Page 25 of A Touch Of Death

Tears fill my eyes, but for the first time in a long time, they're happy tears. My empty hand flies to my mouth, covering my trembling smile. Spencer must mistake it for something else because he's around the island in a blink, looking utterly stricken. He misconstrues what my tears are for, and with him not being able to see my unsteady smile, he thinks I'm crying because I'm upset. "Don't cry. You don't have to live here if you don't want to. We can help you find somewhere else. We just thought you wouldn't want to live by yourself for a little while, or a long while, or however long-"

I slide the glass onto the counter, far enough from the edge, and without warning, I throw my arms around the mage, hugging him as tightly as I can manage. He stills suddenly before he slowly lifts his arms and wraps them around my back. The hug is awkward to begin with, but Spencer quickly thaws from his frozen state and wraps his arms more securely around me while I cry my happy tears at their generosity.

With his cheek against my head, he asks, "So, you want to stay here?"

I nod against his chest, smudging tears over his dark grey shirt. He doesn't seem to mind because he simply holds me while I release my tears of relief, gratitude, and happiness.

"Alright, then it's settled. It's going to take some time for me to construct the room for you, but everything else should be a breeze. Just let me know what you want done to it, and I'll make it happen. We want you to feel at home here, to feel comfortable."

He really is going to do his, what did Nix call it? Wizardy shit. He's going to use his wizardry shit to make me my very own room. That thought makes me cry harder, and my shoulders shake with the effort it takes to suppress my sobs.

Suddenly, Nix's voice loudly penetrates the room. "Now that it's agreed that you're staying, we need to plan out your room. Ready?"

I reluctantly move away from Spencer's embrace, but his arms don't leave me immediately. They land on my waist while my hands rest in the crook of his arms. I look up to see him looking down at me, and I give him the biggest grin I have, teeth and all. I hear him swallow loudly, and it seems like his breath stills in his chest for a moment, but I'm too happy to really pay much attention to it.

While I'm still being held in his arms, I tell him, for perhaps the millionth time since they saved me, "Thank you so much."

Spencer looks a little dazed before he shakes his head and offers me a grin. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Now, let's go build a bedroom."

I laugh, a little disbelievingly, but no less joyfully.

I have a home again.

Chapter 13

Novia

Spencergoes to gather a sketchpad and pencils,leavingNix and I in the kitchen. Ezra is still sitting in the living room, but he hasn't said anything since I walked into the room. His sole focus has been on the TV show he seems to be thoroughly enamoured with.

"So, any ideas on what you want? Colours and shit?" Nix eloquently asks.

I titter but shake my head. "Uh, no. I don't really know. I guess I'd want a big window. But that's all."

"We'll need to make you a large closet for all the clothes you have now." He grins my way, and I smile awkwardly in return. I'm still not entirely comfortable with it, but I am relieved to have things of my own to wear now, even if I've kind of taken a liking to wearing Ezra's clothes.

Spencer returns with pad and pencils, his snapback on his head facing the right way. I find myself wishing he'd turn it back around to his usual back to front style since his honey coloured eyes are shadowed more now, but I keep the thought to myself.

Which reminds me. "Where's Zayn?"

"He said he had some research he needed to do, but he'll be back in a couple of hours," Spencer tells me, plopping the sketchpad on the counter top. "Alright, sweetheart, what are we doing?"

"Uhh…" I begin to fidget, twisting my fingers together and then separating them a second later. I don't even know where to start. The only room I've had was shared with my sister, who I allowed to choose the colour schemes and decorations. After that, I was confined to a dingy cage.

"She wants a large window, but that's all the requirements she has. I suggested a big closet because this vampire and mage I know went on a shopping spree and bought an entire store's worth of clothes for her." Nix is grinning again, amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

Spencer is jotting things down on his pad, pausing to give Nix his middle finger, and then continues with his writing. "Okay, big window. Big closet. Anything else?"

"Umm, I really don't know. My sister decorated our room before we were taken. I don't know what I should want," I answer, crossing my arms over my chest to stop from fidgeting some more. I look between the two, watching them share a look.

Nix turns on his seat to face me. "So, let's try it this way. What do you like doing? What hobbies do you have?"

I think on it for a moment, thinking of the things I used to do. "I guess I like to read. I like gardening. Iused to have my own greenhouse before... yeah. I used to plant flowers, mainly ones Dahlia liked because she'd always keep a vase of whatever I grew for her beside her bed. And I used to grow camellias and irises because my mom’s name was Camelle Iris, and they made my dad happy."

I smile sadly at the memory of the time I brought him a large bouquet of camellias and irises one day, and he'd cried before hugging me tightly and arranging them in the fanciest vase weowned, placing them on the kitchen table where he'd read his newspaper in the mornings.

A teardrop falls off my chin and onto my arm, and it pulls me out of my memories. The room is quiet, and I look up to find Nix and Spencer watching me with rapt attention. Nix's head is resting on his fist, while Spencer braces his arms against the counter on top of his sketchpad. With a quick glance, I see Ezra's head is turned, his ear pointing in our direction.

I swipe the wet trail left behind after the rogue tear. I clear my throat and say, "So yeah, gardening. Uh, I play piano. That counts as a hobby, right?"

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