4. Mina #2
I can’t help but smile up at him. I suddenly notice how dry my throat is and try to move my hand to touch it, but my arms won’t budge. I turn my head to look at them, but nothing seems to be restraining me.
I whimper. Am I paralyzed? The thought terrifies me, and the beeping noise starts to speed up with my heart rate. If I can’t speak or write… No, no, no. It can’t be true. I squeeze my eyes tight shut with worry.
“What is it?” Jasper asks from my other side, as he holds my left hand.
My throat is so dry, I worry if I don’t get a drink right now, my throat might close over. Hoping he understands, I open my mouth wide.
He frowns. “Your mouth… hurts?”
I make an exaggerated swallow. It hurts, and I grimace.
“Your throat! You want water!”
I nod in relief. Max holds a straw up to my mouth, and I drink greedily. It instantly soothes my parched throat. I keep sipping until the cup empties and Jasper is right there with another one. I drink until my throat finally doesn’t feel like sandpaper anymore.
“Alright, now she’s awake. It’s time you boys leave so I can speak to her in private,” the woman, Julie, says. I grip the twins’ hands as hard as I can and shake my head.
“See? She doesn’t want to talk to you,” Max tells her smugly.
She sighs. “It doesn’t matter. She’s underage.”
I shake my head again and look at Dom. He stares at me, his eyes narrowing as he tilts his head. I stare back at him, willing him to read my mind. I’m not seventeen!
Wishing I could type or write to make him understand, I look at my right hand. I can feel Max’s grip, so I’m not paralyzed. I try wiggling my fingers, and they barely move. Frustrated, I throw my head back and blow out a breath.
“Max, can I sit there for a minute?” Dom asks, coming to my side.
“Sure.”
Max releases my hand as Dom takes it and sits on the edge of the bed. We stare at each for a moment and I start to wonder what he’s thinking.
“Come on now, I’ve been quite patient. Everyone out. Chief, can you please have them leave?” The CPA agent says briskly, clearly getting annoyed with nobody listening to her.
“She was violently attacked and has been in a coma for twelve days, she literally just woke up. We’re the only people she knows, and you want us to just walk out of here?
” Gideon asks angrily as he stands behind Dom, facing her with his arms crossed.
“Not going to happen. The least you can do is give us a few minutes to make sure she’s okay and understands what’s happening. ”
Dom’s thumb strokes over my hand and my attention moves back to him. He’s staring at me so intently, as if he’s trying to see inside my head. For once, I wish that was possible. I squeeze his hand as hard as I can, which isn’t very hard at all.
Dom’s eyes narrow again. “You want to tell me something?”
I nod.
“Something important?”
I nod emphatically.
He continues to stare at me for a moment before he pulls out his phone, opens it, and holds it where I can see it, guiding my hand over the keys. I try to press the buttons, but my fingers have no strength. Tears of frustration trickle down my cheeks.
I wish I could just speak!
Wait… my eyes dart to Atlas, who’s standing behind Jasper, staring at me with his arms crossed. Did I… Did I call him for help? The last moments before I passed out are a little foggy, but I swear I spoke… just that one word. Help.
I’ve always felt sick when I’ve attempted to speak in the past, but these men have helped me overcome other obstacles, why not this one too? I lift my chin again, and Jasper places the straw in my mouth so I can take another sip.
The guys have all gathered around me now, and I glance at each of them, clutching Dom and Jasper’s hands, afraid that they’ll be forced to leave if I let go.
“Okay, guys, I’m sorry, but it’s time to go now. She can call you from her foster home when she’s settled,” the man—the police chief—says, sounding regretful.
The guys look heartbroken, and I don’t want to be the cause of that pain. I also don’t want to live another day without them in my life. Staring at Dom, I swallow, then open my mouth and quietly rasp out, “I’m twenty-one.”
Dom’s eyes widen as pure shock covers his face.
“What did she just say?” Gideon asks, moving closer.
“I… I’m not entirely sure…” Dom trails off and I look at him, pleading with my eyes for him to give me a voice. “But… I think she said she’s twenty-one.”
Thank god! I nod my head excitedly, even though it causes pain to throb through my skull. Relief fills me, knowing they finally know the truth.
The biggest smile I’ve ever seen splits his face, and I look around at the others, who are also grinning. Max even starts laughing as he clutches his side and rests his forehead on Tucker’s shoulder.
“You heard them. Your services are no longer required here,” Gideon turns and tells the CPA officers, who are both staring at me with shocked expressions.
The woman shakes it off before she’s able to respond. “Now wait a minute, I need proof of her age before I can leave.”
“I told you her ID was fake. You were willing to take her away on the basis of her ID being fake, so why can’t you leave her on the same basis?” Ben asks.
“Well, it doesn’t work like that,” she huffs.
“You can’t take a twenty-one-year-old woman away against her will,” Gideon tells her.
She looks between us all, looking frustrated before she finally concedes. “I’ll be back after I talk to my superiors,” she says as she and her partner storm out of the room.
“You be sure to do that!” Ben yells after her.
“I’ll talk to you guys later. I’ll go see what she plans on doing,” the police chief says as he follows them out.
Ben shuts the door behind him and then turns back to me.
It’s just the eight of us now. My eyes dance around between them all, wondering if they will be mad I had previously lied about my age.
But it’s not like I ever told them I was seventeen, my mother did.
Max and Jasper start laughing, and Ben moves in and leans down closer to me. “Are you really twenty-one, or did you just say that to get them to leave? Cause if you did, it was brilliant!” he says with a smile.
“It will only hold for so long, though,” Gideon adds from the foot of my bed, where he now sits.
“Move.” Atlas nudges Jasper out of the way to come to my other side. He’s been silent up to now. He holds my hand delicately and stares into my eyes.
“Malishka.” I smile at him and sigh.
“Are you really twenty-one? Honestly?” he asks.
I nod, and a huge smile crosses his face.
“I wish we knew that sooner, we could have gotten you out of there weeks ago,” he says with a frown.
“Why were you in high school?”
“How do you feel?”
“Are you alright?”
Tucker and the twins all talk over each other, but I keep my eyes glued to Atlas. I can see he needs me right now, and I want to be there for him. I want him to know how much it meant that he answered my call for help.
I take a deep breath and rasp out so quietly, it’s barely a whisper in the quiet room, “Atlas.” His eyes widen with surprise. “You came for me.”
I start coughing and a straw is quickly brought to my lips, and I drink down as much as I can while I watch him.
I can’t stop the tears of happiness that escape.
He pulls my hand up and kisses the back of it.
I’m surprised when I notice my fingers are heavily bandaged, but what surprises me most is the glossy sheen in his own eyes.
“I will always come for you, Malishka. I’m so sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
I shake my head, wanting to tell him it’s my fault for not asking for it sooner, but my throat is sore and I don’t want to hurt it anymore. My whole body hurts and I realize now just how tired I am.
“Angel,” I hear Jasper say from beside Atlas. “I gave you the perfect nickname. You sound like an angel.”
I blush and roll my eyes at him. My voice is terrible and raspy.
“Kitten, your voice is beautiful. I didn’t know you could speak,” Dom says from my other side.
I shrug my shoulders and he gives me a sad smile.
“Move in with us!” Max suddenly yells, making me jump.
“Tact, man. Use it,” Tucker grumbles at him, and Jasper runs his hand over his face, clearly exasperated with his brother.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t wait any longer! I mean, she’s not a minor, and there is no way we’re letting her go back to that hellhole of a house. I want her to know she has a home with us.” Max beams at me.
My sweet twin. He’s so thoughtful and kind. I hadn’t even had the chance to process what happened with my mother or where I would live.
Do I want to live with them? For so long, I’d imagined moving out on my own, getting out from under my family’s thumb.
I never really thought about living with anyone else.
But as they all stare at me expectantly for an answer, I know what I want to do.
It’s clear I can’t take care of myself, and I’m not too vain to admit I need them.
They said they would help me, but I wonder if they really mean that, knowing recovery might not be an easy road for me.
“Malishka?” I turn to look at Atlas. “We would all love it if you came to stay with us. For as long as you want. You need help to recover from what happened, and every one of us wants to be by your side as you heal.” I glance around quickly at the others and they all smile or nod at me, confirming their agreement with him.
“Malishka, please stay with us. I need you.”
“We need you,” Dom says from my other side.
I can’t imagine what they need me for, but a smile covers my face as I nod in agreement. Max cheers loudly as they all seem to sigh in relief.
I lift my chin again, looking at Jasper for another drink. He indulges me, and as my eyelids grow heavy. Dom smooths my hair down and says, “sleep, Kitten. We’ll be here when you wake up. We’re not going anywhere. You belong with us now.”