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“Do you even know how long it took her to come back from you leaving her?” Kade chimed in.
“I swear to God, you better all stop talking right the hell now!” I growled, not wanting to scare Zack by raising my voice, but I needed them to shut up. I didn’t need my teenage heart break laid out for all to see. I was so embarrassed.
“Let’s just all calm down a bit, huh?” Xander suggested.
CHAPTER 7
EVIE
“If you all came here to be complete dicks you can just leave right now,” I added, covering Zack’s ears so he wouldn’t hear me swearing.
I turned my back on them all and fought not to allow any tears to fall. I wasn’t ordinarily a crier, but that had all changed since Soloman took me and I didn’t need my brothers seeing my new weakness.
I hated talking to them that way. I had missed them all so much and I was so happy to have them there. I loved them, despite how much of a pain in my ass they had been growing up. All I wanted to do was run up and hug them. I wanted to feel their arms around me, making me feel safe the way they always could when I was a kid, but I couldn’t let the way they were behaving go. I got that they were upset I had been taken again, and although it was baseless, I even got why they blamed the guys to some extent. They needed to blame someone and the guys were the easy target, but I was safe now and the guys had done nothing but take care of me. They deserved some respect from my brothers, not aggravation.
Just when I was sure I was about to be left heartbroken as my brothers all filed out and walked away from me, a chair was pulled out beside me. I looked up, expecting it to be one of my guys, but it wasn’t.
“Evie, please don’t cry, hermanita.” Matt’s dark eyes met mine as I hurried to wipe away my tears while balancing Zack on my knee, but it was too late. Matt had seen my pain – all of it in that split second. It was a gift – one he had suffered years of abuse as a kid to gain. One look in your eyes and Matt saw everything, no matter how hard you tried to keep it back.
“I don’t want to fight any more,” I told him, my voice breaking and more tears slipping free, no mater how hard I tried to swallow it all back. “I missed you all, but my brothers, not…not these assholes who keep stirring up tr-trouble,” I sniffled.
I felt a firm hand on my shoulder and when I looked up, Nick was standing at my back, a gentle, reassuring smile on his face. Behind him the others were all watching me too, strained expressions on their faces. I realized they all wanted to come to me but were holding back to keep the peace.
“Let me take Zack, babe. You need to talk with your family,” Nick said as he leaned in and grabbed Zack under his flailing arms. He squealed with delight at the sight of his dad, and went happily. Before Nick turned away he leant in to kiss my cheek softly.
“Just say the word if this is too much, okay?” he whispered into my ear, and I gave him a nod, relieved to have them there and on my side.
As I begrudgingly watched Nick walk away with Zack in his arms, my brothers all took seats around me at the large dining table. Matt was on my right, and Xander sat on my left. Kyle was directly opposite me and his jaw was still set with tension, his eyes focused not on me, but on the four guys now all keeping busy in the kitchen.
I wiped at my tear stained cheeks again and took a deep breath to try and calm myself down.
“We’re sorry, Evie. We didn’t mean to upset you. We were supposed to come in calmer this time,” Xander spoke first, sending a glare across the table to Kyle as he spoke.
“I just don’t get what your problem is. Harris and the others have done nothing but take care of me and try to protect me since the day I randomly showed up here. They’re good men,” I snapped as I too glared at Kyle, who was now focused mainly on me, but definitely keeping his peripheral on my guys.
“They’ve taken advantage of you,” he hissed angrily.
“No they haven’t!”
“What Kyle means,” Kade stepped in, “is that we’re worried about you. You’ve been through something extremely traumatic. The last thing you should be getting into is a complicated relationship, but one week with these guys and you’re dating all of them.”
“It’s been more than a week. I’ve known Harris for almost a decade and my time here has been…intense isn’t even a strong enough word,” I sighed. I looked between the five of them and knew I needed to be honest. “I was a wreck when I got here. I’d been alone and terrified for months, trying to deal with the memories, flashbacks, and nightmares of everything I’d been through. The guys…they took care of me. They weren’t scared or cautious, they just took care of me. They stopped me and held me when I had night terrors that had me fleeing the house. They didn’t freak out when I had melt downs. They were just there, and they still are, because I’m a long way from fixed. I’m messed up,” I dared a look at Cole as I admitted that, knowing he was terrible at hiding his feelings, but he didn’t look ashamed or disappointed. He just looked worried. “Soloman…he tried to break me and he came really fucking close, you guys. He fucked me up and I’m not okay, but here with the guys I feel a little peace for the first time in months. They make me feel like I’m not messed up and they give me hope I will be okay someday. I need that. I need them. You,” I pointed between Kade, Kyle, Cole, and Matt, “should all understand that better than anyone. It’s exactly what you went through with Livy.”
“Do you love them?” Cole asked.
“It’s too soon for that, but I have feelings for them. Even in this chaos right now, they make me happier than I have felt in years. I want to see where a relationship between the five of us could go,” I admitted.
“It’s just too soon, Evie. Come home with us and take some time to heal. If you feel the same way a few months from now, then see what happens, but you’re too vulnerable right now,” Kyle spoke up.
“You’re underestimating me, brother,” I told him. “I’m not vulnerable. Any naivety and vulnerability was stripped from me around day three of being held by Soloman. I may be messed up, but I also grew up a lot too. One thing I am sure of is my mind, and I don’t need any of you second guessing my decisions for me.”
“So you don’t plan to come home with us then?” Matt asked, sounding shocked.
“No,” I shook my head. “Not right now. I’m not ready. I feel safe here, and better – more like myself. I need all of that. The guys are happy for me to stay, and that’s what I want right now.”
“What about mom and dad?” Xander pushed. “They’re desperate to see you. They’ve made themselves ill with worry.”
“I know and I hate that, but they know I’m safe now. We can talk on the phone and I’m not saying I’ll never come home. I just need a little more time to heal, here, where I feel comfortable. Please just try to understand. I…I’m just not ready to face home yet.” Tears filled my eyes again and I blinked furiously to fight them back.
