Page 96 of Point Proven
Supplies all put away, there was nothing left for me to do but get the dogs from Thorne. He’d babysat for the evening, and Iknewhe had to be over them.
After explaining to Lev and Simon, I exited the art room. I immediately paused, noticing the empty space next to a sleeping Liam.
“That motherfucker,” I muttered, hauling ass up the stairs to our room.
God, he wasn’t supposed to leave the couch. Thorne was beyond upset, and I wanted to honor his wish to keep Matt away until he was ready. I loved Matt, but Thorne was my fiancé, and he would always come first.
Swinging myself upward using the railing, I huffed as my palm greeted the cracked door. “God, Matt, I told you not to come up here.”
Stepping inside, I walked the small hallway into the main area of our room and paused at the scene in front of me.
Matt and Thorne were sprawled out on the bed, Mercy and Prince joining them. Tucked into his side, Matt’s head rested on Thorne’s chest, and Mercy had wedged herself between both of them, her chin settled on Matt’s shoulder. Curled up next to Matt’s feet, Prince’s face nuzzled against the comforter, his breathing, for once, soft and steady.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I quietly snapped a few photos as I sniffled. They needed each other, and I couldn’t contain the happiness from seeing them so close again. Thorne had missed him endlessly, and I hoped their friendship continued to blossom. Matt needed him too, more than I think Thorne realized, and I brushed tears from my face.
I glanced at them one last time before leaving, shutting the door behind me as I bounded down the steps. “Simon? Lev?”
“Yeah?” Sitting next to Liam, Simon was brushing through his curls lightly, his boyfriend fast asleep.
Lev craned his head over his shoulder from where he sat on the opposite couch. “Hm?”
“We’re having a sleepover, and don’t try to talk yourselves out of this.” I gestured upstairs. “Matt and Thorne are passed out in the bed, which meansweget to have a night of mischief.”
“A…sleepover? What are we, fucking fifteen?” Simon asked.
“What’s a sleepover?” Lev asked, his brow raising in confusion.
Bounding over to Lev, I grabbed both his hands and shook them. “A sleepover is where you stay up really late and gossip, play games, drink, hell, anything really! But you stay here with us, and I’ll make breakfast in the morning. Maybe omelets and cinnamon rolls.”
“You’ve… never had a sleepover?” Simon craned his head to the side, but there was a softness to his gaze at Lev’s confession.
“No?” Lev glanced between us, a saddened smile coating his lips. “I guess… I mean, I never really had friends growing up because my father never allowed it, and then I immediately stepped into his role after I, well, murdered him.”
“Woah, youmurderedyour dad?” My eyes widened as I squeezed his hands once. “Then we need popcorn, candy, and soda for this. I mean… if youwantto tell us.”
“He raped and killed my mother in front of me to prove a point when I was eight. After that, his beatings only got worse. I nearly died twice, once at ten and once at fourteen, because of how far he took things. And…” His throat bobbed as he glanced down at where our hands met. “I have a traumatic brain injury because of it and am very susceptible to seizures.”
“Lev, I’m so sorry,” Simon said, continuing to run his fingers through Liam’s locks.
“Oh… Oh, Lev, I’m so sorry.” Releasing my grip on his hands, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. “You’ve handled so much alone.”
I expected him to pull away, but when he nuzzled into me and a shuddered breath left him, I realized how much he’d struggled in silence. “I-I take medication… and it helps sometimes… But… my episodes… they… they terrify me…”
Hauling him tighter against me, I rubbed his back. “I get that. Thorne’s episodes terrify him, too, and so do mine. But the onething I can guarantee is you won’t have to suffer through them alone again. You… You have your friends and Matt?—”
“I-I haven’t told Matt… What if he… What if it’s too much…”
I scratched lightly across his spine. “For Matt? Nothing is too much. If anything, he’ll be even more protective of you.”
“Yeah,” Simon added. “Matt’s actually well-versed with seizures, as we had a cadet before you arrived, Oren, who had them. Lev, I’ve never seen that man settle down, or be this fucking happy. You’re it for him, no matter what imperfections you think you have.”
“Mhm. You’re his person, Lev, and he wouldn’t discard you for anything.”
Sniffling, he craned his head to the side, resting it against my stomach. “O-Okay…”
“And you’ve got us, your friends. Though I’m kind of a lot and Simon is too, but Thorne and Liam are pretty level-headed. Matt, too, when he wants to be. Oh, and you have Mercy and Prince!”
Simon scoffed. “The fuck you mean I’m a lot?”
