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Chapter twenty-six

Darla

A mixture of hushed voices wakes me, and I try to catch my bearings to figure where I am. Normally I wake up alone, in my hammock, but I’m definitely not on my own now.

“What are they doing?” Kingsley whispers quietly.

“Mo-Mo showed up, and straight away he went to her ankle and sniffed it, like he knew it was injured. Then he left. A little while later, he and his buddies started coming in, with all that,” Weston replies, making my eyes open as I turn to the desk in surprise.

Sure enough, it’s covered in more fruit than the four of us could eat in three days.

I see the lemur himself placing two plums down, as Sam, Dean and Coco do the same thing.

“Mo-Mo?” I ask, lifting my head.

“Eep!” He hollers when he sees me awake, running over and jumping on my chest before nuzzling his little head into the crook of my neck. I run my fingers over his fur and close my eyes, a smile playing on my lips at his genuine love for me.

“Worried about me, little guy?”

“Eep! ”

“Eep, eep!” The other three chirp, bobbing their bodies up and down in excitement from the desk.

“Awe, thanks, guys, and gal. Don’t worry though, I’m gonna be okay.”

“She sure is. We’re gonna take good care of her. We appreciate the food drive though,” Bower says, holding out his fist towards Sam.

We all watch in silence as Sam clenches his hand then reaches out and bumps his little fist against Bower’s, making us all laugh in delight.

“Is this Sam or Dean?” he asks me with a grin.

“That’s Sam, he has more white on his face.”

“Well, Sam, my man, you’re my favorite now,” he says, aiming a finger gun at him. Sam jumps in excitement, like he understands exactly what he said, then leaps onto his shoulder and wraps his tail around Bower’s neck.

“Wow, he’s never sat on my shoulder before, he must really like you,” I tell him. He gives me a huge smile and reaches up for another fist bump, which Sam gives him enthusiastically.

Kingsley grabs a mango and my knife, and sits down beside me as he starts cutting pieces. For once, Mo-Mo actually lets me take the first piece.

He must really be worried about me.

Weston starts cutting pieces, too, and the two of them hand them around as we all have a feast of fruit.

My eyes catch on my foot, only now noticing that there are two bags sandwiching it.

The coolness of them tells me it’s the cold water the guys had gone to grab before I fell asleep.

I hadn’t meant to sleep, but the second I closed my eyes, Weston’s warm presence and the sense of safety enveloped me and before I could stop myself, I was out.

Thank goodness I didn’t have a nightmare .

After the lemurs are full, they take their leave and the guys take seats around the room. Bower sits on the other mattress, Kingsley sits on the floor beside me, and Weston sits in the chair.

Almost in sync, they all turn their eyes to me, making me swallow heavily from their attention. When I say nothing Kingsley grabs my hand and gives it a small squeeze.

“How’s your ankle feeling?” I try to move my foot but wince from the pain. “No, don’t move it yet, it’s swollen and we need to get that down before we can assess it any further.”

“It’s not so bad when I don’t move it.”

“It’s settled then,” Weston states, making my brows furrow.

“What’s settled?”

“You’re staying here now.”

I take a second to consider, licking my lips as my eyes bounce between them. I can’t fight them on this any longer, there’s no way I’ll be able to climb anyway while my ankle is still hurting like this.

“Just until I’m better.”

But he shakes his head.

“Sweetheart,” Kingsley says, averting my attention back to him. “I think it’s time you tell us what happened. And maybe, a little more about yourself. We don't want to push you, but I think by not telling us it’s doing you more harm than good, don’t you think?”

“After all,” Bower adds. “You know so much about us, and we don’t know anything about you besides how you’ve been surviving on this island.”

Knowing it’s inevitable, I chew at my lower lip nervously. “I don’t know where to start. ”

“How about we each take turns asking you a question? You can be as vague or detailed as you like?” Kingsley suggests and I nod feeling relieved at not having to give my entire life history to them.

“What happened today, did you fall?” Weston asks, wasting no time with the first question.

“Yeah,” I answer, cringing at how vague I’m already being. It’s not that I don't want to explain, it’s that I've gone so long keeping things to myself that I‘m not even sure how to explain personal details anymore.

“How?” Bower prods.

“I was asleep, in my hammock, up there,” I say, pointing above us. “I had a… a nightmare. I woke up suddenly and Steve fell from my lap, I reached for him and sort of… tipped out and fell.”

“Shit, Zee. You’ve been sleeping up there in a hammock every night, when, at any time, you could have rolled the wrong way and fell to your death?” Weston asks, his fingers pushing aggressively through his hair.

“Umm… I guess?” I answer, worried about his reaction.

“You three stay here, no more questions until I get back, I don't want to miss anything.” He abruptly stands and storms out of the hut.

“Where’s he going?” He seems angry and I’m worried about him going off on his own.

“Just give him a few minutes.” I turn back to Kingsley when he gives my hand a small squeeze.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Bower reaches into the bag at his feet and turns back towards me. “I think you dropped this.”

He leans forward and passes me Steve, my rock.

Instinctively, I take it as a small whimper escapes me and I cough to cover it up, hoping they didn’t hear me.

I pull Steve to my chest and close my eyes tight.

I’m not emotional because he found it for me, it’s that the sight of him reminds me of what just happened.

That my nightmare woke me so suddenly that I’d knocked Steve to the ground and almost killed myself trying to grab him.

“Zee?” I open my tear-filled eyes to look at Kingsley. “You know that Steve is just a rock, right?” He looks nervous about my response.

“Dude!” Bower says, slapping Kingsley’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “Shut up.”

I try to stop myself from laughing, but a small laugh escapes me anyway, making both their eyes snap to mine.

“It’s okay, Bower. I’m not crazy, I know it’s just a rock.

But he’s been with me for years. I know I have Mo-Mo, but he’s not with me all the time.

Steve has been there with me since the beginning.

Someone to talk to about how I’m really feeling, someone to cling to at night when the nightmares get bad. ”

“I told you no questions until I got back,” Weston says, dropping a bundle of stuff on the ground and making me jerk in surprise at his presence.

As my eyes roam the items he’s just brought inside, I frown, recognizing it. “Hey, is that my—”

“Yes. That’s everything that was there. Now you have no reason to go back up there.” He sits in the chair and leans back, lifting an eyebrow as if daring me to argue.

I stare at my stuff as a jumble of thoughts go through my head, but one main thought keeps pushing to the front. I turn to Weston as I ask, “You want me to stay in here with you guys that badly?”

His cocky expression instantly disappears as he leans forward on his knees. “Of course we do, isn’t that obvious? ”

“Not really. I don’t think I’m very good at reading between the lines with you guys. If you don’t tell me something directly, there’s a good chance I’ll misinterpret it.”

“What do you think you’ve misinterpreted?” Kingsley asks, his thumb rubbing over my knuckles.

I swallow heavily with the knowledge that once I say it, it’s out there. And I could be so off base with my assumptions. I consider my words carefully when I answer him. “I don’t understand what you three want from me.”

“Want from you?” Bower asks, looking confused. “We don’t want anything from you.”

My heart drops, realizing I was right, that the cuddling hadn’t meant the same thing to them as it did to me.

“Zee, what are you thinking right now? Your face just dropped,” Kingsley asks, trying to catch my eyes as he dips his head.

“Nothing,” I answer instinctively.

“No,” Weston says, shaking his head. “None of that, no more lying or omitting. Explain. Please?” His last word softens as I sit there uncomfortably under the intense gazes of the three men who have stolen my heart, knowing that I feel way more for them than they do for me.

“I thought, after the way you were, uh, cuddling me the other night, during the storm, that maybe you wanted something more from me. But I understand now,” I tell them quickly when I see several of them go to speak.

“You were just doing it to calm me down and stop my panic attack. And I appreciate you helping me with that.”

Kingsley's eyes widen in panic as all three of them swear. “Shit, sweetheart, no that wasn’t why we did it. We did it because we care about you. We definitely noticed that the closer we got, the calmer you became, but that wasn’t the main reason for holding you.”

He squeezes my hand again before he continues. “I don’t think we understood your first question properly, but I don’t think you understood Bower’s answer either.”

I lift my head fully now, confusion swirling in my mind as I wait for him to continue. So they do want something from me?

“Sweetheart, we don’t want something from you, we just want you .”

“Me?” He nods. “Like… how?”

“We want to be with you.” I lick my lips as I try to make sense of his words, but a lack of socialization and dating since I was thirteen has me confusing everything he says.

“Kingsley, you need to spell it out for me.”

“We want to date you, Tink,” Bower says. I stare at him with my mouth parted in surprise. I’m not sure what I expected him to say, but that wasn’t it.

Before I can respond, my mind catches on something, and my eyes widen. “Wait—all three of you?”

“You don’t have to choose right now,” Weston says as my heart starts to beat faster in panic. Choose one? That’s impossible.

I shake my head at the mere thought of having to choose, having to reject two of them sends a wave of panic through me. Minutes ago I’d thought they were rejecting me but this somehow feels worse.

“You aren't obligated to choose any of us, Zee,” Kingsley says, giving my hand a small squeeze of reassurance. “Whether you like us like that or not, there’s no pressure, okay? We’re not forcing you to pick any of us. Do you understand? ”

I nod my head slowly, but he doesn’t understand my dilemma. It’s not that I don’t know who to choose, or that I need more time. It’s simple that I don’t want to choose one… ever. I want them all.

Does that make me greedy? Probably.

Is it completely unrealistic? Definitely.

But my heart doesn’t seem to care.

I lift my eyes and let myself look at each of them.

I can see none of them are going to push me into anything I’m not ready for.

I also don’t want them pulling back from me.

Having a busted ankle meant I was going to be spending a lot of time with them in close quarters, and I didn’t want it to feel as awkward as it did last time I was stuck in this hut with them.

They might be stuck on this island with me for a long time, and so far they have been completely honest with me, have kept me safe and shown that they care about me. It seems only fair that I return the favor.

“I don’t want to choose,” I say quietly, refusing to drop my eyes as they bounce between them. I see a flicker of confusion on their faces before they seem to mask it and give me small smiles of reassurance.

“That’s perfectly fine—”

“No.” I shake my head, cutting Kingsley off. “You don’t understand. I like all three of you, a lot. As more than… friends. I won’t ever be able to choose between you.”

There. I said it, I told them the truth.

They exchange glances as they seem to have some sort of silent conversation. Bower and Kingsley nod, then Weston turns to me, his expression serious as he asks, “What if you don’t have to?”

“What… what do you mean?” I ask in confusion, my heart pounding heavily in my chest .

“It works for Coco, doesn’t it?” Weston asks with a smirk. I open my mouth to respond but nothing comes out, so I snap it shut as my eyes bounce between them. They all watch me with varying degrees of hope.

All three of them? I mean, it’s a dream come true in many ways, but I didn’t expect them to say that. I don’t think I can start a relationship with anyone without telling them what they’re getting themselves in for.

When I’m silent for a while, lost in thought, Kingsley lightly shakes my hand, getting my attention. “Zee? What do you think?”

“I think I need to tell you guys some things before you decide you want to… date me.”

“We’d love to hear everything about you, but nothing you say will sway me,” Bower says, a grin on his handsome face.

“Me either,” Kingsley adds.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Weston says, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he waits for me to speak. But that just reminds me that they are going somewhere. They’re hoping to be rescued and when that happens, I’ll be left here alone… again.

But what if it’s another fifteen years before they’re rescued? Nothing’s guaranteed here, so what’s the harm in enjoying life a little before it all inevitably comes to an end?

“Do you want us to ask you questions again? Is that easier for you?” He asks when I don’t speak. I’m grateful for the suggestion and nod my head.

“Were you in a plane crash?” Bower asks, and I nod.

“Were you the only survivor?” Kingsley asks next.

“No,” I shake my head. “It was me and my dad.”

“Shit,” Bower whispers under his breath. His sad eyes meet mine and I nod .

“When was that?” Weston asks, and I turn to him.

“Hmm?” I ask, not understanding the question.

“How long ago did you crash here?” I squeeze my eyes shut tight, this being one of the hardest questions to answer. I’m not sure why I don‘t want to tell them, but I know it’s a big deal. And I don’t want them fearing they'd never be rescued.

“That depends, what’s today’s date?”

Kingsley glances at his watch before answering. My eyes widen slightly, hearing the date steals the breath from my lungs, even though I was pretty close with my tracking over the years, it’s different to hear the actual date after being stranded for so long.

“Zee? How long ago did you crash here?” Weston repeats his question, locking eyes with me, like he’s afraid of the answer.

“Fifteen years ago.”