His chest rumbled again as he demanded, “does that happen often?”
I flushed and tucked my head down into his shoulder. He sighed and brought a hand into my hair. “I will let this go for now Maya, but I expect an answer. The boys will also.”
“No!” I whisper yelled.
He grunted, “we have to tell them.”
“I don’t want to worry the only friends I have, they will leave me!” I sounded panicked. Somehow their loss, after less than 24 hours, would devastate me.
Atlas’s eyes darkened as he tried to reassure me, “no one will leave you Maya, but I have to tell Marco.”
I whimpered as I spoke softly, “he’s going to be mad.”
Atlas scoffed. “Not at you angel.”
My alarm went off then as I scrambled to turn it off. My mother hated the noise. Atlas sighed before picking up my PJ shirt from the ground, I cringed at the blood on it. He tucked it into his jacket and leaned forward into my space.
“The twins are here with Henry. I expect to see you tonight at the house. If anything scares you between now and then, you will call me. Okay?”
I bit my lip and nodded, “I promise.”Could I call him just for fun?
“Good.” He nodded with a tense expression. I watched him leave my room and swayed briefly on my feet. Damn. Now Cosmo hadn’t said anything about situations like that.
I grabbed my bag, tucked my phone in the bottom of it, and surfaced into the hall. The trailer was quiet and I made it nearly to the front door, before a meaty gross hand grasped my neck. I cringed at the feeling and waited for the scent of tobacco to disappear. It didn’t.
“You think you can ignore me?” Jed whispered in a disgusted voice.
“I slept in,” I mumbled quietly.
“Ignore me again and your door stays unlocked at night,” he growled with yellow teeth. His hand bit into my neck as he pressed his disgusting body against mine. I whimpered, but it seemed to only encourage him.
“Jed baby,” my mother’s voice called, “come back to bed.”
I prayed he would. Jed grunted, squeezing my neck harder, before releasing me and walking away. I stumbled through the door and practically jogged toward a waiting SUV. I let my hair fall onto my neck and offered a weak, watery smile.
“What’s wrong?” Ledger asked. Henry helped me into the back and gave me a sweet smile. It made my heart flutter nervously.
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
Anani turned in his seat and looked me over with intense eyes, “your bruises are gone.”
I shrugged, “maybe they weren’t as bad as you thought.”
Henry mumbled something before grasping my hand. The action made both of us blush as Ledger sighed and pulled onto the street. I don’t think Henry blushed because he was embarrassed like I was though. The morning was a gloomy one and I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of sadness that invaded my bones. Once Atlas told them, they would think I was all messed up. They wouldn’t want to be my friends anymore.
“Coffee?” Ledger asked while pulling through a green and white drive-through.
Henry and Anani ordered while I frowned at the menu. Ledger smiled, “you’ve never been to Starbucks?”
I leaned forward on my knees, over Henry, to peak at the menu. Henry made a low sound in his throat as the hand clasping mine moved to my hip. His hand was hot, but it steadied me. Anani turned in his seat to see the commotion and groaned. I looked back over my shoulder to find Ledger silently laughing.
“What?” I asked confused.
“What would you like to drink, firefly?” Ledger mumbled with amusement.
“Something sweet please,” I decided and sat back. Henry’s hand gripped my waist gently as I settled against his warmth. Human contact felt great. Except, I wasn’t positive they were humans. I mean, I didn’t know what they were, but the dragon theory seemed valid. I sighed contently because I fit perfectly into Henry’s side.
“We should get her some leggings,” Anani muttered.