Page 88 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

“So,” I fumbled for the words. “I’d like to show you something if you’re okay with me using my branch.”

Ben stared silently, even his thoughts were whispers. Then he nodded. “Okay.”

“This is Nico.” I gestured to my persona who I’d linked to Benjamin’s mind. “He’s a persona of mine.”

Ben listened intently to the explanation behind personas, how they had a piece of my magic, how they were created with singular purpose, a purpose that differed depending on the emotions and traits they’d absorbed. I did my best to break it down for a little kid minds since his thoughts fluttered with confusion at my initial explanations.

“But I can’t do the raccoon-eyed dragon guy stuff,” Nico said, revealing he saw the image and wonder floating at the top of Ben’s surface thoughts. “Not that I don’t wish I could. How amazingly amazing would that be?”

“The most amazing,” Ben answered.

“But he is connected to me, meaning I can see through his eyes if I ever need to check in,” I said. “Nico and I are linked, and if he’s hanging out in your head, then we’re linked. Sort of.”

“Basically, if any scary witches show up, throwing oceans out, or anything bad, I can alert Dorian the second it happens,” Nico clarified.

“You can?”

“Totally. I’d send a message through the psychic link and BAM!” Nico made a big whooshing sound. “Dorian would show up breathing fire until the water or anything else bad just vanished. POOF!”

Nico put on a very dramatic reenactment of how he assumed I’d arrive to battle.

“And even though we’re linked, connected by magic, he’s still his own person-ish. Persona, yeah,” I explained or tried as I felt the muscles of my face contort into this perplexed expression. “His thoughts are mostly his own—along with the quirks—but I guess they’re sort of mine in this weird not but are kind of way.”

“Telemathy is confusing.”

“Oh, most definitely! The most confusing,” Nico said. “If there was a crown for confusing magics, Dorian would have a million and five crowns.”

“Wouldn’t I just have a really big crown?” I asked, rolling my eyes at his logic.

“No. A big crown wouldn’t fit. You just have a bunch of crowns,” Nico said with an exasperated sigh. “Because you’re a bunch of confusing.”

Whatever ridiculous logic Nico used seemed to work as a way to ease Ben, to distract him from his own fears.

“So, I’ll just be hanging out when you need me,” Nico said with a happy nod.

“Really?” Ben asked with excitement.

“For realio.” Nico smiled. “And when you’re ready to say goodbye, I’ll just head on out.”

Ben scrunched his face into a sour frown at that. He didn’t like to say goodbyes, something Nico registered right away, something I also caught since Ben had to say a lot of goodbyes recently. Farewells without actually saying goodbye to the people he loved most in this world.

Nico would help. He was a persona created to be the friend anyone needed, the guiding hand when the world was just too big.

I wasn’t sure how long Ben would be in my life, but if the thoughts I’d gleaned from Milo were any indication, he didn’t plan on sending the kid away or leaving him to deal with the future alone. Ben had lost everything he’d ever known, and Milo wanted to ensure that he found a few new joys on the shifting paths of potentials that’d presented themselves.

After spending the evening watching television with Ben, I read him like five damn stories before bed—because he refused to close his eyes after a story had ended and insisted on only being able to sleep if he dozed off mid-sentence to a new tale. It was a sucker’s deal that kept me reading for almost two hours. Thankfully, the kid finally passed out, and I joined Milo in his bedroom. My beautiful boyfriend had slept away the day, and now he slept away the evening.

The blankets were twisted and knotted and bundled around Milo’s muscular thighs. He’d completely stripped off the covers, which wasn’t surprising considering the sheen sweat on his brow as he snoozed. I continued playing with the thermostat, but it never seemed just right, not perfect for him while he recovered.

Milo rolled over partially. Even asleep, he moved cautiously because of the injuries that seized him if he lay the wrong way. Every time I saw the massive bruise that covered the left side of his face, I receded into myself, barely able to look. The busted lip, the scratch along his sharp jawline, the way his eye had nearly swollen closed. The only thing that kept it at bay was the tiny symbols stitched under his cheek and above his eyebrow. They were meant mostly to heal the detached retina but helped alleviate other damage.

I wished Milo would’ve stayed in the hospital, would’ve rested entirely, but he insisted on coming back to the penthouse. Which made sense, his concern about leaving Benjamin with acolytes for the week, leaving the kid unaware and frightened.

But right now, the only thing I worried about was Milo. I hadn’t moved fast enough. Theodore had done so much damage. That motherfucker had beaten Milo while he was locked in an unconscious state. He attacked him just to say he could. And I hadn’t stopped it soon enough.

Milo’s entire torso was black and blue with patches of greenish-yellow. The sigils worked to mend his broken ribs,which meant his poor body had to endure the bruising, the pain, while slowly healing in stages. Steps. Slow steps.

I wanted to kiss away the pain. I wanted to fix his body as quickly as I’d undone the damage in his head. Not all the damage. No, Milo dwelled deep in his thoughts and organized the visions that’d been tossed about carelessly. All I’d managed was to repair the broken inner core and the shattered memories.

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