Page 160 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“I dunno, guess we’ll find out when you finish your coffee.”

Lyric narrowed her eyes, curiosity getting the best of her. “Challenge accepted,” she said, and tipped the mug back. The coffee was just this side of too warm, but she ignored it as she drank.

When the mug was empty, she dropped it and let it dangle from her index finger by the handle. Emerson crossed his arms and shook his head. “Fine, if that’s how you wanna be, come on.”

The small victory was enough to bring a smile to her lips, and she stood from the bed. Emerson held out a hand, and she slipped her smaller palm into his with no hesitation.

He pulled open the door and then stepped through, pulling her along with him.

Lyric pulled up short just outside the door and blinked. “What did you guys do?” she asked, though the answer was obvious.

The bunks had been pushed back into their places in the wall, but all along the floor were the mattresses. Blankets and pillows covered most of the area, making the bunk room into one giant comfy space.

Nohen lifted his head from arranging pillows and sat back. “I guess I should leave this to you, but we wanted it to look nice. How do you feel about hanging out here today?”

Lyric’s chest swelled with emotion until it bubbled into her throat, making it tight and itchy. She cleared it once and tried to speak, but her voice was too close to cracking.

“Do you wanna finish arranging it?” Emerson asked close to her ear.

Lyric nodded, her fingers itching to fix and organize and fluff up the blankets the way she wanted them to be.

“Okay. We’ll be back,” Adra agreed.

Emerson let her hand go and led the others from the bunk room into the main living area.

It was mind-boggling that they knew her so well, giving her something to focus on, something to distract herself with while her thoughts tried to run wild.

Lyric dropped down on one of the mattresses and grabbed a blue fuzzy blanket. She ran her fingers over the soft material and lifted it to her nose. The soft heavy scent of Adra reached her, his marshmallow sweetness filling her senses.

It reminded her not only of the sugary treat, but the very first night she’d ever walked on stage, led out by a river of fog, that same scent had overwhelmed her.

Beginnings.

Lyric shook the blanket out with a smile. That was what this day could be. Despite the sadness overwhelming her, the worries for the future, she could burrow into her pack and—

Her pack.

Lyric’s hand went limp, the blanket pooling into her lap. Pack.

They were gathering around her when she needed them most, creating a safe space for her to let go of her emotions and be… raw.

Flicking the blanket out, she laid it over the seam of two mattresses, and then moved on to the next.

She arranged each pillow and blanket to perfection, until the space was filled with the mixed scents of her pack.

The stormy scent of Emerson, ready to wash away her worries. Nohen’s safe scent of comfort, mixing with the harshness of Henry’s scent, ready to fight all her battles—if she’d let him. Even Desi’s muted floral scent was there, and once Lyric was happy with the arrangement, she sat in the center and called out to the bus. “I’m good now.”

Nohen peeked his head in first. “You sure? It looks great. Does it feel ready?”

Lyric eyed every square inch and shifted one pillow to the left a little. “Yeah. It feels… right.”

There was something missing, but she couldn’t place her finger on it, so she didn’t say anything. No reason to complain if she didn’t know what exactly to complain about. It was probably all in her head anyway.

“Is Desi joining too?” Lyric asked.

“If you want me to,” she said softly, walking in behind Nohen.

“Of course I do,” Lyric said, and held out her arms.