Shifting Gazes #3
But Seb? He caught the girl’s gaze when it switched to him, holding it as if he offered quiet but unyielding strength.
Then, her chin wobbled. He was the only one of us who stood, walking toward the girl.
As if somehow recognizing each other, she watched his approach.
I didn’t know what the hell he was thinking, but it sure wasn’t holding out his arm and inviting her to dinner.
Like this wasn’t the most tragic of circumstances. Like she hadn’t just been through hell.
“H-hi. You h-h-hungry? We’re j-just eating d-d-dinner.”
Maybe it was the stutter. Or maybe it was the fact that he smiled with genuine warmth and wasn’t fazed by the marks of her long-term abuse. It wasn’t hard to comprehend this level of harm had occurred over a long period of time. Months, if not years. For whatever reason, she accepted.
The girl didn’t speak, but she followed Seb to the table where he usually sat, giving up his seat for her.
Finn vacated the chair beside her, and Seb sank into it as they exchanged a quick look.
Finn ended up taking a seat in the empty chair to my left until he noticed Sarah still gripping my hand.
His chair scraped the floor as he pushed it from the table and left the room, no explanation offered.
Maybe I should’ve cared more, but Sarah, focused on the new girl, audibly swallowed.
Whatever demons she fought, they were trying to gain a foothold.
I wouldn’t let that happen. As I squeezed back, her head rested on my shoulder.
There wasn’t anything improper or sexual about it.
This was about trust and comfort. Nothing more.
However, Ethan’s gaze swept over us and something in him shifted.
It was slight, but I couldn’t tell what it meant.
While I’m wondering what jealousy storm I just stumbled into, Caleb locked eyes with Sarah, also.
Although, I respected how he seemed to not read too much into this.
He understood her needs. He dipped his chin slightly, like an unspoken acknowledgement of her inner turmoil and trust that he was there for her, too.
Kristen left, and the front door closed.
After setting the backpack on the floor, Dale and Harmony joined us at the table. Harmony gestured to our plates. “Let’s eat while we do some introductions.”
Sarah released my hand and lifted her head, pushing her fork around on her plate.
Dale cleared his throat. “This is…”
While Dale spoke what sounded like some rare biblical name I would’ve had to write down and study before daring to repeat, I couldn’t help but notice the girl cringing at every syllable. I assumed she hated her name.
Dale continued. “She’s going to stay with us while Kristen sorts through everything.”
Harmony gave her a welcoming smile. “I’m glad you’re here—” Harmony looked to Dale like, How do I say her name again?
Calm as always, Dale rattled off the foreign name.
Harmony smiled. “Yes, we’re just having dinner, but afterward I’ll show you the room you’ll share with Sarah.”
The girl’s piercing eyes landed on Sarah. She dipped her chin shyly.
Sarah smiled. It wobbled but remained friendly.
“It’s about time another girl arrived. There are far too many boys.
” She made it sound annoying and teasing, which was quite a skill considering it didn’t extend to her pale eyes.
I could see the effort, though. Ethan and Caleb noticed too.
“It’ll be like a sleepover every night.”
The girl didn’t speak. She appeared pitifully timid, like it would cost her too much and she had already paid too high a price.
Sarah continued as if she understood the girl’s silence and the possible reasons behind it. “I’ve always wanted to be invited to one.”
Harmony sniffled, and I caught the tears she tried to hide as they shimmered in her eyes. “Sleepovers were always my favorite as a girl.”
Dale couldn’t hide the love he felt for his wife as their eyes met and held. In a single glance, they shared years of trust, adoration, and affection. A foundation that had been built with a strong base and then brick by brick had formed an impenetrable fortress.
I was in awe.
The girl didn’t eat more than a few bites of food. She chewed on one side of her mouth and winced more than once from the cut as it pulled on the tender skin.
Seb never took his eyes off her. Well, not often. He frowned as he stood and left the table without a word, returning a minute later with a first aid kit.
We all froze. She didn’t like hospitals. Would this freak her out?
With so much consideration, he showed it to the girl, deftly opening the lid to reveal the contents. “Th-there’s ointment in h-h-here for your l-lip and some Tylenol. I c-c-could help you, o-only if you l-l-like.”
They locked eyes, and no one had to say that it felt like a damaged soul-to-soul connection. We could all feel it transpire, the second something intangible clicked between them.
The girl blinked up at Seb, who, even in the chair, dwarfed her smaller frame. “Both.”
Visibly relieved, he opened the kit and pulled out the tube of ointment, uncapping it. “Is it o-o-okay if I d-do it?”
She nodded. Her chin lifted slightly to accommodate him. She still held on to her duffel bag, never relinquishing it to anyone. Everything that meant something to her had to be inside.
I hadn’t known Seb long, but he was a bit of a klutz. He bumped into furniture and walls all the time like he didn’t know how to control his limbs. And he tripped more often than anyone I ever met. But with the new girl? His hand was steady and his movements gentle.
He applied a little of the ointment to her cut, using the pad of his finger to lightly dab it on her skin as a muscle pulsed in his jaw. I knew it pissed him off to see her black eye and how she’d been beaten, because I felt the same. The rage and horror of what she’d suffered affected all of us.
Tending to her, Seb said, “Y-your eyes a-a-re the p-prettiest blue.” Not missing a beat, he asked, “C-could I c-call you th-that? Blue?”
A little sigh escaped her as her tense shoulders eased. “Yes.”
Slightly ashamed, I was grateful she said yes to the change of using her tongue-twister name. I couldn’t help but wonder why she disliked it. Daily, I wanted my real name back.
Once Seb finished, he replaced the cap, dropped the tube back into the first-aid kit, and then handed the Tylenol to Blue.
Weirdly, she peered over her shoulders to check her surroundings, then slender fingers fumbled with the container.
“Th-that bottle is al-always getting st-st-stuck. Want m-me to t-try?”
Blue answered with a pleased nod.
Seb took out two tablets and placed them in her hand, then he reached for the glass of water in front of her and handed it over.
Blue stared at her palm for a moment. The glass shook as she tilted her head back and swallowed the pills, looking suddenly drained.
Shadows stretched across the skin beneath her eyes, even the one that was bruised and swollen.
His kindness and patience toward her told me that Seb was no stranger to seeing a woman battered and beaten. He never flinched or faltered. My heart lurched in my chest. This world was so fucking unfair.
How quickly it tilted on its axis, again ensuring I never grew too comfortable, constantly reminded me that each day was never promised. Evil existed in this world, and with a snap of the fingers, everything around us could crumble.
Safety was an illusion every foster kid at this table chased. Dale and Harmony provided it. For now. But nothing was guaranteed.
I swore that when I grew older, that my club would become a fortress like this one and provide shelter, acceptance, patience, and love for those who crossed my path and needed it.
As much as I knew I was lucky and had found a tiny reprieve from the enemies who hunted my father’s club and stole my family, I also knew that it wouldn’t last.
Nothing was forever.
That lesson, at only fifteen, had already been hammered into my soul.