“Jamie didwhat?” Grey asks, visibly shocked as he leans away from me. “What the hell?”
Oh.
Fuck, this is embarrassing.
“That… that wasn’t Jamie. It was me,” Oliver chimes in meekly.
Oh my God.
My head turns to him so quickly that I almost get whiplash. The voice that had comforted me, made me feel wanted and needed—it was Oliver.
“You said you needed me. I needed you, too,” he whispers. “I wanted to be there for you.”
“Y-you absolute plonker,” I stutter, the hurt evident in every syllable.
How could he?
How could any of them?
Misha shoots Grey a look, muttering under his breath, “Didn’t see that one coming.”
“Amelia,I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, but…” Oliver seems at a loss for words, his ears glowing red.
The room feels like it’s closing in on me. The walls are too close, the air too thick.
I can’t breathe.
“This is all too much,” I manage, my hands trembling as I stand and step over Misha and Grey, taking a few steps away from them, my hands shaking as I clutch at the fabric of Misha’s shirt, which is still wrapped around me.
Grey stands and is behind me with two steps. He turns me and pulls me into a hug. “Hey, shh… it’s okay. I’m sorry we’re the ones that hurt you, but we’ll make it up by being the ones who are there for you now.”
“There for me after you hurt me? Do you hear yourself, Grey?” I mutter against his chest, somehow unable to push him away after taking a deep breath.
Coffee,buttery rum, and old music sheets.
“Did you steal my work?” I ask again.
They didn’t give me a clear no.
“No, Amelia, I swear on everything.I swear on Grandpa. We didnotsteal your work. We watched you from day one with Jamie. We never overstepped any real boundaries…” I lean back to give him an incredulous look, “… okay, wemostlydidn’t, but we never took from you.” He pushes a strand of hair that fell into my eyes behind my ear. “We’re very sorry, Amelia. We love you.”
Love.
Strange way to show that.
“Do you believe us that we didn’t steal from you?” Oliver asks, his head tilted, eyes pleading.
I think about it for a moment, searching their faces for any sign of deceit. Finally, I nod. At least they didn’t dothat.
“We’re gonna find who did,” Grey promises.
How?
“Leave, please,” I whisper, hugging myself, mindful of my burn.
“Princess…” Grey closes the gap between us with a step forward, his hand reaching out as if to pull me into another hug, but I flinch away, not wanting his touch, not wanting any of them near me right now.
“Just leave me alone,” I say, defeated. “I’m tired. I need a nap or something. I need you gone.”
