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My stoic expression almost slips as laughter bubbles inside me. Is he really that delusional? Maybe I should be angry about the threats to my brothers, but how can I be when he truly thinks Mia loves him? Still, I have the urge to laugh, and I have to call upon years of practice to continue looking indifferent.
Knowing that my tight hold on myself is being tested like never before, I place the small camera we got from Martin on the shelf and leave the basement. Only able to find the slightest satisfaction in the fact that I didn’t give him anything to eat or drink.
Let the fucker suffer!
As soon as Alec and Kas came back from getting ready, we switched, and I had a lightning-quick shower. Matching my brothers, I dress in one of my suits, but I don’t choose a black one, unlike them. Mine is dark blue, and paired with a crisp white shirt, I know I’ll pass my mom’s imposed dress code.
Looking in the mirror one last time, I allow myself to second guess our plan again. With Mia losing the man she loved like a father, I don’t know if she’ll be up for being around my family. Both Kas and Alec have argued that point since I accepted my parents’ invitation yesterday, and I know there’s a chance they’re right. However, I can’t just let her keep staying in that fucking basement.
After leaving my room, I knock softly on her door, unsure if she’s still getting ready or already downstairs. When there’s no answer, I open the door, and the sight that meets me makes me want to rush to her.
She’s sitting on her bed, clutching a picture of Mark in her shaking hands while tears run down her cheeks and non-verbal but sorrowful noises are wrenched from her throat. I watch as she takes a deep breath before saying,“I-it’s not f-fair. You did nothing w-wrong.” She’s speaking into her phone as sobs make her voice quiver, and before my mind can process what I’m seeing, my body carries me over to the bed, and I sit down next to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder. As soon as my arm is around her, she gasps my name. “Coen?” Making it sound like a question.
Since I arrived at Serendipity almost a week ago, I haven’t touched her. Actually, I don’t think any of us have. Not even accidental or innocent brushes. Fuck, Alec panicked when his fingers almost grazed hers the other morning as he passed her a cup of coffee. To say that our house is fucked up at the moment would be like saying it’s a little windy when there’s a category five hurricane destroying everything in its wake.
The relief I feel as Mia leans into my touch is all-consuming, and I revel in the feeling of her moving closer, like she needs my comfort. Throwing her arms around my neck, she drops the phone she was holding against her ear, resting her head on my shoulder, and I wrap both my arms tightly around her in a secure hold. With her hair tickling my nose, I can’t stop myself from smelling her. I let her familiar scent invade my nostrils, and for a moment, while I hold her in my arms, I let myself enjoy the feeling of her.
It’s all kinds of wrong, I know it is. I shouldn’t be enjoying her breakdown. The only thing that makes me feel a little better is the knowledge that it’s not her pain that makes me happy, it’s that I’m touching her again.
Ever since that night in the classroom, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to touch her again. Especially not after she told me she loved me, and I said fucking nothing. Like a damn fool, I didn’t tell her how I felt. But how can I not love her? The infuriating and perfect woman in my arms is the kind of person who can make a monk weep at the prospect of never being able to have her.
The longer I hold her, the calmer she gets. Until she’s no longer shaking with the violent emotions, she has hidden from us. I’m half expecting her to pull away from me, but she doesn’t. Instead, she pushes herself closer.
“Coen?”
After pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, I answer, “Yes?”
“I know you have plans tonight, but can we not go to your parents’? I overheard you guys talking, and I don’t think I can face meeting them now.”
I don’t want to deny her anything, but I don’t want her to spend another night in the basement either. “What do you want to do, then? We need to reach a compromise because you need to get out of the house.” Mia sighs wistfully, and when she moves, I tighten my hold on her. “Not yet. I’m not ready to let go,” I admit.
Turning so she’s looking at me, she says, “If you want me to go anywhere, you need to tell me what to do.” I’m so taken aback by this that my hold slackens and my arms fall limply at my side. “Take the option away from me. Order me to go, and I will, but I need you to take my choice.” Even though her words mirror my thoughts from earlier, it’s still surprising and a little bit of a turn on to hear her vocalizing my cogitation.
Can I even do this? Should I do this? It’s all sorts of fucked up and an immense responsibility. With the way my dick is growing in my suit pants, I’m becoming even more aware of how much I like the mere thought. Although that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do, it makes the offer harder to turn down.
Grinding my teeth together, I agree because what else can I do? If she said she needed to go to the end of the world, I’d find a way to make it possible and join her.
“Fine. Get up and wash your face. You should probably dress in something more comfortable,” I command her while I unashamedly eye fuck the skimpy black dress she’s wearing. “I expect you downstairs in twenty minutes, and then we’re leaving.”
Mia closes the distance between our lips and presses hers softly against mine. Her tears wet both our cheeks when she kisses me reverently, like I just lifted a tremendous weight off her shoulders. “Thank you,” she murmurs before pulling away from me.
I run my hands through my tousled hair while watching her disappear into the bathroom, but she doesn’t manage to close the door before I see the lost look in her eyes reflected in the mirror. I inhale through my teeth and exhale audibly before I follow my own advice and dress down before I join Kas and Alec in our kitchen.
“She wants you to do what?” Much to my annoyance, Alec isn’t even trying to keep his voice down. “You can’t do this, CJ. She can’t hide from what happened or how it’s left her feeling. She needs to deal with the pain, not lock it away.” Alec buttons his jeans with sharp, angry movements before kicking his suit away.
Rather than sending them upstairs to change, I brought their favorite clothes with me downstairs, and now they’re getting changed while I’m filling them in on Mia’s request.
I’m about to retort when Kas speaks up. “It’s not like the three of us are a great advertisement for any self-help shit, so who are we to judge her? If she needs this, I say we help her how she wants it.” His face is momentarily hidden while he pulls on his dark blue hoodie, and his glasses are resting on the counter. When Alec opens his mouth, Kas goes on. “Alec, can you honestly say that you’re the best person to tell anyone how to deal with feelings and trauma? No offense, but you’re one of the worst I know. I’m not saying that CJ should order her to do his laundry or empty the dishwasher, but if she needs someone else to help take control, I don’t see a problem with that.”
“Fine,” Alec snaps. “Fucking fine. But CJ, you better know what you’re doing. So far, we’re lucky that the police haven’t been here for more questioning, especially since Mr. Riley is missing.”
My breath saws out of me. “I know, fuck, I know. There’s too much to do and not enough time.”
The three of us have our hands in our jeans pockets, sheepishly looking around our kitchen. I’m willing to bet that we’re all thinking the same thing; everything is so fucking complicated, and we’re no criminal masterminds. One wrong step and the proverbial house of cards will explode—obliterate all of us in one fell swoop.
The only reason that we’ve been able to weather the storm so far is Martin. Together with his team, they deleted the email Mr. Riley sent Mia and hacked the security recordings at Serendipity in no time. Stitching it together so it looked like Mr. Riley left the building himself. Fuck, they even cut out the part of Mia hitting him. None of us have seen the fabricated evidence, but Martin assured us it would hold up in court. Honestly, if it weren’t for him, we’d all be fucked. My idea had been to just delete the security tape, but Martin pointed out that it would look suspicious. He convinced us that the best way around all this would be to edit it to make it look like Mr. Riley left by himself so no one would suspect foul play when he’s missing.
The task was completed in a few hours, and Lila and Mia called the police from one of the office phones. Both women were very cooperative, and as soon as they’d been checked over at the hospital, Mia and I went down to the station to give our statements. Even though Mia wasn’t happy I had to go as well, there was no way around it because she called me before the police. Of course, we got our story straight first. Me, Mia, and Lila told them that Mia had panicked and called me and that I spent a few hours calming her down and convincing her to call the police. Given the state that the two women were in, no one really questioned us on that one. After all, it made sense that she panicked and called her boyfriend, who had to calm her down and reason with her.
