Metamorphosis

Chapter 24

I poured an obscene amount of sugar into my tea. Since I hadn't slept a wink the night before, I was counting on this caffeine slash sugar rush to get me through the next several hours. I wanted to be at the courthouse the moment it opened. The sooner I filed a restraining order against Reiner, the sooner I could move passed it. Just the thought of him skulking around my apartment complex filled me with dread. How could he follow me around? What did he think would happen when I opened up his supposed gift last night? That I would go running into his arms like he was Prince Charming?

On top of everything else, he was also demented—a disaster waiting to happen.

"I thought you didn't take sugar in your tea," Eren said as he joined me in the kitchen, startling me out of my thoughts. He placed his hand on the curve of my lower back and turned his head to kiss the side of mine. "You look tired."

"I couldn't sleep with everything that happened last night. Hence the reason for the sugar. I need something to keep me awake."

He stiffened behind me. Then, with some effort, he relaxed his stance and wrapped his arms around my waist. He propped his chin on the top of my head. "We're taking care of everything today. We can do something to get your mind off all this when we're done at the courthouse. Or we can come back here, so you can take a much needed nap."

"I'd prefer if we went to your apartment," I said, stirring my tea until the sugar dissipated in the liquid. I felt calmer when he was holding me, like he was gripping onto the loose threads that were threatening to unravel. He wasn't allowing me to fall apart, or wallow in this alone, and for that I was grateful.

"It's our apartment now. Remember?"

I smiled in spite of the whirlpool of emotions that were making me queasy. "Do you want to stop by the post office today to turn in that change of address form? We can do it before we go to the courthouse."

"The obvious answer to that question is 'yes.'"

"Okay. Let me just drink this, then we'll head out."

Just as I brought the mug to my lips, ready to down the tea to avoid tasting it, Eren turned me around and cupped my face. He looked into my eyes as he said, "You don't have to worry about anything, okay? I won't let Reiner anywhere near you. You know that, right?"

"Yes. I just want to put this whole thing behind me, and once we both file a restraining order against him, that's exactly what I'll do."

"Good. I'm going to call Mikasa real fast, to make sure she has security with her when she goes into work tonight. I don't know how Reiner is going to react when she fires him, so it's best that she's not alone when she does it."

"Yeah, go call her. I'll finish up my tea."

When he stepped out of the kitchen, I went to sit down at the dining table. I took one sip of tea and regretted my decision to add sugar. It tasted disgustingly sweet. I contemplated pouring it down the drain and fixing myself another cup, but then I felt the heaviness of my eyelids and forced down another mouthful. Once we were through at the courthouse, and the restraining order was on its way to Reiner, my mood would lighten. I'd go to Eren's apartment, rest up for a few hours, then spend the rest of the night with him. I wouldn't let Reiner ruin the entire day for me.

So, down the hatch this awful tea went, because I was on the verge of falling asleep right here at the dining table. It took a lot longer than I expected to drink it, but once it was gone, I felt like I was ready to face the day.

While I was washing the mug I'd used, doing my best to ignore the bitter taste the tea had left in my mouth, Eren came back into the kitchen. He tucked his cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans and said, "She's going to have Jean, Ymir, and Thomas with her when she calls Reiner into her office tonight. If it were up to me, I would be there too, but they don't trust me to keep it together."