“I’d love that,” Dad says with a smile.
Is it true? Could I really be this lucky that I have my Dad back?
Chapter Thirteen
Milly
I am standing atthe counter, cutting potatoes for dinner. It feels weird to be holding a knife, because Mom and Greg always locked them up. I was never allowed to cook, but I learned in college. I wanted to be self-sufficient, so I took a class. I told Mom and Greg that it was to make sure I’d be a good wife, but really, I just didn’t want to starve to death.
Last night, we came home, and I promptly went to sleep. I was mentally exhausted. I woke up today between Grayson and Adam. They had their arms wrapped around me and were snuggled close. I didn’t have a nightmare last night, which is great. I’d like to think that getting my memories sorted has helped.
Today is also the first day I haven’t hyperfocused on Molly. It’s getting easier to not miss her as time passes. She’s becoming more like an imaginary friend, rather than someone I’ve lost. I didn’t lose her because she never existed.
Something prompts me to look up, and I see Grayson and Adam standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching me. They’re calm and happy. “Hey,” I say. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Just looking,” Grayson says with a soft smile as he walks around to wrap his arms around me from behind. I giggle when he kisses my neck, but wiggle to back him up.
“Don’t distract me unless you’d rather me have fewer fingers,” I say. He grabs my chin and turns my face to kiss me. When he pulls back, I grin at him. “What’s up with you?”
“He’s trying to be normal,” Adam says. “What are you making?”
“Chipotle chicken with roasted potatoes and asparagus,” I say. I move the potatoes from the cutting board into a mixing bowl before grabbing the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I don’t know if this is authentic, but it’s cheap and delicious. I start by cutting the peppers open and gently removing the seeds. I can handle spice, but the seeds weird me out.
“Gray,” I say as I start finely chopping the chipotle peppers. My goal is to basically purée them. I suppose I could just put them in a food processor, but that’s just another dish to wash.
“Yes?” he asks from behind me.
“I’m not going to stab myself. You don’t have to hover,” I remark, and Adam laughs.
“I’m sorry. I’m trying,” he says, kissing my cheek and going around the island to sit with Adam.
“Why do you seem nervous?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “I suppose I expected you to spiral after meeting your father.”
“I think that as I introduce myself to things, it’s like it’s straightening everything out inside my head. At first, it was hard, but then everything started to unwind and make sense,” I tell him. “Exposure therapy.”
“There’s an idea,” Adam says.
“What, expose me to my triggers?” I ask.
“Mhmm. Throw you into the dark and help you find your way out.”
“Pretty sure that’s Gray’s kink,” I say, and Grayson chuckles. “But as much as he says he likes to trigger and scare women as he fucks them, it must be the others, because he doesn’t with me.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Gray asks with a frown.
“It means you mentioned it, but you haven’t gone anywhere near it,” I explain. “Tell me right now you haven’t done that shit with Hope.”
“I’m not going to be interrogated in my own home,” Grayson quips before getting up to leave. His childish response distracts me, and I fumble the knife. When I drop it, my first instinct is to grab it.
“Shit!” I hiss, dropping the knife when it slices into my palm just below my thumb. Adam jumps up and comes around to me as Grayson turns back to see what happened. “Ah, fuck. That had peppers on it still.”
“You’re okay. Let’s run some water on it,” Adam says as he takes my hand and walks me to the sink.
“Holy fuck, that burns,” I whine.
“I’m sure it does,” he says. “It’s pretty deep. You’re going to need some stitches.”
