Never let her go

Chapter 17

Liam POV

My eyes snapped to Lucy in the rearview mirror.

Theo was pulling her to him, feeling her forehead and placing her head on his chest. Ezra turned around to look at her.

"She is burning up." Theo mumbled worriedly.

"Lucy, honey, when did you get sick?" Ezra asked her.

"I don't know." she mumbled. "This morning, I think. But it's just a cold, nothing to worry about."

"Wrong." Theo grunted. "Plenty to worry about. We have to get you to a doctor."

Lucy sat up and leaned back in her seat. "No, it's okay. I don't need a doctor. I've had colds before, Theo."

"Still, I think you should see a doctor." Theo argued.

"Let's get you home first, okay Lucy?" I said, glancing back at her. "If you don't feel better by tomorrow, I will call Nate."

Theo mumbled something under his breath and grabbed Lucy's hand.

"Who is Nate?" she asked me.

"My friend." I said. "He is a doctor. He helped us with the DNA results."

"Okay." Lucy nodded. "But I will be okay tomorrow. You won't need to call him."

I smiled at her and focused on the road.

We decided to fly back to Chicago. We didn't want to put Lucy through a long drive back home. There will be plenty of time to drive around the country together. Now, we just need to get our sister home.

Our private plane was already waiting for us. I arranged for my car to be transported tomorrow. There will be a car waiting for us at O'Hare when we land.

"Liam." Lucy called me quietly.

"Yeah, love?" I looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"Can I ask you something?" she mumbled, staring through the window.

The four of us looked at her worriedly.

"Of course, Lucy." I nodded. "You can ask me anything."

"I've wanted to ask you since the day you told me that you are my brothers." she said, taking a deep breath. "I was afraid of the answer because I think I already knew it."

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Where is dad?" she asked quietly.

I gulped and looked at Ezra. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"He died, love." I said slowly.

I wanted to talk to her about our dad. I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want to do it in the middle of the diner. I wanted to do it in the privacy of our home.

"How did he die?" she asked, her voice trembling.

I saw Noah wrapping his arms around her.

"Heart attack." I answered. "Two years ago."

She nodded and leaned on Noah. "I am so sorry."

"He loved you very much, Lucy." Ezra said. "He would be so happy to have you back home. Before he died, we promised him that we would find you. I am so glad we fulfilled that promise."

"I am so glad you did too." she smiled.

"Have you ever been on a plane, Sunshine?" Noah asked her, running his hand through her hair.

"No." she shook her head.

"Well, you are going to have an amazing time." Noah smiled at her.

_______________

Theo POV

We were up in the air and Lucy was sleeping with her head on my lap and her legs on Noah's.

I was worried as fuck. Why is she sick? What if it is not a cold? What if something happens to her? What if I can't help her? I don't want her to be sick. I don't want her to be in pain. I would take it all away if I could.

"Stop it." Noah said quietly.

I looked at him and furrowed my eyebrows.

"I can practically hear your thoughts." Noah sighed. "She will be okay, Theo. It's a fever. We've had plenty of those and we are fine."

"I know that you are worried too." I said, looking back down at Lucy.

"I'm trying not to be." Noah mumbled. "She will get sick sometimes. She will get into trouble sometimes. We can't protect her from everything, Theo."

"I can." I grunted stubbornly.

Of course I can protect her. I will do everything to keep her safe.

Noah sighed. "I know you want to, Theo. I do too. Just the thought of something happening to her makes me want to throw up. But there will be times when we won't be able to stop something bad from happening. A cold, for example. But we will be there for her until it passes."

I ran my hand through her hair, trying to relax myself.

Noah is right. I know he is. But I'm having trouble accepting it. It goes against everything I am. I was always extremely protective of Noah and Lucy. I would do anything for them. How can I accept that there are things I can't protect them from? I will have to find a way because locking people under a glass bubble isn't legal. Although I would do it in a heartbeat if it meant that they would be safe.

Three hours later, we were in a car, heading home.

Lucy was awake, sitting next to me and looking through the window in awe.

"It's so pretty." she mumbled.

"We will go sightseeing when you get over your cold." Ezra told her.

She looked at him with a big smile on her face. "I can't wait."

I smiled at her and kissed her temple. She was still burning up.

Fuck.

"I can't believe I slept through my first plane ride." she mumbled.

"Don't worry." Noah told her. "There will be plenty of plane rides in the future. We will take you everywhere. We have so many vacation spots to catch up on with you."

"But first, we are taking you home." Ezra said sternly. "You are eating lunch, taking a paracetamol, and going to bed, little missy."

Lucy looked at Ezra and smiled. "Sure."

"Theo and I will give you a tour around the house tomorrow." Noah said. "I can't wait to show you the pool."

"You have a pool?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"It's not 'you', it's 'we'." I corrected her.

"We have a pool?" she asked again, smiling at me.

God, her smile makes me the happiest person on Earth.

"Yes, we do." Noah said, grinning.

"That's so cool." Lucy mumbled.

We pulled up the driveway and Lucy gasped.

"I remember this place." she said, her eyes wide.

"Of course you do, love." Liam said, turning the car engine off. "This is your home, Lucy."