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“They definitely deserve it. Our parents can’t have been easy people to work for.” Mal agrees.
“I know we all need some rest but I would like us to sleep in shifts so that there’s always someone on watch, we are not safe here and we aren’t going to be until we know exactly what all the remaining parents are doing and who’s killing them off and whether they intend to go after us next,” Rome replies as we start the long trek up the stairs to Ace’s room.
I can’t help but be grateful that my own house is full of stairs and that my stamina has increased because of it, otherwise I would be huffing and puffing by the time we finally made it to Ace’s room.
When we do finally get there, he opens the door and lets out a harsh laugh, “Yeah, it’s got more furniture and is in better condition than it ever was when I lived here.”
The guys all look at him knowingly. As Rip replies, “At least you had a proper room dude, mine was in the attic and there were holes in the roof.”
Ace grimaces, “Yeah, you win. Although when I stayed here, the window was boarded up rather than being an actual window. I’ll stay on watch first. You guys make yourselves comfortable.”
“I’ll stay up with you,” Rome replies.
“You haven’t had as much sleep as the rest of us,” Mal points out and then adds, “I’ll stay up; you get some proper sleep.”
Surprisingly, Rome nods and doesn’t try to argue although he does say, “No one leaves this room by themselves.”
“Got it,” Mal replies.
We all find places to sleep, and considering the room is big enough that there are two couches set up facing a giant Tv and a vast bed that comfortably fit four of us, there’s plenty of space, but even so, Rip, Rome, Mason, and I all end up curled into the bed together and just like me none of them get undressed, we need to be ready if something happens, and that means not having to locate pants and wasting valuable time.
As I thought, because I spent quite a lot of the drive asleep, the guys were snoring long before me, and I end up slowly extracting myself from the middle of the guys on the bed and making my way over to Ace and Mal to watch some Tv in the hopes that I will be able to get a couple of hours of sleep since I know that tomorrow is going to be a long day. I end up with my head in Ace’s lap and my legs over Mal’s. Their quiet chuckling, coupled with Ace gently running his fingers through my hair, has me drifting off to sleep surprisingly quickly.
**********
Movement in the room wakes me up and staying as still as possible while keeping my breathing even, I try to decide if the noises are coming from friend or foe.
“Let her sleep for just a little bit longer,” I hear Ace mutter as his hand smooths my hair once again, and I wonder if he’s been stroking my hair for however long we’ve been asleep or whether he actually managed to get some sleep himself. It has got to be really weird for him to be back here, and I need to remember to check in on him when we get a spare moment alone. He said he was okay with his parents being dead, and I have no doubt that he is. I understand that; I’m more okay than I should be about my mom being dead, and she didn’t do half the things that Ace’s parents did, but being okay with them being dead and being in the house where so much abuse and so many memories have happened is not going to be easy, and I want to make sure that he's alright.
“I’m up,” I mutter, still with my eyes closed because Ace is still playing with my hair, and it’s making me sleepy again. When he leans over me and kisses my forehead, I practically melt into a puddle of happiness. I don’t know what it is about forehead kisses that always have that effect on me, but without fail they always make me happy.
Sounding amused, Rip asks, “Are you sure about that?”
“Ace’s fault,” I mutter.
Ace chuckles, “Want me to stop?”
“Nuh uh, but you probably should if you want me to get up any time soon,” I reply reluctantly.
“Unfortunately, Blue, you’re right. We have a lot to do today, so we’ve got to get going.”
Groaning, I sit up slowly and stretch, “Alright, now I’m really up. What’s the plan?”
Handing me a cup of coffee and then kissing me gently, completely unconcerned about morning breath, Rome replies, “Coffee first, and then we’re going to head over to my place and see what’s going on. At the very least, I’m going to offer the staff the same vacation time as Ace has given his staff. Like Rip pointed out last night, it’s safer for them to be gone at the moment anyway.”
“Sounds good although before we do that, I desperately need to pee?” I ask it as a question because I have no fucking idea where the bathroom is and I’m actually surprised I’ve managed to last this long without needing to go.
Ace looks across the room and points to a door that I assumed led to the closet, “Apparently they added a bathroom when I left as well.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I exclaim, thrusting my coffee at Ace, who catches it just in time as I practically sprint for the door. I hadn’t realised how much I needed to pee until I mentioned it.
The bathroom is massive and luxurious, and I can’t help but feel angry with Ace’s parents for making this a nice place to live after he left, not that I expect anything different from them considering that they were so focused on controlling this small town and staying in control of it that they were not only willing to kill Ace’s father’s parents but also their own son.
It's fucked up on so many levels, and I genuinely don’t understand how my guys have turned out to be the kind and loving men that they are. Of course, they are deadly and a little twisted, but they’re nothing like their parents, and I’m so incredibly grateful for that.
Stepping back out of the bathroom, I make grabby hands at my coffee, making the guys chuckle, and when Ace hands it to me, I smile gratefully as I thank him. For breakfast, we rummage through the bags that Ace and Mal grabbed last night and then arm up. Rome insists that we take more weapons because if his father is alive, he’s taking no fucking chances, and he orders us not to hesitate, just shoot.
It's obvious that he’s going to feel so much better about this situation once he sees that his father is actually dead.
