Page 75 of Shared By my Ex's Best Friends
“You want water? Tea? Whiskey?”
I shake my head slowly. It takes effort to speak. “I don’t want anything… except to feel safe again.”
My voice trails off, but I meet their eyes this time. I need them to know I’m letting them in
“I’m okay,” I say, but it comes out too fast, too rehearsed. I hear the lie in it the second it leaves my mouth.
Ethan’s already behind me, warm and solid, his hand finding the small of my back like it always does—like he’s built for that one specific job.
I exhale a shaky breath and melt into him, letting his arms wrap around me. Letting myself be held.
“You don’t have to be okay yet,” he murmurs into my hair. “We’ve got you.”
His words are soft and steady. I nod, barely, because it’s all I can do.
Liam is the last to come in, quiet and composed, shutting off the overhead lights with a flick of his wrist. The only illumination now is the amber glow from the living room lamp.
He walks over slowly, his eyes locked on mine—not like he’s waiting for me to fall apart, but like he’s silently promising that even if I do, they’ll catch me.
That he will.
I open my mouth, then close it again, swallowing around the lump in my throat.
“I thought I was fine,” I whisper, my voice cracking like old glass. “At first. Like I could just… shake it off. Be tough. But then I saw the look on his face and I—” The words falter, and I feel it break open in me. “I just froze.”
Jake’s arms slip around my shoulders from the front, gently bracketing me in. “You didn’t freeze,” he says firmly, like he’s rewriting the narrative before I can let it root too deep. “You assessed. You stayed calm. You looked for help. That’s strong.”
I shake my head against Ethan’s chest. “It didn’t feel strong. I felt so… small.”
Jake presses a kiss to my temple. “You don’t have to feel it to be it.”
Liam steps closer, his knuckles brushing my cheek before he tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His touch is light, but it holds me in the moment.
“You handled it, Maya,” he says. “And then you let us take care of the rest. That’s not weakness. That’s trust.”
That’s what undoes me more than anything—their quiet, unwavering presence. The way they don’t push. Don’t prod. They juststay.
I draw in a long, trembling breath. “I hate how he talked about me. Like I’m just… something to claim. Something owed to him.”
Ethan tightens his hold from behind. “He doesn’t matter anymore, baby. He’s not here. We are.”
Jake’s jaw ticks, and for a second I see the storm still simmering behind his eyes. “If he ever comes near you again…”
Liam cuts in, gentler. “He won’t. Not if we have anything to say about it.”
A pause. Then, Ethan asks, “Do you want to change? Get out of the dress?”
I nod slowly.
Jake and Liam help me upstairs, Ethan trailing behind. The zipper sticks for a moment, and Jake swears under his breath,gentle fingers tugging it down with more care than I’ve ever seen a zipper deserve.
When I’m stripped down to my bra and panties, I look at each of them—Jake with his protective fire, Ethan with his calm strength, Liam with his quiet devotion. My chest swells with something so big, so consuming, I can barely breathe around it.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you three,” I whisper, my voice thick with awe.
Jake grins, but there’s softness in his eyes. “We don’t know what we did to deserve you.”
That shouldn’t make me want to cry, but it does.
