I swallowed hard, forcing my attention back to the nurse as she slid another paper toward me.
“Initial here.”
I did.
“Sign at the bottom.”
I did.
“Alright,” she remarked with a small smile. “You’re cleared to go. Just take it easy. Again, no unnecessary stress, okay?”
Her words echoed through my mind.
“Can you stand?” she asked.
Before I could move, Kraven stepped forward.
“Easy,” he ordered, reaching for me.
His arm came around my back. It was warm and steady and extremely comforting. Across the room, Julius moved as well. I didn’t have to look at him because I felt him.
By the time my feet touched the ground, he was already beside me too. Now I had one on each side.
“Careful,” Julius said, grabbing my hand.
And just like that, I was anchored on both sides with neither of them looking at one another.
What did they discuss?
It was beyond obvious that it was wreaking havoc on their minds, and it made my chest tighten. The nurse didn’t commenton anything. If she noticed our dynamic, she pretended not to. I couldn’t read her one way or the other, trying to hold on to something that was real other than the rush of emotions we were all experiencing.
“I’ll get a wheelchair,” Julius volunteered.
“I don’t need one.”
Julius’s hand gripped a little harder while Kraven stated, “She can walk.”
The hallway blurred a bit. Julius stayed close to me, his hand never leaving mine. Kraven matched my pace on the other side. However, no one spoke, which was unusual. They were trying not to cause me stress, but it was having the exact opposite effect.
Once we got out of the building, Kraven said, “Wait here.”
I watched him leave, my fingers tightening slightly in Julius’s grip without thinking.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded.
I wasn’t okay—far from it. His eyes searched mine, not believing me, and I couldn’t blame him. He could always read me like the back of his hand. Both of them could. I thought I was better at hiding my feelings, but they were proving that I wasn’t good at it at all.
A car pulled up a few minutes later. Kraven stepped out, moving toward us without hesitation. Julius didn’t let go of my hand until the last second, and even then, it felt reluctant.
Kraven opened the passenger door, helping me as Julius slid in the back seat. It was odd that Julius wasn’t driving his car and decided to sit in the back instead.
The drive back to the house was quiet. It wasn’t awkward, but it wasn’t entirely peaceful either. It was just extremely heavy and thick, making it difficult to see past what was currently happening and where we went from there.
I leaned my head back against the seat. The exhaustion crept in deeper now that everything had slowed down, and we were driving to the house. A home that felt like it might be hell. With my eyes closed, I was still aware of them.
Kraven was steady at the wheel, his eyes facing forward. Lost in thought. Then all of a sudden, Kraven’s hand reached for mine, and I let him. I could feel Julius’s eyes on our hands, contemplating something I couldn’t pinpoint in the least.
