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“I hope Kailan’s been behaving himself,” he said as he sent Kailan a pointed stare. “What the fuck are you doing up this early anyway?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Kailan sighed, and Harris’s stare changed to a look of worry.
“You good?” Harris asked him. The note of genuine concern in that question touched me. They really seemed to care about each other – not just the two of them, but all of them. I had seen it the day before too. They had a bond that I recognized from my brothers.
“Yeah, brother. I’m fine,” Kailan nodded. “I was just trying to convince Evie to have some breakfast. Even offered to make her something.”
“No fucking way she’s eating anything you’ve cooked. She can’t handle food poisoning right now,” Harris chuckled.
“I’m okay. I’m not really hungry anyway,” I told them both. Just the thought of food had my stomach churning.
“Are you planning to leave?” Harris asked as he looked down to my backpack on the floor.
“Erm, no….not unless you guys want me to go?”
“Fuck no!” Harris replied. “We want you right here where we can keep you safe. Are you good with that?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “I am. I feel safer here than I have felt since the day I was taken,” I admitted.
“Good,” Harris gave one firm nod.
“Since you are staying, it’s okay to leave your bag upstairs, you know? It’s safe here. No one will touch your stuff,” Kailan added.
“Oh, I know. I just….I need to wash my clothes. I hardly have any and they’ve all been worn. Would that be okay? I mean…if I do some laundry?” I stuttered awkwardly.
“Of course it is, sweetheart. I’ll show you where everything is after breakfast,” Harris assured me.
“We’ll need to head out to get you some more stuff if that’s all you have. You can’t survive with what’s in that tiny backpack,” Kailan went on.
“Oh no, it’s fine. I can manage if I can just wash what I have,” I replied. Before, back home, I had a huge walk-in closet filled with rails of clothes and shoes. When I moved in with Dean I’d had to leave over half of it at home with mom and dad because I didn’t have the space for it all. Then I was taken. Since then I’d had four sets of clothes and underwear I bought from discount and thrift stores, and one pair of pajamas. Clothes weren’t really anything I worried about anymore. I had learnt there was much more important things in life. Like survival.
“You don’t need to just manage anymore, Evie. We’re all going to make sure you have what you need,” Kailan told me.
“He’s right, Ev. We want to make sure you have everything you need to feel comfortable here. I know you love those fancy hair products and that cream shit that smells all flowery. We can get all of that for you,” Harris added, referring to the products I used to use when we were together so long ago. How did he remember every detail of our time together like that?
“Maybe once, but I’ve changed, Harris. I don’t need that stuff anymore. I learned what’s really important in life these last months. I’m in a place where I feel safe enough to breathe. That was all I wanted. That and to let my family know I’m safe,” I explained.
“I said we could talk to Aleks about contacting her family,” Kailan added.
“I was thinking the same. We at least need to let them know Evie’s safe and warn them,” Harris agreed. “But Evie, when we do that, I want to be able to assure them all that we’re taking good care of you, and that means making sure you have what you need. We’ll be taking that shopping trip today,” he added more firmly.
“It’s not safe though,” I reminded them. “He could see me on store security cameras. He could work out where I am. I think he can use computers. He has to, right? If he knew I reached out to Matt he must be like a hacker, or whatever, right?”
“We’ll go into Clarkson. It’s a small town that’s not too far from here. It doesn’t even have an ATM. The stores only take cash. It’s like time got frozen there. There’s no way they have cameras,” Harris pointed out.
“You’re sure?”
“We wouldn’t do anything to put you at risk, Evie,” Kailan said, and when I turned to look at him he smiled reassuringly. It was a spectacular smile, his teeth perfectly straight and shining white, his cute dimples just showing ever so slightly. Did they all have to be so good looking? I felt like a rotten old hag next to them.
“Can we see what Aleks says first? I really just want to let my family know I’m safe. You know my brothers. They’ll be losing their minds,” I said, looking to Harris.
“I know, sweetheart. Your parents too. We’ll find a way to let them know you’re with me, okay?”
“Thanks,” I whispered, trying not to damn well cry again. I was doing that way too much and it needed to stop.
Harris set to work making breakfast for everyone after that. I offered to help, but he refused, telling me to just sit down and relax. Kailan sat at my side and I mainly just listened as they talked and joked back and forth. It felt good and I did find myself relaxing there with the both of them.
Just as Harris was plating up the eggs and bacon he had prepared, Aleks and Nick came strolling into the kitchen. Aleks was in another hooded sweater and jeans, his hair wild, like he just rolled out of bed and threw clothes on. He looked cute, in a rumpled kind of way, his glasses even a little crooked on his face.
