"Vienna?" Mila asked, peeking over her laptop at Terry.

"Vienna," Terry repeated, furrowing his brows. "This is a serious suggestion?"

"Yes," Mila huffed. "I've been reading about this doctor that treats child lymphoma, he's had good results."

"Mila, do you really believe Stella can handle a trip to another country? Overseas? She doesn't even have her passport. By the time we get one for her, she'll be ready to go back to Chicago."

Sighing, Mila sunk back in her seat. No, it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Not only that, but Stella's doctor would never approve a trip that big. Mila knew all that, she was just anxious, scared, nervous. She had many strengths, but waiting was not one of them.

"We're still on this new treatment from the research hospital," Terry said. "She's supposed to finish one type of treatment and rest before starting another. You're looking too soon."

"Well what if we find a better one?" Mila challenged. "Then maybe we should switch."

"No offense, Mimi," Terry said, looking at her over his reading glasses. "But Stella's doctor knows what's best, and she's told us about every new treatment that has come up. What makes you think you're going to find something, in a reasonable distance, that she hasn't?"

"Desperation," Mila muttered, dropping her head in her hand.

She was exhausted. Her sleeping schedule was broken up. She and Terry were taking turns sleeping during the night so someone was always awake to keep an eye on Stella. The infection they were worried she'd get when the discolored congestion showed up, had finally settled in Stella's chest. They were too nervous to sleep but too exhausted not to, which was why they were taking shifts while Stella was on antibiotics.

"What time is your party tonight?"

"Eight, I think," Mila said, pulling out her phone and going through her texts until she found Lindsay's name. It was an unofficial work party with work friends. Not one held by the company but by the workers. Still, most people were going to be at the club and Terry insisted Mila take the night off.

"Is Marcus going with you?" Terry asked.

Mila shrugged but that was the only answer she offered. Marcus and her had barely spoken the last few days and when they had, it was always in front of someone, never alone. She knew they needed to talk, to say something after that intense moment they shared together, but she had no way to contact Marcus directly. The most she could do was text Katherine and ask her to ask Marcus to show up.

"How is Marcus?"

"He's fine," Mila muttered, hiding behind her laptop and massaging her temples.

Fine was a loose word and she didn't even know if it was the right one. They'd done things they shouldn't have done, and she hadn't seen him nearly enough since then. He didn't have a phone and he hadn't come around too much while Mila was staying at Terry's to be close to Stella. Mila hated to admit she missed him, but she did. Especially because now it had been a couple days since he stopped by to check in.

Deep insecurities wanted to surface, saying maybe she liked what they did more than he did and now he was avoiding her. She shut that down though, it didn't make logical sense. Marcus was the one that took control and did what he wanted with her. Her body warmed at the memory and she crossed her legs, letting out a long breath. She wasn't inexperienced, she'd been with lots of people, but none like Marcus. He gave her the best orgasm she ever had by far. It wasn't even a competition.

"I wasn't sure if, um, if he was living with you and missing you," Terry said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"He doesn't," Mila said, absently dragging her finger in random patterns on the desk. "He just spends the night sometimes."

"I see," Terry said, clearing his throat and rising from the desk. "I'm getting more coffee, you want some?"

"I'm okay," Mila said, her eyes darting to the screen where another work email came in.

Ever since she told Kayla her situation, work became a lot easier. When Mila showed up to work with tired eyes and almost fell asleep at her desk, Kayla ordered Mila into her office and asked what was up. Mila admitted things were harder now Stella had an infection on top of her illness and without further explanation, Kayla got Mila a work laptop and told her to work from home until Stella was better. Mila could've kissed Kayla but recognized that wasn't exactly an appropriate response, so didn't.

There was also the fact her lips were a little attached to one person in particular. A person whose lips she hadn't even kissed yet, despite how intimate they'd been. The more she thought about it, the more bothered she was they hadn't kissed. They came together twice, he'd made her cum a lot of times, and then fucked her tits, and yet they hadn't kissed?

How am I just now realizing this? Mila wondered as she tapped her pen against the desk, making a face. Demon indeed, he got under the radar without ever kissing her and she didn't realize until now. Well, she didn't like that. She was going to fix that. If she ever got ahold of him or he showed up, that was. Demon issue or not, she was drawn to him and he was drawn to her. She thought it was a bad idea before, to get attached when she knew he had to leave, but it was too late for that. She was already going to be sad when he left, she might as well have more memories to hold onto before that happened.

Mila quickly responded to her work emails, sent the documents she needed to, then grabbed her phone and opened her texts to Kat.

Mila: Hey girl, I hope your audition went well xoxo did you get the part you wanted? Also, is Marcus with you?

Kat: It got postponed :( but thank you for asking! Marcus and Nex went out to get stuff for dinner but they should be back soon. Do you want to come over for dinner? I'd love to see you!

Mila: Ah shit, I'm sorry, I guess now you just have more time to prepare, huh? Appreciate the invitation but I actually have plans tonight, I wondered if Marcus would come with me so I was going to ask you to send him over, but if he's having dinner with you then never mind, unless he wants to come after

Kat: Exactly! What time is your thing?

Mila: Eight

Kat: Oh we'll be done with dinner by then. I'll bring it up to him and see what he says

Mila chewed on her lip, typing out a response then deleting it. Katherine had been a good friend to her, checking in every day to see how she and Stella were, asking about her life. She'd never had a friend that checked in with her like Kat did. But Kat was Marcus's friend before she was hers, so the question she wanted to ask just kept getting deleted as she typed it out then backed out of it over and over.

Huffing in annoyance at herself, Mila decided to just do it. Let the chips fall where they may. Life was too short and she didn't care for the way Marcus made her feel like a giddy school girl afraid to ask about her crush. That wasn't her and she wouldn't pretend it was.

Mila: Thank you, Nex's pet name for you is accurate, you ARE an angel xoxo Question, is Marcus avoiding me because of what happened between us? I'm assuming he told you

Kat: He didn't tell me details, he just said something happened. But no, I don't think that's why he's avoiding you. He got in trouble with an angel and some other things happened so he's a little distracted, but he needs to get over it and talk to you. I'll encourage him to come with you tonight, I promise, or at the very least come see you to talk

Mila frowned at the screen. In trouble with an angel? How did that even happen? Mila also wondered why she never considered the fact he would interact with angels. Obviously angels were real if demons and heaven and hell were, she just hadn't pictured what an actual angel would look like. Would it be like the ones people put on Christmas cards who were all elegant and beautiful or would they look more monstrous like their older descriptions? She had so many questions but the one at the forefront was how Marcus got in trouble with an angel when she was pretty sure he couldn't do very much until she released him of his bond to her.

Sighing, she thought about her response to Kat, what she could say that would get Marcus over to see her. A dark smile crept on her lips as she considered one thing she was absolutely certain would work. It was mean, definitely not the mature way to go, but neither was avoiding her for whatever reason he was, especially after they'd been so intimate. He couldn't give her thirteen orgasms, dominate her, cum all over her, then not come see her for a few days. She could play dirty if he was going to make her.

Fuck it, I've never been one to play fair or by the rules, Mila thought, opening up her emails again and finishing all she could. Terry came back in and said something about Stella dozing off in front of the TV but her temperature was down and oxygen was up, so that was good. That made Mila feel a little better about leaving.

"I'm gonna go so I can get ready at my house," Mila informed Terry, closing her laptop and packing it and all her other stuff up so she wouldn't leave a mess behind.

"Okay, have fun tonight," Terry said, watching as Mila gathered her things and slipped on a coat. "But before you go, I wanted to throw something out there."

"What?" Mila asked, pulling her hair out from under her coat and zipping the front up.

"I just... You know, as things get more complicated with Stella and all the appointments and you're staying here anyway... I wondered if you'd want to move in here for a while," Terry said, smiling sheepishly. "You've practically lived her the last few days anyway and the room that was yours hasn't been touched. This way you could be closer to Stella but still have your own space to go to, you know?"

Mila felt frozen, not expecting him to offer that. The house used to be her mom's. It was given to her mom by their grandfather and when mom passed, she left it to both Mila and Terry but Mila relinquished her rights since Terry was taking care of Stella and could use all the help he could get. The room upstairs was next to Stella's and was Mila's when she was a teenager, but she hadn't stepped foot in it for years.

"You don't have to," Terry added after a long silence of Mila just staring blankly at him. "I just thought I'd offer it, might be easier and might make you feel better to always be close to Stella."

"I um... Sorry," Mila breathed, rubbing her hands over her face. "I didn't mean to leave you hanging, I was just thinking. I think I'll probably have to think about it pretty hard. Are you sure we can get along enough to live in the same house again?"

"We've managed this week," Terry shrugged. "And I have no desire to fight with you, Mimi. I know I've messed up, I know I've messed up a lot, but I still love you. You're my little sister and you always will be, I will always love you, even when I mess up. If you move in with us, I can't promise we'll never have arguments or disagree on something, but I can promise you I'll do everything I can to keep the peace. Marcus can even come spend the night here if you're worried about that. As long as you two, uh..." he trailed off, clearing his throat. "I only ask that you two keep it down, especially since Stella's room is right next door."

"Oh my God," Mila muttered, shaking her head. "Please don't. It's icky to talk about stuff like that with you."

"Trust me, I don't want to," Terry said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I guess what I'm trying to say is the house is as much yours as it is ours. I still think of it like yours, I don't care you signed it over to me. Mom gave it to both of us so as far as I'm concerned, its both our house, and if you do decide to move in for a while, I want it to feel like home."

"I'll think about it," Mila said, grabbing her backpack and slipping it over her shoulders. "Uh... Thanks for the offer. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Terry nodded. "Have fun."

Mila left Terry's office and went to the living room where Stella was lounged out with an electric blanket covering her. Mila crouched down, finding her sister was asleep. Mila brushed her lips against Stella's forehead, smoothing out the beanie Katherine made over Stella's head.

"I love you for always," Mila whispered, pressing another kiss to Stella's forehead.

Mila made sure Stella was covered completely before leaving. She took the bus and on the way, tried to picture everything in her closet. She knew which of her dresses would both make her feel sexy and drive Marcus insane. She kind of loved the jealousy he'd shown, even if he was a little bit of an ass about it. It was still hot, to know he wanted her enough he didn't want anyone else touching her. She was going to use that since he decided to leave her in silence for a few days.

Mila got to her apartment and showered, shaved, and prepped her curly hair to be down for the night. She went to her closet and pulled out the deep red dress that had slits up both sides, high on the thigh. It also plunged low, between her breasts and down to the bottom of her ribs. The dress was a light, airy fabric but also clung to her in the right spots, showing off all her curves.

After finishing makeup and getting dressed, she lifted her phone for a picture and smiled, giving the best angle she could that showed off the entire dress. She then opened her texts to Kat and attached the photo with a message.

Mila: About to head out for that party, hope dinner was nice, tell Marcus I said hi xoxo

Kat: WOW! You look stunning!! I hope you have a nice time :) Marcus said he'll try to stop by, I'll work on him...

Mila frowned down at the screen. Fine then, if he wanted to play it that way, she would pull out the big guns.

Mila: Okay, well tell him no worries if he can't, Callum will keep me company if I get bored :)

Mila smirked down at the text as she sent it. If that didn't get Marcus over there, nothing would.