“What are you going to do, Lucien?”
I whirl around to see Leah standing in the doorway, her expression mutinous.
“You’re going to drag her out?” she snarls, advancing on me. “You’re going to force her into something she’s not ready for?”
“She’s not functioning, Lee,” I snap back. “She needs to be pushed.”
“She needs fucking time! Just because you want to see her—,”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You. Want. Her,” Leah’s fingers jab into my chest as each word hits me like a knife, and I flinch.
“I don’t want her,” I croak out. Idon’t.
“You do! You spend every night camped on the couch outside her room like some sort of psychopath—,”
Bastien sinks his head into his hands with a groan as Max and Nik turn to glare at me, and she turns on him. “You’re not much better, Bastien. When was the last time you slept? There’s no sign of them tracking her here!”
Max stays quiet as he stares at her with wide eyes, but Leah’s on a roll now. “And you, little brother,” she snarls. “You mope around this place like a kicked puppy waiting for a bone.”
Nikolai raises his hands as she swings to him. “Shit, Leah, have mercy!”
Leah stares at us wildly for a second, her fingers slowly dropping before her face crumples. We all stare as she sinks her head in her hands and begins to sob. Crossing the kitchen, Max cradles her face before pulling her into a hug.
“Talk to us, Lee. We’re all worried about Ava, and now you, too. What’s going on?”
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I’m just really tired.”
Bastien passes Leah a coffee as she sits down, and she turns to us with a sigh.
“Luc’s right,” she admits. I try not to let my shock show.
“I…am?” I ask, hesitantly.
Leah nods. “Ava’s… not doing so well.”
The kitchen erupts with questions, everyone talking over each other until Nik bangs his cup down on the table.
“Let her speak,” he snarls.
Leah closes her eyes as she leans forward. “She won’t eat properly. And she’s still refusing to sleep in the bed.”
“What?” Max snaps.
She cringes a little. “I promised not to say anything to you, but… she won’t even touch it, Max. It’s like she’s regressed back into her training from the compound. She sleeps on the floor and she won’t even use a blanket. She won’t even look at me anymore. I haven’t been able to get her to talk since yesterday.”
I cut her off with a curse. “Shit, Leah.”
“I’m sorry,” she cries. “I just didn’t want to betray her trust. I thought maybe she’d come out of it, but she’s getting worse, and I’m really worried about her. Max, she needs help.”
Max is already up and moving. “I’m going to get my bag.”
Bastien sits in his chair, his face pale. “I thought it would help,” he whispers. Leah puts her hand over his.
“I think it did, at first,” she says haltingly. “But after a few days, she just changed. I don’t know what triggered it.”
“Trauma,” Nik says softly. “She finally let herself think about it.”
