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“Yeah, you’re over there and I’m here. Come here. We still need to chat about today.”
Nico shook his head. “Not now, Liam.”
What the fuck?
Liam felt a surge of worry followed by anger. He breathed through it. He’d been cold for so long. Any emotions other than anger or resentment had been long frozen. Until Nico. He was the only one who could truly get to him. Well, him and Lottie.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
Nico turned to face him, letting out a deep breath. “I didn’t . . . I don’t mean it like that. I’m not dismissing or rejecting you. But you didn’t see what I did today.”
“What do you mean? What did you see?”
“With Lottie. There’s something . . . ” He ran a hand over his face, looking drained.
“You’re exhausted. You need sleep.” Liam found this part harder. Trying to care for someone else. He could only go by how Nico acted with him and from what caring he could remember having from his mother before her death. But he’d been young, and those memories were hard to access. “Come to bed.”
“I can’t. Liam, she needs us.”
“Lottie? She’ll be asleep by now.”
“And if she’s not? You didn’t see her today. There’s more going on than we know.”
“What do you mean?” Liam sat up, staring at his husband. “More what?”
“She’s so much braver than they give her credit for. She struggles, Liam. Every day. Today, when Ace and Keir were screaming, she tried to follow me. To help.”
Liam frowned at that. “Maybe it’s good for her to push herself.”
“Not under those circumstances. The stress can’t be good for her. Always worrying and fearful.”
Liam grunted. “I wonder if she’s still talking to a therapist.”
“I don’t know. But there’s more. She paints, but she doesn’t let anyone see it.”
“Aren’t a lot of artists like that?”
“She thinks they’re meaningless. That she’s worthless.”
“What?” Liam barked. “Why the fuck would she think that?”
“Because she doesn’t think she does anything of value. She has no purpose, Liam. She’s drifting.”
He nodded. He kind of understood that. His brother was similar. Only he was a complete bastard, and Lottie was . . . sweetness and light.
“She needs something to do,” Liam said.
“I think she needs to learn that she can do whatever she wants to. She’s not helpless. Those boys adore her. That Ace, shit, if he were a few years older, I’d be worried he’d be giving us a run for our money with her.”
“So, we help her build up her self-confidence. Teach her that she has value. Make sure that she’s talking to someone that knows their shit. Because I sure don’t. I’m likely to make things worse.”
“There’s more,” Nico told him.
“What?”
“I’m not sure exactly. When Ace grabbed her arm today, she flinched like it hurt.”
Liam frowned. “So, the kid obviously grabbed her too hard. Jardin needs to talk to him about that.”
