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“Atticus is our leader, and, obviously, he takes things a lot harder than the rest of us do because he has so much more weight on his shoulders than we do. But that doesn’t mean that you’ve done anything wrong at all. That doesn’t mean that he gets to treat you like shit because he’s struggling.”
“He’s not treating me like shit,” I say. Micah rolls his eyes.
“You have had a horribly stressful day, and the fact that you’re sitting here worrying over Atticus tells me that his priorities are in the wrong place. If he wants to hate himself, he does it on his own time.”
“That’s not how it should work,” I say.
“When you’re the victim, yes, it is,” Micah says. “We all have the right to our own feelings, and even if we didn’t have the right to them, they’d still happen because we’re only human. But, right now, you are the person who is struggling. You are the person who had something happen to them, and until you’re in a better place, our issues need to come second. I’m not saying they get ignored, Nora, so please don’t misunderstand that. I’m saying that you become priority one, and our emotional needs come second. We can get our own therapist, we can talk to each other, there are a hundred ways where our emotional needs can be met without placing the burden and blame on you.”
I nod slowly, and Micah grins.
“Don’t tell Kai that I’m stealing a lot of what he said to me. I can’t handle his big head.”
“You and he talked about this?” I ask.
“Yeah, of course, we did. I was very upset when I wasn’t the one to break through to you earlier. And, obviously, Kai was just pissed off because he’s a competitive little bitch.”
“Don’t call your brother a bitch,” I say, trying to hide that I’m smiling, and Micah smirks.
“Hey, I’ve got two more points than he does.”
Now, I truly laugh. “You also get a point for the cute bath bombs.” He winks at me, and whilst he passes it off, I know he’s added this extra point to his tally, and he’ll make sure the others know he’s gained it.
“But, no, I get what you’re saying,” I say. “That doesn’t change how I’m feeling, though. I feel guilty over Atticus, and I hate that he’s struggling because he’s more dominant than us.”
“I know you do.” It’s like he gets zapped and something just changes within him. “But, tonight, pretty girl, we’re not going to care about anybody else outside these four walls. So it’s going to be me, you, your tiger, and my wolf.”
I scrunch up my nose, and he starts laughing.
“Sorry. My tiger and your wolf. Although, as my mate, you’re definitely mine,” he says, winking again. “We’re going to watch some shitty TV, whether it’s The Big Bang Theory, or—wait, no, for the record that’s actually not shit—or some movie, and we’re going to relax. And that’s it. You have a long road to recovery, to the point where you’re not living in this depressive episode and everything looks horribly bleak. Everything will be okay eventually.”
“Can we skip to the good part,” I sing under my breath, the catchy tune of the song making him smile.
“That’s not how life works, but eventually we will get there.” He squeezes my foot, and it’s so reassuring. “Tomorrow, we’re doing a family breakfast, then you’ve got your therapy session, and then you have my permission to grab Atticus, lock him in a room, and have your wicked way with him.”
I gasp, and he bursts out laughing.
“Dirty boy!” I say.
“Come on, pretty girl, it was too funny not to make a joke. And by the way, I did not mean getting down and sexy. I literally meant you’re going to stand there and make him open up to you. And then if that doesn’t work, the rest of us will take turns beating it into his stupid lion.”
“Do any of you have a chance at winning?” I ask with a teasing tone, and Micah darts over, water jolting over the sides of the bath, as he starts tickling me.
My shrieks echo around the room, and I can’t stop giggling.
“I love you,” he whispers when he finally stops. We’re both breathless, the water covering the floor, and it’s perfect.
“I love you, too.”
Micah is right. Tonight is about taking the time for myself.
Self-care starts now.
7
NORA
“So, I hope you understand why I’ll be taking the sleeping pills away from you,” George says, raising an eyebrow as he regards me.
