“I think I just pooped my pants,” Elijah grumbles under his breath while rolling his eyes.
Amelia smiles sadly at me before she frowns down at the bowl of cereal placed in front of her. Weird … the last couple of times I’ve seen her, she’s looked paler and more fragile. Is she eating? Her body moves slower, and there’s bags under her eyes.
“Are you okay, babes?” I walk over to her and twirl a piece of her hair between my fingers.
Nodding her head, she sends me a smile over her shoulder. “I’m great now that you’re here.”
Nodding down to her cereal, I rub my tummy. “That looks good. Lucky Charms is the greatest creation out there.”
“I prefer Cinnamon Toast Crunch,” is all she says with a shrug of her shoulders.
My instincts are right. There’s something wrong.
“Leonidas is in his room, sulking,” she says and nods toward the stairs. “You should go see him before he mourns up there all day in misery.”
Nodding, I pat her shoulder as I walk past her. “Wish me luck.”
“You’ll need it. He’s like a lion,” Elijah yells from behind me. Not even a second later, I hear him sigh quietly at Amelia. “Just a few more bites?”
My heart breaks. I continue my steps. The only thing I crave to do is turn around and give her the biggest hug. I know she must have an eating disorder since she looks at food like it’s the enemy. Amelia is so beautiful. She has a natural prettiness to her that most people strive to have. It hurts to think she can’t see how perfect she is. If only she could see herself through my eyes.
My mood immediately turns sour as I walk up the stairs to Leonidas. Gripping his doorknob in my hand, I twist it without knocking. My steps halt in his doorway when I find him sitting cross-legged in the middle of his room. The still-unpacked boxes are around him in a circle.
What the hell did I just walk into?
His muscular back is facing me. Judging by the way he doesn’t notice I’m here means he’s deep in thought. I wonder if he’s thinking the same things as me. I knock my fist on the wall beside me, and his head turns in my direction.
Anger fills his expression until his eyes find my own. A small smile lifts his face as he gets up from the floor. Jumping over the brown cardboard boxes, Leonidas walks over to me. “Thank God you’re here,” he mumbles into my shoulder once he pulls my body into his own.
My hand runs through his hair as I let out a relieved sigh. It’s good to be back in his arms even if it was just a few hours ago when I left them.
“Should I even ask why you were sitting in the middle of your room like that?” I tease and jump when he bites lightly on my shoulder.
“I’m driving myself insane,” he replies.
Pulling away and gripping his forearms, I raise an eyebrow. “Care to tell me why?”
Moving away from my body, he glances down at all the boxes with a frown. “I’ve been avoiding going through these for a while—well, actually, since we came here.” Turning his back to me, he walks toward them and kicks one.
Following him, I watch the same box he’s glaring at. “What’s in them?”
I’ve asked myself this question since I first came in here. I thought it was so weird that he still hadn’t unpacked, but as he glares down at them like he wishes they’d die, I realize it’s more than I initially thought. I see the internal battle he’s going through. Whatever he needs to face, the only thing he needs is support.
Placing a hand on his stiff shoulder, I whisper, “Can I look inside one?”
Biting his lip, he nods.
Bending down, I grab a semi-large box that lies untouched in front of me. My fingers eagerly pick the tape off from the top. Once that’s off, I open the lid and peer into the box.
What the …
My eyes stare down at a bunch of X3 merch. Countless shirts, rolled-up posters, guitar picks, bucket hats, and little mini guitar key chains. Why has a bunch of X3 merch been lying around his room for weeks? I glance up at him in confusion.
Seeing the look on my face, he runs a hand down his face. “I have to sign these before we go back to LA.”
My mouth drops open in shock. You mean, he has to sign all this merch in these boxes before he leaves? If I were in his place, I would be running around like I was a chicken with its head cut off.
“Like I said, I’ve been avoiding this,” he grumbles. Sitting down beside me, he stares at me. “I don’t have the energy to sign all this merchandise.”
