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“They were from several weeks ago.”
“They’ve been there for weeks?” Liam asked, straightening. “What? That’s not normal. It can’t be healthy.”
Nico shook his head. “Could be something else. Anemia, maybe.”
“Explains why she’s so pale,” Liam muttered. “Doesn’t eat enough.”
“Yeah, she probably needs to be checked by a doctor.”
“Let’s figure that in somehow.”
“I am still here, you know,” she told them. “And I don’t need a doctor. I feel fine.”
Liar.
Liam arched an eyebrow. “There’ll be no lies between us, baby girl. Not even small ones. You tell us everything.”
“This isn’t going to work, you guys. I can’t . . . I can’t be what you need.”
“Can’t? Or are you too scared to try?” Liam challenged her. “Because those are two different things. Are you going to let what happened define you? Are you going to let it rule you? Or are you going to move on, find happiness, be everything you ever wanted to be despite it?”
Nico watched her worriedly. “Liam’s right, Lottie. You can let something like that destroy you, or it can make you stronger.”
“I’m not destroyed,” she protested.
“No. Because you’re so fucking brave. You’re a fighter.” Liam gave her a firm look.
“Now who’s lying,” she said dryly. “I’m no fighter. I’m a wimp.”
“I won’t have that.” Reaching over, Liam took hold of her hand, squeezing lightly. “That’s your first warning.”
“Warning?”
“About putting yourself down,” Nico told her. “Liam hates when you do that.”
“It’s a rule,” Liam added. “And neither of you are to speak badly about yourself.”
“Why would you put yourself down?” she asked Nico in shock. “You’re perfect.”
Nico snorted. “Hardly. I’m a slacker in a family of over-achievers.”
A slacker? She didn’t think so.
“Someone doesn’t want to sit comfortably tomorrow,” Liam drawled.
“I’m not sitting comfortably now.” Nico glared back at him.
She had noticed him shifting around a lot on his seat.
“So, you’d think you would be mindful of what you said.”
Her mind spun, trying to catch up with what they’d said. “Wait. Are you saying that. . .” She could feel herself growing red as she looked from Nico to Liam. “That, um Liam . . .”
“Spanked his ass?” Liam asked. “I sure did. He deserved some punishment.”
“You hurt him?”
“It was consensual,” Nico told her quickly. “Like we talked about last night. And that doesn’t mean he’d do that with you. It’s something I enjoy.”
