The Mom and the Bed

The back door closed behind us with a click.

Inside, the house was dim, lit only by the soft glow of a single lamp in the corner of the kitchen. Meredi moved with practiced ease, setting her mug down on a counter, then locked everything down. This was as routine for her as it would be for me at my own home.

“I’ll go get you a towel,” she said casually. It was just so normal for her.

“Thanks,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, I know you came here without showering.”

I patted myself on the back for not struggling against the Gloomspawn.

She padded down the hall. I stood outside the bathroom. Ravela’s bed was right behind the nearest door. If she saw me now… It would either blow everything up or provoke some dramatic developments.

Meredi returned, towel and a fresh shirt folded over one arm. “Here. Erm… I could get you some fresh shorts, but I’m not sure if you would be okay with that.”

“Thank you,” I said, accepting the bundle. “I won’t take long.”

She nodded and drifted toward her bedroom while I disappeared into the washroom.

The water was quick and cool. I didn’t scrub too hard. Mostly just wanted to cool down and think things through.

“This is a grittier world. I bet the poorer people are all huddled on the same bed, too. And Meredi… she probably isn’t thinking much of it… Yeah, that’s probably it. It’s just the culture.”

If gods were real in this world, maybe they were trying to put temptations in my way. Joke’s on them. I was pretty much the most devoted fan these moms would ever have now. I could resist any temptation…Well, resist it enough to accomplish the main goal of saving them.

When I emerged again, toweling my hair, Meredi was already in bed, half-sitting up with her arms behind her head, staring at the ceiling fan like it was soothing her to sleep.

She looked over as I closed the door behind me. “Much better, right?”

“Yeah. Who would hate being clean?”

I folded the towel and shirt neatly, unsure where to put them, and settled for placing them on the edge of the seat she had in here.

“You can leave those on the stool if you want,” Meredi murmured. “You don’t have to be so... neat about it. It’s just us. We’re family.”

Meredi shifted to her side as I approached the bed. She lifted the blanket slightly without ceremony. “Come on. I won’t bite.”

“Hey… Do you have venom too?” I said, trying to keep it light.

She gave me a soft look. “Are you calling me a snake?”

“Tons of things have venom.”

“And none of them I think are good,” she said with a giggle.

I slid in beside her, careful to stay near the edge, even though the bed was, as she said, massive—almost as big as mine. Her warmth reached me anyway. Maybe it was my overactive imagination.

The lights went off, and the silence stretched.

“Comfy?” she asked, voice already softening with sleep.

“Very,” I said honestly. “Thanks for this.”

“Don’t thank me for giving you a bed. That’s the bare minimum,” she murmured.

“Is it?” I asked, hoping to glean a little more.

She chuckled. “Sorry… I just… I thought it would be nice to have everyone here.”

“I’m not complaining.”

I felt her shift a little and adjust the blanket. Silence followed for a moment. And then came her voice.

“I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know what exactly is going on with you… but, I won’t ask. And you don’t need to tell me.”

“I’ve just got ambitions now.”

I said that, and more devious ambitions came to mind. If I made a move now—no, I must not break, not when I haven’t gotten enough signals. But then again, I was in the woman’s bed—no, no, culture—it was the culture.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “It sounds like you’re grunting.”

“Sorry. Didn’t know I did that.”

She giggled softly. “I’ll let you know if you do it again.”

Another stretch of silence came.

I turned toward her, saw her exposed back, and cursed my eyes for being so amazing. I could see that muscle definition with unfair fidelity.

I cleared my throat. “Hey, Meredi. I want to be awake and out of here before Ravela notices I stayed.”

“Hmm? Why?”

“I’m not sure how I would handle it first thing in the morning.”

“Oh. Are you worried about her teasing you? I can tell her to knock it off.”

I sighed. “No, don’t worry about it. Sorry. Good night.”

Meredi shifted. Her voice floated out and reached me, low and calm.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said, “but if Ravela crossed a line… I need to know. She doesn’t always see where they are.”

I stiffened, breath caught halfway out. Meredi was looking right at me.

“She didn’t,” I replied. “She didn’t cross any line.”

Meredi didn’t say anything immediately. The darkness made the silence feel heavier.

“I saw it when you two walked out of the back room,” Meredi said, making my heart jump. “She was leading you by the hand. She thought she was slick, but I’m her older sister.”

“Rav was excited because I had told her about Val. She was hurrying me along, just like you did.”

Meredi chuckled. “Yeah, it made sense when I thought about it afterward… So… Nothing strange is going on?”

“I don’t think there’s anything strange happening.”

“Maybe you’re not the best person to ask,” Meredi muttered.

“Maybe,” I agreed.

Her eyes lingered on me. Meanwhile, I was honest with myself. What had I accomplished so far? I had eaten some monster parts. That was it.

In the game, you could date multiple girls at once but, the MC was amazing. Master farmer, master miner, master spawn slayer. A Level 50 MC had earned the right to be dating multiple girls. Me? I barely earned the right to dare to date Ravela.

And that was that. If I wanted to reach out to Meredi—to hold her hand and ask to see more of who she was, I had to earn that right.

I turned onto my back with a smile. ”Thanks for letting me stay the night, Meredi. And thanks for looking out for me. I’ll return the favor. You can count on it.”

Meredi was silent for a few beats before finally turning away.

“Goodnight, Tim… Thanks for staying over and making my night a little better.”

I sighed to myself. What mattered was saving them, not loving them.