Tilly nodded. Truth was, she felt a bit out of it. Like everything around her was happening to someone else. It was an odd feeling, and she knew it was probably due to delayed shock. Still, she was grateful for his support as they descended the stairs.
They entered the living room. The drapes had been pulled, allowing sunlight to stream in.
“It’s morning?” she said with some shock.
“Nearly ten,” Aedan said from behind them. She turned to see him carrying a tray with coffee and pastries. “Thought you both might need some caffeine and sugar. I know I do.”
He walked past them and placed the tray on the coffee table before pouring the coffee. Dylan led Tilly to a large sofa. They sat and she snuggled up against him.
“How are you doing, Tilly?” Aedan asked.
“I’m fine,” she told him with a small smile.
“She’s dizzy,” Dylan replied.
“Do you need the doctor?” Aedan asked with concern. “I can run up and get him.”
“No, I’m okay,” she insisted, glaring up at Dylan briefly. “Once I get some caffeine into me I’ll feel like a new woman.”
“You’ll eat one of these as well,” Dylan said, reaching over and grabbing a pastry. He handed it to her.
Tilly took it without a protest, even though the last thing she wanted to do was eat. Her stomach was a bubbling caldron, ready to overflow at any moment. But Dylan was in protective mode and it made him feel better to look after her right now.
So she took a small bite of the pastry and a large sip of the coffee Aedan handed her.
“Where’s Rogan?” Dylan asked, taking a huge bite of pastry.
“Making some phone calls.”
Aedan avoided her gaze and she grew suspicious.
“Phone calls about what?” she asked.
Dylan and Aedan stared at each other.
“About your friend and what to do with her,” Rogan told her as he stepped into the room. His face looked terrible; one eye was completely swollen shut and his face was covered in bruises and cuts. At least he’d changed into clean clothes.
Rogan sat with a sigh. “I’m too old for this shit.”
Then get out of it. Tilly bit back the reply. She turned away from him, looking down at her pastry instead.
“Are you scared of me now, Tilly?” he asked, surprising her.
She gazed up into his face and saw the mix of regret and resignation. Did he actually care what she thought?
“A little bit,” she said truthfully. “You seemed out of control tonight.”
“Sometimes we have to do things we’d rather not. Sometimes we just don’t have a choice.”
“You could choose to leave this life,” she said bravely.
“Once you’re in, it’s hard to leave,” Rogan told her.
“Why didn’t you come with me that night?” Dylan said suddenly. “You could have left with me. You could have escaped all this.”
Rogan was silent.
“Because he had no choice,” Aedan said. “There was a price for our freedom and Rogan paid it.”