Page 126 of Healed

“Don’t be dramatic,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

“How did they sabotage you?” Gabriella asked.

“They cut my mattress open and placed a mannequin inside it. I almost had a fucking heart attack when I laid down.”

“Yeah, only because you realised it wasn’t a real woman you could shag—”

“Language!” Rachel hissed, kicking Dante before he could finish his sentence.

Dante smirked, keeping his eyes closed.

Axel crawled over to him and placed his nose against his dad’s. “Boo-ey”

“Aw, mate, no…”

“Boo-ey!” Axel said, firmer this time, biting the end of Dante’s nose.

“For fuck’s sake—Rachel!” He sat up, seizing Axel by the waist and standing him on his feet. “What did I tell you about letting him bite?”

“Do I control his teeth?”

“Aren’t you his mother?”

“Did I stutter? Do. I. Control. His. Teeth?”

“Boo-ey,” Axel hissed, launching himself at Dante again.

Dante just about had time to grab him, picking him up into the air until he was hovering over him. “We’re not watching Bluey,” he said firmly, bringing Axel close to him and looking him dead in the eye.

“Boo-eeeeeeeey,” Axel giggled.

“I think he wants to watch Bluey,” Gabriella said, ever so helpfully.

“Yes, thank you for that,” Dante hissed back, narrowly dodging the spit that drooled from Axel’s mouth. “Cars. Do you want to watch cars?”

“Boo-ey?”

“I can meet you in the middle and let you watch a blue car—Vienna, don’t you fucking dare.”

I held my hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t going to.”

I looked at Rachel, and she discreetly nodded.

“I swear, Vienna. It took me three days to get it out of my head. I nearly sang it when I was doing the brick collection.”

“Maybe our suppliers would have appreciated the jolliness of a sing-song?”

“Shut up.”

I mimed zipping my lips up.

“Dante?” Rachel asked innocently.

“No.”

“What do you think about the red car and the blue car?”

“Please don’t.”