CITI
By the timehe carries me into the house, I feel a bit more conscious, and if I’m honest, a bit more embarrassed. I can’t believe I lost it like that, over clothing. I knew I would have triggers—it was to be expected—but I couldn’t have accounted for this, could I? Or maybe I should have, and I’m just not doing as well as I thought I was.
I swallow when he lowers me to the sofa and crouches down in front of me.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Nope, none of that. You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I was just so surprised. I…”
He slides his hands into my hair and tips my head back to look at me. “You had a perfectly normal reaction. Please don’t beat yourself up about it. You didn’t lash out. You didn’t hurt anyone. Your first and only instinct was to curl yourself around Star, and that’s what you did until I got there. Until you knew it was safe.”
“Someone tried to pick Star up from school. I thought it was a mistake, or one of the guys…” My voice trails off as I try to putit all together, but nothing fits. I open my mouth to ask what the hell is happening, but there’s a knock at the door.
“Hold on a second, angel.” He gets up and heads to the door, opening it and letting Havoc, Neveah, and Star in. Tears prick my eyes when they land on Star. God, what she must think of me.
“Hey, baby,” I whisper. She wiggles to get down, so Havoc lowers her to her feet. She hurries over to me and throws her little arms around my neck. I wrap my shaky ones around her and breathe her in. Nobody speaks or pushes for answers. They let us have our moment, and it’s exactly what I need.
I pull back and smooth my hand over her hair. “Why don’t you go and play with your toys?”
She nods and heads off to do just that. I wait until she’s out of earshot before looking up at my sister and Havoc, feeling tears slip down my face. “I’m sorry.”
“What the heck for? As soon as I saw that raincoat, I lost it too, and I didn’t go through even a tenth of what you did.” Nevaeh says, coming to sit beside me. I rest my head on her shoulder, feeling drained.
“It was the shock. If I’d known it was coming, I could have braced myself. But when I saw her wearing it, especially after some asshole tried to collect her using Jasper’s name, it was just too much.”
“I’m lost. Can someone fill me in?” Nevaeh asks
Havoc runs his hands through his hair. “Let’s wait for G and Amity to get here first.”
Nevaeh sighs but nods. “I’ll make you some tea.” I smile at her, catching her off guard. “What?”
“It makes me think of this show I used to watch, back before…anyway. It was set in the UK, and any time something happened, it didn’t matter if it was happy or sad, they made tea.”
“Well, a whole country can’t be wrong, can it?” She taps my leg before she stands and heads toward the kitchen.
When Ambros takes her place, I burrow into him, drawing comfort from his warmth.
“I’m just going to check on Star,” Havoc murmurs before he walks away, leaving us alone.
Ambros lifts me onto his lap and pulls me close, burying his head in my hair for a moment. “I was so fucking worried when I got that call from Amity. I can’t even imagine how you felt. I got to you as soon as I could.”
“I knew you’d come.”
“Baby, I will always come for you.”
I take a shuddering breath and release it, along with the knowledge that everything’s okay. I’m safe, but more importantly, Star’s safe.
A knock at the door has me pulling back, but Ambros just turns me so I’m sitting across his lap instead of straddling him.
“I’ll get it,” Havoc calls out. He checks the spyhole before letting in Amity and G. They both greet him and make their way over to us.
Amity, not caring about me being in Ambros’s lap, leans down and gives me an awkward hug. I’m pretty sure she’s allergic to hugs, so the fact that she’s attempting one with me is sweet. “You okay?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
“That was some messed-up shit, Citi,” G states, looking pissed on my behalf.
