Page 8 of Simply You & Me

"Julian," I gasp, the pain in my thigh becoming a bit too much to ignore. "Julian, please help me."

"Hey, hey! What's going on? Are you hurt?!" I put him on speakerphone and drop it to my side, unable to hold it up any longer. "TATE! Answer right the fuck now!" Zach's demand jolts me out of my head.

"Ry won't wake up. I don't know what to do." I feel so useless. My brain isn't functioning.

I just killed a man.

My big sister won’t wake up.

There's a knife sticking out of my leg.

A hard weight against my lips snaps me out of my flashback. "Hey, there you are. Stay with me." Julian's soothing aura settles against me like a warm blanket. I fall into the green depths of his gaze and feel relief knowing he will always catch me.

"I'm okay," I croak, looking around to make sure everyone else is okay. Jesus. The ripple effect of our traumas came out of nowhere. Had I realized Layla was inside before she saw Adelyn, I could have controlled my reaction.

"Why don't you sit?" Julian suggests with his hand on my lower back. I follow his instruction, too shaken to shrug him off.

"Tate?" Startled, my eyes latch onto Adelyn, kneeling beside my chair. "Take a sip of water, please."

Her puffy red eyes make my chest clench with guilt and discomfort. Looking around, I finally find Ry and Leo outside with Layla and Rory, who seem to have brushed off the distress faster than I have.

My shaking hand wraps around hers when she lifts the bottle of water to my lips. The warmth of her soft skin melts the ice around my nerves. "Shh, go slow. Everyone’s okay," Addie soothes. Pairing this woman with Julian is like snuggling a puppy mixed with a Xanax.

She moves to stand, but instead of letting her leave, I snake an arm around her waist and tug her onto my lap. The gasp Addie lets out tickles my neck. I enjoy her touch, even if she's wiggling her little body to get away.

"Just give me a minute, please?" I whisper while relaxing my hold on her, hoping she chooses to stay. As her body relaxes, I rest my head on her shoulder and take deep lungfuls of her vanilla scent.

"You okay, T?" Wyatt's words bring me back to reality.

Lifting my head, I release a shuddering breath and task myself with finding four things I see.

One. Wyatt's winding tattoo up the left side of his neck that resembles multiple vines intertwined.

Two. The subtle, constant indents of Zach's dimples.

Three. Julian's swirling curls that rival the beauty of any sunset.

Four. The fluttering pulse jumping in Adelyn's dainty throat. I watch in fascination as the thumping vein increases in tempo the longer I stare. I don't ignore the urge to touch it. I press a kiss to the beat of her heart and murmur, "Thank you, Addie."

Her throat bobs, and I can feel the vibrations of her voice through my entire body. "Y—You're welcome." I relax my hold, regretting it almost immediately when she slips off my lap. Tugging on her romper, she clears her throat and gives us a strained smile. "I'm going to go check on Rory."

Then she's gone, zipping out the sliding door without a backward glance.

Chapter Six

Zachary

My jaw clenches again for the eighth time in the last thirty seconds.

This damn woman is bad for my fucking teeth. I don't think I've seen her sit down in the full hour we have been hanging out in the backyard.

Rylee and her guys have an amazing setup out here. It's a larger version of the house we just moved into a few streets over. It's obvious a few of the guys lived there, too. Their setup here consists of a large gazebo decked out in twinkly lights with a fire pit directly in the center. The patio stretches the span of the large house and up to the back door, but the kids have more than enough grass to run around in. Julian is currently testing out the monkey bars of the playground that take up a large portion at the back of the lot.

The privacy fence around the yard is perfect to keep all the kids contained and safe, which is pretty nice. We will need a similar setup like this when we have kids. It's a dangerous thing to hope for something so life-changing, but I want kids so badly. At thirty years old, I'm not getting any younger. I just hope our past stays where we left it so we can move on to our next chapter.

The guys and I haven't talked about a family yet. Julian and Wyatt are twenty-nine, so I wonder if they feel the desire to settle down, too. These past few years have been hard on us. Tate is a natural with kids, which makes my chest clench every time I see him playing with his niece. He's only twenty-two, though. I wonder if he’s ready. I can't imagine him leaving us, though, especially now that we live close to his sister.

I watch him being tackled to the ground by a bunch of little girls, acting out his defeat in a way that makes the twinkling laughter rise to a new crescendo. I smile from my position beside the fire. Yeah. Tate's a family man like Julian. They’re pretty open about their love and have no issue showing their sensitive sides. They balance Wyatt and me out nicely.

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