The tranquillity andwarmth of the summer night’s air fills the car as it comes to a stop outside Bluebird Meadows.Wyatt drove, Evie in the passenger seat, whilst Reid and I were in the back.The radio stayed off, no words were exchanged, but like Reid and I, Wyatt and Evie held on to each other, their hands joined together on the gear stick between them.Everyone is exhausted and content with their own thoughts.I don’t think I have it in me to carry a conversation and that feeling must be worse for them.
Wyatt puts the car into park before twisting in his seat to face his brother.His brother who has spent most of the drive idly brushing his fingers through my hair.He’s not stopped touching me in some sort of way since he left Isaac’s room.I think some of his reasons for needing to touch me stems from wanting to keep a hand on reality, and from feeling guilty about fucking me in the hospital bathroom.He doesn’t need to feel guilty.I understood what he needed.If he had been anyone else, it would never have happened, which is why I haven’t felt icky over it like I thought I would.I could sense his need for a release, and I’m not just talking about an orgasm.Reid, in that moment, needed to feel a connection, an emotion that wasn’t close to despair or grief.He has no reason to feel guilty for wanting that and getting it.It felt good to be needed.Sex can serve as a good way to express or let go of emotions when a person doesn’t have the capability to verbally do it.He couldn’t compartmentalise what he was feeling in that moment, so he was most likely overwhelmed by it.
“Reid, maybe you should come home.Me and Eli are going to be staying at the house with Evie and Rebecca.”
I don’t think any of them want to be at home though.The doctor and nurses had to reassure them that they would call if anything happened, and explained that they should all get some rest so that when Isaac is ready to go home, they are rested enough to take care of him.So the choice to go home and get some rest hadn’t been entirely theirs.If they had their way, they would all be together in Isaac’s room.
My eyes run over Reid’s chiselled jaw when he doesn’t answer.I brush the palm of my hand over his bare leg, still covered in his brother’s dried blood.“Reid?”I whisper.
He jerks out of his daze.“What?Oh, we are here.”
“Do you want to go home; be with your family?”I question softly.
He opens his mouth, a puff of air slipping through his lips, but no words come out before he presses his lips together.I squeeze his thigh a little more, hoping the small act shows he can tell me and I won’t be offended.He doesn’t need to hold back.Not with me.He keeps his eyes trained on me.“I...”
He gulps, struggling on what to say.I’m jumping the gun assuming this, but I have this tiny inkling that he doesn’t want to leave me.“I can stay with you if it’s okay with your family.You don’t have to stay here.”
He scrubs a hand down his face before addressing Wyatt.“Am I a selfish prick for wanting to stay here?”
“No, we need your bed,” Wyatt teases, trying to ease the tension in the car and failing.He sighs, twisting more in his seat.“I don’t think you’re a prick for wanting to stay here.I’m worried about you.I’m worried about Luke.He’s staying with Paisley tonight because he doesn’t want to go home.”
“I’m sorry.I’m good.I just need sleep, and I don’t think I’ll be able to do that at home, not when he isn’t there,” Reid admits.“I will be home tomorrow.Plus, isn’t Hunter here?”
I reach for the bag of his clothes from the foot of the car.“He is,” I assure him, then to Wyatt.“I can bring him back in the morning.Malia drove my car home.”
“Awesome.See you tomorrow.Thank you for today,” he tells me, before glancing at his brother.“Get some rest.”
Reid nods and exits the car first.I bite my lip worriedly before turning to Wyatt and Evie.“I’ll take care of him.I promise.”
“Thank you,” Wyatt replies.
Tears fall from Evie’s eyes as she looks away.Wyatt takes her hand and brings it to his lips.
I slide out of the car, feeling a lump in my throat.Having watched the interview with Sebastian Black last night, I know Evie is Andrew’s biological daughter.I also know she has suffered at his hands.Reid briefly explained it all to me last night.He even admitted to being a little bit of a prick to her at one point because they didn’t know who she was when she first began to work for the Hayes family.He also told me what Andrew did to her, and what Evie nearly did, thinking it was her only choice.I hate the man.I hate everything the Black family has put them all through.It’s unfair, cruel, and I’m angry that the police haven’t done anything.I hate that they have all this information on Black and his family, even video evidence, and yet the man is still out there, still making their lives a living hell.
I gently close the car door once I hear Wyatt whispering soothing words.I take Reid’s hand and begin to walk up to the door.
“Can we go straight upstairs?”Reid rasps.“I can’t...I can’t relive today by answering more questions.”
My heart hurts as I remember his expression after he came back from giving his statement to the police.He had been withdrawn, exhaustion written all over him.“Of course.”
Malia already knows what happened, so she won’t ask questions.I kept her updated in the hospital and filled her in on what I did know.She also asked about Liam a few times too.The last I heard from her, she let me know she was going to take Hunter home with her and drive my car back.Her last message told me to tell Paisley that Faith had Rex covered.
The door opens, Malia standing in the doorway, Hunter at her heels.“Hey,” she greets, her gaze running over Reid and the blood covering his clothes.“I’m really sorry about your brother.”
“Thanks,” Reid rasps, his head bowing.
Her eyes widen a fraction as they go to me.I get it.He isn’t acting himself at the moment, and it’s such a stark difference from his normal cocky self.“Everyone is in bed but I told them to give you privacy if they were still awake when you got back.There’s food in the microwave for the both of you if you feel like eating.”
“Thank you,” I reply softly as I walk further into the foyer.
Her eyes are wide in horror, her gaze on my lower body when I turn back to face her.“What the fuck?You said you weren’t with them.Why are you covered in blood?”
I reach for her arms when she goes to grab me.“Hey, it’s okay.It’s okay.It’s not mine.It’s, um, it’s...”my gaze flicks to Reid, not wanting to bring it up.“We are going to head to bed.Thank you for getting Hunter, and for bringing my car back.”
Her posture relaxes and she steps back, nodding.“It’s okay.I’m heading to bed too.I need to be up early.Gracie’s parents came to the bed and breakfast to collect her after her shift and made her quit.Apparently, they watched the news yesterday, and then after the news online today, they don’t feel it’s safe for her to be at the bed and breakfast.I’ve told Paisley I’ll cover Gracie’s shifts until everything is sorted.”Her gaze flicks to Reid again.“I, um, I can get the blood out of your clothes if you leave them in the bathroom basket.”
“You can get blood out of clothes?”I question, my eyebrows rising.
