Gray couldn’t believe that he needed to order eight pizzas for six of us, and then watched in amazement as Ben devoured a whole one for himself in under ten minutes.
He hasn’t left my side since we came downstairs. Flynn is still frosty at the edge of the room, but Ben and Seb, in that easy way of theirs, seem to have accepted Gray as one of their own. Even Scott, still wary of him, thanked him for the pizza.
“I’m gonna go to bed,” Ben says after a jaw-cracking yawn as he shifts next to Seb. “You look like shit, bro, you should sleep, too,” he says, patting Seb’s knee, who shoves him off, forgetting his injuries and swearing, clutching at his arm.
“You’re sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” Flynn asks.
“I’m fine, Mom,” Seb mutters, rising as Ben pushes him out of his chair and they troop upstairs.
Scott remains where he is, slumped in his seat, his eyes roaming around the room before coming to rest on me.
“I was looking online earlier,” he begins slowly. “There’s a GA meeting tomorrow. I’m gonna go.”
I glance at Flynn, but he continues to chew his pizza, looking spaced out and exhausted. There isn’t much any of us can say to Scott; the journey ahead is a long one; we’ve all walked it with him before.
“I’m gonna pay you back, somehow,” Scott says earnestly. “I’m so sorry about what you had to do, Jax.”
He looks at Gray, his eyes hard and cold as he takes him in. Gray’s body is stiff against mine as Scott rises from his seat.
“You'd better take care of her. I don’t care who you are or how much money you have. You ever hurt my sister, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Noted,” Gray replies. “Without you fucking up, I never would have met her, so I guess I have you to thank for that.”
Scott bends down beside me, giving me a one-armed hug before limping up to bed, as Flynn clears away the pizza boxes and looks down at us on the floor.
“I have a meeting with some of the other investors tomorrow,” he says stiffly to Gray. “You coming to that?”
“Absolutely,” Gray replies, and Flynn clenches his jaw. “Where is it?”
“At Jensons,” Flynn mutters as he walks stiffly into the kitchen, and Gray pulls me gently back against him, his mouth beside my ear.
“You know, if we were at my apartment, it’d be a lot less far to travel in the morning,” he murmurs. “Your brothers are all going to bed. You don’t need to be here to watch them sleep. Come back with me. I want to wake up with you for once.”
I stare at the far wall, my fingers coming up to touch the windchime around my neck. There’s another one hanging from the ceiling in front of the window to my left, and I watch as it catches the light, sending spangling patterns over the ceiling.
I don’t have the energy to argue anymore.
“Alright,” I whisper, and Gray is rising before I’ve even got the word fully out of my mouth.
I head upstairs and pack a bag with clothes for tomorrow and some toiletries.
I sneak back downstairs and silently watch Gray for a moment. He’s tidying up after my brothers. He goes to shake hands with Flynn who gives him a reluctant look before offering his hand.
I feel a warmth in my chest before I clear my throat a little to announce my presence.
Flynn gives me a protective look and a little nod as he walks past me to the stairs.
Gray takes me out to his Audi.
“I still don’t get why you don’t have a driver,” I say as I get in beside him, smiling as his hand moves immediately to my knee.
“Because I like to do it myself.”
I shake my head and give a little laugh.
What a fucking day. Never in a million years did I think I’d be sitting here with him right now after everything that happened today.
“Do you really have bags of money in the trunk?” I ask incredulously.
