Page 175 of Lawless
Laughter follows my question and I quickly shoot back, “Don’t bother answering that.”
43
JD
Knowing that everyone around me knew what I was going through made me feel lighter.
I was worried that they’d all start watching me as if I was going to break at any moment—I wasn’t, I had my dove back, I was feeling pretty fucking great—but they didn’t treat me any differently to before my confession.
Obviously, I knew that Ivy and Mav were close and that she died a few years ago, not long after having Daisy, but I was too selfish to really put too much thought into how that affected him.
But seeing a familiar grief in his eyes helped settle something inside me.
We’d already formed some kind of brotherly bond, probably because I forced his hand into getting Alana to bounce around on his dick, but knowing that we had another shared experience, shared pain, helped to solidify our friendships.
The rest of the day was calm. It was… nice.
Just like I’d announced, we were becoming some kind of fucked-up team and it was getting easier and easier to be around each other.
Most of the time, it’s been Alana, Mav and me hanging out in the living room or enjoying the warm fall rays out on the deck while Reid has been locked away in the room he’s claimed as his office, chatting on the phone to fuck knows who.
He’s given us basic updates about what’s going on, but he hasn’t gone into detail. There’s a part of me that loves being naïve to what is happening outside this safe house. I mean, why would I give a shit when I’ve got everything I need inside these four walls? But there is another part, and a newly revived part, that is itching to get on with this fight and come out victorious on the other side.
I just have to trust that when Reid has intel that’s really worth sharing, he will. He’s never done me wrong before.
The slam of a door rips through the air, causing Mav to pause the movie the three of us are watching before a familiar voice calls, “You have ten seconds to put all genitals away.”
“You’re funny,” Reid barks back from the kitchen where he’s busy cooking. It’s pretty much the only thing he’s done aside from being on the phone these past few days. Oh, that and stealing Alana away from us in the middle of the night when he doesn’t think we notice.
“There are some things I just can’t unsee, Harris,” Aubrey calls back.
She pauses in the doorway to the living room with arms full of grocery bags to greet us before she continues to find the boss, Jude trailing after her like a good little pup, carrying even more supplies.
In a heartbeat, Alana is on her feet and staring back at both of us.
“What?” Mav asks.
“Are you two really just going to sit there?”
“Uh…”
“She might have something important to say,” Alana argues.
Glancing over at me, I see a familiar expression on his face.
Contentment.
It’s a good fucking feeling. One I’m not sure I’ve ever truly felt before.
But as good as this little bubble we’ve found ourselves in is, it’s going to have to burst eventually.
“Yeah,” Mav agrees, sliding to the edge of the couch.
He’s moving much easier now, but it’s obvious that he’s still struggling. And until that improves, we’re not going to be going anywhere.
“I guess the medic is here for me anyway.”
Throwing his arm around Alana, they make their way toward the kitchen with me hot on their tail.