This could all end any day. If not by our impending retaliation, then because we know that Silence hasn’t forgotten about us. It was hard to accept that many of us left the house during the day because there was always that possibility that they wouldn’t be coming home.
Sure, that could be said about any profession and any trip. Silence was just the newest danger.
When the plates were cleared and loaded into the dishwashers, we moved into the family room beyond the kitchen and curled together among three couches. This was where we threw out ideas about getting at Silence.
For a minute, no one spoke as the seriousness of the coming conversation settled over us.
“I think our best bet is concentrating our efforts on finding their headquarters and focusing our attack there. While taking out any of their facilities is going to hurt them, it’s going to be a more devastating blow if we hit their brain,” Nephele said.
“Probably not a fatal blow, but I like the promise of what that could afford us,” Kohara said.
Neph shook his head. “No. I think the only outcome that’s going to be fatal is if we find all their arms and destroy them entirely, simultaneously.”
“Probably,” Notus said, frowning. “Though I have my doubts that even that kind of attack would kill the entire organization. Maybe they’d just rebuild.”
“And thus we need to find out who runs it and make sure we take them all, too,” Neph said.
“That isn’t a conversation for now,” Saar said. “Our goal is to send a very clear message. They made a mistake in targeting this family. That if they’re going to mess with us, they better kill us all. Or step the fuck back and leave us alone.”
“Not that leaving us alone is really going to serve them any good purpose,” Kohara said. “Our retaliation aside, we won’t back down when our friends need us in the future. Or when we finally have a plan to move forward and remove them from power.”
Which brought up the question—who was going to prevent the Division of Silence from rebuilding later? Or another organization from rising in their wake?
I listened as I snuggled into Raiden’s lap, not participating since I really didn’t have anything to add, but wondering what a future without Silence would look like. And who was powerful enough to keep them from coming back.
I must have dozed off while the conversation continued. I can’t say it was a peaceful sleep, even if short. Because nothing is peaceful within my unconscious anymore. Every dream has a touch of nightmare. Of impending doom. Lingering just in the distance is a sign that signals the end.
Still, I’m so tired from the stress of it all that I manage to nap in Raiden’s arms. Even while I’m asleep, I can feel him there. His strength and promise of safety. Affection and home. So while my dreams are abstract, making me tingle with fear and dread, I’m also aware that it’s not real. It’s just a dream.
It might come to pass soon, but it wasn’t happening right now. I was in that weird dream state where I knew I was dreaming and still couldn’t get out. Aware that I was asleep but still afraid of what loomed ahead.
I awoke as I was being laid down.
“Shh,” Raiden whispered. His lips brushing my forehead as he pulled my blankets around me. As I shifted under them, I found that he’d already stripped me down to my underwear.
“You don’t have to leave,” I murmured.
My room was dark, and I though I’d napped longer than I initially thought. How late had it been when we began talking about Silence? Or maybe I’d just slept for a couple hours? But I was still exhausted. My body worn and my brain filled with fatigue.
I heard the shuffling of clothing, and a minute later, Raiden was crawling into bed behind me. “All clothes off,” I said sleepily. “Want to feel you.”
Raiden complied, pulling his underwear off, and then mine. He pressed against my back, holding me firmly to his chest. His lips grazed my skin and I briefly wondered if it was wholesome to potentially have sex with four men in a single day. I mean, they were all mine, so that made me less of a ho, right?
His arm over me lay along mine, and he twisted our fingers together. I wiggled my ass into his crotch, enjoying the feel of his cock hardening. His lips continued to softly kiss along my skin as I encouraged his hips to rock against me.
Somehow, and I’m going to claim magic, he shifted our bodies enough that he could slide inside me. Okay, as wet and ready as I was for him, maybe I am a ho. I don’t care in the least, but it was worth the absent thought that drifted through my mind before it was shattered when he pushed in deep.
Our breaths filled the room. I gripped his hand tightly, our bodies shifting so our lower halves were twisted with my hips almost against the bed, his upper leg between them as he pushed inside me. Over and over, slow and deep. But our upper bodies are still entwined on our sides as he holds me close.
And thus we remained for hours, long after the moon began its descent back toward the opposite horizon.
Hadley
Deciding to be a damn adult,I contacted my boss to let them know that due to some family emergency in which my husband nearly died, I was going to continue my leave of absence. I apologized for not being in contact sooner, of course, but when it was done, I felt better about it once I had the conversation out of the way.
I didn’t tell him that I might not come back at all. Though that was a very real possibility. Since I worked per diem based on my own schedule, I wasn’t someone whose shift needed to be covered. That being said, they were also short staffed at work, and I could take all the hours I wanted. So, I felt a little guilty.
However, more than anything, I wanted to spend time with my family. The words ‘while I could’ were always subconsciously tacked onto the end of that thought, but I never allowed myself to think it outright.
