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The guys scramble, dropping into chairs. They avoid my father’s chair as if they know, and I stare at it for a moment before sitting in it, breathing in his scent.
“They brought lots of food,” Jai says, passing me a plate. “Eat, you need it.”
I nod, staring down at the full plate. The fire crackles at my side, their scents invade my home, and I smirk. “I never let anyone stay here, not really. This is my sanctuary.”
“We can leave,” Lucien offers.
“No, no, I like having your scents here, and I don’t want to be alone,” I reply sadly.
“Then we will never leave you alone again,” Vale vows. “Now eat, then we can sleep. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”
The shifts will do that to them. I eat quickly, not that I taste much, but I know I need to since I’ve missed meals and have been shifting and fighting, not to mention healing. Once the plate is cleaned, I head to the bathroom. I take a stinging hot shower, coming out in an oversized button-up shirt to find them waiting in my bed.
“Hope this is okay. There isn’t much room down there.” Lucien winces. “We can sleep on the floor?—”
“No, it’s fine,” I mutter, climbing between them and lying down. “It will be your wolf instincts too. Wolves like to pile up and sleep close for warmth and comfort,” I explain, since they don’t know a lot.
“What’s Jai’s excuse then?” Vale chuckles.
“He’s a perv.” I smile softly as he grins at me.
“Too right.”
I settle down then, forcing my eyes shut as they get comfy, and within moments, they are asleep, no doubt exhausted from the day. Their warmth invades the coldness that I haven’t been able to shake ever since Jang died, but it’s not enough to make me drift off. My eyes open, and my hand slides under my pillow.
I slide my picture out, peering at the familiar, torn image, but all it offers is pain, not comfort.
I listen to them snore. They move as they sleep, so I’m practically piled under them, but I’m still cold and my heart still hurts as if finally coming home has made it all that much more real.
He will never sit in that chair again.
He will never walk with me in the forest.
We will never run together.
We will never sit in that office again. Everything is gone, but Marie is right: his memories live on in me. I’m just worried what will happen when they start to fade. Will I forget the way hesmiled? The way he laughed? His scent? The way his chair would creak as he turned to look at me?
I don’t want to forget anything, and that makes it hurt all the more.
Clutching my picture, I slip out of their embrace and head to the lake, sitting on the shore. I let the water wash over my feet as I peer down.
I have lost so many. Only Marie is left now. I wonder how long it will be before this picture is just a memory and there will be none of us.
Moon, I feel so alone right now, so lost.
I’m home, but I’ve never felt more confused and unsure.
A noise has me jerking my head around, and I find Jai standing behind me.
“I felt you call for me,” he murmurs softly.
I blink. Did I?
I guess, in my own way, I did. I hold out my hand, and he takes it, sitting next to me and looking down at the picture. “Are those your parents?” I nod, and he smiles. “You look like them. They seem happy.”
“They were,” I admit softly. “Now they are just memories.”
“True, but they were here, Quinn. Nobody can take that away. Time is funny. They are gone now, but they were here. They influenced this earth with their time here, even if you don’t see it. Your life is filled with moments of them, and they live on in those moments.” He scoops water up and lets it trickle through his fingers. “Just like water, droplets are part of a whole. They will never leave you, Quinn.” He tilts his hand, letting the water drip away, leaving a wet sheen behind.
