33. Emily
Sitting in the kitchen with Niall, I push my food around my plate. Liam has been encouraging me to step out of my room for at least an hour every day, so here I am. Spending my hour in the kitchen trying to force food down my throat.
He’s been a constant since he came to my room last week. He’s actually been helping me with talking. I mean, we don’t talk about what happened to me. The only person outside of Dr. Morrison who knows what happened is Declan.
And the only reason he knows is because he wouldn’t leave me alone about how isolated I am. He didn’t understand and after weeks of hounding me, I caved and told him.
Of course, I didn’t tell him everything but enough that he finally left me alone.
Liam’s presence has surprisingly been welcome, and I look forward to the time I get to spend with him. There have been a few times that my body has reacted to him in ways that it hasn’t in such a long time. When he sits close to me, I lean in and wish he’d press his lips to mine instead of my forehead.
Each night, I find myself mourning the loss of his presence and wishing he’d never leave.
It’s been confusing the say the least.
Paige and Sarah step into the kitchen and smile widely when they see me sitting at the counter.
“Hi, Emily. How are you feeling?” Sarah says with a grin.
I straighten my shoulders and return their smile as best as I can.
“I’m doing really good, how are you guys?”
I feel the burn of Paige’s gaze as she studies my profile. When I turn to meet her eyes, she smiles softly at me, but her brows are slightly pinched.
“We’re good. Sarah came to rip me a new one about killing more men without her help.”
I chuckle softly.
I haven’t had a desire to kill any more people since that first man I helped Paige with. It felt amazing at the time to let go and allow my emotions to take control, but after the weight was lifted, all I saw were the women and children who suffered because of Vladimir.
Their stares were wide, and they looked afraid of me. I couldn’t stomach it, so I didn’t go back down to the cellar.
“Hello, ladies,” Niall says as he wipes his hands on the cloth draped over his shoulder. “What can I get for you?”
Paige smiles warmly at him as she takes a seat next to me. Sarah takes the one on the opposite side.
“We wanted to come and see if we can talk you into making steaks for dinner.”
“No need to talk me into it, Miss Paige. Your wish is my command.” He dips his chin.
“Can I have him?” Sarah says.
I snort and then freeze at the sudden noise. It’s the first time in weeks I’ve had a genuine reaction with someone who isn’t Liam.
“Hell no, you can’t. Niall is the best and refuse to lose him.” Paige laughs.
Niall shakes his head with a huge smile spread across his face. Pink tints his cheeks when he spins around and sees Declan striding into the room.
Black smoke begins to spread across the countertop, and I tense. I try to ignore the dread that spreads over me and pay attention to Declan as he greets everyone but it’s a struggle.
I roll my eyes when he looks up at me after essentially making out with Paige in the middle of the kitchen.
The smoke darkens and I lose myself in it. There is no sound around me. It’s as though the entire atmosphere has been sucked into its murkiness with no way out. It begins to envelop me; I expect fear to invade my body, but it never comes. I don’t feel anything. My body is completely frozen, I stare unblinking as the smoke continues to grow and grow.
Suddenly Declan’s voice breaks through and I startle. He’s staring at me, and I point at myself.
“Me?”
He raises his brows. “I am looking right at you, Em.”
“Psh, yeah I’m completely good.” I feign a relaxed posture and flick my hand out in dismissal.
When his attention is no longer on me, I find myself lost, once again, to the shadow that hasn’t stopped growing. Time and space no longer exist. Just darkness and complete silence.
“All done, boss.” Liam’s voice breaks my trance, and my skin feels hot when I see him walking into the kitchen. My breath catches at the sight of his black Henley stretching over the broad plain of his chest and wrapping around his muscular arms. He’s wearing black cargo pants and black boots, and it just adds another layer of sex appeal to an already gorgeous man.
I feel Declan’s stare and when I meet his eyes, they narrow.
Shit.
I turn my gaze back to my plate.
Declan’s voice is tense when he orders Liam to meet him in his office.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
It’s not like anything romantic is happening between us but I don’t know what Liam is going to do if Declan tells him to leave me alone.
He gave me up once before. Will he do it again?
“Don’t worry.”
I spin to Paige who is smiling softly at me.
“Worry?”
She peeks over my shoulder at Sarah and then meets my eyes once more.
“About Liam.”
I avert my gaze.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t,” Sarah says and Paige glares at her.
“What? She’s the one pretending that she’s not completely in love with Liam.”
Paige rolls her eyes and lets out an exacerbated breath.
“Ignore Sarah. I know that Liam has been a big reason you’ve been getting better. It’s also one of the reasons I haven’t been spending as much time with you as I did when we first got home. Liam loves you, Em. So don’t worry about what Declan is going to do.”
She winks at me and then spins around and leaves the room.
“She’s right, you know,” Sarah says once Paige is out of sight.
“About?” I ask.
“Liam loves you.”
“We have a history, and he didn’t admit to loving me then, so I’m not so sure his feelings are considered love,” I say with a shrug.
Sarah studies my profile. “That’s not what Rhys said.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, sitting up straighter in my seat.
She smiles, her eyes fill with mischief.
“Ask Liam about it.” She winks and pats my leg and then hops off the stool. Leaving me alone in the kitchen.
My phone vibrates on the counter. Ma’s name flashes across the screen. I stare, unmoving until the screen goes black. A second later, the notification of a new voicemail pops up.
Sighing, I press delete without listening to the message. Hopping off the stool, I leave the kitchen and head toward my room.