We stayed that way until a light knock on the door broke us apart. Raph kissed my forehead, then called over, “Come in.”
Izzy came in and sent me a small smile as he took us in. Nadia and Jezebel rushed into the room, jumping on the bed, and Iz hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t keep them back any longer. They want to see you and make sure you’re okay.”
“I want to see them, too.” I smiled at Iz, then held my hand out for Jezebel, who sniffed it, then rubbed her head on my palm before climbing into my lap so I could pet her. Nadia lightly pecked the fingers of my other hand a few times, before flapping her wings and hopping around to make me pet her. A small laugh bubbled out of me at her antics, and when I glanced up, both Iz and Raph were staring at me with shiny eyes. “What?”
Iz shook his head, and Raph cupped the back of my neck and kissed my temple, saying, “I’m so glad to have you home.”
I didn’t correct him about this being his home because it did sorta feel like I was home, and I wanted that feeling to last.
Iz cleared his throat. “Breakfast’s ready. Do you want me to bring it up or would you like to come down?”
They both stared at me, waiting for an answer, and I finally said, “I think I’d like to try coming down.” My voice was getting raspier by the minute, it was hard to understand, but they seemed to get it.
Another smile flashed my way before Iz came over to help me out of the bed. It was slow going, but my injuries were mostly healed by magic, yet my muscles and some of the deeper wounds were still sore. Eventually, we made it to the dining table. I took one look at the hardwood seat and grimaced.
Raph caught it, saying, “Why don’t we eat in the living room? The couch is comfy.”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
They set me up, and Izzy brought over a TV tray, then a plate, coffee, and orange juice.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Anytime.” He shot me a wink, then grabbed plates for himself and Raph. Raph settled in the seat beside me, and Izzy sat in the corner of the loveseat, closest to me. Nadia perched on the couch behind my head and kept nudging me every few minutes with her beak, like she was making sure I was still there. And Jezebel climbed onto my lap again, so I had to hold my plate over the top of her, but I didn’t mind.
When Raph put his feet on the coffee table, Izzy glared and used his socked-foot to stretch over and push it off, making Raph chuckle. The familiarity and softness of their gazes somehow set me at ease more than anything else had so far.
I was here. I wasn’t alone. They had come for me. And now they were taking care of me.
“Laz?” Izzy’s gentle voice made me realize I had shut my eyes, so I opened them to meet his. His expression softened as he asked, “Do you need anything?”
I shook my head. “Being here—” I cleared my croaky throat and tried again. “Being here with you two is, uh, it’s helping.”
He sent me a soft smile and reached over to grasp my hand in a strong grip. “If you need anything, if I’m doing something you don’t like, if you want me to leave so you and Raph can be alone, you just have to tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to make you comfortable.”
I shook my head. “I want you to stay.”
His gaze softened further as he whispered, “I’ll stay as long as you like.”
I squeezed his hand, offering a small smile, then released it to sit back and finish eating. When I glanced at Raph, he smiled at me and slowly leaned in to kiss my cheek.
I hated that they were being so careful with me. I wanted to tell them to stop, to act normal, to not treat me with kid gloves. But then I’d see that bruise on Raph’s cheek, and I wasn’t an idiot. Any quick movements, any touching that I didn’t see coming… I knew it would make me panic. So I didn’t like it, but I knew they were doing the right thing. And I was glad they weren’t making a big deal about it. I needed some normalcy to get my head on straight.
After we finished eating, Iz cleaned up, and Raph slowly slid closer to me, draped his arm around me, and tucked me into his side, Jezebel still in my lap and Nadia perched behind me. Settling in, I took a deep breath and let Raph’s solid presence put me at ease.
When Izzy walked back over, Raph patted the seat on the other side of him before Iz could sit down, and after glancing at me, he sat beside my boyfriend. Izzy curled up in the corner of the couch, and I frowned at him, wishing he was curled up with Raph and me. Which was… a weird thing to want out of your boyfriend’s best friend, wasn’t it?
A small smile curved my lips up when Raph reached over and tucked Izzy’s feet under his leg, leaving his hand on Izzy’s ankle. I fisted Raph’s shirt in my hand and leaned up to kiss his neck, and he hugged me tighter to his side, resting his cheek on my head.
They had the TV on, but I couldn’t concentrate on it. That man’s face—Dallan Addington—kept threatening to invade my thoughts. So I focused on Raph’s scent—on his roasted marshmallow smell—and buried my face in his neck, trusting Raph, trusting both of them, with all my exposed nerves.
“Baby?” Raph whispered a couple of hours later.
“Hm?” I spoke against his neck since I hadn’t moved from there. Jezebel and Nadia seemed to be permanently glued to my side, and I was finding their presence a huge comfort. Raph had been rubbing my back and hair and pressing kisses to my head the entire time. Izzy got up a few times to take phone calls and refill drinks, but he always came back and had begun stuffing his feet under Raph’s leg without prompting.
“Grady and Alaric are on their way over,” Izzy said.
I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. “Okay.”
“I held them off as long as I could,” Iz added.
After pressing a kiss to Raph’s neck, I sat up—Raph kept one arm around me—and made eye contact with Iz. “It’s alright.”
“Grady’s ready to kill me, I think.” Iz offered a small smile that I returned.
“It’s really fine.”
“They’re both worried and want to see for themselves that you’re okay.”
I opened my mouth to reassure him again, but Raph grabbed Izzy’s knee with his free hand and said, “He’s fine, honey. You did good.”
Isiah stared into Raph’s eyes for a few seconds before nodding. “Right. Okay. Good.”
Seeing that he was alright, I tucked my head on Raph’s shoulder, but kept facing out so I could still see Izzy, who smiled tentatively at me. Raph buried his hand in my hair—keeping that arm around me—but he left his hand on Izzy’s knee. We sat there like that, watching some home improvement show, until the doorbell rang.
Iz got up to answer it, but Raph and I stayed on the couch. I didn’t even move because being in Raph’s arms was pretty much the only place that felt safe. If I moved out from under him, I’d likely break into a million unfixable pieces.
Hearing voices at the door made me breathe deeply, and Raph rubbed my back, pressed his nose to my hair, and whispered, “We can go upstairs if you’re not up to it. Or we can stay down here, but know that I will take you up immediately if you need me to. Just say the word.”