ESMERALDA 17
I wake up this morning to find Dag gone, and Freya knocking on the door with breakfast. Instead of my usual sitting in the room hiding technique, I have decided that I will try to be part of the Elementals’ lives. I think that if they have been able to overlook everything and have accepted me, while placing themselves in danger to protect me, then the least I can do is give them the benefit of a doubt and try to trust them.
I thank Freya, grab my tray, and tell her that from today on, I will be eating with everyone. The smile she gives me was worth my decision. It’s clear that she is happy that I have finally decided to be a part of this club. That’s how I landed up sitting here in the kitchen with the two women, talking about something that I never thought to be talking about.
“Come on, Esmeralda, you can’t mean you have never thought about it?” Anastasia asks.
Thought about having kids? Yes, sometimes it would pop into my mind, but not about me having kids. I would never have thought of bringing a child into this cruel world, which I have lived in.
“About me having children, no.” That is the truth. And even though I have now met Dag, and he seems like a really great man, I don’t think I would ever trust a child in this world.
“Are you saying that you wouldn’t like a little Dag running around?”
When I think of Dag, I can just imagine a little version of him running around and the thought has me smiling sadly. Even if I ever wanted a child with Dag, it isn’t possible. With everything I have been through, I doubt my body would carry a child to term. I have had enough internal damage through the years to kill any hope that I could possibly have in the future.
I shrug as I lower my head to grab my coffee, feeling uncomfortable with the subject.
“You’re making her uncomfortable,” Freya says as she jabs Anastasia on the side with her elbow. Before Anastasia can comment, two other women walk in. I have heard the conversations while I have been in the room. I know that these women don’t really like Freya or Anastasia because they have become Ol’ Ladies when they apparently have known the men for longer.
I also know that one of them called Tracy was quite upset when she found out that Dag had got himself an Ol’ Lady. She seems to be highly irritated, saying that she would make my life hell. If she only knew the hell I have lived. She will have to get quite creative for anything she does to affect me in any way.
“Monica, Tracy, I don’t think you have met Dag’s Ol’ Lady yet,” Freya calls in a friendly manner, but I can tell by the tense posture of the two women that they would rather be somewhere else. “This is Esmeralda.”
I nod, but I see that only one of them smiles at me. The other one is glaring, which leads me to believe that she must be Tracy. I personally would rather not have enemies here, as I have been looking over my back for way too long to have to do the same here too, but after knowing what I do of Dag, I will be damned if I let some other women take him away.
Standing, I take my mug and the plate to the sink dropping the fork just as I slide everything into the sink. Bending down, I pick up the fork, only to have my chain slip out from under my T-shirt. “Oh! He gave you, his stone?”
My eyes snap up at Freya’s excited statement as my empty hand rises to grab the stone in question.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she says, looking at Anastasia that nods also with a wide smile on her face.
“Yes, he gave it to me last night,” I reply as I turn and start rinsing off my dishes.
“Well now that you are fully an Elemental, you will get a chance to meet the other Ol’ Ladies from the other chapters,” Anastasia says as she slides up next to me, her mug and plate in her hand waiting for me to finish. But I hold out my hand for it, which she happily passes onto me. When I finish rinsing the dishes, I turn to see Monica and Tracy by the fridge. Tracy is passing the milk to Monica as she leans down to grab the yoghurt.
“Wait until she meets Nova,” Freya says with a grin. “I have never met anyone like her.”
“That’s for sure. Do you know that she burned all my panties that I had drying outside once?” Monica states, making head snap around to look at her.
“She burned them?” I ask in surprise, which has all the women grinning as they nod.
“She was upset with Ceric. Trust me, that got his attention,” Anastasia says.
“Yeah, but did you see the smile on her face when he threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the room. She was kicking and complaining. but I saw a smile on her face,” Freya adds, as she shakes her head in amusement.
“I don’t think their club is ever bored with her in it,” Monica quips.
“To be fair, I heard that Ceric was a real tomcat before he met Nova,” Anastasia says.
“That’s true,” another woman says from the doorway as she walks towards us. “Monica and Tracy won’t know because it was before their time, but Ceric was a real ladies’ man.” She looks at me, her eyes running over my body and face as if weighing me. “Hi, I’m Camilla,” she greets, not exactly friendly but not aggressive like Tracy.
I incline my head in greeting, but I realize that I will never be friends with these three women as they have set themselves apart from us. I’ve never had friends, but I want real friends, those that will stand by you no matter what, and the ones that you know you can talk to and be there for with no regrets. I may never have had real friends, but I know that Anastasia and Freya are those friends to me.
“Camilla has been here the longest. She’s the one that knows the most about all the club members,” Anastasia says.
“Yeah, intimately,” Tracy snickers, which has Camilla looking at her with a raised brow.
“Jealous?” she asks sarcastically