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“After seeing you fight, that’s fully understandable,” I mutter.
Kade’s hand slowly slides up my arm. “So… who is Norn to you?”
“My brother.”
“And… all of this prestige Norn has, all of this power he built up over the years about being able to take down anyone… and the reason my father loved him so much… it was never him, was it? It was always you.”
“Yes. He kept me in the shadows so he could claim that everything I did was all him.”
“And when he couldn’t control you… he’d lock you in a room.”
His fingers brush through my hair and I love the feeling of it. I love his touch. I love the way he draws me from that darkness that threatens to tighten around my stomach. “Yeah. He liked to hurt me… if I didn’t listen,” I say as I subconsciously rub at the scar Kade noticed on the couch a couple of days ago. “I don’t know why I didn’t fight him harder when he’d lock me in that closet… I was a better fighter than him, but it was like… when faced with him and that… small space, I just lost all control of myself. I could feel the walls closing in on me and every time he did it…” I swallow hard. “He wouldn’t let me out until I…” It’s making me feel uneasy even talking about it. “I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t need to,” he says, voice gentle. “You don’t have to tell me everything tonight.” He’s quiet as his fingers keep moving and I close my eyes, wanting to wallow in this bliss.
“I’m sorry I panicked in that room,” I whisper.
“I didn’t notice any of that; what I did notice is you fucking karate chop some guy into the wall. I also noticed that you came to my rescue, even though you promised you never would. And you want to know what I really noticed? Youshot me.”
“I… vaguely remember that,” I say, glad he isn’t focusing on my panic attack or the way I’d lost my mind. It was so stupid. It was so senseless…
I reach over and pull his shirt up and look at the very shallow nick on his side. Definitely doesn’t need stitches and barely bled. “Looks fine.”
“You shot me,” he says as he drags me up, pulling me onto his lap so he can look me in the eyes.
“I did.”
“What if I’d moved?”
“Who moves into a bullet when they know someone’s going to shoot them?” I ask.
“I’m really dumb, Len.”
I smile at him as I squeeze him tightly. “I don’t believe that.” I reach up to his bruised, busted face and run a finger over his cheek. “You shouldn’t have gone without me.”
“Clearly. I was over there thinking I was being some selfless hero and see where it got both of us.”
“It was reckless.”
“I realize that now,” he says with a grumble. “But at the time, I was all like, look at how awesome I am. Refusing to let anyone else get hurt so I can be amazing. I bet Len will think I’m cool caring for others.”
I smile at him because I know he honestly believed that. “This is definitely not the life lesson I was teaching you. Like I was out there going, ‘You need to learn to take care of yourself and others’ and you go, ‘I bet that means I should just jump in with the sharks that have guns.’”
“Possibly,” Kade says as he cups my face and I lean into his touch. “Alright, I’m comforting you right now, not getting sassed.”
“Hmmm…”
“You have your playamajig thing?”
“My Switch?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s in my bag.”
“I’m going to take a shower, and then you’re going to torture me with it.”
I’m quiet for a moment. “How much torture?”
