“You sure you don’t need help showering? I’m extremely good when it comes to getting things wet.” I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me. I had missed my playful, teasing boy. I threw a pillow at him in response and waited for him to close the door before I stretched my arms above my head.
A part of me did want to simply crawl back into that nice, comfortable bed and let my guys protect me. I wasn’t used to feeling safe or cared for. I was definitely still scared of Michael. In the past, I had always known, at least on some level, that no matter what he did to me, I would always come back. I would always win. My chance to escape would arrive, and I would take it. With a few drops of venom, he’d nearly changed all of that. I was still too new to this world. I didn’t—and couldn’t—know what other deadly secrets it held—like Vish Kaya venom. I cocked my head, wavering slightly. My bed was very comfortable…
I snorted at my own foolishness and hardened my resolve. Not a victim, Nix. I had lived through Michael for eighteen years, and the bastard wasn’t even my father. I was still processing everything, but I couldn’t deny the relief I felt at knowing I wasn’t related to that piece of crap. I had settled on being angry as hell at him, but I wouldn’t let that anger bleed into other areas of my life. No, that was reserved just for him. I wasn’t going to allow the fuck-tard to keep chasing me into corners. I had come to Alaska to live my life, and I was damn well going to do just that. I’d just make sure I had some extra backup with me, that was all.
I grabbed my clothing from the dresser drawer I’d claimed while I stayed with the guys. I made my way down the hall to the bathroom and tried not to slip on the wooden floors in my stockinged feet. One thing about me that definitely hadn’t changed was that my feet were always cold. The colder weather of Alaska had not helped that matter in the slightest. However, running around polished floors in thick socks did tend to mean I took more tumbles than I would have preferred. I avoided looking in the mirror as I stripped down and let the shower water heat. I had gained a little bit of my lost weight back, but I knew I was not back to my healthy self yet.
I stepped into the steaming water, tilting my head back with a sigh as I absorbed the stinging heat. This was what I needed. To feel normal. I sighed as I remembered the time and began to hurry through my routine. The last thing I wanted to do was to have argued my way around the guys only to be late to class due to my newly developed lazy streak.
Regretfully, I twisted the handle of the shower to stop the stream of water and dragged myself out to dress. What was even on the schedule today? I tried to organize my scattered thoughts as I went. I think it was my freshman orientation class and Biology. Freshman orientation was one of the most boring—and useless—classes I had ever taken. I had heard other students talk about it when I was in high school, so apparently, it was a relatively popular way for colleges to introduce their new students to a college lifestyle. The professor gave each student a random topic—I had been assigned to the History of Feudal China—and instructed us on the “proper” way to study, prepare reports, use the college’s resources, and other things that were—at least in my opinion—just a way for the college to make us pay for a useless class.
Finally dressed, I plaited my damp hair back into a quick braid. I didn’t have the time to bother drying it this morning. I slid out the door with a quick glance at the hall clock. Twenty minutes. That should be enough time to grab a bite to eat before I let one of the guys drive me to campus. I wondered who would get the straw today. I giggled as I thought about their crazy antics. Rock, paper, scissors was only one of the ways they decided on who got to do what. So far I’d seen them do everything from draw straws to thumb wrestling to Ryder attempting to have a dance off with me as a judge. Unfortunately, that one hadn’t flown with anyone but Ryder, though I was quite a willing volunteer.
Hiro stood at the stove, a pan of scrambled eggs on the flame. I smiled at the memory of my first day of classes. “Are those for me?” I teased. He glanced over at me, a smile lighting up his face.
“Of course. I wouldn’t let you head out for classes without a little breakfast. I like that this is our routine.” He shot me a wink and turned back to the eggs.
At least it wasn’t Ryder cooking. I shuddered, remembering his last attempt at scrambled eggs. How could such a brilliant man be incapable of something as ridiculously easy as scrambled eggs? It had to be willful. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, chugging it down as I reached for plates, glasses, and silverware with my free hand. I tossed the bottle towards the trash can, hooting at my three-pointer. Hiro snickered and rolled his eyes, effortlessly plating the eggs and joining me at the table.
“Hiro,” I began, toying with my eggs after I’d eaten a few bites. “Do you think things will settle down soon?”
He looked at me, his eyebrows raised as he studied me, his fork still against his plate.
“I mean, one of the reasons I didn’t want to talk about my past with you guys is because I didn’t want the fear and the pity. I don’t want to be treated with kid gloves. I wanted you all to just be my friends—to treat me the way that you treat Rini.”
He smirked and leaned forward to brush my hair behind my ear. “I hope you don’t want us to treat you the way we treat Rini. Our feelings for you are quite a bit different than that.”
I tried not to grin but couldn’t help it. I loved when he teased me. “I know, but I want us to be friends first.”
Hiro's eyes were gentle. “Nix, I understand. We all do. We are trying. We all feel very…” He paused, searching for the right word, “… very drawn to you. I think you feel the same way toward us.” Reaching toward me again, he ran his thumb over my cheek and gave me a small smile that went all the way to his eyes. “I think getting you into a normal routine will really help those of us who are struggling. You just have to realize that we care about you. We feel guilty for you getting hurt.” He held up his hands before more apologies could fall from my lips. I had been apologizing to them almost every day, despite their reassurance that no apologies were necessary. “Friends help each other. They worry about each other. It will calm down. Give it a few days being back in the swing of things. If things are still tense, I’ll handle it.” The smile he shot me was sweet as he waved at my food. “Keep eating. You’ll need your strength.”
I scarfed the rest of my food down as I mulled over Hiro’s words. With a sigh, I tried to refocus my brain back on classes and started thinking of everything that I would need to bring with me for the day. “Which of you is going with me?”
“Me.” Damien spoke from nearly right behind me, and I squeaked as I caught the table to avoid falling over. Riotous laughter echoed around me, and Hiro outright grinned, his eyes flashing behind his glasses.
“You said you wanted it to be normal.”
I rolled my eyes as I turned to face Damien and Ryder. Ryder looked as though he was still having trouble breathing, his hands gripping his knees as he continued to chuckle. “You sounded like a wounded mouse.” The words were dragged from him, his smile bright and sincere, the worry lines finally missing from around his gorgeous, russet eyes.