Page 41 of Mafie Queen

I open my mouth, the movement ripping at the seam of my lips that feels like they have nearly grown shut at this point. I’ve been learning basic sign language with the guys because I started to believe that maybe I would never talk again.

But right now I have no choice. My thumb grazes her cheek and finally, the words just come.

“I need you to come back to me, Lucky Charm.”

My voice is raspy, but I clear my throat and keep going when her eyes flit to mine, a spark igniting in them.

“I need your fire, your fight. I need the sass you always give Damien and the attitude you give Alexi. But most of all, I just needyou.”

Her brows pinch. “Ghost?” It’s barely a whisper, but I hear it loud and clear. Her hand presses to my face and I lean into her. “You’re really here? You’re alive?”

By the stars, I will butcher the man who made her think we were gone.As if someone has the power to make the three of us leave this world knowing she needed us.

“I’m here, Lucky Charm. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

A gasp sounds in the doorway, and we both look up to see Damien’s shadow standing there. He walks in, and the lights from outside illuminate the shock on his face.

“Lev, baby…you’re talking?”

I look at Evie and she smiles, life returning to her eyes.

“My Lucky Charm needed me.”

Damien kneels on the floor in front of us, wrapping his arms around both of our bodies. Evie lets out a sigh, and Damien squeezes tighter before looking at her.

“You okay, Little Shadow?” He tucks a stray hair behind her ear while she glances at me.

“I am now.” Her lips meet mine only for Alexi to interrupt us.

“Why is there a hug fest happening at three in the morning?”

I laugh as I take in his rumpled appearance.

“I think middle-of-the-night parties are kind of our thing, aren’t they?”

His eyes widen and jaw drops at the sound of my voice.

“Well, thank fuck,” he says as he joins us in the group hug.

“When did you become a hugger?” Evie asks jokingly, her joy already coming back to her.

“When you three assholes started making me feel things.” He shrugs and pulls us all closer.

Evie’s warmth surrounds me, and I sink into the joy of the moment. I will never again waste an opportunity to use my words.

“I love you guys,” I say, and they all squeeze a little tighter before saying it back. Just when I thought the world was trying to hand us a big ‘fuck you’, we finally caught a little bit of a break.

Hopefully, this is just the first sign of things starting to get better.

Chapter 19

Things are improving around the house. Evie hasn’t been struggling as much, and we have all made it a habit to do some journaling time together at breakfast. It’s helped us start our days off better. Except for this morning when I walk down to find Evie and Alexi yelling at each other.

“How could you say that Laney is the problem here? All she did was love him. He was the one who tried to leave! He should be on his knees apologizing.”

Alexi throws his hands in the air. “What the fuck do you think he’s been doing, Evie?”

I watch as she flinches at the sound of him using her name. He never uses her name. She recovers quickly, but I don’t like to see him using shit like that against her.

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