Shelter • wolfstar au

13 ; grief and guilt

Chapter Thirteen: Grief and Guilt

Remus hardly ever went to bed without reading a book, but he was so exhausted that day that he simply flopped onto the bed and allowed sleep to overcome him. It was a few minutes later when he turned around, that he noticed Santa Paws' bed was empty. Thinking he probably would come to sleep later on, he relaxed and waited, but after ten minutes, when he still did not return, he got off his bed with a sigh and left the room.

The house was quiet, for it was late at night, and the floorboards creaked ominously under his tired feet. He made his way towards the opposite end of the house, where Lyall's bedroom was, and sure enough, he heard his voice from inside. He pushed the door open, and a very odd sight met his eyes.

Lyall half lay on the bed, his back rested against a pillow, and in his hand was a book from which he read to Santa Paws, who was lying beside him. None of them noticed Remus, and he stood in the doorway for a minute in shocked silence, before deciding to break it with a fake cough.

Lyall paused and looked up at him with an annoyed look. Pushing his glasses to rest them over his head, he said, "Can't you see I'm reading to my child, Remus? Don't disturb."

"Your child?" Remus inquired with arched eyebrows and entered the room to sit down at the end of the bed. Santa Paws raised his head and glanced at him briefly, before turning back to rest it on Lyall's arm. "I was the one who adopted him."

"And yet you do not take care of him like you should," he stated. "Do you take him on daily walks?"

"I do," he replied with a huff, sounding offended.

"Do you buy him new toys?"

"Of course not! He has plenty of toys."

"Do you read to him?"

"Why would I do that? He's a dog."

Lyall gave him a look as though it proved his point and went back to reading the book. Remus tilted his head to look at Santa Paws, who actually seemed to be enjoying listening to the story, but Remus certainly did not enjoy the way he ignored him.

Therefore, with an annoyed groan, he got up and scooped Santa Paws up in his arms, while he yelped in surprise. "Hey, give me back my child!" Lyall protested, but Remus ignored him and left the room, the large dog squirming under his hold.

Halfway up the stairs, Remus lost to Santa Paws, who leapt out of his arms and raced downstairs, leaving him feeling quite disgruntled and slightly betrayed. "Fine," he scoffed and stomped back to his bedroom. "Have it your way then."

He dropped himself on his bed exasperatedly and crossed his arms, muttering curses under his breath. Before long, his tiredness overcame him, his eyes closing of their own accord, and he turned to rest on his side, attempting to find a comfortable position to get himself to sleep. After some time, he felt something soft moving near his feet, and a second later, Santa Paws slid under his arm and lay down beside him.