Page 12 of Revived
“No, Elena, just yours. Always just yours.” His voice sounds almost dark, making sure it brokers no room for snark or an argument. It’sintense, and chills break out all over my body as the sound caresses my body until heat settles into my core.
“Okay… See you bright and early?” I change the subject before I drag him into this car and talk him into fucking my brains out in the back seat.We can’t do that… Maybe next lifetime, but not this one.
“I’ll see you bright and early.” He smiles easily as he shuts my door. He stands there and waits until I start my car and pull off, and I know he’ll continue to stand there until my tail lights are no longer visible to him.
***
It doesn’t take me long to get home, and when I pull up I see the living room lit up like the sky on New Year’s Eve. I can see the guys through the big picture window and note that Xavier is there along with Dom and Flynn. Well, may as well get this over with.
Grabbing my bag, I throw it over my shoulder as I shut the door to my car. With my head held high, my legs carry me into the house,myhouse. I make sure to lock the door behind me and drop my gym bag onto the bench beside the door before hanging my keys up on the ring above it.
All of our houses are laid out much the same. A small entryway as soon as you walk into the house. The floors are a medium brown hardwood that spans throughout the house. If you keep straight ahead, there’s a staircase. Upstairs are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. If you walk past the stairs, the hall leads to one bedroom on the first floor. I typically stay upstairs, but sometimes when I’m really tired, Istay in the room downstairs. The doorway to the left of the entryway is the living room. The back door sits at the back of the room, and the doorframe to the right leads you into the kitchen and dining room. My walls are off white and all of my furniture and appliances are different shades of gray and silver. The entire house is accented in a light pink. It’s light and girly. Just perfect for a girl who lives alone and can do what she wants with her house.
“Honey, I'm home.” I sing-song while walking into the living room from my entryway and straight over to the picture window to shut the blinds and close the curtains.
A collection of loud shushes comes for me as the guys peer around me to watch Knox’s preseason game.
“Oh, excuse me for speaking in my own house that I pay the bills for.” I can’t help but roll my eyes.
I guess I don’t move quickly enough, because the next thing I know, X has grabbed me by the hips and practically tossed me behind him onto the couch. “There. That’s better.” He smirks smugly.
“Why are you even here? I was told Dom and Flynn would be here. No one mentionedyou.”
This is how mine and Xavier’s friendship works. He’s one of the best men I know, but it’s so fun to press his buttons.
He fake laughs in response, “You know as well as I do that I’m sleeping in your dog bed tonight. Don’t even try to stop me.”
Yeah, you heard that right, and before you ask, no, I don’t have a dog.
Addy has this human dog bed that Ilovenapping in when I’m at her house. So about three months ago I bought a pink one with a matching fuzzy blanket. It’s perfect and comfortable and the best place to nap on a lazy rainy day. The only problem is that very quickly the guys went from making fun of me for having it to fighting over itwhen they’re over here. Knox has gone so far as to tell me if I don’t bring it to his house when I come over, I’m not allowed inside.
“I don’t care where you sleep. I’m going to bed.” The yawn sneaks out and wracks my entire frame. I’m still shaky from my sugar dropping, and I swear I could drop right here and sleep for the next three days.
“Hey, really. Are you good?” Dom grabs my hand to make sure he has my attention. I know he can feel the tremble in it when his brow pinches in concern. “Okay, new plan. Elle, go change. You get the dog bed tonight, Xavier can share the air mattress with Flynn, and I’ll take the couch.”
Flynn groans in protest, but one look at me has him locking it down and nodding his agreement. I must look pretty rough for Flynn to agree to sleep in the same bed as Xavier. Word on the street is he kicks and hits in his sleep. “Yeah, that’s fine. You good to get changed, Elle? Do you want to just sleep in what you have on?” The hint of concern in his voice tells me that I’m not hiding the shake in my limbs or the way my head swims slightly.
“Yeah, I’m just going to go throw on some other clothes, and I’ll be back.” I’m not even in the hall yet when I hear them whispering about if they should text Knox and Sully. They shouldn’t, obviously, but I keep that to myself, because they’re just going to do whatever they want anyway.
It takes me no time to change into a pair of Nike Pros and Sully’s old track and field hoodie from high school. I plug my phone up in my downstairs bedroom, and then on shaky legs, I make my way back to the living room. The guys watch me like I’m going to shatter at any second. Deciding not to pay them any mind, I curl up in my Tempur-Pedic human dog bed and allow sleep to pull me under. Today sucked. Tomorrow will be better.
Chapter five
Sullivan Byrne
The sound of shoes rhythmically smacking the unforgiving concrete lulls me into a sense of relaxation. That is until Dom opens his big mouth to argue with Xavier about which shark is superior. I swear they’ll argue over how paint dries if we let them.
“Shutup!”Flynn exclaims in exasperation. “I do not care about how one of you thinks that tiger sharks are better than hammerheads.”
Dom and X both look at Flynn like his outburst just came out of nowhere instead of being fed up listening to them argue for half of our five mile run.
“Well, you don’t have to be so aggressive about it.” Dom mutters under his breath.
Knox laughs loudly at the exchange. “Come on, we still have two and a half miles to go, and I have plans to get back to.”
“So her name is ‘plans’… interesting name. But who am I to judge?” Flynn pokes at him.
“Her name is no one’s concern. However, what we’re about to do in my house is all of mine, so less talking, more running.”
