Corvus shoved the pizza into his mouth, his eyes never leaving Kreed. Kreed wiped his hands on his napkin, and I saw Hudson reach under the table to grip Kreed’s thigh.
“A social worker will be making a stop at your parents’ house and doing a home inspection. Makes it easier for them to do so with them living in government housing.”
Corvus set down his pizza, looking a little green. I grabbed a napkin and reached over to clean his hands so I could hold them without them being greasy and us making a mess of anything.
“If they find what I’m assuming they will, they’ll be taken into custody and booked in county. From there, a deep dive will be done into their finances. If it can be proven that they got random deposits into an account, it will make it easier to prove that they had you sexually assaulted and raped in exchange for payment. We’re going to attempt to pin every charge we can on them.”
Corvus scrubbed at his face as soon as his hands were clean and flopped against the back of his chair. Kip gripped the nape of his neck, trying to help ground him.
“Does this mean I’ll have to testify against them in court?” Corvus asked.
“More than likely,” Kreed told him.
“If you can’t do that,chibi, we can just try to pin anything else on them, okay? We won’t force you to go through anything you’re not ready for. We’re just trying to get you justice and make sure they pay for everything they’ve done to you. That’s all.”
Corvus shook his head. “No, I can do it. I just… need to prepare myself. That’s all.”
“We’ll be here for you every step of the way,” Kreed promised him. “You’re not alone in this, Corvus. I wish we’d knownsooner, but I understand keeping trauma bottled up inside, even if I don’t agree with it.” He looked at Hudson, the two of them having their own silent conversation before Hudson leaned in and softly kissed Kreed, almost seemingly apologetic.
“Can we just finish eating?” Corvus asked, frowning at his plate. “And then, I think I just want a fucking nap. Today has been too long already.”
“Yeah, bub.” I gently squeezed his bicep. “Eat then go on to bed. Kip and I will clean up and see Kreed and Hudson out then come to you.”
He nodded. Hudson frowned at him but kept his mouth shut, which I assumed was out of the norm for him if Kreed’s concerned glance toward Hudson was anything to go by.
Corvus finished his two slices of pizza, cleaned his hands, then pushed back from the table without a word, heading for our room. Hudson clenched his jaw, staring after his best friend.
“We’ll take care of him,” I promised them. “He’s safe here, and he’s protected.” Even then, I heard him calling Mercy to get on the bed with him. “He has his phone now, too.” Hudson had apparently given it to Kip before going outside, and it was on the charger in the living room. “If he doesn’t answer, just call me or Kip. He may want to disconnect for a while, and I think we might enforce a no-phone rule for a little while, too. Just to give him time to rest and recenter himself.”
“Understandable,” Kreed said, smiling at us, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked at Hudson. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home. He’s okay here.”
Hudson sighed.
“I don’t understand why he didn’t come to me,” he muttered, pushing back from the table and standing.
“He feels a need to protect everyone from his own issues,” Kip said as he stacked dishes and closed the pizza boxes. “We’ll be working on that.”
“Good,” Hudson grumbled then promptly turned on his heel and headed for the front door.
Kreed reached over the table to shake our hands. “I wish we’d met under better circumstances, but it was nice meeting the both of you. Please take care of him. He’s Hudson’s only family outside of me.”
“We’llalwaystake care of him,” I swore. “He’s quickly becoming the center of our universe.”
Kreed’s smile was more genuine that time. “Good. He deserves to be after so long of fighting on his own.”
And with that, he left, following his fiancé out the door.
Chapter Twenty
Corvus
I leaned back my head, letting the warm shower water beat down on my skull. I’d woken up sandwiched between Michelle and Kip, and it’d immediately made me feel a bit better knowing they hadn’t left me alone while I’d been napping. Today had been rough enough without having to wake up alone. Even Mercy slept at the foot of the bed, with her big head resting on my legs, instead of being in the kennel I had a feeling they put her in to sleep.
I was quickly becoming addicted to the idea of my own little family outside of Hudson and Kreed. They had each other, and now, I had my own people, too. People who worshiped me and loved me in a way I’d craved for so long. They didn’t give me room to second-guess anything with them because they laid out everything so plainly for me. They didn’t hide their feelings or try to slow things down between us.
I’d only known them for a few short days—a week, at most—and I already knew Kip and Michelle were my forever people. MyMommy and Daddy. The people who would take care of me for the rest of our lives.
When I emerged from the bathroom with only a towel around my hips since I didn’t have any clothes to change into, Kip and Michelle were lounging on the bed, cuddled up together. They had a movie paused on the TV on the opening credits. Immediately, Michelle moved and patted the spot between them. “Come sit.”
