“I…maybe something simple?” My throat felt tight. “Warm.”
“Soup,” Voodoo said.
“Grilled cheese,” Legend insisted.
“Both,” AB decided. “I’ll place the order. You—” he pointed at Legend, “—go pick it up. You look like you need to move before you start climbing the walls.”
Legend blinked, then flashed a crooked grin. “True enough. I’ll be back in fifteen.”
“Take Goblin with you. He’s been a trooper, but he could use a good walk too.”
Bones pressed a kiss into my hair—soft, grounding. “We’ll keep it light. Just food. No questions, no planning until you say otherwise.”
For the first time in hours—maybe days—I felt something like steady ground forming under my feet again.
Not peace. Not safety. But something close to breathing.
Because even as the world kept spinning and the horror kept unfolding… I wasn’t alone in it.
Not for one breath. Not for one step.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Food sounds good.”
Legend was already grabbing his keys. “Come on, buddy. Field trip.”
Goblin perked up from where he’d curled up against me. Legend grinned and crouched. With a soft huff, Goblin nudged my hand as if asking if I minded and I stroked him between his ears.
“Go on, a walk sounds good.” That earned me a wet kiss to my cheek before he hopped down and trotted over to Legend. Once he had the leash snapped on, they were out the door. The house exhaled into a quieter silence.
Voodoo slid his phone into his pocket and tilted his head at me. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
I blinked at him. “A… movie?”
His brows lifted, amused. “Yes, Grace. Moving pictures. Story. Usually accompanied by popcorn.”
“That sounds—” I tried to find the right word. “—wildly normal.”
Bones huffed a low laugh beside me, rubbing slow, warm circles on my arm. Voodoo shrugged lightly, leaning a hip against the table.
“Well,” he said, “we could play cards instead. Something simple. Poker?”
Poker.
Poker after everything I’d just seen.
Poker instead of screaming, or panicking, or burying myself under the weight of it all.
The absurdity tugged the corner of my mouth upward. Barely—but it was there.
“Poker, huh?” I asked. “Are we playing for stakes?”
Bones’ fingers stilled, then resumed their gentle motion. Voodoo’s lips twisted into something that lived between a smirk and genuine warmth.
He pushed off the table with easy precision. “That depends,” he said. “How badly are you planning to beat us?”
And for the first time today—I felt the slope of a smile tugging at me. Not full. Not bright. But real.
“You don’t even know if I’m that good at it.”
