“Your heart is capable of loving many, bestie. Never try to force it; it will happen naturally.”
“Wow wow... okay. So, I really like Maverick, Bill... and Jax.”
I jolt a bit at that. “Bill? Jax? That is... unexpected.”
Cynthia smiles, tears shining in her eyes. “Yeah. I think Bill likes me, but I haven’t talked much with Maverick. And Jax, well, he’s tough to talk to. I'm kind of scared of him.”
My heart goes out to her. She's so innocent. I remember being just like her not too long ago. I wrack my brain for the best advice I can give her.
“Get to know them, Cynthia. Conversation is a perfect start. Make sure you let Thor know how you’re feeling, though.”
“Okay, I am going to do that. I can be brave.”
I chew my bottom lip, following that up with, “Does Thor feel the same way about you?”
“Yeah, Thor tells me how much he likes me. He gets this look; like you get around my brother.”
I blush a bit. “Well, there you go. Like I said, don’t try to rush anything. You're going to be fine.” I hug Cynthia tight, patting her back.
“Thanks, Phoenyxx. You're such a good friend. You saved me in there, and you still are in here. I'm such a lucky girl.”
She called me by my name, which makes me emotional. She really is progressing.
“You help me in the same way. I may not have survived The Morgue without your friendship.”
We both cry a bit together, hugging each other. I feel my heart open even more for this girl. I love her.
She jumps up after a minute. “I’m going to talk to Bill now. He's probably at his computer as usual. I bet Thor's in there too.”
Cynthia darts out my door, her contagious optimism making me chuckle.
Bryan
I'm aggravated as hell. I feel like a faded picture in the background.
Watching the rest of the guys play hero is pissing me off. I'm a man too. I want to help them instead of being relegated to the shadows.
I'm ecstatic I can spend so much time with Valley, but it’s not enough.
This has been eating at me for a while now. I haven’t had the courage to speak up. I'm disgusted with myself for being such a pussy. Those guys intimidate me, but I need to get it together. All I have to do is go talk to them.
Nodding to myself, I decide to do just that right now.
Valley is busy watching a movie. She wanted to be alone for a while, to catch her breath after everything we’ve been through, which is completely understandable.
Striding down the hall, I check the media room first. It seems all The Six are in there, which is exactly who I was hoping to find.
Clearing my throat, I speak up. “Hey, guys. Can I talk to you?”
My heart beats erratically in my chest. Sweat forms on my palms. I’m not used to being assertive or even confident.
Synn looks up from his pinball game. “What’s up?”
I swallow hard. The scariest one.
I can do this.
“I want in on what you guys are doing. I can be an asset. I need to help.”
