Chapter 39 Tigerlily
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Tigerlily
The trucks are finally unloaded.
Both of them sit in the driveway with their beds empty, tailgates still down. My things are scattered across Jax and Zephyr’s living room in bags and piles that don’t quite make sense yet.
Reality hits me all at once.
I’m actually living here now.
Not visiting. Not staying temporarily until I figure things out.
I. Am. Living here. With three hockey players who’ve somehow become the most important people in my life.
I stand in the doorway staring at everything I own spread across their floor, and my chest tightens with something between relief and terror.
“You okay?” Jax asks from behind me.
I nod without turning around. “Kind of, but I think I need my meds.”
Jax walks straight to the bag on the kitchen counter, grabs me the right amount and hands them to me with his flask of water. And then I sit on the couch.
“While you’re waiting for those to kick in,” Zephyr says while holding himself against the armrest, “the bathroom’s stocked.
We made space for your stuff underneath the cabinet.
There are two shelves. And kitchen cabinets,” Zephyr walks over to the kitchen and shows me.
“This one’s yours. And this drawer for whatever you need. ”
Empty space. Cleared out. Ready.
My throat feels tight.
Callum appears from the hallway carrying one of my boxes. “Where do you want your underwear drawer, Tiger? I’m thinking somewhere easily accessible for all of us.”
“Callum,” Jax warns as I start blushing.
He grins at me. “Seriously, top drawer okay?”
I nod.
“Guest room,” Jax says firmly. “She gets the dresser in there.”
I stand up, wincing in pain, following Callum to my new bedroom. “I should probably supervise him.”
We walk down the hall. Callum sets the box on the bed and opens the top drawer of the dresser.
It’s empty.
So is the second drawer. And the third.
“When did they...” I start, then stop.
The three of them exchange looks.
“While you were in the hospital,” Zephyr admits. “We emptied it out. Just in case.”
“In case what?”
“In case you needed somewhere to go,” Jax says quietly.
My eyes burn. “You knew I’d end up here, didn’t you?”
Zephyr shrugs. “Hoped.”
“Prayed,” Callum adds.
Jax just looks at me. He doesn’t say anything. But his expression says everything.
I turn away before I start crying.
“You sit and tell us what to do,” Zephyr says.
“You’re not allowed to do anything,” Callum commands.
Jax hangs things in the closet. Zephyr arranges books on the shelf. Callum folds shirts with surprising competence. We work in comfortable silence for a while. Then Callum breaks it.
“So,” he says casually. “Sleeping arrangements.”
“What about them?” Jax asks.
“Well, we have four people and I’m thinking—”
“The guest bedroom is now Tiger’s bedroom,” Jax interrupts.
“I vote we all pile into Jax’s bed,” Callum continues like he didn’t hear him. “King size. Plenty of room.”
“We’re not animals,” Jax says.
“Speak for yourself.”
“Cal.”
“What? I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.”
“You’re saying what you’re thinking.”
Zephyr looks at me. “What do you want, Tiger?”
The question stops everything.
What do I want?
My heart starts to race when I think about what I truly want. I want them close. I want to know they’re there. And I want to not wake up alone, wondering if this is all real and questioning where I stand.
But I’m also scared. Scared of moving too fast. Scared of messing this up. Scared of wanting too much.
“I don’t know,” I admit quietly.
Callum sits on the edge of the bed. “That’s okay. We can figure it out as we go.”
Jax runs his hand through his hair. “This is your bedroom now. That’s not up for debate. But...” He pauses. “The door stays unlocked. If you need anything, we’re right down the hall.”
“Both of us,” Zephyr adds. “Our rooms are on either side.”
I nod, looking around. The empty dresser is now filled with my things. The bed that has my pillows and blankets. Zinnia’s favorite jewelry box sits atop the dresser.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I whisper.
All three of them move closer immediately.
“You won’t be,” Jax promises.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Zephyr says.
Callum grins. “See? My idea wasn’t that crazy.”
“Your idea is still not happening,” Jax tells him.
“Yet,” Callum mutters.
We finish unpacking as the sun sets. My things slowly integrate into their space until it starts to feel less like their house and more like... ours.
The thought terrifies and thrills me in equal measure.
By the time we’re done, it’s past eleven. Callum stretches and yawns dramatically.
“I’m heading out. Early practice tomorrow.” He walks over and kisses the top of my head. “Sleep well, Tiger. Don’t let these two keep you up all night.”
“Goodnight, Cal.”
He leaves, and suddenly it’s just the three of us.
Jax and Zephyr exchange a look. Some kind of silent communication I’m not part of yet.
“We should all get some sleep,” Jax says finally.
I nod and walk to the guest room—my room now—and close the door most of the way. Not all the way. Just enough for privacy.
I change into sleep clothes. I brush my teeth in the bathroom that now has space for my toothbrush. I wash my face with products that sit on shelves cleared out just for me.
When I climb into bed, the sheets smell like fresh laundry. Like they were just washed. Like they were waiting for me.
I lie there in the dark staring at the ceiling.
Trying to sleep.
But I can’t.
My mind won’t shut off. I have too many thoughts racing. Too much change all at once.
I hear movement in the hallway. Footsteps. Then the soft sound of someone in the kitchen.
I get up and walk out of my room quietly.
Zephyr’s standing at the counter in sweatpants and a t-shirt, waiting for something on the stove. I glance at the counter, and it looks like ramen.
He looks up when I walk in. “Can’t sleep?”
I shake my head.
“Me neither.”
“How’s your arm?”
“Sore,” I mutter. “But it’s manageable.”
“Doesn’t seem to stop your legs,” he says, opening the ramen package and putting the noodles inside the boiling water. “Do you need your meds?”
I shake my head. “Not for another couple of hours.”
He pours his noodles into a bowl and walks over to me. “Want a bite?”
I nod.
“It’s hot.”
I smile shyly and then let the silence fill the kitchen.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I watch the steam from his noodles disappear into the air. “I don’t know.”
He blows on the noodles and says, “Here.”
I open my mouth, and he feeds me a bite. “Thank you,” I mutter.
He takes a bite, and I can tell it’s hot because he starts making a noise while moving his lips oddly for a second. He swallows and says, “For what it’s worth, Tiger. This is what we want.”
“We?” I ask, confused.
He stops moving the fork, looking over at me. The air between us shifts. Becomes heavier. Charged.
His eyes drop to my lips for just a second. Then back up.
“Me,” he clarifies. “You’re exactly what I want.”
I’m suddenly very aware of how close he is. How if I leaned forward just a few inches, I could kiss him.
But I don’t.
And neither does he.
The tension hangs there. Building. Neither of us moving.
Finally, Zephyr offers me another bite. I gladly take it, and then he takes a few more bites. When he offers me another bite, I decline him. When he finishes the bowl, he offers his hand. “Come on. Let’s get you back to bed.”
I take it and let him hold my hand. We walk back down the hall together and stop outside my door.
“Try to get some sleep,” he says.
“Will you stay with me?” The words come out before I can stop them. “Just... until I fall asleep?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah. Of course.”
We walk into my room. I climb into bed, and he lies down next to me on top of the covers. He keeps a respectful distance but close enough that I can feel his warmth.
“Comfortable?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
He reaches over and starts playing with my hair. His fingers run through the strands in slow, rhythmic movements.
I close my eyes and focus on the sensation. On his presence next to me. On the steady sound of his breathing.
“Zeff?” I whisper.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I do though. You didn’t have to do any of this.”
His hand stills in my hair for a moment. Then continues. “It’s no problem.”
I want to ask why three hockey players would turn their lives upside down for a girl they barely knew a month ago.
But exhaustion is finally pulling at me. The combination of his touch and his presence and the safety I feel in this house is too much to fight.
There’s something about him that eases me. Something calm and steady that makes the constant anxiety in my chest loosen just enough to breathe.
My breathing slows. My body relaxes.
And as I drift off, I hope nothing comes to haunt me.