Deeba giggled.
‘Baji, I’ve been asking this for DAYS and no one is answering me,’ Nori started, pulling at Bisma’s sleeve.
‘Oh, here we go again,’ Luna muttered, rolling her eyes.
‘Why is there a BOY in your bed?’ Nori demanded. Her eyebrows were furrowed with indignation. The treehouse was a clear boy-free area.
‘Umm …’ Bisma trailed off.
‘Oh, this should be good,’ Azalea whispered to Luna, both giggling.
Bisma gave them an unamused glance.
‘Nori, I already told you,’ Mei said, sighing. She was sitting on the bed by Bisma’s feet. ‘It’s because Baji was scared and needed someone to sleep with.’
‘So why not sleep with one of us?’ Nori asked, confused. ‘I give the best cuddles!’
Azalea snorted. ‘Because you snore.’
‘I DON’T SNORE.’ Nori was outraged. She turned to Bisma. ‘BAJI, DO I SNORE?’
Absolutely; her snoring shook the walls. ‘No, of course you don’t …’
‘Hush now!’ Luna scolded. ‘Stop bothering Baji! And I told you all to be on your best behavior in front of Xander. He’s our guest!’
‘Here she goes again,’ Azalea said, rolling her eyes. ‘Baji, I’m glad you’re awake because Luna has been on an absolute power trip these past few days.’
‘Days?’ Bisma disentangled herself from Xander enough to sit up, and Deeba took the opportunity to crawl onto her lap. Xander tried to rest his head on Bisma’s lap as well, but Deeba promptly kicked him in the face.
‘Um.Ow.’
They ignored him.
‘It’s been three days since the fire,’ Mei said. ‘When we saw the fires stop we came home and found you here, asleep.’
‘Soooo romantic!’ Luna cooed.
‘Ew, stop, I’m going to gag,’ Azalea interjected.
‘The Forest must have carried us home,’ Bisma said, ignoring them.
‘You both looked terrible,’ Azalea informed them. ‘But now you look a little better, though you could probably use some more sleep. And food.’
‘You know, more sleepwouldbe nice,’ Xander said, nestling deeper into the bed. His face was half covered by the blanket, and he closed his eyes.
‘Fine, you can take a short nap but only because we haven’t made breakfast yet,’ Luna said, picking Deeba up. Mei stood as well, and they all made to leave. ‘But be down in thirty minutes. Or else.’
As quickly as they came, the girls all shuffled out, and once they were gone, Bisma felt Xander pull at her foot. She yelped, sliding down beside him, and he made quick work of wrapping her into his arms. He closed his eyes, ready to sleep again.
‘How are you sleeping?’ she asked, lightly smacking him.
‘We have twenty-nine minutes.’ He sighed.
But she was already wide awake. She could have gone down to her sisters and let him sleep peacefully, but when did she ever let him have any peace?
‘I can think of something better to do,’ she whispered, licking his throat. His eyes shot open.
‘Oh, definitely a better idea,’ he said, shifting so he was propped on his elbows above of her.
