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Rachelle looks like she’s about to be sick, her face incredibly pale.

“Liliana, can you get her some water?” I ask worriedly.

Getting up, she sees Rachelle’s face and nods, walking out of the room quickly. Now, it’s just us, but I know better than to get any closer to her.

“Why is that your proposal?” Jared asks, ever the businessman. His eyes are pinched as he gazes hard at Rachelle, trying to figure out how to fix what we’ve broken.

There’s no denying that’s what we’ve done. She may still have sparks of who she is, but it seems to fizzle and pop at random times.

“ Hello, Jared,” Mr. Reyes says smoothly.

Fuck me while I try not to wet my pants.

I can stand toe to toe with a lot of people, but he is not one of them.

“ Rachelle has a fear that bad things will happen outside of a four wall structure. There are other things that she deals with as well due to you all, but we will start with continued employment. She isn’t to be forced to work in small spaces, though. ”

Rachelle woke up when we began to bury her. I remember her screams as they got more and more muffled, until she passed back out again. Claustrophobia would happen to anyone after that.

“What else? Mr. Reyes, we are not monsters. We aren’t going to force her into a small box or anything,” Jared says.

I drive my elbow into his side for being insensitive.

While he grunts in pain, he doesn’t retaliate.

“Bad choice of words. We haven’t proven to have the best track record with Rachelle, so please, go on. ”

Theo rolls his eyes, but it is slightly amusing.

“I don’t like bright lights,” Rachelle says softly. “I can’t have people come up from behind me, so I tried to keep a wall or shelf at my back at the store which helped. I’m kind of scared of everything now. It’s ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not,” Liliana says, coming back in with a tumbler of water. Handing it to her, I see that it’s to keep her from spilling, because of how shaky Rachelle’s hands are. She manages to drink from the straw before sighing slightly and laying her head back on Nacio’s chest.

I’m jealous of him, and I have no right to be.

“ To answer your question, Jared,” Mr. Reyes says, interrupting us. “ Rachelle doesn’t need money, but since she’s alone so often, she needs a social outlet.”

“I like being alone,” Rachelle says under her breath.

“Do you really?” I ask. “I hate people, but also hate to be alone. I think you need the right people to be around.”

“ Very insightful,” Mr. Reyes says. Fuck, his voice makes my butthole want to squeeze shut with terror. “ Rachelle, I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Unload all of my mental trauma?” she asks with a half hysterical laugh. “I forgot to eat, and had the paramedics break down my door when I failed to answer your calls shortly after moving into my apartment.”

“What happened?” Liliana asks, jaw dropped.

“ They hooked her up to a feeding tube and an IV ,” Mr. Reyes sighs.

“ It was actually two months after she moved in. I didn’t realize what was happening initially.

She had grocery delivery and the ability to order what she needed and have it delivered.

Except, she also forgot to order it. When she did, she couldn’t muster the effort to cook either. ”

“That’s not just PTSD,” Theo says, glaring at Rachelle.

“Depression,” she says, shrugging weakly. “Things are a lot better now, but I struggled to make the transition to living alone.”

“ I couldn’t have her at home for obvious reasons,” Mr. Reyes adds.

“I know there was a lot going on, but you fucked up,” Ignacio says. “Rachelle, you essentially came back from the dead, baby. You were so pale when I pulled you out of there. Your lips…”

“I wish you hadn’t seen me like that,” Rachelle whispers, turning to hug Nacio.

So many private moments we’re intruding on, so little time.

“Are we a form of exposure therapy?” Theo asks suddenly. “I have to say, we’re probably the wrong people for that. We aren’t gentle. I threw Elijah into a pool once when he insisted that he was suddenly afraid of water when he was six.”

My lips twist at the memory. I freaked the fuck out, but it did cure me of it. I told the guys later that my mother attempted to drown me for leaving my room a mess. Theo felt like shit about it, but it was water under the bridge at that point.

“ Kind of,” Mr. Reyes says. “ Consider it more so people who check in with her who are closer than I am.”

“Why can’t we be those people?” Liliana asks. “I’m not trying to be the pushy girlfriend, but nothing short of an airstrike is going to affect this house.”

“I can’t move in with you,” Rachelle says with mild amusement.

“Why not?” Nacio asks. “I live here too. I want to breathe my girls in and know they’re with me.”

Rachelle shivers as she appears to melt into his body. I want to punch my ex-boyfriend. Fuck, I’m like a toddler whose toys have been taken from him. I’ve done everything to break Rachelle, and now that I have, I want to help put her back together.

Isn’t that a mind fuck? I’m a damn mess.

“I need to figure out my life instead of bringing my messiness in,” she says. “When did you get out of prison?”

“Three weeks ago,” he grumbles. “I thought I’d get more time because I kind of killed someone.”

“ I suppose you should tell her about that,” Mr. Reyes chimes in. “ Boys, I mean it. This could trigger a remission to all the hard work she’s been putting in. I’ve known you all your entire lives. You’re better than the men you’ve been showing the world. Act like it.”

The phone clicks as he hangs up and I roll my eyes. That’s the most proficient mic drop that I’ve ever experienced. Of course it was from Nacio’s father.

“I guess we’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Jared says, stretching his neck. “Is your phone number the same as the one on your employment forms?”

“Yes,” she says softly. “Why?”

“I’m making a group chat. If you don’t respond within five minutes, one of us will appear at your apartment.”

“I don’t have my phone,” she says indignantly. “I’m also not at my apartment. Isn’t that logic incorrect?”

“Nope, you’ll have to return for both, so that's what we’re going with,” he says. “We’re going to double back there and replace a few of your locks and close your window. Is there a magical way to get out of the house, Liliana?”

“No, I haven’t rearmed the security yet,” she says. “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.”

“She may be your girlfriend, but Mr. Reyes effectively gave her to us,” Jared says with a smirk. “Rachelle, I’m throwing my hat in the ring. We’ve all been affected by your supposed death.”

“It’s not supposed to be easy if you’re a ghost of your former self,” I remind him.

Jared stops for a moment, gazing at Rachelle. “Nah,” he says. “She’s still in there.”

A tear escapes from her eye as we take our leave, and my heart clenches.

“I’m not good at putting people back together,” Theo says as we walk out the little gate in front of Liliana's house. If she was anyone else, I’d say that this looked like the home of someone older who enjoyed their privacy, maybe had some kids.

Her statement about an airstrike being the only thing that could take this house out makes me pause though. I bet there are bulletproof windows and shit too.

Lips twitching, I make an obnoxious ‘ah-roof’ sound. “You can learn new tricks, old boy,” I tell Theo. “Stop making excuses. I love you two, you’re my ride or die, but something is missing for me.”

“Same,” Theo and Jared say.

We don’t have a car, but the night is beautiful and we could use the exercise.

“I feel as if a brainstorming session is in order,” I say. “It’s a long fucking walk.”