Page 69 of His Bullied Fated Mate

Chapter 19 - Riley

I arrived home to find the house quiet, except for the TV playing in the living room. I slipped my shoes off and turned into the living room. I found Janella fast asleep on the new couch we purchased just a couple of days ago. She had a blanket draped over her with an open book next to her. I watched as her chest rose and fell, even telling me she was in a deep slumber. The book was propped open on her chest like she'd just been reading it a moment ago.

We had painted the living room a light green. The windows were drawn, giving the room a dark feeling, minus the lamp in the corner, which she had set on dim.

I walked further in and bent over, shaking her slowly. “Janella.”

She groaned as she moved slowly, rubbing at her eyes. “Just five more minutes.”

I was tempted to let her continue sleeping, but I knew that she’d spent the entire day out. She had a couple of job interviews and a lunch with her parents. I knew she also made a trip into the woods with Kyla to do some more looking for the cauldron. I had no idea if she’d eaten dinner, but I wanted to make sure she did.

“Janella, I just want to know if you had dinner or not? If you have, I'll let you go back to sleep.”

Her eyes slowly opened, and she rubbed at her forehead. “No, it’s only a little past three. It's too early to have dinner.”

I frowned. She must have been sleeping a little longer than she realizes. “It’s seven.”

Her eyes widened, and she sat up. She turned, looking at the clock that we had hanging across the room. “I fell asleep. Shit.”

“You’re tired. It’s understandable. You’ve been busy, and you need your sleep.”

“I was going to cook dinner. It was my turn to cook dinner.”

“We can just order in.”

She shook her head. “We’ve ordered in for the past three days, Riley. We can’t eat out like that. It’s bad for your body. It's not healthy.”

“We’ve both been busy.” I reached out, rubbing my thumb under her eyes. I could see bags forming. I’d found her sleeping more often, and I knew it was just because she was so busy and stressed. I wanted to help here, and if letting her sleep was the way, I would.

“How about this. We ordered something in tonight, and I’ll cook for the next couple of days. We can have nothing but healthy food.”

She frowned. “But I should be cooking if you're working late.”

“I don’t mind. And maybe it will let you catch up on your sleep.”

She moved, and I caught a sweet scent coming from her. I could smell her magic more often, and I found myself missing her. I wanted to be near her, but I knew she was busy and I didn’t want to be needy.

I shook my head, reminding myself that this was all still new. “I'll go order.”

We ate dinner and caught up on each other's day before Janella went up to bed. I sat on the couch and decided to watch the weather before heading to bed myself. I froze when I heard my phone vibrating.

I pulled it free, seeing that it was Philip calling. I answered.

“I was just calling to say that I was leaving the infirmary for the night. Everything was handled, and everyone is being taken care of.”

I nodded, remembering we had another attack this afternoon. I’d been so excited to get home with Janella that I hadn’t called Philip to check in.

“Thank you for stepping in. I’ll be there right away tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds good. By the way, how is Janella feeling?”

I paused, confused by his sudden question. “She’s fine, why do you ask?”

“Oh, the gals said she stopped by and looked under the weather today. So, I thought maybe she caught the bug that's been going around.”

I frowned. “She was at the infirmary today?” She hadn't told me she was there when we were chatting for dinner. But it could have just slipped her mind.

“Yeah, one of the nurses helped her. The receptionist asked if she was feeling better. She left with a bag of stuff, and she was out before she could ask if she needed anything else.”