Page 7 of Desolation
Chapter Two
Lana
Unfortunately, there comes a time when you have to trade in your diapers and stop being a little bitch. My time is now.
Sauntering up to Hale, I bump him with my hip to get his attention. I need to figure out what he was getting at in our earlier conversation or it will eat at me all fucking night.
In my best impersonation of a lady with manners, I ask, “Will you do me the honor of escorting me home, kind sir?”
Nailed it.
Hale smiles down at me and holds his elbow out to me in an offering, “Of course, milady.”
I wrap my hand around his large bicep, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin. We fall in step together and begin the short, half-mile walk back home, enjoying the silence while I search for the metaphorical balls to ask him what’s on my mind.
In a low voice so the rest of the guys walking behind us can’t hear, I ask, “What did you mean before when you said I can’t hide from you guys anymore?” I sneak a glance at him before adding, “I’m literally with you guys all day, every day. There’s not much hiding going on there, in my opinion.”
Hale glances over at me out of the corner of his eye and smirks, mischief clear in the turn of his lips. “What do you think I meant by it?”
Motherfucker!
Pursing my lips at the cryptic non-answer, I huff before trying again. “What exactly is it that you think I’m hiding from you guys?”There—that’s simple and to the point.
Without a thought, he shoots back nonchalantly,“Your feelings for us, of course.”
Time slows and my heart screeches to a halt, before restarting and beating three times as hard. When I zone back into the moment, we’re almost home and I’ve almost cut off the circulation to his arm with my death grip.
What the hell? Justboom!Hit me with the kill shot, no warning. What am I supposed to do with that? Feign ignorance?
Worth a shot.
“Wha..What about my feelings for you guys? Obviously, you’re all my family and I love you all. I’d do anything to protect you.”
I almost gag at the ‘I love you like a brother’ implication but a girl’s gotta save her ass somehow. As long as he can’t hear my heart beating like a jackhammer against my chest threatening to burst from my body, it should pass as a normal statement.
He looks at me, trying to gauge my feelings but I try not to give anything away. He smiles lightly and removes my arm from his person while holding the door to our home open, “Okay, Little One. If that’s how you want to play it, then that’s fine. For now.”
Well, shit.
What now? Is my interest amusing to them or do they reciprocate? This requires further investigating.Detective Lana, reporting for duty.
We take our shoes off at the door, per Beth’s house rules, and the rest of the guys follow us in. With mumbled goodnights, the guys head upstairs, to get ready for bed.
The twins share a large room, as do Ash and Hale, while Zedd and I have our own, smaller, private rooms. Those were the rooms we were assigned when we were first brought here and we’ve never requested a change.
Overhead, floorboards creak as the guys do what they do before jumping into bed. Before heading upstairs, I pass through the living room to check on Beth. There’s no way she went to her room before we got home with her tendencies to worry.
Sure enough, she’s in her typical ‘waiting’ spot. I walk into the sight of her on the well-worn, red recliner, her head lolled back as she sleeps. Her short, dirty blonde hair frames her face. She looks so frail as she sleeps. It makes me want to gather her in my arms, like she’s done for us our entire lives.
She’s such a mother hen.
I can’t pretend I don’t love it.
Trying not to rouse her, I pull the light blue, worn blanket over her and kiss her on the forehead. She stirs at the light touch and opens her big, gray eyes to look at me. “Lana? Is everything okay?”
I perch on the edge of the recliner before answering, “Everything’s fine. We’re all home, safe and sound. The boys are just getting ready for bed now. They wouldn’t stop nagging me about birthday plans.” I roll my eyes. “Typical night.”
She smiles indulgently, “This happens every year. You know they’ve always appreciated you wanting to share your day but they’ll never want to take the spotlight off of you.”
