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“How nicely decorated your place is. I was wondering if there was a woman in the picture.”
“You don’t think I could decorate my place without the help of a girlfriend?” he teases.
“Honestly if any of you could, it would be you.” I glance away from him as my nerves get the best of me. “But it doesn’t change the question. I don’t want to intrude on any of your guys’ relationships. I can find a place to stay—”
“No.” His tone is firm as he interrupts me. “You’re staying here, with us, even if there were women in the picture. There’s not, though. We’re all single.”
I nod, unsure how to classify my feelings and how to respond. I can’t say good, but I also can’t be fake. He’d see right through me so silence it is.
“Do you want something to drink?” He walks to the refrigerator. “I have water, beer, and Gatorade. Actually, I’m giving you a Gatorade. You look like you haven’t eaten in months, Liv.”
I chew my lip again, trying to decide if I should open up and tell him this part before everyone else is here. “I haven’t been allowed to eat regularly for a while,” I finally say, opening up to him. “Tripp said I was getting too fat, so he restricted my food intake to one meal a day, prepared by a private vegan chef.”
He turns away from me and grabs the kitchen counter for a minute. His knuckles turn white—I imagine with the effort of not exploding. Something inside me cracks at seeing the intensity of his reaction, of having someone care so deeply about me. Finally, he turns around and walks toward me. He lifts his hand to my jaw, swiping his thumb under my bottom lip. “I feel like we’re going to hear worse stories than that from you tonight, aren’t we?”
I nod as a single tear escapes my eye. He catches it with his thumb before kissing me on the cheek.
“You are safe here. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
His kindness feels so foreign after years of abuse. I don’t know how to process the changes of the past week. From living through a hellish nightmare, to a rushed and unplanned escape, and back to these men. Once upon a time they were my best friends, my soulmates, my everything. But this isn’t a fairy tale, and I have nothing left to lose.
“I’m going to go find you some clothes to wear,” he says before leaving me in the living room. I sit down on a couch and rest my head on the arm—the exhaustion of everything catching back up with me. I close my eyes, telling myself I’ll just doze for a few minutes.
* * *
Hushed voices from the kitchen wake me up. A glance out of the window tells me I slept a lot longer than a few minutes. The sky is completely dark—the skyline lit up with city lights. I turn my head to the kitchen and see the four of them—Grant must have arrived while I was sleeping—circled up, discussing something, probably me.
I let myself absorb the sight of them all. Each one is commanding in his own right, but the four of them together are enough to overpower anyone. Grant is the only one still in business attire; he’s wearing a pair of gray dress pants and a blue button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up of course. These guys have never missed an opportunity to show off their muscles. His wavy, sandy blonde hair looks like he’s been running his fingers through it all day.
“I think we should wake her to eat,” Nolan whispers. “She’s skin and bones under that baggy sweater.”
“Yeah,” Sawyer agrees, “that fucker was restricting her diet. Had a vegan chef making her one meal a day, and that’s it.”
“The fuck!” Lake roars, startling me as I enter the kitchen. When I jump, he looks across to me apologetically. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No,” I shake my head, “but I could go for some food.” I look tentatively over at Grant who manages to look everywhere but at me. After a minute of trying to get him to acknowledge me, I stop. I try not to let it get to me, but saying it’sa disappointment would be an understatement.
“What sounds good?” Nolan asks as he opens a food delivery app on his phone. “Our choices are literally endless.”
I think about it for a second and then realize I haven’t had a burger in over a year. “I’d love a burger, to be honest. A greasy one with some good fries sounds amazing.”
“Done.” He smiles at me as he punches an order in. “Should be here within a half hour.”
“Let’s sit in the living room and catch up,” Sawyer suggests.
I hang back to see if Grant will finally acknowledge me. He glances over as he brushes past me in the kitchen. “Olivia,” is all he says as he walks by.
It hurts, the vacancy behind his green eyes when he looks at me. It’s like I don’t even register as his old friend. I turn to see Nolan looking just as confused by the interaction as I am hurt. He meets my gaze and holds his arm out. After a second’s hesitation, I tuck myself into his side, calmed by his easy acceptance of the situation.
“Liv,” Sawyer calls out, “I laid some clothes out on the guest bed if you want to change first.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“First door on the right past the kitchen,” Nolan says as he lets go of me.
I give him a grateful smile and walk down the hall, taking a look around the room to see all the sophisticated touches that have Sawyer’s name all over them. The light gray walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and plush carpet all scream luxury. On the bed is a Columbia hoodie, a pair of gray sweatpants, and a black t-shirt. I opt for the t-shirt now that I’ve been in a comfortable environment for the past few hours. The chill has finally left my body.
I look over my shoulder and see an attached bathroom. A shower is screaming my name, so I decide to take a quick one before I change. There are towels hanging and bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash already in the shower.
