Page 20 of Their Scarred Mate
“Come on, baby girl.Work is waiting for us.”
“What, now?I thought we were just seeing...”
“Lousy place for sightseeing.”Tanya burst out laughing.“It has been closed for a while, and I want to put my personal touch on it before opening.Hope you don’t mind cleaning, because today we’ll have lots to do.”
She didn’t, actually.Invigorated by a good night’s sleep, she felt better than she had in years.And who knew?Maybe she’d actually get some sleep in her own house tonight, instead of the neighbors’.
Room after room, it was all empty and deserted.Tanya explained that the twins had gone to pick up everything needed to get it up and running, but they needed to clean it thoroughly first.
So, on they went, cleaning and scrubbing until the place was spotless.And not a moment too soon, as the horn of a truck sounded in the front and suddenly the place was bursting with activity.
Seeing the twins carrying heavy weights made her pause, and the first drop of uneasiness crept in.They were in exceptionally good shape, even she could see that, but how on earth could they carry all of that alone?
But then she saw them pairing up to carry the furniture and she released the breath she was holding.They were helping one another.Of course they were.
By the end of the day, the gym was almost ready to open.They decided to stop for the day and went to the local dinner to eat some burgers.And that’s when the uneasiness crept in again.Obviously, the cousins were close.Their bantering and bickering were off the charts, making her feel like a third wheel, an outsider.But when she found herself sitting between the window and Declan, her breathing became erratic.He was close.Too close for her comfort.
“Hey, baby girl.You okay?”
Blessed Tanya.She felt something was off and came to her rescue.Lifting her eyes from her gloved hands, she looked at Tanya and realized they were all looking at her.Being in the spotlight made her hyperventilate again, her panicked eyes never leaving Tanya’s.
“Are you okay, little one?”frowning, Declan tried to reassure her by putting his hands on top of hers, but that made her hyperventilate even more.
“Out.You need fresh air!”
How she left the corner and found herself outside, she would never know, but Tanya was beside her, resolutely taking away her scarf and using a magazine as a fan.The twins were two steps behind them, worry in their faces.
“You okay, baby girl?”
“Yes...”she croaked.“It was ...it’s ...warm in there.”
“And you’ve dressed as if you were in Alaska.Take off the scarf and the gloves, baby girl, it’s not that cold.”
Ah, but the scarf and the gloves were part of her armor.She couldn’t take them away.Then they’d all see the blood, the dirt underneath...
****
“Ithink we’ve doneenough for today, don’t you think?”said Tanya, conversationally.And through the mind-link:“Leave.She’s already feeling overwhelmed.”
“She needs us,”growled the twins.
“She needs space.She needs to get out of the hole her mind crept to and then she’ll return to us.”
They retreated two steps, but continued to hover over them, until Freya seemed reasonably okay to return inside.This time, she sat nearer to the door, and her eyes never left her plate.No one ate much after that, and after a while, they went home.
Freya locked herself in her house and didn’t come out for the rest of the day.
