Page 245 of Taeja

“Can we please not argue?” she asked, and they exchanged a glance. She’d learned to read them better, and they were clearly against it. “I’m okay now,” she insisted. “I just want my dad.”

Zain sighed. “Okay, we’ll drop you there.”

She didn’t answer. She kissed them before crawling out of bed. Grabbing herphone, she went to the bathroom and tugged on one of Zain’s shirts and shorts. She returned to the room to see Damon waiting at the door. “Where’s Zain?”

“He went to bring the car around to the front.”

“I called my dad. He’s coming for me.”

“Oh…” Damon said. “I’ll let Zain know.”

They went to the front and told Zain. Zain clenched his jaw, but he didn’t protest. They waited outside with her until Jerry came, and he drove her home in silence. Taeja exited the car and waited at the front door for Jerry to let her in.

Jerry stared down at her while working the key into the door. “What happened this time?”

She held her head low. “Can we talk in the morning?” she asked, and Jerry pursed his lips before allowing her into the house. Taeja went upstairs, crawled into her bed, and stared at the poster on the wall opposite the window. She held a pillow to her chest, wishing it was Kirone… or her guys.

Taeja knew Damon and Zain loved her, but she just needed to be alone for tonight. She never knew that this would be happening to her again…

She woke up witharms around her — one around her waist and the other covering the lower half of her face.

Taeja blinked rapidly.

This was Zain. How did he get here?

She elbowed him, and he stirred awake.

“Morning,” came his husky voice in her ear.

Unable to speak with his arm covering her mouth, she mumbled.

“Shit. Sorry.” Zain moved his arm from over her mouth, but didn’t move the one around her waist.

“When did you get here?” she asked.

“Last night,” he replied.

“How did you get in?”

“Through the front door.”

Her brows furrowed. “The door wasn’t locked?”

“I picked the lock.”

“Oh… but I said I wanted to be alone,” she murmured.

“You’re having trouble sleeping and were still in sub-drop when you wanted to see your dad. We didn’t want you to be alone.”

Taeja smiled, thankful they were stubborn. “Thanks, Zain. I love the both of you.”

“We love you too, Taeja.”

“I know.” She smiled. “Okay, hands off, so I can go pee.”

He released her, and she went to her bathroom to relieve herself. While brushing her teeth, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. As awful as this might sound, she missed this house. Beneath all the terrible memories, Taeja made a lot of good ones.

Losing her first tooth and standing on a stool to watch the new growth every day…

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