Chapter 14 Thayla #2
It’s shocking he can even speak right now.
“We’re going to get you cleaned up and Creed is going to bandage you. Then we’re going to eat, talk if you think you can process a conversation, then you’re going to sleep.”
“I don’t—”
“That’s what we’re doing. You can sleep on the couch with all of us there with you or my bed. Wherever you please, but that is what’s about to happen. Do you understand me?”
His lips twitch for a fleeting second before he pushes his tongue into his cheek.
“I’m supposed to be the Ruler and Mediator here, gorgeous.”
“Cute. I’ve got a little touch of it too, so suck it up.”
“So you think I’m cute?”
A surprised laugh tumbles out of me, and his gaze lightens in a way that I haven’t seen in honestly far, far too long. My soul hums as he finally strokes it back and I shiver against him.
“I’ve missed that sound more than I realized.”
His soft omission has my stomach doing somersaults and my smile lingers on my lips. The only reason it fades away is because he pulls my face back to his.
The slide down his body is torturous, but as much as I’d love to stay in his arms, pinned against this wall, I’ve got two other brothers to fuss at this morning.
He hisses as I run cold water over his hand to wash away the drying blood and clean the gash but otherwise doesn’t complain. I, on the other hand, sulk when he pulls a shirt over his head.
I wish they’d walk around shirtless all the time.
If I asked them to, they’d ask the same of me in return, then we’d never do anything…but each other.
We share a confused glance with one another when we walk out of his room and hear the raised voices coming from the kitchen.
Amick’s standing straight, tilting his head in confusion as Riven yells at an annoyed-looking Creed, who has his arms crossed.
“What is—”
“Ah. And there’s the biggest traitor of them all.”
Riven’s outburst cuts me off as he points his finger at Kyzen.
“Me? What did I do?”
“Where the fuck is my cake?”
“What?” Both of us ask.
“My cake. Why did Amick get a cake for fucking Thayla, but I don’t? It was a lot of work losing my virginity and I got nothing more than a grunted ‘good morning’ when I came from Thayla’s room. Alone, by the way. Don’t appreciate that, angel.”
I slap my hand over my mouth when I snort and the entire kitchen falls silent. It’s damn near impossible to hold it in when Riven’s eyes narrow on me and he places his hands on his hips.
“Wait, so…You and Riven?” Kyzen asks, glancing down at my red face.
“Consummated our marriage last night.”
“Riven.” I chuckle, shaking my head. “We didn’t get married, but to answer your question, yes.”
A squeal slips free from me when Kyzen picks me up and spins me. His laugh wraps around my soul and his happiness bleeds through me.
“Congratulations, little goddess. How do you feel? How does your soul feel?”
“Good, everything feels good.” I sigh into his chest as he puts me down.
Another body moves into my line of sight, and I tilt my head up at Amick’s more concerned than happy face.
“What’s wrong, Candyman?”
“I was unaware that Riven was inexperienced. He’s made jokes before, but I assumed he was teasing. Did he perform up to standard?”
“Oh, and what fucking standard is that?” Riven yells.
Amick’s brows furrow as he motions his hand between himself, Creed, and Kyzen.
“Ours, obviously. I need to make sure you met all of her needs. If you didn’t, I prepared a lesson for you after our last conversation on this subject. Again, I thought you were teasing me, so I filed it away, but it’s ready for us to go over.”
“When was this first conversation?” I ask, but they ignore me.
“Is he being for real right now?”
Riven’s offended gaze travels over each of us, and I curl my lips between my teeth to keep from smiling.
Or laughing. I’m trying so hard not to laugh at them.
“I’m quite serious. This is a serious concern.”
“For the fucking Valories, Amick. I was raised in a damn sex chamber. I know what I’m doing.”
My grunt is very, very, unkind and loud.
“Too soon? My bad, little burden.”
I roll my eyes and push myself up on my toes. Amick surprises me by turning into the kiss meant for his cheek and I hum happily.
“You are glowing this morning, so he must have done something right. Unless it’s your soul’s doing.”
“He did plenty right and my soul is…well, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s something we can talk about over breakfast and after Creed fixes up Kyzen’s hand.”
“What’s wrong with your hand?” Creed barks as he stomps over to us.
“It’s nothing.”
“It is something. He accidentally cut himself with a sword.”
“A sword? You shouldn’t…” Creed trails off, glancing down at me, then rapidly moving his eyes back to Kyzen.
“That shit right there is going to stop. Today.”
My wavering voice catches all their attention. I clear my throat and put a leash on my slippery soul.
Obviously, some nosy ass picks this very moment to rummage his way through my chest, though.
“Your feelings are hurt.”
My nose scrunches at Creed.
“I’m bothered, yes.”
“Don’t say bothered like that. I feel you. Every part of you.” He tilts his head and his eyes flare when he feels me trying to shove his ass off my soul. “We really hurt you this week.”
All four of them surround me in a very coordinated—intimidating—formation. I don’t budge, though. I keep my shoulders back and chin tilted stubbornly.
“I just admitted that it bothered me.”
“It bothers me when people use more room than necessary to move around me. It hurts my feelings that they do that because they think they’re going to drop dead if their arm brushes mine. See the difference?”
Gods, that image hurts my feelings.
I’ll punch a motherfucker if I see them do that to him.
I swallow the uncertainty creeping through me. I understand exactly what he wants me to say since he laid that comparison out so clearly.
“It bothered me that you all were handling going back to the Abandon so hard and weren’t talking about it. But yes, you all did a few things over the last few days that actually hurt my feelings.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Amick asks.
“Because I didn’t feel like I had a right to. You’ve all been struggling since the second Riven got taken, and it felt stupid to be upset with any of you over small things.”
“It wasn’t small things, though, if it upset you.”
I open my mouth to deny Kyzen’s argument, but Riven’s stern voice cuts in.
“Tell us what we did that hurt your feelings.”
“I don’t think—”
“No, no, no. That’s not how it works. If you say this shit ends today, it ends on all fronts.
That includes yours. You asked me last night if you weren’t worthy enough to hear our fears and if we didn’t trust you with knowing and protecting us from them.
You can’t turn around and not trust us enough with telling us what we did that hurt you. ”
“Did she really ask that?” Kyzen’s head whips to Riven, then back to me. “Did you really ask him that?”
“I…”
“She did. I also now know why she asked that, and I understand now why she’s acting the way she is about not telling us her feelings.”
“Riven,” I warn.
Nothing that I told him last night has to stay between us, per se, but I really don’t want to rehash it right this second.
“Then I’d advise you get to talking. I want detailed examples.”
“Fine, but first let me clarify that I didn’t expect any of you to lay it all out there for me and tell me everything that was wrong. I could see just fine that you all were struggling and needed some time. I didn’t expect the complete shutdowns, though. Those are what…hurt.”
Great.
Ugh. It’s so much easier cussing or flipping out than being emotionally honest.
As if this isn’t hard enough, my body stages a mutiny. My hands tremble, and heat crawls up my neck. It isn’t my familiar fury building, though. It’s pure nerves.
Breathe, Thayla.
You’re being honest with your…boyfriends.
Your four boyfriends, by the way.
I straighten my shoulders, hoping it steadies my voice.
“Creed, I tried twice to help you cook and like you just used as an example, you moved away from me like my touch would burn you. There was one time I even picked up the spatula to stir the food, and you took it out my hand wordlessly. You haven’t told me good night since we’ve been home.
You go to your room and don’t come back out. ”
I hold my breath to watch his reaction. Him cracking his neck and looking at the ground wasn’t what I expected.
“Amick, you’ve been simply nonexistent. Night one, you pretty much kicked me out of your room, then the next day, I sat beside you on the couch while you were reading and the second I started talking, you got up and walked away.
You’ve never made me feel so dismissed or like my talking bothered you so bad. ”
The wrinkles in his forehead deepen as he either thinks back to that moment, if he can recall it, or he’s processing how that upset me. I let him stew as I move my gaze to Riven.
“You barely looked at or spoke to me for three days. Then I just find you in my bathtub relaxing.”
His lips turn down into a frown.
“Then I tried to get you to leave.”
I nod.
“I was just trying to run away from my thoughts.”
“I know. But I wanted to run too. With you. Any of you.”
My eyes tear from his and land on Kyzen.
Valories, I don’t want to say anything to him. He’s riddled with guilt.
“Every day you’ve been bouncing around, trying to do things for your brothers.
I figured out day two, that’s what you do to cope.
You overcompensate by doing as much for them as you can to distract your mind, but once they go to bed or their room, you let yourself get lost in your thoughts. Once you got lost, you left me behind.”
I take a deep breath and stare down at my toes as they grip the floor for dear life. I’m going to pass out from the nerves that have my skin shaking.
Gods, this is fucking hard.