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“We’re forty minutes from Montecito. Feel free to take a nap,” I tell her.

Her head drops back as her eyelashes flutter. “I feel as if all I’ve been doing is sleeping,” she says.

“Your body needs rest. Pay attention to it,” I suggest.

Minutes later, her breathing becomes deeper, and I can tell she’s sleeping. Checking the time, I see that Elijah will be leaving work in the next hour for good. There are so many balls up in the air it’s exhausting.

I would love a nap too, but it’s not in the cards for me today.

RACHELLE

Blinking groggily, I turn and remember I’m with Jared. The rise in my blood pressure as I gasp in a breath takes a second to calm, leaving me with ringing ears and a thundering heartbeat as I see we’re pulling into a courtyard. The beauty of a pool overlooking a cliff floors me as I gaze out at it.

“What do you think?” he asks.

“It looks like somewhere you’d be happy,” I rasp, coughing slightly.

Jared glances worriedly at me as he puts the vehicle in park. There’s nothing I can do about this cough. I doubt it’s sickness, it’s just soreness from my throat and a disuse of speaking. I expect it’ll go away, but it’s uncomfortable right now.

The back door is thrown open, and Liliana and Ignacio are at my side quickly, opening my door. My body begins to relax slightly as I unbuckle myself and turn toward them. The sight of familiar faces, of people that I know love me, is something I need.

“Hi,” I say, my voice cracking.

“Hey yourself, Baby Girl,” Lili whispers, hugging me. “God, I have to say I’m glad you killed that cunt of a nurse.”

“Does everyone know about that?” I ask, surprised.

“Would you believe me if I told you we’ve been having daily video calls to make sure everyone knows what’s been going on with you?” Nacio asks, scooping me into his arms as soon as Liliana steps back. “You’ve lost weight, Rachelle.”

“Not my fault this time,” I say, wrinkling my nose as I hug his neck. “It feels odd that you’ve been having the equivalent of family chats.”

Liliana closes the door behind me, and I see that Jared has already gone inside as we begin walking across the courtyard.

“It’s the only way we could keep from losing our shit,” Lili explains. “How is your husband treating you?”

“That’s really weird, Lili,” I groan. “Are you guys upset about that?”

“I could be, but it got you out,” Nacio says. “Sometimes, you have to be the bigger person, even if it does make you Mrs. Rachel Denton.”

“Just another name change,” I grumble.

“Before we go in, how are you feeling?” Liliana asks.

“Like… It’s hard to explain,” I sigh. “I feel really disconnected to my body. My mind feels really clear, though, despite the missing pieces from my memory.”

“Did they have you taking any medication the last few days?” Nacio asks.

“I accidentally went off cold turkey in the isolation chamber. They kept me knocked out and sedated afterward from what I’ve put together from pieces of conversation,” I explain as we step into the house.

I can hear pieces of conversation, and I perk up as I hear my stepfather’s voice. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen him. Most of our communication is through the phone.

“It’s probably going to get kind of loud when we get inside the living room,” Liliana warns. “They’re all really excited about seeing you.”

I’m just getting glimpses of the house as we walk, but what I do see is really well appointed for college kids. I bet Calvin helped with that, but nothing about the Kings reminds me of the word ‘typical’. They’re completely different from normal people.

Nodding, I take a careful breath as Ignacio strides into the living room with Liliana in front of us. Emil rises to his feet, gazing at me as if trying to catalog every shadow and bruise. My eyes feel hot as I stare back at him, and I blink furiously as the tears begin to threaten to fall.

I’m so happy to see him.

Theo and Jared gaze at each other as if they’re talking without words, while I dismiss them. I’ll ignore them until they choose to speak. It’s weird the way they do that.

“I’m fine,” I whisper, as if to try to remember that.

“You are now,” Emil says, his eyes not at all dry. “Can you stand?”

Ignacio realizes his father’s worry and begins to put my feet on the ground.

“I got a little excited and whisked her up,” he says, cheeks heating slightly.

“My muscles are a little weak from laying in bed,” I say with a shrug as I stand, feeling better when my body doesn’t rebel and make me a liar.

Fuck yes. I don’t want to be babied.

“It’s more than that, young lady,” Emil says disapprovingly before enveloping me in a tight hug. “You and Ignacio are giving me new grey hairs.”

“He’s going to hold that over our heads for a long time, Rachelle,” Ignacio says with a chuckle.

Pulling away, I smirk at Emil. “I think it makes him look distinguished. It’s not a bad look.”

“What do you need?” he asks seriously.

“I hate to say this, but I need to sit. My muscles aren’t liking me right now,” I say with a wince as they begin to tremble.

It’s such a betrayal when your body doesn’t do what it’s supposed to.

Helping me to the couch, Emil grabs a blanket to cover me with.

“Things are going to have to happen to help you get healthy again,” he says, crouching next to me so that he’s not towering over me. “You need to eat regularly and exercise, and the apartment clearly isn’t an option anymore.”

“I was in the middle of packing when the police came,” I remind him.

“I know, which is why this is all so unfortunate. We had to make a plan in advance for your release. I don’t want you to think we’re telling you what to do. You’ve been through a lot, and processing and healing through that isn’t going to be easy,” he says.

“I really have to live here?” I ask, wrinkling my nose.

“It’s not like it’s a roach hotel,” Jared complains, sitting on the other side of the couch.

“Of course not, husband,” I say sweetly. “I would say it’s not my home, but I appear to be homeless.”

“Unfortunately,” Lili says. “I packed up your things and then Mr. Emil broke your lease since it’s not a viable option for you to live in anymore.”

“The judge is adamant that you have to live here though,” Emil says apologetically.

“Which means so are we,” Ignacio adds as Jared and Theo sigh.

“I had a feeling you were going to invite yourselves over,” Jared mumbles. “At least there are extra rooms. Calvin’s NDA covers everyone who stays here, which means he won’t say a word.”

“Not that I would want to,” Calvin says, standing in the doorway. I have no idea how long he’s been there, I’ve been so focused on the conversation. “It is very nice to see you, Rachelle. I don’t hear as much of the gossip, but I did see a very disturbing obituary a couple of years ago.”

“Just a little faked death,” I say uncomfortably. “It would be nice if my life was less exciting.”

“I heard your throat may be sore,” he says, holding paperwork that has to be from the hospital in his hands.

I can’t find it in me to be embarrassed about it so I simply nod, feeling exhausted again.

“I was thinking about preparing some protein smoothies ahead of time for you. Your sleep schedule may be off for a while. I can see your eyes are heavy already.”

“They are,” I admit, yawning. My hand covers my mouth as I make a face, annoyed that I can’t stay awake. “Smoothies sound lovely, thank you. My throat still hurts.”

“This says you had a feeding tube for three weeks,” he says, beginning to get angry as I drop my hand to my lap. “That place is full of monsters.”

There are more voices that begin to speak, asking about what else is on the post care paperwork, but I’m already drifting away again.