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“Are you good?” she asked me. I nodded while I tried and failed to guide the straw of my tumbler into my mouth. She laughed and did it for me.
“Go dance for me!” I ordered, waving to the floor. She planted a kiss on my cheek before chasing Cade into the crowd. I exhaled heavily and took several long sips of water. I was worn out. The party was wonderful, but I was so ready for a nap.
“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Killian said as he dropped breathlessly into the chair next to me, showing up out of nowhere. On instinct, his hand fell to my stomach—something he did whenever he was close. I groaned. There were so many directions that statement could go. “What was that for?”
“You have this tendency with ideas…”
“Name one!”
“Nine donuts on your dick,” I whispered.
“You like the fact that nine donuts fit on my dick,” he replied as he leaned in closer. I blushed furiously. He wasn’t wrong. And when he looked at me like he was, hormones made me want to drag him to the bathroom and prove how much I loved his nine donuts. “I think you need a promotion.”
“Oh?” I laughed. “To what?”
“Well, our daughters are automatically my princesses, so I think that officially makes you my queen.”
“Right,” I scoffed. This man. “If I’m the queen, then what does that make you?”
“The luckiest fucking man alive,” he replied with that boyish grin. I melted into him, kissing him. One kiss turned into two and quickly became three and four. I moaned in protest when he leaned back. “How’s my queen doing?”
“So tired,” I admitted.
“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “Declan and Raven are heading to East Havenwood soon, and Lizzie and Walker passed out on the pile of coats. I’m almost positive Sam’s in the woods at this point, Lucas went to bed because he works tomorrow, and Finn and Mom are seeing who lasts longer.”
“My money’s on your mom.”
“Mine too. Why don’t we put together a few containers of food for Nolan, say our goodbyes, and then go see him? I have somewhere I need to get you at midnight but after that… it’s you and me, comfy clothes, and a home vacation for a fucking week. How’s that sound?”
“Yes, please.” I kissed him once more.
“Anything for you, baby girl,” Killian promised.
I pulled Killian’s leather jacket tighter around myself, burrowing into it for warmth. Killian’s hand squeezed mine as he pulled into the back lot for The Treehouse. The store had been closed for weeks, only opening to the care center kids when needed. We couldn’t get Nolan out of his apartment, and none of us knew the best way to handle it. At some point, we’d have to make a decision about his business.
I knew the same would happen with Nolan’s writing. He wasn’t writing anymore. He’d deleted all of his manuscripts in our shared cloud folders. I kept his groups and his social media going, but I couldn’t run it all forever. Not if he didn’t want to write anymore.
“It’s snowing,” Killian commented, his voice pulling me from my thoughts. I leaned forward and glanced out in the dark. Sure enough, tiny snowflakes danced lazily through the air. I couldn’t help the smile. It was late this year, but better late than never. “Go on up. I’ll bring up all the food.”
“Thank you.” I hurried out of the car and up the stairs to Nolan’s apartment. I didn’t bother knocking—he never answered. A round of angry meows greeted me as all five cats converged on me. I crouched, dolling out pets where necessary. “Hello, boys. Are you taking good care of my sweet Nolan?”
Barry yowled his frustration.
“Yeah, I figured,” I whispered. “Killian’s on his way up, and we’ll get you boys fed, get your litter cleaned, and find you some treats. I promise. No one will let anything happen to you.”
Standing, I did my best to step around them. All five of them made it difficult. They were starved for attention. Maybe we should’ve moved them to Maeve’s like we originally considered doing. They needed more.
Nolan needed more.
He deserved more than the shell of a person he’d been left with.
The apartment was dark and cluttered, but at least it was clean. We had tried to give him space at first, but it proved to be too much for him. He didn’t clean, he didn’t cook, he didn’t take care of himself, and he didn’t take care of his cats. Once a day, one of us visited him. We kept a schedule between the group of us.
Most of the time, we never saw Nolan. I hadn’t seen him since the day the hospital released him. Maeve saw him more than the rest of us. Lucas had seen him a handful of times, and Declan had seen him once. The rest of us… not so much.
Heartbreaking didn’t begin to describe the situation. He needed time. At least, I kept telling myself that and hoping he’d be okay. Though, I was beginning to lose hope.
“Nolan?” I called out. Everything was dark like always, and his bedroom door was shut. Locked, too. I rested my head against it and sighed. “Nemo?”
