Page 125 of Devoted

it doesn’t work like that in my brain

ideally, I don’t want anyone getting hurt

but if someone’s going to be, I’d rather it be me

There was a long pause in the chat. I could almost hear them all collectively thinkingI think the fuck not.

And not just because Sam was human, but because he was one of us now. He might not be bonded yet, but that didn’t matter.

He was ours, and we protected our own.

Eventually, Noah responded.

Noah

was there anything else that triggered you?

His use of the wordtriggerhad me pausing. Was he just aware of the term? Or were triggers something he or someone he knew had experience with?

Sam

umm, so I also have sensory processing disorder. It’s fine, normally it doesn’t bother me, but it got a bit too much yesterday.

Benji

in other words, all of you yelling, singing, and having music on, along with the normal kitchen sounds and bright lights, was overwhelming

Rami

fuck

Noah

I’m so sorry Sam

Micah

what can we do to make you more comfortable in future?

Sam stiffened in alarm. “Why is he asking that? I don’t need them to do anything.”

I chuckled. “They don’tneedto, but they want to. There’s a difference, Sam. You’ve been treated appallingly in the past, but that’s not what’s going to happen here.”

He muttered under his breath, his cheeks crimson as he typed.

Sam

it’s fine, really. it’s my issue to deal with

Okay, time for me to step in.

Ezekiel

let’s try and be mindful of noise inside the house

no one use Sam’s mug

and make sure he’s given a seat where he can see all entrances to the room and his back is to the wall.

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