I wasn’t looking forward to adding that particular memory to my midnight collection of brain horrors. It was way worse than the dreams of Damian sexually assaulting me, which I seemed to be having more and more frequently now that the memories had been uncovered.
My therapist assured me that was normal and that when you work on overcoming trauma like this, things often got worse before they got better.
Ryan told me Vox had needed to kill a man who was in the room with Gnomes when they saved her, but neither of them would tell any of us what happened.
Vox was back to his usual uncommunicative self, and Naomi just seemed to want to leave the past behind her.
She bounced back pretty quickly after everything that went down. Vox tended to get grumpier than normal whenever one of us pressed her to open up, and she smoothly changed the subject… though maybe I was just imagining it. He seemed grumpier than normal about everything concerning Naomi. He didn’t seem to like the idea of her going away to school in the fall either, so what the fuck did I know.
Dr. Callahan informed us that her nose had been broken from the airbag, and she understandably hated having her face taped up for a few weeks. However, after that, she returned to her usual bubbly and chipper self.
The only thing that changed was her outfits. I noticed she didn’t seem to ever wear her sundresses anymore. Now, she tended to favor tight black pants and stylish long-sleeved turtlenecks.
When I asked her why she’d undergone such a drastic change in style, she just laughed and rolled her eyes.
“I’m going toartschool, Callum. I need to be taken seriously.Duh.”
I didn’t get it, but whatever. If it made her happy, it made me happy.
Theo also made a full recovery. Dr. Callahan said she wasextremelylucky. Damian’s knife had missed her spleen by only a few centimeters.
Naomi asked about Theo in the group chat, and to our surprise, Cass exploded into Dr. Callahan’s office shortly after, demanding to see her.
Theo, who was still a little loopy from the drugs Damian had injected her with, gave Cass one of the smuggest smirks I had ever seen on her face.
“Worried about me, princess?” she slurred, and Cass’s entire face went beat red.
“In yourdreams,muscle shirt! I’m here to check on my brother!”
Theo snickered and rolled her eyes. “Sure, baby girl. We all know you’ve got it bad for me.”
Her eyes fluttered closed, and she winced slightly as she lay back down on the surgical cot Dr. Callahan had set up for her.
Cass tried to hide it, but I saw the concern that flashed across my sister’s face as the energy seemed to fade out of Theo’s body.
Cass scowled down at Ryan’s sister in the way she sometimes scowled at me when I was doing something stupid.
“I’m going to be fucking pissed if you die, Theodora. Cal and Naomi are attached to you now, and I don’t have the time to pick up the pieces if they fall apart.”
Without opening her eyes, Theo chuckled again.
“I love it… when you say my name like that, princess.” She sighed before her breathing evened out, and she slipped into a well-deserved slumber.
I pretended not to notice when Cass slipped her fingers into Theo’s hand and squeezed.
She stayed with Theo long after we all went home.
That was two weeks ago, and now I was finally enjoying the full use of my arm again.
Dr. Callahan had come by earlier to remove my sling, and I had plans to take full advantage of my newly acquired clean bill of health.
I was waiting for Ryan to come to bed when his deep, sexy voice floated up the stairs.
“Angel! Were you able to pick up those signs for Mr. Stein’s service tomorrow?”
I chuckled. “Yes, baby. They’re set up in the viewing room. Come up here. I want to show you something!”
Ryan jogged up the stairs and appeared in the doorway, looking as hot as the day I’d met him. I couldn’t help but smile.
