Aeris
The pancake was warm. Fluffy. I didn't even finish it, but just eating something solid without flinching felt like a win.
The boys moved around the kitchen like they'd done it a thousand times before — cooking, cleaning, bickering in soft voices.
And for a few minutes, I let myself believe this was real.
That I was just… here.
Not hunted. Not hurt. Just here.
Until I said the words out loud.
"Shouldn't I be in school?"
The room froze.
I hadn't meant to say it. It slipped out. The ghost of routine knocking on the back door of my mind.
Silas looked at me over the edge of a coffee mug, brows raised.
Kade leaned against the counter, jaw ticking once.
Ronan — of course — was the one who spoke.
"You're not going back. Not yet."
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You're not ready."
"That's not your decision," I snapped. "People will notice I'm gone. Teachers. Students. My uncle—"
My breath caught.
And everything inside me went cold.
My uncle.
He'd wake up.
See my room empty.
He'd come looking.
The house. The school. The woods.
He'll find me.
My heart thundered, loud and erratic. My fingers went numb. The air in my lungs evaporated.
Suddenly the kitchen felt too small. Too close. The light too bright.
My vision blurred at the edges.
"No, no, no—" I whispered.
I stumbled back from the table, bumping into the chair, knocking it sideways. My knees gave out.
Arms reached for me, but I swatted them away.
"Don't—don't touch me—he'll find me—he always does—"
My chest seized. My throat closed. I gasped, but nothing came in.
"Aeris," Ronan said, voice low and sharp. "You're safe. Breathe. Just breathe."
"I can't—I can't—"
Silas dropped beside me. "You're not there. You're not with him. Look at me. Look at me."
I couldn't.
The memories slammed into me like waves — the basement, the belt, his breath in my ear.
I was drowning.
And then —
Strong arms lifted me.
Kade.
His scent hit me first — like smoke and forest air and something solid. Real.
He didn't say a word.
Just pulled me into his chest and held me there, firm and unyielding.
And suddenly, I wasn't falling anymore.
I was grounded.
Anchored.
His hand cradled the back of my head. His other arm circled my waist, holding me like I was something precious. Breakable — but not broken.
Silas grabbed one of my hands.
Ronan knelt on the other side, wrapping his fingers around mine.
The panic didn't vanish.
But it cracked.
Like their touch was light leaking in through every fracture.
"I can't go back," I whispered, tears burning behind my eyes. "I can't ever go back."
"You won't," Kade said into my hair.
Silas squeezed my hand. "We swear it."
Ronan's voice was quiet but certain. "He'll never touch you again."
And for the first time…
I believed them.