe, there was a way to bring those two
things together.

Granted there were hurdles. Tony didn't know how
either felt about the idea of romance. And yeah, the fact no one
but he and Meg could see Bruce was a problem.

But there had to be some way around it. People
always said love would find a way.

Tony watched Meg and Bruce talk.

And he planned.

BRUCE ENDED UP sleeping on the couch that
night.

He insisted on it, in fact. That way, he would
be near Tony's room if there were any problems and he wouldn't have
to sleep on the floor, something he had been doing since the
beginning of his existence. So the couch was a nice change of
pace.

Even with the comfortable setup, Bruce didn't
fall asleep until Tony drifted off. Meg had a harder time sleeping
than Tony or Bruce. After all, it's not like she expected to
process all this sudden oddness in her life so easily.

A part of her wondered why in the world she had
agreed to let Bruce stay. As harmless as he seemed, there was the
element of the unknown in the home now. Meg was used to a bit of
the unknown when she was fostering a new child. But this was more
than she had ever handled.

Despite the thoughts running through her head,
sleep did come, eventually. And, though she preferred to be up
before noon, it didn't hurt to sleep a few minutes past noon.
Still, she felt a little guilty about it so, as soon as she got up,
she started on breakfast even though it was technically lunch.

As she got the milk from the fridge, she
considered waking Tony and Bruce. They had slept enough for the day
as well.

"Good morning."

Meg shrieked and nearly dropped the milk in the
process. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to keep a tight
enough grip on the handle. She was also thankful she realized it
was Bruce who had greeted her. The man was apparently a silent
walker.

"Don't do that!" Meg shouted.

Bruce put his hands up in a mock surrender pose.
"Sorry. That wasn't on purpose. Please don't throw anything at me
again."

"I'm not living that down for a while, am I?"
Meg asked.

"Not for at least a week," Bruce said.

Pulling out one of the kitchen table chairs,
Bruce sat and leaned back. He considered putting his feet up on the
table but he thought better of it. Tony had never cared about where
he put his feet up, but something told him Meg wouldn't be the same
way.

"Did you sleep well?" Meg asked.

"Yeah. Slept pretty good. Very comfortable
couch, by the way," Bruce commented. "By the by, how long have you
been foster parenting?" he asked.

The question seemed a little out of the blue but
it was an easy one to answer.

"A little more than ten years," Meg
answered.

"Any complaints?" Bruce continued to
question.

Meg placed the cereal box down on the table
before looking up at Bruce. "Is this an interrogation?" Meg
asked.

Bruce gave a small shrug. "Yes. I guess so. All
I want to do is ease my mind a bit more."

"I don't think I'd be in the foster care system
if I wasn't proven a good caretaker."

"Well, systems make mistakes. Things slip their
notice. Small things like bruises under shirt sleeves, dark circles
under a kids eyes because the kid can't sleep well on some nights
in fear of what can happen..."

The humor was gone from Bruce's face and was
replaced with a quiet rage. It was a look that unsettled Meg.

She hoped that she would not have to see that
look again. Or at the very least, be the one to cause him to have
that expression.

"I NEVER THOUGHT about it. But you witnessed all
of it, didn't you?"

Bruce gave a curt nod. "One of the worst
feelings in the world is to be helpless when someone you care about
is being hurt. Goodness knows I tried to hurt the creep more than
once. So many punches I swung that just weren't felt... I knew it
was useless each time. But I kept trying. What else could I
do?"

Meg let Bruce sit there in the silence that
followed his frank admission.

"Sorry," he said, after a few moments. "I just
want to make sure that he'll be okay. It's nothing personal."

"No offense taken. Ask me anything you want. If
anything, maybe it'll help ease your mind."

"That helps. It really does," Bruce said. He
paused a moment before picking up the cereal box and reading the
label. "Got any cereal with marshmallows in it? I love that
stuff."

Meg almost questioned the idea of Bruce being
able to even eat the cereal he requested. But then she recalled
last night's intake of aspirin and tea. She would have to ask Bruce
or Tony more about that subject.

"I might have something of that kind. Let me
look."

It turned out Meg did not have anything with
marshmallows in the house. Grocery shopping was a chore on the list
for the day, though. So cereals of the sweet variety were added to
the shopping list. Also on the to-do list was to go clothes
shopping for Tony.

THE TRIP TO the shopping district of the town
was teeming with activity when they arrived. That was normal for
the weekend. Meg was experienced enough in this event that she
found a parking place without too much difficultly.

Now that they were out and about on the street,
Bruce was a little overwhelmed. Every new sight and sound attracted
his attention. It was probably his protective streak over Tony that
prevented him from running off to take a closer look at everything.
This resulted in the surreal sight of people walking through Bruce
as if he were a ghost.

Tony wasn't bothered by the sight as he was used
to seeing it. But it didn't escape Meg's notice.

"Hasn't Bruce ever been outside before?" Meg
asked Tony.

"Of course he has. But the town we're from was
never this busy. And we never went very far from the house. So this
is new for the both of us," Tony explained.

"Is it me, or is there like an overabundance of
sidewalk trash cans in this district?" Bruce asked aloud.

"Nervous?" Meg asked Tony.

Tony shrugged slightly. "A little," Tony
admitted.

Meg put an arm around Tony and gave him a short
side hug. "You'll be okay. Anyone messes with you and I'll be the
first to punch them in the gut," Meg said.

"I believe that," Tony chuckled. "But thanks.
It's nice to know there's someone out there that will punch people
on my behalf."

"Hey! I would punch people, too, if I could,"
Bruce said.

Neither Meg nor Tony doubted that, but they let
that go without comment. Clothes shopping didn't take too long.
Tony wasn't fussy over clothing styles and his size was fairly
abundant in this store. He picked out what he wanted quickly and,
within the hour, they had left the store.

Somewhere between one of the many clothes store
and a toy store was something that finally interested Tony.

The town library stood out between the other
buildings due to the fact that it was rather plain compared to
them. Where the stores had large windows with colorful displays,
the library was a simple, white painted building with nothing to
display. It had caught Tony's eye immediately.

"Hey, Meg," Tony said, "can I go hang out in the
library while you do the grocery shopping? I won't go anywhere
else."

"Well... I guess that can't hurt. But if there
are any problems, you use the front desk's phone and call my cell,
okay?"

"I will. I promise."

"Okay, then. We'll be back to pick you up in
about an hour."

With that Tony scampered off into the library,
leaving Bruce and Meg alone. Meg smiled at Bruce before adjusting
the strap on her purse.

"What say we get to the grocery store?"

"Sounds good to me."

THE GROCERY STORE trip took a bit longer than
the clothes shopping because Bruce had an opinion on everything on
the shopping list. Mainly on the healthier of the foods Meg picked
up.

"Okra? I thought people were making that word up
when it was mentioned."

Ignoring the commentary, Meg put the okra into
the shopping cart. "It's really good in soup," she said.

"It also looks like it's more for feeding a pet
rabbit than humans," Bruce said.

"And what do you feel is human food?"

A young couple glanced over in Meg's direction
with a frown. Meg reminded herself she was going to have to be more
careful when she was talking to Bruce in public.

She waited for the couple to move away before
continuing the conversation. They did so at a quick pace so she
didn't need to wait long.

"If you must ask, I say things like burgers,
fries, and the occasional pie sounds good," Bruce answered.

Meg hardly was able to keep from rolling her
eyes at the short and unhealthy list. She checked over a bag of
baby carrots as she replied to Bruce. "I've noticed your taste
leans to sugar and grease," Meg said.

"Top of the food pyramid," Bruce said.

"That's not true and you know it," Meg said.

"Okay. More like the top of my personal food
pyramid."

"Time to add some new layers to your pyramid,"
Meg said, as she picked the bag of carrots she wanted and moved on
to the celery.

Bruce made a face in reply to that, which Meg
ignored as well.

"Tell me. Do you have commentary with your
boyfriend's diet habits as well?"

"Don't have one," Meg replied.

Leaning against the pickles display stand, Bruce
looked Meg up and down curiously. A short silence followed
afterwards before he spoke in a surprised voice.

"You're kidding me? You don't have a boyfriend
or any significant other? I find that hard to believe," Bruce
said.