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In Greece Liam was the one who brought us all together, and I thought that was the end of it. I’d come to terms with the fact that I just had to move on, so why can’t they? I’ve never known Liam to be deceptive, so why does it feel more like I’m staring at the two-faces of Janus from Greek myths than my consort?
My lips are parted and regret grips my heart in its ice-cold grip as Gus pushes away from me, and stands up, disappearing into my bathroom. As I hear the water running, I get the sense that my cousin is about to rebuild his mental walls. I can’t let him do that, not after what we just shared.
It’s only as I get up from the floor that I realize I’m still naked. I reach for the tussled, white sheet on the bed and wrap it around my nude frame, even taking the time to brush and braid my hair before I break the deafening silence between myself, Liam, and Kai.
“I get why you did it,” I say, looking at them through the mirror on my vanity table. Where Kai looks down, almost looking ashamed or at least bashful, Liam straightens his spine, and rolls his shoulders. The look in his amber eyes is a non-verbal challenge. “But it’s not okay. It’s never okay when I’m with one of you.”
The sentiment I’m trying to get across falls flat. What right do I have to lecture them when the last time they entered my apartment, and I was screaming Gus’ name, it wasn’t in pleasure, not pleasure-pain… it was purely painful.
“I thought we’d moved past it,” I say, trying a different tactic when Liam looks like he’s about to explode. “You’re the one who sealed the wound in Greece when you made me accept Gus’ apology.”
The harrowing sound coming from Liam sends chills down my spine. “Is that so? So because I wasn’t a complete asshole right after he lost his dad, I just have to accept what he did?”
“I guess not,” I mumble, feeling at a loss of what to say. “But you have to accept that I can take care of myself—”
“Oh, like you did that night? Are you going to pretend you had everything under control?” Liam is practically vibrating with… I want to say anger, though I’m not sure that’s it. It’s part of it, but not all of it. “He fucking hurt you, agápi. How can you just let that slide? Don’t you know you’re better than all of us.”
I let out a surprised yelp and leap to the side as Liam storms towards me. Before I can say anything, his fist connects with the mirror, sending shards of glass raining.
“Liam!” I gasp, my hand on my chest as though I can calm my racing heart with the touch alone.
Turning on me, he closes the distance between us and wraps me in his arms. Even though his hold is bruising, his whispers are sweet.
“I don’t think—” I wave Kai off and return my consort’s embrace.
As I feel his big body trembling against mine, I think I finally understand what’s going through his head.
My big consort is scared. The night Gus put his hands on me in anger Liam got a glimpse of something he’s never had to face before, my mortality. The actual possibility that someone or something could rip me away from him at a moment’s notice.
Like me, my consort aces compartmentalizing, and his sole focus is always on me—my safety. When I was taken and auctioned off, he had a plan, a nucleus. Seeing me cry out in actual pain from something Gus—someone he trusted—was doing, that’s a different battle all together.
“I’m okay, Liam. In fact, I’m great. He did nothing I didn’t want. Do you hear me?” My shoulder is muffling his answering groan, so I tug at his hair until he lifts his head and looks at me. “I’m serious.”
I let him hold me for a while longer, I don’t know how long but it’s enough for him to calm down and loosen his hold on me.
Thoughts on how the hell to move on from this keep running through my mind. However, no matter how much I try I keep coming up with nothing. Maybe I could just tell them to get over it, I won’t do that though. That only leaves me with one option…
As soon as Gus exits the bathroom, I rush in there and take a quick shower. Once I’m done, I reach for whatever clothes I have out here; underwear, a pair of black shorts that reach me just above my knee, and a white sheer mesh top with an in-built bra. Knowing that I can’t stay in here forever, I take one last look at myself in the mirror, tugging some loose strands of hair back into the braid, before I walk back into my bedroom.
The glass from the mirror is no longer strewn across my floor, by now the only evidence of Liam’s outburst is the empty mirror frame. I look around for my jeans and as soon as I spot them, I bend down and retrieve my phone. It feels heavy—much too heavy—in my hand as I text a reply to the number that I, until today, never thought I was going to use, but saved all the same. The reply I get is almost instant, and I sigh as I read the four damning words.
Traitor: Be there in twenty!
After finding one of my favorite pairs of flats, I sit down on the bed to put them on. As I slip the first one on, I wonder if the lack of any sounds is a good or bad thing.
“We want to talk to you,” Kai says, entering my bedroom before I decide on whether or not I should be nervous because of the absence of heated arguments or the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
“I don’t have time,” I say while I gather the few belongings I want to take with me.
Without looking at him I walk out and into the main room, surprised to see Liam and Gus both nursing a beer at the dining table.
“Going somewhere?” Liam asks. Since the other two don’t look at him, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who hears the distress in his voice.
“I am,” I affirm. “The three of you have some stuff you need to work out, and I frankly don’t feel like being in the middle of all that testosterone until you come to terms with each other.”
It’s the coward’s way out, I know it is—but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. This has to be their decision. If I make it for them, it won’t count for shit, and I’m hoping they know that.
“And what if we never see eye-to-eye?” Kai asks, leaning casually against the doorframe. His arms are crossed over his chest, and his green eyes sparkle with amusement while his lips are lifted in one corner in an arrogant smirk.
