Page 76 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Ouch. That had the opposite effect I wanted,” he laughed.

“Just keeping it real, man.”

I cringed internally at my words. Who said that anymore? Dad, is who, but it made Elim laugh, so I guess it was okay.

We vetoed a couple of movies right off the bat. We were discussing comedy versus horror movies when I heard the thumping steps of my grumpy guard approaching.

“Should I check to see who that is?” Elim asked.

“No. It’s just Chris,” I replied, grabbing a stem full of grapes from the tray. Chris stepped into the room with another tray full of food and fruit. He quickly schooled the glare and disappointment on his face when he noticed Elim sitting in his chair, and then looked around the room, frowning.

“I can just go to my room,” he grumbled when we both realized there wasn’t another chair in my room.

“I can—” Elim started to stand.

“Come sit on the other side of the bed, Chris,” I told him, patting the bed, not giving him a chance to leave me. I felt more comfortable with Elim as long as Chris was in the room.

Chris hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering to where my hand was on the bed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” I answered, hoping neither man could hear my heart speeding up a little.

Chris walked around the bed and sat very stiffly at first, so I grabbed one of the many pillows I liked sleeping with and set it against the headboard, patting it so he would relax. He slid back until he was resting against it with one leg hanging off the edge. He placed the tray he was carrying by the other leg and motioned to the empanadas.

“I brought your favorite.”

I smiled wide and grabbed one of the three he brought. They weren’t Mom’s but they were still tasty.

“Alright, what are we watching?”

I turned back to the TV. Elim was frowning a little now, and I wondered what had changed when he finally voiced his thoughts.

“How does your germaphobia work, exactly? How is it you’re only worried about certain people’s germs, and you’re okay with picking up a bleeding rabbit?”

The smile slipped from my face and Chris gave a low growl, but I put a hand on his arm. I liked Elim, and it wasn’t fair to lie to him.

“I’m not a germaphobe, Elim. Bells was just trying to cover for me.”

“Oh. If I’m not sup—”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just... I had something happen to me last year, and I’ve been uncomfortable around people ever since. I’m in therapy to get better, and I think I am...” I looked over at Chris questioningly, and he nodded at me.

“You’ve been doing really well,” he confirmed.

“I guess what I’m saying is to just have some patience. I still startle easily, and it takes a while to be able to handle people near me. I need to get to know you before I can trust you, so if you stick around, maybe you’ll get to see it.”

“I—Thank you for trusting me with the information,” Elim replied, smiling at me again.

I nodded and turned back to the TV, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

“I’m feeling horror flick. How about you guys?”

“Whatever you want,” they both answered at the same time, making me roll my eyes.

I chose a new release, but very quickly regretted it because while I may have called Elim a crybaby, I was a scaredy cat. By the mid point of the movie, I was sure I had made permanent finger indentations on Chris’ arm, and both men were watching my reactions more than the movie.

Close to the end, Chris stood and went to the restroom, so I grabbed a pillow to replace his arm. I jumped when I heard the bathroom flushing a few minutes later, and Chris came back, checking on the party through the curtain before coming back to the movie.

I sighed with relief when the movie credits began to roll and let go of the pillow I’d been clutching. I sat up on my knees, stretching my arms. Chris started chuckling, making Elim and I turn to look at him with confusion, when something jumped out of the credits, making me scream and dive into his chest. His strong arms came around me as he caught me, and I buried my head into his chest, my heart thundering in my ears.

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