I grabbed the bag Caesar brought for me with my clothes and headed toward the bathroom. “Okay if I go in first?”
“Have at it.” Tanner threw himself down on his bed. “Do you suppose I should skip brushing my teeth? I mean…who cares if I get cavities now?”
“Well.” I scrunched up my nose. “That is sort of disgusting.”
He grinned at me. “Yeah, I know. I’m still going to brush my teeth. Can you imagine a vampire in the dentist’s chair?”
I listened to their conversation through the door as I shut it. Their conversation became background noise to my getting dressed. I grabbed my shorts and a different tank top from the night before. I braided my hair after I washed my face, and finally, I brushed my teeth, smiling at Tanner’s stupid question.
I opened the door.
“No, I think it’s a good idea.” Rowan shook his head, talking to Tanner. “And I need to think about it. Griffin barely brought it up, but I have to think about the whole thing. Even the logistics of it.”
“Hey.” Caesar walked right up to me. He took my hand. “Can I stay with you again tonight? Would that be okay? I think we both slept really well, but if you want your own space, then…”
“I’d like that.” It sounded awesome. I’d gotten an actual full night of sleep really easily next to Caesar.
Ace walked over, stroking a hand down my arm. “It’s a big bed. Can I get in the other side?”
“You can.” It should feel overwhelming, but I knew that I’d like being pressed between them. Especially on a night like tonight. My shoulders sagged. The day was getting to me. Vampires. Death. My future in upheaval. What would happen if I just vanished? Would their father really exert the effort to find me?
The questions I’d been putting off in my mind reared to life in my head. They could both sleep next to me. I was going to sit up and obsess.
The room fell silent, and I looked around. They were all staring at me in that moment. My cheeks heated up. “Something on my face?”
“More like your legs are a mile long in those shorts.” Ace grinned. “None of the rest of them will say it, but there it is.”
I swatted at his arm. “Stop it. They’re just shorts.” Although I sort of loved the description. People didn’t look at me like that. Most of the time, it was like I was invisible.
Rowan put his arm around me. “That bed okay? Or do you like the other side of the room better?”
“I’m not picky. That bed will be fine.” It was actually in the center, by the window, and next to Rowan’s bed. Griffin would be next to him. Tanner on the other side of me, with Caesar and Ace sharing with me, leaving two beds pretty much across the room empty.
They all started grabbing their stuff, and I climbed into the bed we’d just designated as mine. “Is this okay? That I’m here?”
“Yes,” the four awake guys all answered me at once, not even letting me vocalize my concerns about infringing on time they needed together. Of course, it wasn’t like they really had a choice. Their fathers had set this up.
Ace got in next to me as Rowan turned off the lights. Caesar was next. The bed was big, but we did all have to cuddle to make this work.
“I call sleeping with Maci tomorrow.” Tanner yawned.
“I’m the next day,” Rowan finished. The beds creaked as they adjusted themselves to get comfortable. As for the two with me, they might never have shared a bed with a girl between them before, but they settled quickly. Caesar spooned me from behind, his arm slung over my waist. Ace and I faced each other in the darkness. He lay on his side, one hand on my hip, the other supporting his head as he lay on it.
Around me, everyone seemed to settle. Griffin hadn’t moved an inch since he’d fallen asleep, but Tanner tossed a few times before he finally seemed to drift off. He was a deep breather, and I could hear him where I was. It wasn’t so much that he snored, as he took long audible breaths in the bed next to us.
I’d never know why I was sure Rowan fell asleep next, but as the minutes passed, I was absolutely certain he was out too. Caesar breathed lightly against the back of my neck, each minute his body loosening against me. Sleeping next to me did seem to work for him.
But I was awake, and so was Ace.
We stared at each other in the darkness, the lights from the window illuminating enough I could see he was up too.
“Hi,” I whispered to him.
He grinned at me. “Hi. Is this okay, or are you totally uncomfortable?”
“This is more than okay. I like it. Just hard to turn off my head.”
He nodded, a piece of his hair falling over his eyes before he brushed it aside. Although we were already very close, he inched farther against me and leaned his forehead against my own. “Would be crazy if you were able to just sleep after this day. It’s too much for most people, I think.”
I swallowed. “I’m not thinking any particular thoughts. It’s more like…I just can’t settle.”
He kissed my lips, gently. “You’re safe here, right now. I won’t let anything get you. I know it was awful, but the fact that Rowan’s father marked you means no one would dare bug you right now. Do you want to know a secret?”
“Another one? Are there more?” I winked at him. “Yes, tell me if you want to.”
“My father isn’t as bad as the others. He actually talks to me. Sometimes, when I was very young, he’d hug me. I know that he’s aware I’m around. He doesn’t just remember me when it comes to the change. I think that as much as he will absolutely make me go through with it, he regrets what’s going to happen.”
That was really interesting. “Something in him is just different than the others?”
“Yes, and I wonder if it might be different in me too. Like maybe when I’m over being ragingly mad trying to feed off everything, maybe I can come find you wherever you are and we can talk. Like…I talk to my dad. It won’t be a great conversation. He’s limited in the things he’s interested in. Nothing modern. But he likes books.”
I nodded. “If that is possible, to see you without you wanting to kill me, I’d like that.”
“Good.” He yawned. “Try not to worry. It solves nothing. I had to stop worrying a year or so ago because otherwise, it was going to destroy me. If something is inevitable, it happens whether we worry about it or not.”
I appreciated that what he was saying was true, but he needed to give me a huge break if I wasn’t feeling particularly Zen in that moment. “Ace.” I swallowed. “I don’t mean to be a bitch.”
He winced. “Say it. If I said something shitty, call me on it.”
“In the last few days, I’ve gone from not knowing you guys at all, to having this strange attachment to you, to being nearly raped by my mother’s friend, stolen from, and discovering there are vampires. Also, you are all going to die next week. On top of all that, I’ll have to be stuck with the vampires forever because of all this. So…I’m not really in a place where I can’t worry. Not yet, anyway. I’m worrying.” In fact, as I’d said it, my stomach panged. “Quite a lot, actually.”
He nodded. “You’re right. It was a pretty condescending thing I said. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”