Cherished

27

Something was up with Pierce and Graham. There was a new tension, and Eva didn't like that she didn't know what had happened.

She couldn't take it anymore, so she waited until she was with all three of them in their wing the following night to ask.

"What's going on?" Eva asked as they all went to the couch. She chose to stay standing.

"Nothing, Evie," Graham said, reaching for her. She resisted the urge to crawl into his lap like she really wanted to.

"Please," she whispered. "I want to be included too, even if it's bad."

It was quiet for a few moments. Graham looked at Pierce who didn't look his way. He kept his gaze locked behind Eva.

"Pierce is just being a little stubborn," Graham said, holding his arms out again. "Come on, honey. Don't make me beg."

"I'm not being stubborn," Pierce mumbled. He stood up, quite abruptly, startling Eva. "I just need a bit of space."

He took his keys hanging by the door, leaving without another word.

Eva felt her lip tremble. What just happened?

"He's struggling with something, and he keeps pushing me away," Graham sighed. "He's upset with me because I keep trying to get him to eat, or sleep, or talk."

Miles was very, very unusually quiet. He and Pierce were hardly ever separated, so Eva knew he was hurting.

"What do we do?" Eva asked.

"It's going to get worse," Miles said. "I told Graham to hire a therapist. She's coming tomorrow."

"You can't make him talk," Eva said. She didn't like that idea one bit. She couldn't imagine being thrown into talking to someone, so completely blind-sided. She knew Pierce wasn't okay, but this didn't seem like the right thing to do.

"Evie-" Miles said.

Eva was angry, and frustrated, and she couldn't help but to speak her mind.

"I do not appreciate being left out," she said. "And I do not wish to be part of the plan with the therapist. I don't agree with that."

It was quiet, and Eva felt a pounding headache form on her temple.

"I'm going to bed," she mumbled, leaving the two behind to go down in her room. She didn't often sleep in here anymore, but she didn't mind a little bit of space either.

She was worried that if Graham and Miles kept pushing, Pierce would only feel worse. Cornering him with a therapist was an awful idea. He needed to agree to that first.

She also didn't like the fact that she was an outsider in her own relationship. Why had she been the last to know?

She was just falling asleep when her bedroom door opened. She was surprised to see it was Pierce. He came over to her.

"Graham told me about the therapist," Pierce said, reaching his hand out to stroke his cheek.

"You talked?" she whispered.

He nodded. "A little bit. I told him I would try to speak to the therapist. I don't want to make this a bigger issue than it is."

Eva nodded.

"Come on," he said, coaxing her to sit up. "Let's go to bed."

"I am in bed," she said as he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around him, keeping her hands high on his shoulders like he preferred.

He scoffed a bit. "We can't sleep without you, Evie."

"Will you sleep this time?" she asked. "Graham said you haven't been."

She pressed her lips to his cheek.

"I'll try. Okay?"

She nodded, happy with that. She was glad Graham and Miles told him about the therapist. It was scary to see the people she cared deeply about struggle.

Graham and Miles were already in bed. Graham reached for her, so Pierce set her down between him and Miles.

"I'm sorry if we upset you," Graham said. "You were absolutely right about everything. We didn't mean to exclude you. It was just our way of protecting you."

Eva settled under the blanket, looking up at Miles who gave a small smile.

"I still need reassurance about my place with all of you. This could have become a much larger issue easily."

Graham nodded. "We will do better."

Eva was okay with that. She was okay with the resolution. They were really good about talking things through in such a way that eased her.

"I'm sorry," Miles whispered. She cuddled close to him. She didn't like that he was sad.

He stuffed his face in her neck, breathing a sigh of relief. 

They would make it through this, just like they had made it through everything else.