Chapter 1

8K 186 17
                                    

Lucy POV

“Good morning, love.” Liam said as I entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, Liam.” I smiled.

I walked to the kitchen island and sat on one of the bar stools.

“How did you sleep?” Liam asked me as he placed a plate filled with pancakes in front of me.

“Good.” I said. “You do know that I won’t be able to eat all of that, right?”

I pointed at my plate as I looked up at him.

“I know.” Liam smiled. “Eat as much as you can, love. Theo or Noah will finish the rest, I’m sure of it.”

I chuckled and nodded. He wasn’t wrong. Theo and Noah could eat a mountain of food.

“Speaking of our brothers, where are they?” Liam asked as he turned back to the stove.

“Getting ready.” I said, picking up my fork. “They slept in again.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Liam sighed, shaking his head.

I chuckled again. Theo and Noah could sleep through everything. We were late to school a few times because we couldn’t wake them up.

One time, Liam screamed that he couldn’t find me anywhere. That worked, and both of them were up and awake in a second. To say that they were pissed off at Liam would be an understatement. Liam was pretty proud of himself and told them that he would wake them up like that all the time if they didn’t start waking up on time. Theo and Noah weren’t really happy about that.

“Did they sleep in their rooms?” Liam asked, glancing at me over his shoulder.

“They did.” I said as I looked up at him and smiled.

I didn’t tell him that both of them fell asleep in my room. I woke them up, and they left around midnight.

Theo and Noah refused to go to therapy, but they did talk to Nate a few times. Nate thought that both of them had separation anxiety, and he wanted to ease them into being away from me. He thought that sleeping in their own rooms would be a good start. It was hard on them. It was hard on me. They still slept with me most of the time, but they managed to sleep in their own rooms a few times.

“Good.” Liam smiled, filling another plate with pancakes.

“Where is Ezra?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. “He is usually the one to make breakfast.”

“Are my pancakes not good enough?” Liam gasped, turning around to look at me.

“They are amazing, Bubba.” I said, giving him a small smile. “I’m just wondering about Ezra.”

“I know, love.” Liam smiled as he walked to the kitchen island and set the plate down. “I’m teasing. Ezra came home late last night. He slept in. He should be here soon.”

I nodded and looked back down at my plate.

“How could you lose it?” I heard Noah’s voice.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” Theo grunted. “How the fuck should I know the answer to that question?”

Theo and Noah walked into the kitchen. Noah was rolling his eyes at Theo, who had a pissed off look on his face.

“Language, Theo.” Liam said as he sat down opposite me.

“Sunshine.” Noah said happily as he approached me and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “I missed you.”

“It’s been only a few hours, Noah.” I chuckled, rubbing his arms softly.

“That’s too long.” Noah mumbled as he kissed my temple.

I chuckled, and Noah let me go. He walked over to Liam and sat down next to him.

“What did you lose?” I asked my brother as he took a seat next to me.

“English notebook.” Theo mumbled, placing a few pancakes on his plate.

“It has to be around here somewhere.” I said. “Maybe you left it in the car or in your locker at school.”

Theo mumbled something I couldn’t understand and leaned his head on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his hair, and I felt him relax a little.

“Are you okay, Theo?” Liam asked with a hint of worry in his voice. “You will find the notebook, don’t worry.”

“I didn’t sleep well.” Theo mumbled.

Liam glanced at me and took a deep breath.

“It’s Friday.” Liam said softly. “You can sleep for as long as you want tomorrow.”

Theo took a deep breath and nodded.

“Good morning.” I heard Ezra’s voice.

I turned around and saw my brother walking into the kitchen with a big smile on his face.

“Why are you people so happy in the morning?” Theo mumbled, lifting his head off my shoulder.

I chuckled and smiled at Ezra.

“Good morning, Bear.” I said softly.

“Hi, honey.” Ezra smiled as he walked to me and kissed the top of my head. “Did Liam make good pancakes?”

“He did.” I said, smiling.

“Not better than mine, though, right?” Ezra asked, smirking at Liam.

“Oh, so much better.” Noah said, making Ezra gasp.

“Noah!” Ezra exclaimed.

Liam laughed, shaking his head at my brothers.

“I can’t believe this.” Ezra said, shaking his head. “I’m being attacked in my own home, and it’s only 7:30 am.”

I chuckled, and Ezra kissed the top of my head again.

He sat down on the bar stool next to me and filled his plate with pancakes.

“Do you guys have plans for tonight?” Ezra asked, looking from me to Theo and Noah.

“Aiden was talking about going to the mall.” Noah said. “But we didn’t make plans.”

“Okay.” Ezra nodded. “Tell them you can’t go tonight. I’m making dinner. Your grandpa, uncle, and cousins are coming over.”

I smiled brightly. I missed my grandpa. I hadn’t seen him in a while.

“Grandpa is coming?” I asked happily.

“He is, honey.” Ezra smiled at me. “He’s excited to see you too.”

“I can’t wait.” I said, smiling.

I motioned for Theo to take the rest of my breakfast. I couldn’t eat anymore.

“Is there a reason for the family dinner?” Theo asked as he took the rest of the pancakes from my plate.

“Maybe.” Ezra smiled. “You will find out tonight.”

I looked at Ezra, who had a small smile on his face. He looked happy, and it made my heart grow double. Seeing my brothers happy made my day a lot better. Since I returned, I've had the uneasy feeling that I've made their lives more difficult. They had to deal with the abuse. They had to deal with me being kidnapped again. I felt guilty. It was something that I talked about in therapy a lot, and the feeling of guilt lessened a bit but it wasn’t gone. I felt relief when I saw Ezra happy. It made me happy as well.

“I can’t wait.” Noah grinned.

Ezra smiled and continued to eat his breakfast.

“Lucy?” Theo called me, and I looked at him. “Can you please, please help me find my notebook? You always find everything. You are like the best seeker in the house. You are the best at everything you do. You are...”

“Okay, stop with the flattering.” I said, laughing. “I’ll help you.”

“Oh, thank God.” Theo said as he stood up. “I thought that I was going to have to ask Noah.”

“Hey!” Noah exclaimed.

Theo ignored him and took my hand in his.

I smiled at Noah before Theo pulled me out of the kitchen.

Let them goWhere stories live. Discover now