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He came back to the bed and I sat up carefully so as not to spill the contents on the tray.

There were two yellow coffee mugs with steaming water in them. Beside the mugs were packets of tea bags in several different flavors to choose from. One plate sat on the tray and it was covered in little triangle shaped sandwiches. They were cute.

"I don't care what kind of tea I have," I told him honestly, and he nodded. He reached for one of the packets while I asked, "What's on the mini sammies?"

"Turkey, extra sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, French onion chip dip, and tortilla chips."

It's almost like he knew me better than I knew myself or something, because that sounded exactly like something I would have either made for myself or picked out to eat. And he totally nailed it with the tortilla chips. The only thing missing would be pickles on the side, but I guess those wouldn't have gone well with the tea.

I picked up one of the sandwiches while he dunked the tea bag into one of the yellow mugs. I bit into the sandwich while he moved on to the other mug. It was delicious, and even though I didn't feel like I should be hungry after that giant burger Quinton fed me earlier, I found myself starving. I ate a whole little one before picking up the mug of tea. I blew on it for several seconds before taking a sip. It was alright, the warmth of it made me feel good and I hadn't realized how cold I was until then. I could usually leave or take tea, and would always pick coffee above it, but I couldn't drink coffee right now, it would make me jittery and more nervous than I already was.

I sipped my tea until it was almost gone and ate three other sandwiches while Trenton watched me patiently. When I laid back down and placed both my palms over my now full tummy, Trenton let out a satisfied sigh and picked up his own tea. He had waited for me to finish before even touching anything himself. I didn't watch him eat like he had me, it seemed like a weird thing to do and I didn't want for things to get weird between us. I was struggling to keep his earlier words out of my head so they didn't freak me out. No matter what he thought, I wasn't dense. He'd just never shown any of the signs before, or maybe I just really didn't want to see them.

I ignored all of it, focused on my show, and Trenton ate the rest of the sandwiches. When he was done, he got up with the tray and walked it back to the kitchen. This time he left the door open and came right back.

Unbelievably, my eyelids started to grow heavy again and I struggled to keep them open and pay attention to my show.

"Sleep," Trenton muttered, and the remote was slid out of my hand. I felt the bed dip as he laid down beside me on top of the covers.

I didn't have the heart to tell him to go away, not when I felt so raw because of how the others had spoken to me. It felt nice not to be alone and I needed him at the moment.

Tomorrow, I'd tell him to get out of my bed tomorrow.

I woke up much later to the sound of voices whispering around me. Quinton and Julian had joined us. One of them kissed my forehead and another ran the backs of his knuckles gently down my jaw. The knuckle touch I'd bet my life on had come from Quinton and the kiss from Julian, but I would never know for sure.

Neither of them asked Trenton to leave and he didn't offer. Nor did he move from his spot on the bed beside me. I told myself he was just being a good bodyguard, and then I told myself I wasn't a liar.

A warm body slid under the blanket beside me, and another one laid down at the foot of the bed with a hand wrapped possessively around my ankle.

I wanted to ask them what they were doing or question them about what had happened downstairs while I'd been up here hiding, but my mind was too sluggish to get the words out and I fell right back to sleep.

I knew what that meant. Trenton had given me some special tea that put me under. Likely something he'd pilfered from Julian's stash. I couldn't even be mad, sleep was far better than dealing with the bullshit surrounding me.

Trenton was gone when I woke up in the morning, but Quinton and Julian remained beside me.

Chapter Fourteen

Weirdness Overload

After all this time it actually felt incredibly lonely to be alone. Go figure. And I'd only been on my own for all of forty-five minutes.

A black SUV with windows tinted so dark I couldn't see inside them pulled up in front of me at the end of the driveway and parked. I picked my duffle bag up off where I'd dropped it on the driveway and pulled the strap over my shoulder.

I took one last long look over my shoulder at the house behind me. The lights inside were all lit up, but the whole place was deathly quiet. And there was zero movement from inside.

There were no goodbyes. No hugs. No waves out the window.

I wanted to breakdown and cry, but I couldn't allow myself to do that. Not now. I put on a brave face and turned back to the SUV.

The front passenger door opened and a man I'd never seen before stepped out.

His shaggy blond hair hung down to his shoulders. The bottom half of his face was covered with a five o’clock shadow that was slightly darker than his long hair. His cheekbones were wide, and aviator sunglasses pushed up his nose hid his eyes from me. He was tall, over six foot five, and I'd put his age somewhere in his mid to late twenties. He wore black cargo pants with pockets down the side of the legs and a long-sleeved black thermal. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, exposing his wrists that were covered with thin leather bracelets. Most of his fingers were covered in silver rings and he had a tattoo on the back of one of his hands. A black, smiling skull wearing a crown fit for a king.

I wondered if he had magic inked in there or not. My tattoo did, and any of the ones I got in the future would as well. Otherwise I wouldn't be getting any more.

"Hey," he said in a deep, growly voice. "You must be Ariel." At my nod, he continued, "I'm Liam. Your ride today. Would you like me to take your bag for you?"

I shook my head. "I'm good, but thanks for offering... Liam."