Page 45 of Tangled Hearts

“I don’t know,” she said, looking down at her hands.

She gnawed on her lower lip.

“We will do whatever you ask us,” Gray said, sitting on the other side of her.

She released her bottom lip, all red and plump from her biting.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.

“You can do whatever you want, there is no right or wrong answer,” Max said, kneeling before her. “No one knows exactly what to do. We are all running blind and trying to do what's best, but it's you who has to decide this.”

“We won’t put you back into hiding, Blondie.” Soren knelt in front of her too.

“I don’t…” She looked up, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to go back into hiding, but what if this is the only way that we get to be together? What if I don’t go into hiding and I lose you guys?”

I didn’t know how to respond. “All your concerns are valid,” I said, turning her face to me, seeing her hazel eyes full of anguish. “Like Max said, there is no wrong choice, but it has to be one that you will be ok living with. Say the word and we will all go into hiding for you or we will fight for your freedom.

“I don’t want that burden,” she cried. “What if I make the wrong decision?”

“Then we regroup and make a new plan,” Gray said.

“We live and learn, Sol. We adjust and we try to do what’s best,” Max said.

“There isn’t a path in all of this that won’t have mistakes, and growing pains,” Soren said. “We just have to figure out what is best for you because we don’t want to lock you up just because it’s safe, even though I can guarantee that’s all we want for you. We want you to be safe.”

“I… I…”

“Just think about it, ok?” I felt like we were overwhelming her. “Let's give it a day and we can decide on something later, ok?”

Her shoulders fell as she exhaled. The tension was bleeding out of her now that I had taken away the urgency for an answer.

“Ok, I think that’s best,” she said, with a shiver.

“Come on, Sol, you need to sleep.” Max stood up, holding out his hand for her.

“Soren and I will keep watch while you guys get some sleep,” Gray said, pushing his brother out of the living room.

“Did you buy some magnum condoms for the big guy, you know just in case,” Soren whispered.

“Nah, he’s gonna need a damn glove over that thing,” Gray chuckled.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Oria turned to look at me with a quizzical expression. “You coming?”

“There is no way all of us are going to fit on a bed,” I said, shaking my head.

“We put two queen mattresses together, there’s room,” Max said.

Oria pouted her lips at me before Max pulled her towards the bedroom upstairs. I don’t know why I pretended like I was going to sleep on the couch when I had a chance to sleep with her. A part of me was still worried, but most of me was growing too attached to her and there was no way I was letting her go.

I followed them into the bedroom seeing the mattresses pushed together. It wasn’t ideal, but I guess it would work for now. Oria crawled on to the middle of the bed where the seam of both of the beds were.

“I charmed it to stay together and make the seam disappear,” she blushed.

I chuckled because, of course, her handy dandy necklace had something for fusing two beds together. Max and I crawled into the bed on either side of her. She laid her head on his chest as I curled up behind her.

“Goodnight, mates,” she sighed.

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