“Hey, did Phil leave?” he asks around about her dad.
Liam, being closest to the door, looks through the front window. “Yeah, car is gone,” he answers.
“He said something about getting more food,” Zeb says. “I think we ate everything he had.”
Bonnie is staring at the countertop, and I squeeze her fingers one more time.
“Bon?” Reed says, making her blink.
“Hey, what’s up?” Andi asks as she reaches over the counter.
The room has gone silent, each of them attuned to her sudden guarded state.
“Bed, you good?” Zeb asks, coming closer.
“Ah…” Bonnie pushes off the stool and stands. “Can we… Actually, can we all go fucking sit? I need to talk to you guys.”
Mads lingers in the kitchen as the rest of them move into the living room. His eyes move from me to Bonnie, and I wonder if he thinks she’s telling everyone who I really am. Even so, he eventually follows behind Andi, and while they all get comfortable, I tug on her hand.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask, tilting her chin up.
She gives me a small, reassuring smile. “Yeah. They’re my family. They should know,” she replies.
I nod again. “I’ll be behind you if you need me.”
She presses up and plants a soft kiss on my lips, and when we part, she treads into the living room to perch on the back of the couch, feet in the seat.
Every person in the room is watching her when she sits.
An anxious smile lifts her lips, not because this is remotely amusing but because she’s trying to keep it together. She threads her fingers together and bends over her swaying knees. “Ah… I… shit, I don’t know where to start. Um… I feel like I’m at a fucking meeting right now,” she says, glancing back at me.
I squeeze her shoulder reassuringly.
You can do this, Bon.
“Everything okay?” Andi asks.
“Yeah, I just… I wanted to—No, fuck that. I needed to tell you guys about something that I should have let you in on years ago. You’re my people, and I should have trusted that I’d be safe enough to share it. But… I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping it in. I thought I was holding strong when I should have been completely honest with you.”
Her eyes drift around the room, and when she opens her mouth to speak again, the story comes tumbling out.
She tells them about Halloween.
And the entire time she’s talking, they stay silent. I can see the emotion building on their faces, each as equally horrified and hurt. By the time she nearly wraps up, tears are streaming down Andi’s face. I watch a tear fall onto Zeb’s cheek, though he quickly swipes it away.
Silence rings in my ears when she apprehensively concludes, and Andi is the first one to reach her. Murmurs sound between them as they all stand to hug her, and somehow, they all end up hugging her at once.
I chuckle as they all climb in and around the couch, squeezing her in the middle. Her laughter lights up the room, and I take a step back to give them all some space.
The moment I turn my back, my phone rings in my pocket. I take it out, brows narrowed at who could possibly be calling me when everyone is in this room.
Avie.
Of course.
“Go for Gem,” I answer, arm folding across my chest.
“Where’s my band?” Avie asks.
