Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Jesus Christ,” Titus muttered when the damage Carl had wrought came into view.
The door was in pieces. The top half was completely off the hinges and lying in the hallway and the bottom was still hanging, but at an awkward angle.
“I’m sorry,” I said as he continued moving us forward.
“Come on, sugar,” he replied, bringing us straight to the bathroom.
When we got inside he scooted around me and leaned in to turn on the shower, Ariel still wrapped around his torso.
“Quick rinse off, yeah?” he asked as I stood there dumbly.
I nodded and moved toward the shower. Leaning over, I attempted to put Diana on her feet. She wouldn’t let go. She was silent, her body still shuddering and trembling, but her arms had tightened around my neck like a vise.
“Princess,” Titus called. “Come here, baby girl.”
Diana ignored him as he leaned in, his hand running soothingly up and down her back.
“Come here to me,” he murmured. “Just for a minute so Mama can shower.”
Diana didn’t respond in any way until Ariel let go of Titus and reached over, her fingers wrapping around Diana’s upper arm. Then my baby lifted her head, turning to look at her sister. A moment later they were both in Titus’s arms, huddled against his chest.
I stepped into the shower fully clothed, but when I went to shut the curtain, Diana began to scream. It was the most gut wrenching, soul destroying sound I’d ever heard in my life.
I swayed on my feet and moved to step back out when Titus shook his head. Diana stopped screaming.
“Leave it open,” he ordered softly. “Just leave the curtain open.”
He lowered his head, murmuring to the girls as he gave me the only privacy he could—averting his eyes.
I stripped down and rinsed off as quickly as I could. I was just about to turn off the spray when Titus moved forward and set Ariel on her feet inside the tub at the opposite end.
“She’s gonna need a quick rinse, too, sugar,” he said, still keeping his eyes carefully averted.
I kneeled down on the floor and reached for my eldest.
She was shivering as I helped her undress.
“Look at us,” I murmured, smoothing her hair out of her face. “We’re a mess.”
Ariel didn’t respond. She didn’t say anything as I got to my feet, lifted her into my arms, and turned toward the spray. Ariel hated showers. She always had. She was afraid that the water would splash in her face or get in her eyes, but she didn’t complain once as I rinsed her off and then shielded her from the spray as I turned off the shower.
“Towels,” Titus said, still holding Diana with one arm as he flung a bath towel around Ariel’s body. I could feel his gaze on my face as I wrapped her up and handed her over.
His eyes never strayed.
While I pulled the other towel from the rack and began to dry off, Titus waited, facing completely away from me.
Diana watched me silently.
My hands shook as I went into my room for some clothes and the next few minutes were a nightmare as I tried to ignore the broken door and the suitcase and bag that Carl had dropped on my bedroom floor. Titus stood in the doorway so the girls could see me and then we all went back through the bathroom to Diana and Ariel’s room so we could get her dressed, too.
It was so quiet inside that you could’ve heard a pin drop as I grabbed Ariel’s blankie off her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. My girls were loud. They talked—especially Ariel—and they argued and they made noises and they laughed. I couldn’t remember the last time it had been so quiet when they were awake.
Eventually, though, it was no longer quiet as we heard voices filtering from downstairs. I followed Titus and the girls toward the sound, my bare feet aching as they slid against the carpet.
Downstairs, men and women were loitering, speaking in low voices in the living room and kitchen.
Bas strode toward us as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“My girls,” he murmured, reaching Titus first. “How you guys doin’?”
“They’re not talkin’ yet,” Titus replied quietly.
Bas nodded. “Hey, Mermaid,” he crooned softly to Ariel, leaning around so he could meet her eyes.
She just stared at him.
My stomach churned with nausea.
We made our way over to the sectional and I ignored everyone’s eyes on me as Titus gestured for me to sit. As soon as I was down, he carefully tucked the girls in on each side of me. They burrowed in, Ariel’s head on my chest and Diana’s on my belly.
“I’ll be right back, yeah?” Titus said softly, leaning in to kiss my forehead. “Right back.”
I nodded.
As he moved away, I finally looked around the room. Rumi and Nova stood near the entryway to the kitchen. An older man with long hair that I’d never met before was standing near them, talking to two other men, one of them was the one with a large scar on his face that I remembered seeing when we moved in.