Page 164 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Lyric shrugged, clenching her fingers in his shirt. “Not necessarily. Andi has a way of seeing right through me that I still haven’t gotten used to even after all this time.”

“I hope I can be that way one day,” Nohen said softly. “I wanna know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

Lyric chuckled dryly. “No you don’t. It’s a mess up there.”

“Want me to help untangle the bits?”

Lyric hummed but didn’t know where to start.

Nohen didn’t have the same hesitation. “You don’t want to go back to your apartment? Why?”

Color rushed to her cheeks, and Lyric was glad Nohen was there for her to bury her head into. “I don’t wanna be alone,” she mumbled, forcing the words out through a tight throat.

Squeezing her tighter, Nohen pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You don’t have to be. Just say the word.”

Lyric’s heart pounded. She had never learned to ask others for help.

“It’s different,” she hedged, stalling. “After my mom died, I was alone, and I didn’t mind. I empathize with Andi. I feel bad for my friend having lost someone who means so much to her… but I can’t imagine that. When my mom died, all I felt was…” Lyric paused, shame squeezing her chest the same way she tightened her fists. “I felt relieved. She wasn’t there to control me anymore. I’m a terrible person.”

“You’re not terrible. You were just tired of living under someone else’s thumb. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Nohen said softly. “I understand why you’re scared, so take all the time you need. You’re going to want to push us away, and while we understand that urge, I’m asking that you let us—”

With each word he spoke, Lyric’s emotions ballooned in her throat until she couldn’t hold them back. “Please stay,” she asked, voice quiet and soft and fragile.

Nohen paused, his prepared speech falling off his lips at the crack in her voice.

“Okay,” he agreed softly, holding her tighter. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

She tucked her head into his chest, hands fisting the fabric of his shirt.

Then her shoulders began to shake, and she could practically hear Nohen’s heart break.

Eventually, the others joined. How they knew she needed them, she would never understand, but they appeared one by one, surrounding her with their warmth and their scents. Adra, Emerson, Henry, and even Javier curled around her at one point.

How worries spilled out of her eyes to soak into their shirts, and sometime in the middle of the night she realized she was empty. Empty of the sorrow and anxiety that tightened her chest, and instead she felt full of their warmth and support and care as they surrounded her.

Right where she wanted to be.

Lyric blinked sleep from her eyes hours later, the rustling of blankets waking her gently.

“Where’re you going?” she asked sleepily, pushing one arm beneath her to lift herself up. Adra smiled softly up at her, and she cranked her head around to see the others leaving the room one by one.

“We’ll be back, go back to sleep,” Emerson murmured, and shut the door between the living and bunk room, effectively shutting out the world.

Lyric settled back into the darkness of the bunk room and Adra’s warmth, seeking more of him since everyone had left her cold.

His arms wrapped around her, and Lyric breathed deep, pulling in more of his sweet scent. It was comfort and care and softness, all wrapped up in a big bear of an alpha.

“What are you giggling at?” Adra murmured, his hand playing in the strands of her hair.

“Just thinking about you,” she admitted.

He paused at that for a split second before the slow strokes in her hair continued, pulling a sigh from her lips.

“And why did I make you laugh? I didn’t tell a joke,” he teased.

Lyric chuckled again and nipped at his pec. “You’re such a softie for an alpha. Did you know that you smell like marshmallows to me?”

“I hope that means you like sweets.”