She says that, but I’ve been sleeping in my room all alone this whole time. Kimber, too. Ben as well. Amelia and Henry share a room that’s connected to their parents with a huge Jack and Jill bathroom. I get it though. Tess knows that she’s fixed the security system, that there are extra cameras, extra guards, police officers, all of that. Logically, she understands the chances of Parrish going missing again are slim to none.
But still, she had one kid disappear for fourteen years and another for almost three weeks.
It makes sense that she’d be paranoid.
“I won’t be alone, not even for a second,” Parrish assures her, digging his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “Deal?”
“Deal,” Tess sighs, rubbing at her temples. “It’s nearly five in the morning; I know you’re all excited to see each other, but Parrish needs his sleep.” She glances at me. “Dakota, you should get to bed as well.”
“Okay.” It’s the only word I can get out. The thought of going back to my room all by myself is horrifying. I want to stay here. Maybe I should just sleep on the floor, too? I just won’t mention that to Tess right now.
She retreats reluctantly as Paul takes her by the arm, smiling over at his son.
“I’m so happy to have you home,” he says, and Parrish nods, his gaze impossible to read. He waits for them to move down the hall toward their own bedroom before creeping forward and very carefully closing the door until it snicks shut.
He turns around with his back pressed against it.
“She’s going to be pissed if she sees you’ve closed it again,” Chasm warns, standing up from the chair and moving into the bathroom. I can hear him opening the closet door. When he comes back, his arms are piled with fresh bedding.
“Yeah, well,” Parrish offers with a tired sigh. “I just need a minute. I understand where she’s coming from, but I want some space and privacy. Is that too much to ask?”
Maxx slips GG back into his cage as I stand up and Parrish casts me an annoyed look.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asks, and I cock a brow.
“Um, do you think I could get away with sleeping on the floor, too?”
Parrish laughs, pushing off the door to come around the bed. He stands in front of me and crosses his arms.
“No. You’ll sleep in the bed.” He points at it. “With me.”
“Uh,” Chas starts, exchanging a look with me. Parrish notices, and his face tightens up. “Tess will panic.”
“Not if we do it right.” Parrish reaches out and takes my arms in his hands. His gaze is laced with equal parts possession and affection. I imagine that I’m looking at him the same way. I can’t help it: I think of him as mine. Not Chasm’s or Maxx’s, not Tess’ or Paul’s. Mine. “Back-to-back. Nothing sexual.”
“She knows Chasm and I have been … intimate, so I guess that could work,” I muse, and Parrish’s brow crinkles.
“Why the fuck does she know that?” Parrish demands, and Chas sighs, coming over to stand beside his friend. The two of them stare at each other in silent communication before Chasm murmurs something in Korean, and Parrish cringes.
“Meaning …?” I prompt as Maxx joins us, standing on the opposite side of the bed.
“He told him how the cops found the condom,” he offers up, and I cringe slightly. Poor Chas. He had to put up with a lot of shit that had nothing to do with him at all. He handled it well and without complaint, too.
“So yeah, I got my ass chewed out by Tess over your sexual encounter with your stepsister.” Chas reaches up to undo his tie, and I step forward automatically to help him. Parrish notices and Chasm very carefully pushes my hands away. “We did that for you.”
“I understand that,” Parrish whispers, sighing again. “But I have a right to be jealous, don’t I? Just let me feel this way for a while.”
Maxx studies his friends for a minute and then turns to me.
“I checked your phone for you: no messages.”
I nod; I don’t expect any until later tomorrow. My heart sinks, but I clamp down on the feeling as a yawn overtakes me. I’m exhausted; we’re all exhausted.
“Let’s get settled,” I suggest gently, hoping to break the tension, “and we can discuss everything that happened on both ends. We need to be on the same page.”
Parrish gives me a look.
“Yeah, but only if you sleep in my bed. Otherwise, I’m not listening.” He reaches past me to pull down the covers and then stares at his sheets, lifting his eyes up to Maxx and then looking over at Chasm. “You didn’t fuck in my bed, did you?”
“No,” Maxx says firmly, but with an edge of annoyance on his face. “We almost did, considering you had about an hour before your throat got slit. But we moved into Dakota’s room.”
