A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 66• My Kids

"Well, hello to you too," Leah said as Louis entered her home, "I thought you would've called before coming here." Louis pulled off his coat as he looked at her. "Just wanted to check up on you. See if the house was still standing and all that." His cheeks were flushed pink, as well as his nose, due to the cold weather outside. "They aren't that bad, Louis," Leah tells him. She returned to the living room where the triplets sat with Megan playing a game while the TV played in the background. "They're playing a board game? How did you manage to get them this quiet?" Louis asked as he turned to her with furrowed eyebrows. In all the years he has seen the triplets grow up, they have not been quiet, especially when playing board games. It just did not happen. And yet, there they were. They sat on the carpet around the coffee table. "Hey! You're not supposed to go there!" Jack started whining. Jayden shrugged with a cocky grin spread across his lips. "What do you mean? I rolled a five."
"You did not roll a five. You rolled a four." Jack complained while waving his hands in the air at his brother. "You did roll a four, Jayden." Megan backed up the other triplet. "Why do you always take his side? He's not weak. He's taking advantage of your good nature, Meg. Jerry scoot over so Meg can sit on my side." Jerry glared at his brother. "Why should I be the one to scoot over, dickhead? You did roll a four, by the way." Jerry pointed out. "You are no fun. I genuinely do not understand why people like you." Jerry grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and started hitting his brother with it. "Hey! Mrs. Elms, Jerry is hitting me! You fucking dipshit!" Leah turned her head to look at Louis. "You were saying?" 

Louis followed the woman into the kitchen as she went to make a cup of tea for herself. "Do you want some?" Louis wasn't the tea type, but he didn't want to seem rude. As the water boiled, Leah turned to the man. "They figured it out, by the way. Who I am." She said. Louis held his tongue. He wasn't sure what to say. "And I may have... told them a little something about you and me," Leah added awkwardly. Now, that, Louis had an answer to. "You told them?" Leah simply shrugged at him with a playful smile. "I didn't tell them any details. Or that I refused... your offer." She said, "Just told them that we had some fun. For a few years." Which was nothing more than the truth. Louis felt a small tingle in his chest return when he looked at her. This was the first time he'd seen her smile in a while. A genuine smile from happiness. "I thought we agreed on keeping it a secret." He reminds her in a soft tone. Leah turned back to the kettle after she shrugged again. He steps closer to her as she pours the water into two mugs. He places both of his hands on her arms as he stands behind her. "Let me guess, now Jayden's hitting on you?" He asked. "Did that before that too but it only got worse after I told him, yes." Leah chuckled in response. "That's why you shouldn't have told him. Now he wants to know every little detail. He's quite competitive, by the way, so he might want to... how do I say this? Beat me at it?" Leah glanced over her shoulder and laughed. "Not gonna happen." That could be interpreted in two different ways. One, her husband. She wouldn't cheat on him. Or two, Louis was unbeatable. He likes to go for the second option. Leah hands the man his mug and turns around, leaning against the counter. "Jerry told us about Jade. Any sign of her, yet?" 

Louis shakes his head sadly. He felt so worried about her. Bill had her. He is almost certain of it. But where are they? "Ian has actually gone off to the police. Because Lucas Brown was involved in it, he thought it might be best to play this both ways. Maybe they can give us some information. It might be easier than trying to hunt the answers and locations ourselves." That sounded logical. "Do you think he has her?" Leah asked. Louis nodded his head yes, but couldn't get himself to say the words. Not in front of someone. "It's his daughter. He won't -"
"She's my kid too, you know." He blurts out without even realizing what he just said. Leah pressed her lips together. "You know what I mean," Louis said. He had been there from the start. He always took care of the kids when Bill or Parker couldn't. "You'll find her. From what I've heard, she's a tough one. And maybe he doesn't have her. She could be out there by herself." Leah suggested but Louis did not like those thoughts. "That's not making me feel better, Leah." He raised his mug to his lips and took a few sips. He flinched at the hot water burning his lips. "How do you drink this?" Leah shrugged and took a sip from her drink. "It's not that hot." 
"Not that hot? I'm going to burn my fucking mouth off with this. Fuck me." He cursed before licking his lips to ease the pain. "Thought we were done with that." Leah spat back at him. Louis laughed at her joke. "I mean it's not completely off the table -" The woman glared at him. "It is off the table." She spoke sternly to him. She spotted the same flirtatious smile on his face that Jayden had the other night. No wonder he knew how to make her a bit more comfortable. "Always such a tease. I have a family, remember? It is off the table." Louis raises his hands in the air in self-defense. "I'm just saying. That hasn't exactly stopped you before- Ouch! Hey, you just hit me!"
"You deserved it." Leah spat back at him. 

Meanwhile, Jade watched as her father approached her again with the blood bag in his hands. She squirmed a little in her seat on the couch. It was strange to be back home. So quiet. And she couldn't help the unnerving feeling shivering through her body as Bill approached her with the blood. "You have to sit still for this, alright? Just sit back, and relax. Remember?" But when Bill grabbed her arm to attach the tubes, she started squirming again. "Sweetheart, you have to stop squirming."
"I don't want to do this," Jade mumbles almost in a childish voice. It was like feeding something disgusting to a child. "I know how it feels, alright? But you have to." A small drop of blood started trailing from her nose and down to her lips. Bill reached out his hand and wiped away the blood as gently as possible. "I don't want to," Jade repeated her words. "You have to." Bill tried his best but she kept struggling against him. "Jade, this is only going to hurt. Stop moving. Hey, hey! Stop." Bill roughly gripped the girl's arms and held her in place. Tears were forming behind her eyes while she bit the inside of her cheek. "Sit still." He ordered and finally managed to push in the needle and attach the tubes so the blood could flow through her. It's an unusual feeling. It was like swallowing water but inside your veins. She feels weak. Her body is fighting the blood but it'll become stronger again once the treatment is over. Bill hung the bag from the stand they used for his bags when he was still being treated. He then sat down on the couch next to his daughter. "Is it always going to be a struggle with you?" Jade lowers her chin and looks down at her lap without saying a word to her father. "It feels wrong, little one, I know it does. I just want to keep you alive." How was she supposed to feel better? Stolen blood to 'cure' her but it won't actually cure her. "I hate this," Jade mumbled under her breath. She glanced down at the tube in her arm. "It's itchy. It hurts." She was about to reach over with her free hand but Bill stopped her. "Sit still."

Jade sighed and sat back down. She avoided eye contact with her father. She wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come out. As much as she tried to force them out. Nothing happened. Bill turned on the TV for some background noise. "Your mom was always a struggle too, you know. I know it hurts. Like I told her, squirming is only going to make it worse. I know what I'm doing." Jade nodded her head while she kept her eyes glued to the TV screen. Bill put his right hand on her head and pulled her a little closer to kiss the side of her head. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You grow more beautiful every day, you know that? Doesn't matter if you're sick or not." Bill compliments her. Jade smiles a little. That did make her feel better. Bill started massaging her scalp a bit. "Ten more minutes. Then you can take a nap, alright?" She nodded and shut her eyes for a few seconds as she sighed. "We found Casper, by the way. He's not too far away from here." Bill tells her quietly. Jade opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to her father. "He's okay?"
"He's in the hospital. But he seems fine. The little traitor is a tough one." Bill chuckled to himself. "Don't call him that." Bill smiled at his daughter. "Sorry, little one. Force of habit."