25. Baron #2
My heart aches. “This is Ivy we're talking about. She's always going to be okay,” I rasp, but I feel like the words are more for me than anybody else. Thankfully, my sisters offer me a pair of watery smiles before they slip into the family room beside me.
I can only hope my words offer them a reprieve from the distress, but I don't think it lasts long because I hear a quick hitch of breath, and I know they’ve found Sax.
The huff that follows confirms he's about to get roasted.
I can protect him from the others out here, but from our sisters? There's no chance in Hell.
“What were you thinking?” Cami snaps.
“You better have a good explanation for this,” Aster adds. “That's my sister in there,” she insists, and I try my best to drown my family out, staring at Ivy’s door as uncertainty wars inside me.
I feel helpless, lost to my thoughts, and desperate to make it all right again when Garside reaches for the handle and pulls the door closed.
My spine stiffens at his proximity.
“Let's take a walk,” he murmurs, and I shake my head.
“I’m good here.”
He leans in close, his words only audible to me, like I don't have the ability to hear whispers from across the room.
“You're not okay, Baron. I'd like to make sure my son isn't broken into a million pieces in this hallway tonight.
Let's take a walk,” he repeats, and my gaze travels over his shoulder to where my father stands, eyes curiously fixed on mine.
He nods, and before I can think any better of it, I fall into step with Garside.
Every inch away from Ivy feels like the tightening of a noose around my neck, desperately trying to pull me back to her. As we reach the end of the hall, I stop altogether, not wanting to fight against it.
“I can't leave,” I grunt, and he offers me a tight smile.
“It's right here, isn't it?” he mumbles, tapping his hand on his chest, and I frown.
“The all-consuming sensation you get when you're not near her? Tears right here, doesn’t it?
Your mother only has to leave the room and I feel as if my insides are going to shatter, like she's pulled a pin from a grenade and I'm about to suffer the consequences.”
Dragging a hand down my face, I sigh. “That's oddly… accurate,” I mutter, silently falling into step with him once more as we slowly wind our way through the medical center halls.
“How are you holding up? And don't say you're okay because I obviously already know that that's not true.”
I fix my gaze to the floor, lips twisting with agitation, not wanting to answer. I don't do well with my… with Garside. It’s not new news, but with all the thoughts running around in my head, it feels impossible to ignore his question.
“I know she’ll be okay because, as scary as it sounds, she returns from death. But this isn’t… this isn't quite that. It's more Sax I'm worried about,” I admit, and he nods.
“He's always been your biggest vulnerability,” he murmurs, making my eyebrows furrow as I glance at him.
“What does that mean?” I blurt defensively, and all he does is offer me a warm smile, which does nothing to ease the chill in my veins.
“Nothing bad. It just means your fear for him has always extended beyond yourself.”
I shake my head. “I’m selfish,” I mutter, and he scoffs. “Especially in comparison to Sax,” I add, pleading my case, and an all-out chuckle vibrates from his chest.
“If that's what you want to tell yourself, sure. But I remember the days even you don’t.” I sense his eyes drilling into the side of my face, making it impossible to ignore him.
The second my gaze latches on to his, he exhales.
“You're not selfish. You just don't know how to let anybody in because your fear drives everything you do. It always has.”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” I grumble.
“I can give you an example,” he offers as we blindly turn down another corridor.
He doesn't wait for an answer and clears his throat. “You were about three or four,” he starts, running his hand over his beard. “You were outside, playing in the yard, and I was watching you from the patio area. You and Sax were being all playful and silly together.” His eyes take on a soft glaze, as if he’s recalling the moment with love and pride.
“I could hear him trying to encourage you to climb the big oak tree at the bottom of the yard, followed by all of your reasons why not to do that.
But your brother didn't listen, and when he got himself stuck in that tree, you went right after him.”
My chest tightens. “Why didn't you just stop us from going up the tree?” I ask, and he grins.
“Lessons don't come from being told the answers; they come from experiencing them for yourself.”
“I don't know if I like the sound of that,” I admit, and he rolls his eyes.
“The reality is, when you were both too scared to get down, you took full responsibility and ensured I took Sax down first in fear of him getting hurt.
I'm pretty sure that's how I've watched you manage the rest of your life since,” he declares, and I gulp, not recalling the moment, but the sentiment remains the same. “What I need you to start learning, Baron, is that responsibility doesn't fall completely on your shoulders. Not just for your brother, but for everybody around you, especially Ivy. She has three other mates; it’s not all your responsibility, and it shouldn’t be.”
“I’m just supposed to trust her with them?” I clarify, and he smiles.
“I used to feel like that when it came to Finnick too, but the way I watch your father with your mother warms a piece of my soul I didn't know needed activating. And watching your father with the girls and me with you guys, it’s all more than I could ever dream of.
Sure, Sax doesn't hate me as much as you do, or—”
“I don't hate you,” I interject, and he cocks a brow.
“Sure, you don’t,” he snorts. “But the reality is, we're a family, we're one, and we're here for each other, which means we're here for you too. All of us.”
His words take weight in my chest, and all I can do is gape at him in disbelief as we come to a stop with familiar figures filling the hallway that we left behind.
I almost want to take another lap with him, especially as my father cocks a brow at us, watching our slow approach, but before he can question us, the door to my left opens and my mother walks out with a beaming smile on her face.
“Our girl is perfect,” she declares, placing her fingers together as she pins her hands against her chest, and the narrow space erupts with excitement.
“Can we see her?” Aster asks as Hugo follows Greta out of the room.
“You can see her in a moment,” he offers, a kind smile on his face as he addresses my sister before his gaze darts to Sax, who stands nervously in the doorway of the family room. “But first, she wants to see her… what does she call them, Greta?”
“Hated mates,” my mother declares gleefully, and I roll my eyes at the term she uses as my father pats me on the back.
I’m halfway to the door when I realize I just thought of Garside as my father.
My eyes cut to his across the corridor to find him already smiling at me.
My chest warms until Sax takes his first step across the hall, nerves thrumming through him.
Instinct tells me to step back, guide him into the room, and baby him, but my father's right, even without saying it. My brother's consequences aren't mine to face, but I can be here to support him through all of it.
With a new air of determination in my stride, I step into the room to find Ivy propped up in bed, a gentle smile on her lips as she looks at each of us.
“Archer Bowen, you better apologize right now,” she snaps, and the Fire Protector pauses, hands raised in the air in disbelief.
“What the fuck did I do?”
“Do you think you were quiet? I heard you out there. You… you… ass! Say sorry to Sax right now!”
“I’m not doing that,” he retorts, and she huffs, folding her arms over her chest.
“And I'm not going to have you be so awful to him. It's my fault.”
“It's not your fault,” Sax interjects, kicking the door shut behind him, and Ivy sighs.
"Do you want to apologize to me for telling me I'm wrong too?” she sasses, and Teddy snickers, while I have to cover my mouth to hide my amusement at her energy.
“The fact of the matter is, I shouldn't have been creeping up behind a freaking white tiger.
But Hugo mentioned to me that the bear is Meadow?
I thought the bear was a threat. I was trying to be helpful.
This is… this all just got a little out of hand, but I'm okay.”
“I’m so sorry, Ivy,” Sax breathes, and she offers him a warm smile.
“Your eyes were orange,” she admits, and he nods.
“I feared the same.”
“You feared?” she asks, puzzled, and he nods.
“Just like with Teddy.”
The Water Protector exhales. “These power enhancements feel uncontrollable,” he murmurs, glancing at Sax, who hums in agreement.
“And they all seem to be triggered at the hands of somebody threatening or causing disaster,” I add, scratching at my jaw.
“It's almost like people want to see us go insane,” Sax breathes, and Ivy gulps.
“But who would want that?”
Her words linger in the air as my gut twists.
“Nobody good.”