Page 35 of Vayn

“Before coming here, I had someone I thought of as a sister. I still think of her as a sister. Nothing will change that. But, she, uh, life got hard for her. Really hard. I didn’t find out until after she...” I paused, not wanting to think about that part. “Well, she couldn’t handle this world anymore. So, she...”

Charm wiped tears from my eyes as I told him about my best friend in Texas, the one this world had never been kind to.

“She left me. She left this world. And for a long time, I was mad at her. I was mad at her for not telling me she was feeling overwhelmed. I was mad at her for not asking for help. I would’ve helped her. And if I couldn’t help, I would’ve found someone who could. I was mad at her for not giving me a chance to save her. But I was also mad because she left me alone. This is kind of crazy to say, but I almost wished she would’ve asked me to go with her.”

“Destiny,” Charm whispered, and I could hear the anguish in his voice.

“I know. It’s crazy, huh?”

“No. I don’t think it is.”

“I promise I don’t have a death wish or anything. It’s just... I have separation anxiety. So, when Vayn and the others left me just now, it made me feel...” I shrugged, feeling slightly choked up and embarrassed at the same time.

Charm stepped closer to me. “Tell me,” he whispered.

“I felt... abandoned. Again. I know that wasn’t their intention and...”

I gasped when Vayn, Bliss, Dread, and Rage all materialized in the room, encircling me. Oh, no. Had they heard what I’d just revealed to Charm? Damn it. Everything I’d just told him was things I hadn’t told anyone before. I didn’t even like thinking about them. Now, Vayn and his shadows knew.

“It’ll never happen again,” Vayn’s deep voice filled the room. “We’ll never leave you like that again.”

Shit. He was going to make me cry. He moved closer to me. I felt his presence behind me, inches away from me, so close that I could feel the heat of his body.

“I’m...” he started, then paused, seeming at a loss for words. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry for how we acted just now.”

My Guardian was apologizing to me. More tears trailed down my face.

“Stop that,” Dread growled. “Don’t cry. Please. We’re apologizing.”

“Should we apologize louder?” Rage asked.

“I think we’re supposed to give her gifts when we apologize,” Bliss added.

They were so adorably clueless about women and our ability to be happy, mad, and sad all at the same damn time.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, trying to wipe my eyes, only to have Charm push my hands away and wipe them for me. “I’m just kind of emotional right now.”

“Because of us, right?” Vayn asked from behind me.

“Yes,” I told him since there was no point in hiding it. The way they’d all left me at once had triggered me in a way I hadn’t expected. “You guys were rude to me.”

“You’re rude to me all the time,” Vayn snarled.

I whirled around to face him. “I...” I went silent by the look of anguish on his face. That took some of the fight out of me. “Am I rude to you?” I asked, voice low.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you think you kind of deserve it, most of the time?” I said.

“Maybe.”

“Did I do anything today to deserve your rudeness?” I asked.

He swallowed. “You...”

“You smiled at him,” Dread said.

It took everything in me to hold in my smile. They were so jealous and had no idea how to handle it. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was their first time feeling this emotion. My poor guys had no idea how to process what they were feeling. Join the club.