“I’m making her food, relax Marco,” Ledger sighed at the man, “firefly here shared our lunch, and tomorrow, I’m going to just pack her one. Apparently, they only eat dinner at her house.”
“Where are you living?” Marco demanded his voice rough from the strain of his reactions. He had stepped between my legs and didn’t look away from my face. Not even for a heartbeat. “I tried searching for you, but the rain had washed away the scent of the car. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.”
I swallowed, blushing at his sweet comment.This man had been looking for me?I nibbled my lip and spoke, “um, I don’t know what the trailer park is called, Jed…”
A cup crashed onto the counter as Sai turned and exclaimed, “you live in a fucking trailer?”
I cringed. Lord help me if he ever finds out I lived in a basement. Apparently, that wasn’t the norm outside of my previous life.
“It’s not bad,” I muttered feeling embarrassed.
“Sai, stop it,” Marco snapped at him, “now Maya, who is Jed?”
I looked up at him and sighed, “My mom’s boyfriend, we just moved here. You… eh, you met him at the gas station.”
“Where’s your dad?” Sai wondered out loud, his voice almost pleading to tell him some good news. So I did.
I hid my grin and said, “dead.”
“Maya, I’m so sorry.” He froze, looking horrified.
“Please, please, don’t be.” I admitted with a voice that sounded cold even to me. All of them seemed to freeze at my words and they exchanged looks.See?I was already messing up this being normal thing.
“What time do you need to be home tonight?” Anani asked.Did they want me to leave already?
“Um,” I frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know how any of this works. This is my first time doing any of this.”
“Any of what?” Ledger wondered.
“This,” I motioned, “I had never left my… house until five days ago.”
Silence spread across the room before Sai swore. He set down a cup of tea, a deep red shade, before storming off. I frowned,was he mad at me?I hoped not. I didn’t mean to upset him.
“Not mad at you,” Marco muttered while pressing a soft kiss to my shoulder, “just worried.”
Could he read minds?
“I need to get a good look at her bruises,” Ledger finally demanded, before pressing a sandwich into my hand. He wandered off before I heard him sorting through a closet down the hall.
Anani moved next to Marco, “peanut, are you okay with that?”
I bit my lip but nodded as Marco stepped back. I tugged on the sleeve of my hoodie and pulled it over my head with gentle movements. I knew they were visible along my arms and open neckline because of the growl that came from Ledger. How could I tell them apart after only a few hours?
His eyes were burning as he grasped my hand gently. Marco had a vice grip on the counter as he muttered a curse, “how the hell did this happen?”
I looked down at the bruises covering my arms as Ledger moved around the counter, sliding onto the surface to sit behind me. I hissed as his warm hands traced the pattern through my thin white polo.
“I fell-“
“No, you didn’t,” Ledger hissed unexpectedly. “Come look at this Marco.”
Marco already looked like he was about to explode. His eyes were trained on my bruised arm as his body trembled with anger. I curled into Ledger with repressed anxiety. I didn’t think he would hurt me, but his energy was intense.
“Marco, calm down,” Henry demanded from the door. He walked forward, gray eyes turning into melted silver, as he set down a pink phone on the counter.Oh, I loved that color.
“Eat,” Ledger encouraged me quietly while the other two had a near stare off. I could practically see the conversation the two of them were having.
Marco sighed shaking his head, before he lifted and turned me. I was sitting sideways on the counter as Marco gently peeled my polo up. I cringed at his growl before Ledger softly massaged my hands in a comforting gesture. I took a bite of the sandwich. When I felt Henry’s warm yet rough fingers pressing against the skin gently, I relaxed a bit. Maybe it came from my experience growing up, but it was far more reassuring knowing where someone’s hands were, even if they were on me. When you didn’t know where they were, you could be surprised. My mother liked to do that, hitting me out of nowhere.