The Hours We Have

chapter thirty

We arrived back at the house in fading light. 

I opened the front door and Ezra shouldered his way inside. My spine grazed against the doorframe and I squeezed closer to Ezra's back. I caught the corner of his mouth tilting upwards, he was most likely thinking about smooshing me against a wall. 

Finley was the first to spot us, laying on the kitchen floor, and his ears perked upon our entry. Maybe it was because I was on Ezra's back but for the first time since we had found Finley, he didn't growl at Ezra. Finley simply stood up and came to investigate, sniffing one of my legs as if he could smell the danger that lingered like a sour scent. 

I raised my eyes and saw Roman busying himself with cooking in the kitchen. He was a phenomenal cook and he often talked about going to culinary school to become a chef but it was difficult to get him to cook sometimes. Especially as of late, which could easily be explained.

Julian had his back to us, seated at the dining room table with an array of homework papers spread out around his computer. He looked frustrated, one hand threaded in his hair and a pencil in the other while he tried his best to finish the homework.

However, when Ezra kicked the door closed with the heel of his foot, both of the twins looked our way. Their eyes widened. 

"What is happening?" Julian asked, bewildered, "Has the world ended?" 

Ezra didn't answer and he headed into the living room with me. I heard a chair slide backward and then Julian came into the living room as Ezra set me down on the couch. He even knelt a bit instead of just dropping me onto the cushions. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Get an icepack," Ezra ordered his younger brother, and upon a glare from me, he grumbled a pathetic, "Please." 

Julian seemed to be stuck trying to process whatever was happening but he automatically disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. When he came back with an icepack wrapped in a dishtowel, his hazel eyes were full of concern, "Are you hurt? What happened?" 

"I'm fine," I took the ice pack and gently rested it on the top of my knee where it hurt the most, "Just a bad landing." 

Julian took a seat beside me and Finley sat down by my feet. As if having Julian in full mother mode wasn't enough, Finley seemed to be in full emotional support mode. I gently ruffled Finley's fur and his tail wagged once across the carpet, those big brown eyes staring up at me. 

"What happened?" We all turned at the sound of our oldest brother's voice. Mikeal stood in the doorway of the living room but his eyes were zeroed in on my knee before flickering to my face with invisible emotion, "Start talking." 

I looked at Ezra, swallowing, "Well..." When I looked back at Mikeal, I noticed Roman standing just slightly behind Mikeal. My eyes instantly narrowed on him. Everything that had happened could very well be related to his secrets. "We were chased," I spoke with hardening anger. 

"Chased?" Mikeal echoed, a flicker of surprise crossed his features, "By who?" I didn't miss how Roman made direct eye contact with me, a storm brewing in his darkening eyes. He was warning me but I only stared back with defiant intensity. 

I didn't realize I hadn't responded to Mikeal's question until Ezra cleared his throat and said, "Three guys, they followed us after we left the supermarket and then we lost them in the alleys." 

Mikeal moved closer to me, his eyes scanning for injuries, "Did they hurt you?" 

"No," I answered with a small shake of my head, "I landed wrong after we climbed a chainlink fence."