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I sighed in relief once more and leaned in closer to Drake, wrapping my arms around his middle. I saw Noah reach around Drake and grab my shampoo. I almost groaned in pleasure when he massaged my scalp with the shampoo.
“You have blood in your hair,” Noah explained as he gently worked it through my hair.
“It’s becoming an awful habit,” I tried to joke.
Noah groaned as Drake began to run his hands up and down my back. “Don’t quit your day job, Blake. You really scared us this time,” he murmured with regret lacing his voice. “We’re never leaving you alone again.”
I could still hear the muffled shouts of Will through the bathroom door. “I was careless.” I sighed. “I should have been paying attention, or taken the route on the property, but…”
“You were too worried about Remy, Jace, and Jaxson.” Noah reached around us to grab the conditioner. “Troy and I have already told Jace and Jaxson that we need to air everything out…but…”
“Jaxson still misses his aunt and mom, even if they abandoned them,” Drake finished quietly. “And Jace thinks he’s been coping with it correctly.”
I tried to shrug, “I understand why it’s hard to talk about our demons, but I wish they could talk to me about it, if or when they felt the need to. I feel like my life is pretty much public knowledge, but not theirs.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Noah hedged.
“Oh yeah,” I said slightly upset that it seemed like he was defending them. “Who in your circle of friends doesn’t know Molly is Remy’s cousin? Does anyone in your lives not know Jax and Jace’s mother and another significant female in their lives, are still alive?” After a moment of silence, I continued. “Just as I thought,” I said bitterly. “The person that should probably know these things, doesn’t.”
“They will,” Noah sounded contrite, and then he said confidently as he ran his fingers through my hair with the conditioner, like a comb, “When they’re ready.”
I had to stifle the growl of frustration. I counted to ten and then I nodded. “I can accept that.” I closed my eyes, feeling beyond tired. I couldn’t let my anger and hurt fester. “I just don’t want to always be in the dark. I feel like you guys know pretty much everything about me,” I finished quietly.
Noah finished washing my body with my loofah and body wash. I was nearly sleeping on my feet by the time they were finished.
I woke up sometime later in my bed. I felt like I was in a vice grip, before I realized it was Jaxson cuddled against my chest. He was asleep, his long black lashes fanned across his cheeks. I reached up and caressed his cheek.
He slowly blinked his eyes open. A look of relief spread across his face. “Hey beautiful,” he croaked huskily, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Hey there,” I responded quietly. “What time is it?” I asked looking around. All the curtains were drawn, making it difficult to see what time of day it was.
He lifted his arm and pushed the side of his watch, the green light briefly illuminated the face of the watch. “1:22,” he stated as he dropped a kiss on my nose. I could feel a tremor wrack his body. “Please don’t ever scare me like that again. When we got back here, you looked dead.”
“What happened? I know Drake said he arrived there shortly before Rachel, Jemmy, and Gavin showed up, but how did Micah get there? He was at the pumpkin patch.” I ran comforting hands along his back.
“I called Dad and told him to send Micah to the billboard,” Jax explained. “Drake had the forcefield protecting you, and Gavin was tapping into your gift, but,” he cleared his throat. His voice came out thick. “He said it was really weak. He felt like you were slipping away. He thought you were dying. He was able to keep them occupied until Micah brought you back here and we arrived there.”
I shuddered. “I was running, I didn’t even see them. I slipped on a patch of ice that came from nowhere. I fell and hit my head, hard. I couldn’t get my bearings. I was unable to use my gifts. They wanted to inject me with that damn drugged balls that those women had in them. They didn’t need to, I was…helpless to stop them,” I felt tears on my cheek. “Those sadistic bastards decided to toy with me and electrocuted me, it felt like they poured ice through my veins, and had weeds nearly strangle me to death. I thought I saw Drake before I passed out.”
He gently kissed my tears away and pulled me closer. “Anyone of us could have acted like that. There were five of them, and they took you by surprise, but they won’t be preying on anyone else ever again,” Jaxson said with a voice full of steel.
Chapter 24
“How much trouble am I in,” I asked Jaxson as I slid on a pair of jeans.
He was laying on my bed, his arms braced behind his head. We had talked for a little while longer before I decided I needed to face the music and see how the children were doing. I had wallowed in my own misery long enough. It was a terrifying experience, and I knew it would continue to haunt me until I learned to cope with it, but I knew me. I knew the longer I dwelled on my demons, the larger they got. I needed to stay busy, keep my hands and mind busy.
Today was Halloween. I should be down there carving pumpkins with them. We planned to make pumpkin seeds. We wanted to make ‘spooky’ treats with them.
Jaxson looked confused for a moment. “Dad was upset that you went out there by yourself, especially with everything that’s going on, but he was furious with us. I thought I lost the fear of my father, until today. I swear he was thi
s close,” he said as he held up his thumb and forefinger mere centimeters apart in illustration, “…to spanking and grounding us.”
I couldn’t help but giggle, even if the situation had been grave. “So, no spankings or grounding, for me.”
Jaxson sat up suddenly and slid to the side of my bed. He bit his bottom lip, and I could see the desire enter his eyes. “Why do you like spankings?”
I paused as I pulled a soft sweater over my head. I cocked my head to the side in thought. “I don’t know. My dad was a huge believer of spare the rod, spoil the child. However, I rarely needed them. I wasn’t a bad kid. Ornery? Mischievous? Yes.” I answered him, knowing exactly what he had meant.
