reticent

24

• AMALIA •

"Stop." I whine.

"I'm not doing anything." Grayson says.

"Yes you are. Your stupid, knobbly knee keeps hitting mine."

Cole snorts. "Knobbly." He mutters under his breath.

"Because the car is moving." Grayson replies.

     "Doesn't mean your knee has to." I snap. "You have to be nice to me, because my arm is broken."

    "Your wrist is fractured." Xander corrects.

     I nod. "Hell yeah it is."

     Grayson's arm nudges mine, and I scowl. "You're just trying to piss me off now."

His eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Amalia." Elijah says. "That's not a nice word."

I scowl. "All of you swear."

"Yeah, but you're just a baby." Mason says.

I frown. "Yeah, and you just look like a frog."

He tilts his head, confusion blooming onto his face. I sigh and lean my forehead on Cole's shoulder, a pulse aching through it that I ignore.

I wrap my arms around him, and he plants a kiss in my hair, rubbing his hand up and down my back slowly. Carefully. As if he's afraid he'll hurt me if his hand is too heavy.

     "Cole, I wanna go to bed." I say.

     "You can in a little bit." He says.

     "No. Now." I whisper, shoving him so he's leaning on the door. I take my seatbelt off and lay my head on his chest, stretching my legs out until they're resting on Grayson's thighs.

     "Amalia." Cole says. "You have to wear your seatbelt."

     He tries to move me, but I go limp and fall asleep immediately.

• XANDER •

I cut up some vegetables into tiny pieces for Amalia, since she doesn't like big slices of them, before pouring it into the pan with the chicken. I mix it around before taking a sip of my water, letting out a small sigh.

Once it's finished, I put it onto a plate and grab her a Fanta before making my way upstairs. When I get into her room, she's cuddling with Cole, her face hidden in his chest. She looks up when I walk in, and a pang of hurt enters my chest when I see her battered face.

I push through it with a smile. "Hey, Lia." I say. "I made you some food."

"I'm not really hungry." She whispers.

Her pain relief wore off a while ago, and now I think she's hurting again. I walk over to her and set the plate onto her bedside table, along with the drink.

"You haven't eaten anything today, Lia." Cole reminds her. "Just try, please."

     She frowns. Shakes her head. She snuggles back into Cole. "I should probably go to bed. I have school tomorrow."