House of the Unwanted: A House of Frost Novel

Chapter 10

By Dabeagle

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“She hates me,” I said, but Keats just laughed.

The Davidson home was chaos. I think Keats had mentioned siblings at some point, but it was in passing, and I hadn't thought much about it. He was the oldest of four, and they were everywhere at once. I'd gone home to clean up really well and dress nicely. Keats had picked me up, and he looked so good that by the time we got to his house we both had to tuck our shirts and stuff back into place, but I don't think we were fooling anyone.

I got the idea that his mom was not impressed with someone seeing her son for so short a time and getting him disheveled. I mean...we didn't fuck. I think she got more concerned when my history came up and the fire; I almost wonder if she thought I'd set the fire. Andrew made things awkward with his praise for my learning at the shop; I don't think his mom knew what to think.

His siblings were loud, and Andrew seemed to ratchet them up to eleven. His wife kept telling him to stop, but she finally told all of them to go to the basement to be noisy. His mom shooed them down and followed them down the stairs, maybe to say something to Andrew.

“She doesn't hate you; she doesn't even know you. She's probably more irritated at the little ones than she is with you.”

Uncertainly I replied, “I had no idea you had so many kids in your family.”

He nodded. “They had my sister five years after me, but the twins weren't planned.”

I shook my head and smiled. “None of those surprises for us!”

“You sure I can't magically make you pregnant?” he asked, grinning and narrowing his eyes.

“Really, Keaton,” his mom said, reentering the room. “I can't hear myself think sometimes.” She paused and gave me a weak smile. “I'm sorry. My husband insisted you be dragged home tonight, which is strange because he usually doesn't like Keaton's boyfriends.”

I looked at Keats and he nodded. “But to be fair, I've dated some scrubs.” He looked at me. “I can admit, with him out of the room, I stayed with some of them just to spite him.”

I stared. “I had no idea you were that dumb.”

“Shut up,” he said, grinning and bumping his shoulder into mine.

“Keaton, please set the table.” She turned her gaze to me. “So. It's been a real time for you, huh? I can't imagine a house fire. So many memories in this house.” There was a shriek from downstairs. “So many I wouldn't mind forgetting.”

I chuckled, and then let the sound die. “Yeah, it hasn't been easy. Not at first.”

“After the house fire, Lewis hit him with his truck,” Keats supplied. I took the napkins from him and followed him around the table, placing one beside each plate.

“Oh Lord, that was you? I heard about that. You seem okay though?”

“Yes. It was a dislocation, but I'm healing really well,” I assured her.

She crossed her arms. “So...this. Between you. Seems kind of...fast.”

I wasn't sure what to say, but before I could, Keats jumped in. “Not as much as you might think. He's been spending almost every day at the shop. He's been helping me, so we spend a lot of time together. Dad's taught him some stuff.” He put the last plate down and faced his mother. “He listens to me.”

A smile flickered on her face. “Well. That's an upgrade from the last one, for sure.”

He went to the kitchen, talking as he did. “When did you know you loved Dad?”

She covered one cheek with her hand. “Oh. I don't know if there was a light bulb moment. We were dating and he was nice, and then I had this slow realization that I loved him. It was kind of like 'we've been dating for seven months, and I guess I like having you around.' ” She chuckled and looked at me. “I don't understand the whole 'love at first sight' thing. Or maybe I should say I can't relate to it.”

“Believe me, Mom, I tried to resist him,” Keats said with a laugh.

“Oh yeah? He's got, what, is it rizz? That's the word?”

Keats shot me a playful look. “He's way too slick.” He placed the last of the glasses on the table. “But he's also...he just fits with me. It's kind of remarkable.”

I looked at his mom, partially because his expression was ratcheting up my internal temperature. “Your son is a lot to resist. I was a goner the moment I met him.”

She let out a tired laugh. “He's a catch, that's for sure.” She tilted her head to one side. “You're too skinny. You both are.”

Keats came in with forks and knives, so I took some from him. As we placed the silverware, he said to his mom, “He'll be around a lot. You can feed him.”

Her expression grew thoughtful. “You are different. My son and my husband both like you – obviously for different reasons. Still, that's a minor miracle right there.”

Heavy footsteps coming up the stairs preceded Andrew joining us. “Smells great. We ready to sit down?”

“Yes, I think so. I'll get some trivets if you want to start bringing the food out.” She glanced toward us. “Keaton, would you get the other kids, please?”

“Sure, Mom.”

I followed Andrew and helped him bring the food to the table, which was quickly filled up with the other kids. As the younger kids settled in they got quieter. Keats's sister, stocky and clearly taking after her father, gave me a quizzical look.

“Are you Keats's?” she asked.

“Yes, he is. So no trying to steal him like the last one,” Keats teased.

“As if,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “We both know he was more interested in Dad than you, anyway.”

“Hey!” Andrew said, sounding offended. “While we all know any man would be happy to have a shot with me-”

Laughter burst throughout the room. Soon that was replaced with the sounds of eating: plates being scraped, things being pushed onto forks and lively chatter around the table. Keats's mom warmed up as the meal went on, and I think I got my first genuine smile from her when I complimented her food and proved it was true when I asked for seconds.

As the meal wound down and the twins became fidgety, Andrew glanced around the table and said, “Hey, so mom and I need to talk to Trinity about school stuff. How about you take the twins downstairs and, I don't know, show them a magic trick or something?”

One twin's gaze snapped to me. “You can do magic tricks?”

“Best tricks,” Keats assured him.

“Clear your plates,” Andrew said, and we all stood to carry our dishes to the sink, while Trinity looked a bit dejected. I followed Keats downstairs, and he told the twins to get a glass of water each. I spent a little bit of time making water jump from one glass to the next while the boys very excitedly tried to figure out the 'trick'. It came to an end when one of them knocked a glass over, spilling the water onto the carpet.

His mouth was an 'o' of horrified surprise, and his twin made an 'ohhh' noise.

“Why don't you guys go get changed for bed, and I'll clean this up, okay? Don't tell mom,” Keats told them.

They nodded and took off, talking to each other excitedly, no doubt due to trying to evade the wrath of their mother.

The door closed, and I directed the water from the carpet up into the air and spelled out 'I want to suck your cock'. I grinned at Keats, who looked behind him to the top of the stairs then back to me. “The door's closed, but there's no telling how long we'll be alone.”

It was risky and exciting and felt entirely out of character, but it had been hours. I worked his buckle and undid his pants. In a voice dripping with lust, he asked if I was in a hurry.

“Yeah. Your cock's in there,” I told him. I knelt and tried to recreate what he'd done to me that afternoon. His hips rocked in time with my bobbing, and then he put a hand behind my head and nudged me forward, holding me in place – and then the back of my mouth was full of his expanding head, pumping so hard I never tasted a bit of it.

“Fuck, too fast, too good,” he panted. “I swear I can last longer. I'm sorry.”

I looked up. “I can do it again.”

He bent down and pulled his pants and underwear up, then reached out for my hand. Pulling me to my feet, he dragged me to a laundry table next to the washer and dryer, lifting me up on it.

“You like doing that to me,” I remarked, then lowered my voice. “Are we going to fuck? They're right upstairs!” I honestly didn't care if anyone was in the room, let alone might hear us from upstairs.

“You made me blow in less than thirty seconds; I'm getting even,” he said and undid my fly and pulled my pants down, my underwear crookedly hanging on. Folding it down past my erection, he engulfed me, and I bit down on my lip to stifle a groan. “Like that, huh?” he teased, resuming his effort and sucking me so hard. I took a page from his book and grabbed the sides of his head, pulling him down and thrusting up. He reached down and worked his hands under my ass, gripping and pulling me tightly into his face, sucking down more – and then I was unraveling figuratively and literally.

Steps were rapidly crossing the floor above us, and Keats scrambled to pull me down from my perch. I yanked my pants up, buttoning them as the door opened and Trinity stomped down the stairs.

“Grounded?” Keats asked, moving toward the couch and getting between me and Trinity while I finished pushing my shirt back in my pants.

“It's not fair,” she said petulantly. “I got stuck with Lyssa for a project, and she totally flaked. We both failed the project, and it was like half our grade.”

“Ouch. Did you talk to the teacher? Usually they'll do something, especially if you had a partner that wasn't reliable,” Keats said.

She shook her head. “He said I should have said something sooner, but she gaslighted me the whole way – then she tried to take credit for my work.” She sighed. “Mom and Dad have to go to the school Monday and meet with him. I'm hoping he'll give me a chance to make it up. Mom said she'd try to see if the teacher would be open to it.”

“That's good. Mom's usually good with the teachers. Not so much dad.”

The twins came back downstairs, and we got arranged to watch a movie. I was folded into Keats and felt a deep sense of contentment. His scent was comfortable and comforting all in one. He had his arm around my shoulders, and occasionally he leaned over to kiss my hair and take a slow inhale, so I thought he was feeling much the same way I was. As I thought on that, I realized we were probably feeding each other feelings of contentment. To test my theory, I focused on how contented I felt, trying to project that feeling. I was rewarded with Keats resting his cheek on top of my head and pulling me just a hair closer.

“I love you,” he whispered. I turned my head and nuzzled into his chest. It had been a long day – the fire, Nick and Ty, the sex, the explaining, meeting his mom, more sex...I was wiped. Before I could register it, I was asleep.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

I woke to a dark room, but my confusion was washed away by the feel of Keats under me. Although my bladder had woken me, I was very comfortable otherwise cuddled into him, my face burrowed into his chest.

Slowly he moved his fingers through my hair, and I made a happy hum.

“You awake, Baby?” he asked.

“Kind of,” I replied.

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Me too.”

It was still another minute before he started to move under me, but I had to go bad enough by then that I wasn't going to fight it.

“What time is it?”

“Uh.” His phone screen lit up. “Nine o'clock.”

“That's it? Oh. I thought it was later.”

“It's just dark down here,” he said. I kept a hand on him as he led me through the dark space and up the stairs. I was confused when he opened the door into the house and there was light – daylight – all around. I blinked against the glare, looking around and hearing the sounds of spoons in bowls.

“I thought you said it was nine?” I said, following Keats through the house.

“Yeah.”

My brain finally slipped into gear. “Nine in the morning?”

“Yeah,” he said and yawned. We took turns using the bathroom, and then I trailed him back to the kitchen. His mom was at the table with the twins, who were eating cereal.

“Morning, guys. There's coffee if you drink it, Tilman.”

“Oh, thank you. Uh, sorry for falling asleep on you. I guess I was more tired out than I realized.”

She smiled. “I went down to send the boys to bed, and you guys were out. I guess love is exhausting, huh?”

I shook my head. “It's his bad jokes. They never end.”

“Please! You're as cheesy as Nick – that's hard to put up with.”

“But you're so beautiful,” I cooed and laughed when he poked my ribs.

“Come on, let's get coffee,” he said.

“Andrew called your grandparents, by the way. Didn't want them to worry after you guys passed out.”

“Oh, thank you.” I hadn't even thought about them, and I felt a little bad about that. We got coffee and made toast with peanut butter spread on them and sat down at the table.

“Can we see more magic?” one of the twins asked.

“Magic doesn't work in front of adults. They can figure it out,” I said conspiratorially.

They started to chatter, and Andrew appeared and poured himself coffee before joining us. He and his wife discussed going to grocery shop.

“Do you want me to watch the rugrats or is that part of Trinity's punishment?” Keats asked.

“Oh, she's not grounded, just pissed about the situation – and she's right to be,” his mom said. “I talked to Lyssa's mom, and she said Lyssa told her she just 'forgot' about the project. She said more; I guess the girl's been a real handful lately.”

“You track down that leak yesterday?” Andrew asked Keats.

“Yeah; bad water pump. I ordered one, but it'll be a few days.” He took a sip from his cup. “I'm just going to nurse it along until it gets here.”

Andrew grunted and nodded, sipping from his cup as well. “I've got that Pontiac to finish up so we can get paid. How close would you say that truck bed is for Leonard?”

Keats blew out a breath. “I'd say a day or two. I think it's about smooth enough for paint, but I'd feel better if you looked at it first.”

“Leonard can do that. He's going to spray it anyway; maybe he can give you a lesson.”

“That'd be good.”

“Once we get the cab off, let's both go over the frame to make it faster. If he takes care of the wiring, I can show you how to fabricate and weld the cab corners maybe by the end of the week. You think you and Til can get the cab down to clean metal by Thursday?”

Keats glanced at me and then back to his dad. “Yeah. If the bed is good, it can get painted late Monday and left to bake overnight. Tuesday we can pull the cab first thing. If you're not ready to go over the frame, I'll get Leonard to help me put the cab on the rotisserie; I can probably start getting the doors down to good metal until you're ready.”

“Okay, we got some kind of plan, then.”

“What are you going to do today?” his mom asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me. “We could cruise in town. Give you a tour?”

I nodded. “I heard there is a river nearby? I like water.”

“Yeah. We can head over.” He downed the rest of his coffee. “Let me get a quick shower, and I'll run you home to get changed and stuff.”

Keats got up and deposited his cup in the sink before leaving to shower.

His mom put her cup down. “You really enjoy the car work, huh?”

I thought for a moment. “I think I like discovering it, honestly. I didn't used to think about cars much, but then my grandpa started talking to me about his truck and the work it needed, and Keats started explaining how engines work – but really, it was his wagon.”

“I'm gonna hurl,” Andrew said, sticking his tongue out.

I laughed at him. “Really. Keats showed me the car through his eyes, and I noticed things I'd never really paid attention to. The style of his dashboard, the way the speedometer looks and operates. The fins that run along the whole side of the car. They way the tailgate opens up like a spaceship or something.”

“The way the seat folds down flat?” she asked dryly.

I stared at her.

“Look, I was eighteen once.” She paused. “Are you eighteen?”

I swallowed. “In February.”

“Oh. Well, that starts next week. I guess you'll have to plan something special.” She smiled. “My point is, I remember what it was like. I won't fault you for it, it's just nature. But I know one reason he liked that car was because those seats folded down.”

“It's true. She wouldn't let him have a van,” Andrew deadpanned.

“You tried to convince him a bench rear seat was the best thing for sex,” she said with a snort and a smile.

“Hey, kids have been making it in back seats for a hundred years!” he said with a big grin, and I laughed at him.

“Do me a favor,” his mom said. “Please...listen to him.”

“I do. I will.”

“Okay. Enough awkward parent talk. I'm going to wake Trinity up so we can go do the shopping,” she said.

“Oh. Maybe you should just stand in the doorway and poke her with a stick,” Andrew said with a laugh.

“I'll just throw something at her, as long as she can't reach me,” she said with a smile and was gone.

Andrew sipped his coffee. “Cruising, huh?”

I shrugged and grinned. “It's what Keats says.”

After a visit home to shower and change, we sat with my grandparents for a few minutes, just talking. Most of the conversation was about Leonard's truck and the plan for that week, as already planned out by Keats and Andrew. We ended up having lunch with them, then we headed out to find the river.

“I'm assuming you want the river so you can practice?” Keats asked as he drove.

“Yeah. I mean, I do need to practice – especially since Nick says I'm stronger, now. If I practice more, it's like a muscle, I guess. Just get better at it.”

“You seem like you can do a lot now? I mean, I have nothing to compare it to,” he said, sounding uncertain.

“I can, yeah. But my range is about ten feet away. I'm good at small amounts – like I used to just examine fluid near me when I was at the Homestead and at my old school, once I was allowed into public school. You learn to identify things – which is practice.”

“Identify what?”

“Well, like spinal fluid.”

He looked back and forth between me and the road. “Are you serious? You can do stuff with that?”

“Sure. Anything with water in it. But I can also affect things indirectly – like right now, your car's not leaking from the water pump because I know where that is, and I can block it while we're driving. I can break the membranes in the nose to cause a nosebleed by manipulating the water in blood. The human body is full of water.”

“Wow. Guess I better never piss you off,” he said with a chuckle.

“Just hope no one ever threatens you,” I replied.

“Yeah,” he said uncertainly. “Have you done any of that? I mean since you got here? Spinal fluid sounds like something you have to be careful with.”

I shook my head. “Just made Moody piss his pants. Normally, I don't mess with the body unless I need to. For me it was more about learning where it was, understanding the difference between the different fluids. Blood, spinal fluid, spit – whatever.”

He nodded. “That's how you cleaned up our cum.”

“Yep.” I thought for a second and then focused on Keats, moving the sperm around in his balls.

“Whoa. Uh, you tickling my nuts there, Til?”

I giggled. “Yep.”

“Don't do that,” he said with a grin. “It feels weird.”

“Okay.”

He pulled up to a stop sign, checked traffic, and then went through the intersection. “So. You said...yesterday was your first time? Like, for real?”

“Yeah. I mean, I've hooked up a little. Hand jobs. Never did what we did.”

He hummed. “Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous anyone ever had their hands on you.”

“How do you think I feel? I know you didn't get that good by jerking off!”

'Til, I've been awful! I can't hold off coming way too fast!”

“Well. It's probably the bonding. You'll get plenty of chances to last longer.”

He gave me a meaningful look and then turned on his blinker. “Here's the river. They have a boat launch, so we can drive right down.” He brought the car to a stop and put it in park. He turned a bit in his seat to face me. “I do want to last longer for you. To make you feel good.”

I smiled. “It does feel good, and I'm really looking forward to it being even better.”

He reached out and put his hand on top of mine. “I'm worried about this Michael stuff. And what are you talking about when you say a show of force with Moody?”

I nodded slowly. “Michael worries me, too. I feel a lot safer with Nick around, though – and that kind of surprises me.”

“Why? He seemed chill.”

“That's kind of the thing.” I looked down at our hands as I spoke. “In the Homestead, we had a few caretakers. Some were okay, but a few would say mean things – things that scared us. Made some of us angry, caused kids to lash out.” I closed my eyes and interlaced my fingers with his. “They told us if we were too weak, a house would enslave us or harvest us. If we were strong enough, a house would force us to fight for them.”

“That's...fucked up. Will they try to find you?”

I opened my eyes and shook my head. “I honestly don't know. Nick said he wouldn't tell them about me, and...I trust him. Which I never thought I could say about a mage, let alone a head of house.”

“A head of house? What, that kid is a big deal?”

I nodded. “He leads his house. He's got a mantle, which is a powerful spell that is almost sentient. It gathers power as it gets transferred from one head of house to another. He told me his grandmother raised him, so I guess his parents must be gone.”

“Wouldn't she be the head of house then?”

I shook my head. “I would think so, but I have no idea what the circumstances are. I just know...he was kind when he didn't have to be, he was helpful even though I'm nothing to him, and he was strong enough that he could have hurt me – even killed me – and he didn't.” I looked up at Keats. “I was in an orphanage, basically, because whoever birthed me didn't want me. I was either a bastard or an orphan.” I sniffled and rubbed under my nose. “We called our Homestead the House of the Unwanted.”

“That's...so fucked.”

Couldn't argue that. “Anyway. Nick gave us a basic plan, have to see what happens. As far as the Moodys...I was thinking an icicle up the ass? Maybe get the point across? Get it? Point?”

“Oh, shut up. Seriously, what are you thinking of?”

I shrugged. “Shock and awe. I think...some people you can reason with. Some people you can't. So I guess I'll have to scare him enough to make him stop.”

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