This time, everyone drinks, even me.
“What did you steal?” Elias asks me when he sees me take a long drink of my beer.
“When I ran, I took money from Robert’s safe.”
His eyes widen in recognition. “That’s right! I almost forgot. I watched you do that on the cameras. I was so proud of you. You should have seen how mad he was when he saw it was gone.” He chuckles, but that just makes me worried.
“He was really mad?”
“Yeah, fuming. It was brilliant.”
I don’t really feel good about that; it makes me feel a little sad. “Why do you look upset?” Pete asks.
“I don’t know.”
Jagger waves a hand to get my attention and signs.“You do. Tell us.”
I shrug, looking down at my beer as I play with the label. “He’s my only family. I didn’t want to upset him. Maybe he’s only trying to get me back because he’s upset I stole from him? Maybe it’s not about me at all.”
“Wren,” Sly says as he leans toward me, placing a hand on my knee, looking like he’s trying to brace me for his next words. “I thought you understood how serious the situation is. Don’t you remember what happened when his mencaught you? What they tried to do to you? What Robert told them to do?”
Tears immediately fill my eyes at the memory, and I try to wipe them away quickly.
“What the fuck, Sly? You’re making her cry!” Elias says angrily, looking like he wants to come over and pluck me right out of Dex’s lap.
Sly narrows his eyes as he turns to Elias. “She needs to remember, to understand that her brother doesn’t love her, that he’s never going to welcome her home with open arms, that he was going tosellher.”
I flinch when he says sell. Maybe I did need this reminder. It was just so hard to keep it straight in my head. I’d been practically worshipping him as my big brother for the past two decades. But it was hard to just flip a switch in my head and my heart.
“I know he’s my enemy now,” I say, trying to let them know I understand.
“He was always your enemy,” Elias says softly, and I nod.
“Right. It was all fake,” I say with a frown. I think I’m still trying to convince myself, but if I close my eyes and think about the note saying he was selling me, and what he said on the phone, it definitely helps.
But what helps the most is how different I feel here, surrounded by people who actually love me. Who don’t make me curtsy or sit up straight, or tell me what I have to eat, wear, and do. They let me be me, even if I don’t know exactly who that is yet.
“Can we get back to the game now?” I ask, taking a quick sip of my beer to try and steady my frayed nerves. Everyone sits back, and the tension fades as everyone looks to Elias.
“Okay, my turn, I guess. Hmm…. Never have I ever stalked someone with plans to kill them.”
My four guys take drinks, not surprising me, but Elias gives me a look as if he just proved some point. I rest my head back against Dex, and Elias frowns, as if expecting more of a response from me.
Jagger starts signing, and I ask his question aloud, even though I’m pretty sure everyone is proficient enough at ASL to understand him now.
“Never have I ever watched Wren change without her knowledge.” My eyes widen as I speak his question, and four sets of narrowed eyes turn to Elias.
Dios mio, did he see me naked in the cameras?
But his brown eyes lock on mine as he leans back, his drink not moving from where he’s resting it on his thigh as he raises an eyebrow, before glancing around at the others. Nobody drinks, and I let out a small breath of relief.
I honestly wouldn’t be that upset if someone snuck a peek now, but I’m glad they hadn’t done it before.
“Alright, never have I everwantedto watch Wren change,” Pete says, immediately taking a big swig of his beer. Jagger joins him, then I turn and watch Dex and Sly take a drink. Sly holds eye contact with me while he does, and that somehow sends a bolt of heat straight to my core.
They all want to watch me change? Why? I mean… I can guess why… The same reason I’d want to see them get undressed. My thoughts are interrupted when Elias finally lifts his own beer and takes a drink, his eyes on the ceiling and avoiding my gaze as I stare at him in surprise.
He wants to watch me change? Is that perverted or… sexy?
