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“I found out Evie’s been looking at tattoos,” I tell the guys as I stroke her hair. Alexi appears to be typing out what looks to be a very stern email before he looks up and pockets his phone, giving this conversation all of his attention. I’ve never seen him do that for a girl before, and I love all the changes I’m seeing in him when it comes to her.
“Do I want to know how?” Alexi asks me, like he knows exactly what led me to that information. I ignore him in lieu of telling them my idea.
“I want to design something just for her as a gift from the three of us. I think those scars on her thigh really bother her, and I want to cover them with something good. Something like a promise. So, will you guys help me come up with something?”
“I’m not good at art,” Alexi begins, “but I do have a few ideas. I’ll send you an email with my thoughts and you can go from there. I’ve seen your skills, and it would be nice to see you getting back into drawing.”
I realize with all the stress of the university and everything with Evie, I haven’t sketched in a long time. In fact, the last thing I think I made was Damiens tattoo.
“I’ll text you my ideas,” Damien says, pulling out his phone.
Alexi stands and scoops Evie into his arms. She stirs just enough to see it’s him, then tucks herself into his chest. Damien and I follow until we all fall into Alexi’s bed together.
We’ve never stayed in here before, but as we all crawl under the sheets with Alexi on one side of Evie and me on the other with Damien, who’s pushing his hard dick into my ass, everything feels right. For the first time in what feels like forever, I feel a sense of home.
Chapter 22
I wake to a familiar sound that splits my heart in two pieces. My eyes open to find Lev holding Evie while she fights him, sweat coating her body and Alexi standing at the side of the bed looking terrified. He turns on the bedside lamp and though I find a sense of comfort in knowing what to do for her here, I also feel so broken for everything she’s feeling right now.
I push myself up and take her from Lev's arms just as she begins shaking. Lev grabs a trash can, holding it out for her as she starts panting and screaming. The trembling in her body is so intense I have to keep her pressed to me so she doesn’t slip from my grip.
She starts heaving into the trash can. Her eyes look glazed over, as if she’s still trapped in the memories of her past. Alexi moves to leave, clearly scared shitless at the sight. I get it, but Lev grabs his hand and tells him to go get a wet washcloth. Sometimes, Evie will wake up on her own after feeling us here, but tonight doesn’t seem like one of those times.
He comes back to the room and holds out the cloth, but just like myself, I know he needs to do something.
“Just press it to her head and slowly move it down her neck,” I instruct him.
“What if she doesn’t want me to touch her?” he asks hesitantly.
“I think we’re all past that,” Lev says, moving Evie’s hair back and securing it with a clip so it’s out of her face.
Alexi gently touches the cloth to her face, and I can feel Evie’s body as it gives up the fight. Her muscles relax one by one, and she starts sinking into my arms. I keep her close, letting the skin of my chest be her anchor as she breathes me in. Then she starts to cry.
That’s something new and hasn’t happened before the withdrawal. Lev gets into the bed next to me, and I slide her into his arms. She buries her face in his chest and lets it out. I rub her back and Alexi hovers over me, keeping the cloth on her body and gently dabbing away the sweat.
She hates this, I know. She hates looking weak. She hates everything about what this state does to her mind and how she can’t do a damn thing to change it. When the sobbing stops she rolls over to face me. Her eyes are dark and haunted.
I think even when she’s able to wake up from a dream, it doesn’t really leave her completely. I know her, and I know there’s no way she’s going back to sleep after this. Lev and Alexi both look exhausted. Lev stayed up with her when this happened last night and took her for a run, so I decide to take my turn and don’t give any of them a choice about it. I scoop her out of bed and into my arms.
“We’re gonna go for a drive,” I tell others. “You guys go back to sleep, we will be back soon.”
“Keep her on the property,” Alexi says in a low tone.
I hadn’t planned to take her off, especially after our little intruder came knocking, but I give him a nod anyway.
“I can walk,” Evie says once we’re out in the hall.
“Thanks for that information, Little Shadow. I was worried there for a moment that the nightmare took away your ability to use your legs.” My voice drips sarcasm as I pull her closer to me and make it very clear I have zero intention to set her on her feet.
She doesn't argue. I think she knows I need this. I want to have her close after seeing her like that, just as much as she wants us to help her through it. I know she used to do it alone, but I never want her to have to go through that again.
Approaching my car in the garage, her gaze locks on the set of doors in the back that lead down to the basement. The hatred in her eyes is clear. She’s fuming because that man brought back these nightmares and stripped her of her moment of peace.
Hopefully, I can bring it back to her, even if just for a moment.
I slide her into the electric purple corvette convertible and take the top off. It’s cold as fuck outside, but the wind will bring us back to the world. There’s something about the feeling of going fast and the cold biting into your flesh that wakes you up from the inside out. My little shadow needs to awaken.
Before I get in the car, I jog back inside to grab some blankets from the couches in a nearby sitting room. I toss them to Evie and she laughs, pulling one around her tightly and unclipping her hair. She likes to feel the wind just like I do.
