-Riley-
The weekend flew past way too quickly. I didn't want to go to my classes and leave Sirius alone. He was still weak after being without food on Friday, and it concerned me. I'd thought he was better now. Stronger. But one single day had ruined a lot more than our visit to the penthouse.
I couldn't focus on lectures at all. I'd fed Sirius in the morning, so he should be fine until I returned to him, but still... I was worried. Hell, I was ready to drop college just to be with him and make sure he had enough to eat...
When the last lecture finally ended, I tried to hurry to my car, only to get stopped by my friends.
"Riley! Hey! Riley! Wait up!"
I let out a sigh and faked a smile when I turned back around and saw them following me.
"What's up?" I asked, and once they caught up with me, I continued walking toward the exit at a slower pace.
"We're going to grab a bite. You should come. We haven't seen you around lately."
"Oh, you know, I have my new job, so..."
"Every day? Man, don't think we haven't noticed. Otto said you only come home to sleep."
"I really need the money," I tried to explain, but only got disbelieving looks. "I told you already. It's been hard to find more people to help."
I'd told them I was working for an old man who couldn't get around the house by himself anymore. So far, they'd believed my story. It really wasn't a lie.
"Dude – it's not your problem if he can't find more people to help him."
Now I was getting slightly annoyed.
"He is a very sweet man. I am not turning my back on him. He can't even get out of bed by himself! And you're telling me to just leave him there?"
Now the suspicious looks turned into ashamed ones.
"Sorry, we didn't realize..."
"I told you. I will help him as often as I can until he gets his things sorted out, and in the meantime, no, I won't be able to hang out with you guys as much," I said, and left the group behind so I could hurry to my car.
I was still annoyed when I arrived at the clinic. I grabbed a grocery bag from my trunk and headed in.
"Hi, uh..." Mike said first thing after opening the door for me. "Sirius is having company."
"What?" I gasped with wide eyes. "Why?!"
I did not like that. And I wasn't sure if I liked the fact how strongly against him having visitors I was.
"It's a council member. One we can trust," Mike said as he let me in. "They're here to help Sirius."
"Are you sure we can trust him?" I frowned.
"I am going to say yes, considering her past with Sirius' enemy, but we always need to be careful," Mike said.
"Why wasn't I told about this?" I asked as we marched through the hallways to Sirius' room.
Mike let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Because I knew you'd get ballistic."
"I'm not ballistic," I muttered, but then fell silent when I pushed Sirius' door open.
There was a woman I couldn't recognize sitting next to his bed. I would've described her as pretty with her long, wavy hair, heart-shaped face, big blue eyes, big lips, slim figure, and feminine curves, but I didn't know if I could trust her, so I refrained from using nice terms.
"Hi, I'm Riley," I told her, glancing at Sirius. He seemed relaxed and in a good mood, so I let my guard down just a notch. "I didn't know we had visitors."
"I'm Councilor Bianca," the woman introduced herself, and we shook hands when I reached the bed. Her hand was cold, so I assumed she was a vampire as well. "But you can call me just Bianca."
"Nice to meet you."
"Sirius has told me a lot about you. I'm grateful he's had you to help him," Bianca spoke with a pleasant voice, but I still didn't trust her.
"I'm happy to help," I simply said. "So... What's going on?"
"I am here to offer my help with a lot of things," Bianca said, turning to look at Sirius. "But we can continue our conversation another time."
"I'd rather get everything sorted right away," Sirius said, and when Bianca glanced at me shortly, he continued, "I'm going to tell Riley everything anyway, so we might as well continue even though he's here."
"I see," Bianca said, giving me another glance, but more intense this time. "I must admit, I have my concerns."
"I have no reason to doubt his sincerity," Sirius said, gesturing for me to take a seat next to his bed. "If it eases your mind, Riley has let me read his mind. He had no idea our kind even existed until he found me dying in the forest. After that, he has been taking care of me, no matter how hard I tried to protest against it."
He spoke the last part to me with a happy smirk on his face.
"I know I'm not turning my back on you," I said with a smile.
"Fair enough. It is not my place to interfere with your personal matters," Bianca said. "Let us continue, then."
I listened carefully while they spoke. They had already talked about Sirius' new living arrangements, and Bianca had promised to assist him with the purchase so he could get the papers signed without having to trust the post office.
Bianca was also determined to give Sirius bodyguards, disguised as the security personnel of the building he would soon move in to. Sirius was not pleased with that, but eventually let her have her way.
They also talked about how Sirius could lead a relatively normal life, even in hiding. Since I'd already volunteered to help with most of the errands, she had only a few things to suggest, like having a personal courier and a driver. Sirius promised to consider it, though I already knew he didn't want that. Too many people to be worried about.
Bianca mentioned his mansion was currently protected by the council, and that he didn't have to worry about anyone breaking in, stealing anything from him, or having it claimed by someone else.
And that brought the conversation to the biggest issue at hand.
"Our detectives have not made any progress with your case, I'm afraid," Bianca said. "They didn't leave any evidence behind, and this location you were taken to hasn't been found."
Sirius looked away from her with a sigh. "I'm sorry. There isn't anything else I can tell you."
She nodded. "Well, I must get going now. I will–"
"Wait? That's it?" I asked with a frown. "You know who did this to him, right? So why not just go and–"
"We have laws, too," Bianca said. "If we take justice into our own hands, the fragile balance we have created in this city will be lost."
"Besides, even I can't be absolutely sure it was... him," Sirius told me quietly. "We have to do it the right way, or the community here will lose their respect toward the council. And me."
I wrinkled my nose. "It's been weeks. There's not been any progress. It is starting to sound like there won't be any progress, meaning you'll have to keep hiding or be killed."
"I can assure you we are doing everything we can to bring them to justice. Once we know for sure who did this," Bianca said.
I watched her for a moment, then smiled. "Of course. I just hope this gets resolved quickly and that Sirius can have his life back."
"That is exactly what we are trying to accomplish," Bianca said and stood up.
As she exchanged goodbyes with Sirius, I stayed silent, thinking about this enemy. Sirius still refused to talk about him. Maybe one day he'd let me know who it was. And then...
How far are you willing to go to protect him?
We'd see about that.
*****
Even though I didn't know if I trusted Bianca, she did make things a lot easier for us. She was able to provide Sirius whatever he needed, so I didn't have to run around the town so much anymore.
And, with her help, Sirius was able to sign the papers!
"It's mine now," he breathed out after Bianca had left on Wednesday, after she'd dropped by to bring him the contract.
"It's yours!" I said, trying to contain my excitement at least a little when I threw my arms around him and gave him a big squeeze.
Sirius could only stare at the papers in his hands.
"You get to move out," I said.
He still just stared at the papers.
"Come on! We knew you'd get it," I said and chuckled, and he finally looked at me.
And smiled.
"I know but... Now it's actually mine," he spoke in disbelief.
I hugged him again. "So? When are we moving?"
"Tomorrow?"
"There's no furniture yet," I noted.
"All I need is a bed," he said with a smirk.
I laughed, hugged him, and looked at the papers. Then I froze when I understood what I was looking at.
"Sirius."
"Yes?"
"Why is my name on that paper?"
"Oh... Uh..." he blushed and looked away. "We uh... Figured it's easier if you're marked as a resident... I mean... The security and all..."
"Oh. My. God. What?"
"Just a technicality. You don't actually have to live there. Though... There is room if you're interested..."
"Are you serious?" I breathed out, yanking the papers from him.
"Yes, that is my name," he said with a careful smirk.
I smacked him with the papers. Then I took a closer look at them. There it was, Riley Mackenzie. At least I wasn't marked as the owner or anything, just as a person living there.
"You should've asked me first," I muttered.
He laughed at my words. "You would've said no. Besides, we just wanted to make things easier for you. No one will start wondering why you keep visiting the place so often. And with the security and everything, it's just easier if they think you live there, too."
"But this may complicate things for me in the human world, you know?"
"Bianca can make those problems disappear, don't worry," he said reassuringly. "And I can always pay your problems away," he added with a shrug.
I gave him a stern glare.
"And my word is final," he said, looking just as sternly at me.
I rolled my eyes and turned to look at the papers again. "You crazy vampire..."
"You stubborn human."
I had to laugh at his words, and he hugged me.
"I get to move!" he chirped in my ear.
"Yes, you can," I said, but then the door opened, and a gloomy werewolf stepped in, crossing his arms.
"Not so fast," Mike said.
"What?"
His look was so grim we both got concerned. He took his time to walk to the end of the bed without saying a word. Then he took a breath.
"You're just going to leave me?" he asked in a whiny voice.
We laughed.
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here forever," Sirius said.
"But... But...? It's been a lot of fun hanging out!"
"You'll have to come visit us," Sirius said with a smile. "I'm going to need medical attention for a while, anyway."
"It's not the same..." Mike muttered and sat down next to the bed. "I'll be so busy here at the clinic, too..."
"You could hire more people, so you get more time off," Sirius suggested.
"I suppose... But... I always fear everything will fall apart if I'm not here," Mike said and sighed.
"My friend, you basically live here," Sirius noted, and I realized he was right – Mike was always here. "I've told you before, you need to learn to give your staff room to prove themselves."
"I suppose..."
"He is right," I budded in. "You'll burn yourself soon if you don't live a little."
"This was not supposed to be a lecture," Mike said with a laugh. "But hey! Congratulations! I can't wait to see your new home."
"Thank you," Sirius said, and got excited.
I watched with a smile on my face while Sirius talked about his new home, and all the things he'd bought, and all the things he wanted to change. It was a long, exhaustive list, but I enjoyed watching his happy excitement. And it was great to see how strong he was now. I had never heard him talk so much without getting winded.
Mike stayed with us for half an hour before he had to go check up on his other patients. He was so reluctant to leave I had the feeling he was now more interested in hiring more staff. He sure needed to if he wanted to come check up on Sirius once had moved into his new home. I hadn't forgotten that he was more to Sirius than just his doctor. He was a good friend.
"I am going to miss hanging out with him," Sirius told me quietly.
"I'm sure he'll come visit you often," I said.
"I hope so," Sirius said, glancing at the door, then at me. "So. I need a bed. Then I'm good to go."
I laughed at his words. "Well now we can let the deliverers know they can start bringing in the furniture."
"Indeed," he said with a big smile, but then it faded a little. "I wish I could get some of my belongings from the mansion. I just don't think it's wise, even though the place is secured."
"If someone is watching it, they will notice people moving your stuff away," I agreed quietly.
"And they'll just follow the trucks," he said and sighed. "Oh well... Maybe one day."
"Yes. You will get your own life back," I promised. "One way or another."
He turned to take a good look at me. "That sounds... almost ominous."
"I'm sure Bianca will bring them to justice," I said. "They must've left some evidence behind."
He only nodded slowly. "Anyway..."
I flashed a smile at him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "Are you contacting the delivery companies tomorrow? I'm free the entire week after school, so I can go open the doors for them."
His smile returned brighter than ever. "I could try to schedule them all on the same day to save your time."
"And maybe everything will be ready before the weekend," I said with a nod.
"Oh, yes please," he said with a groan. "I'd love to get out of here by the weekend. I'm going crazy looking at these walls."
"Then I'll make that happen," I promised.
"I know you will," he said with a smile on his face. "You stubborn human."
"That's me," I said with a smirk.