Never let her go

Chapter 56

Lucy POV

“Don’t be nervous, Lulu.” Mike said as I laid down with a huff. “It’s going to be great.”

“I guess.” I sighed, staring at my ceiling. “I don’t like to be around too many people. You know that.”

“I do.” Mike said. “I’m sure Liam would agree if you wanted to stay home a little longer.”

“No, I will go.” I said as I sat up carefully.

My ribs were healing nicely, but I still had to be careful with my movements. Nate came by yesterday and told me I could go to school. I was really excited and really nervous. There are going to be a lot of people, and I’m not used to it. The school back in my old town was small and I knew most of the people that went there. The new school is huge, and I don’t know anyone except my brothers, Aiden, and Riley.

“I am going to miss you, Lucy.” Mike said quietly, staring through the window.

“I’ll miss you too, Mike.” I said quietly. “But we will see each other all the time. I promise.”

Mike turned to look at me. The look in his eyes made me shiver. It wasn’t an emotion I’ve never seen in his eyes before.

My breath got caught in my throat. The temperature in the room increased and everything around us stilled.

I could only hear the erratic beating of my heart.

Mike opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted when the door to my room opened.

I blinked and moved my gaze from Mike to my brother.

“What is going on?” Theo asked, staring at Mike with a frown on his face.

“We were talking about school.” Mike answered. “She is nervous.”

Theo’s eyes moved to me. “Why, Sunshine?”

“There will be a lot of people.” I said quietly.

Theo walked to the bed, sitting next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.

“Nobody will touch you.” he whispered. “Noah and I will be there all the time.”

“I know.” I said, looking up and smiling at him.

“When is your plane leaving, Mike?” Theo asked, looking up at Mike.

“At 6 pm.” Mike answered, looking at me. “I should go get ready soon.”

My heart clenched. I will miss him terribly. It has been wonderful having him here for the past three weeks. We’ve watched a lot of movies together, played board games and talked. I’ve gotten so used to having him around that I don’t know what I will do once he leaves.

“Ethan, Aiden, and Riley are coming soon.” Theo told us. “They want to say goodbye to you, Mike.”

Mike liked Aiden and Riley a lot. Ethan, not so much, and the feelings were mutual. Ethan and Mike usually glared at each other. I didn’t know why, and Mike never said anything. I decided not to pry. If Mike wanted to tell me, he would.

“I’m glad.” Mike smiled. “It will be nice to see them before I go.”

Theo nodded, looking back at me. He moved a strand of my hair from my face.

“Are you in pain?” Theo asked me.

“I’m okay.” I smiled. “I don’t think I will need painkillers anymore.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Theo smiled and stood up. “Let’s go eat breakfast.”

Theo helped me up, and Mike followed us downstairs.

“My Sunshine!” Noah exclaimed as soon as we entered the kitchen.

He ran to me, pulling me to his chest. “I missed you.”

“It’s been an hour since we woke up, Noah.” I chuckled. “You slept in my room. When did you have time to start missing me?”

“I always miss you.” Noah said, letting me go and walking back to the table. “I have 10 years to catch up on.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. I sat down at the table and put a piece of toast on my plate.

“How did you sleep, love?” Liam asked me.

“Good.” I looked up at him and smiled. “I would like to talk to Nate and ask him if I could stop taking the pills completely.”

For the last couple of days, I managed to sleep through the night without the pills. I didn’t have any nightmares, and I woke up rested.

“That is awesome, honey.” Ezra smiled at me, placing the plate filled with scrambled eggs on the table.

“I’m proud of you, Lulu.” Mike whispered in my ear.

I turned to my left and smiled at him. His warm gaze made me shiver again.

What is going on with me?

“Are you ready for Monday, love?” Liam asked, pulling me out of my confusing thoughts.

“I am.” I said, moving my gaze from Mike to Liam. “I am nervous, though.”

“That is understandable, honey.” Ezra smiled, sitting down at the table. “But don’t worry, you have all of us to help you through it.”

Theo wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I leaned on him.

“I know.” I said with a small smile. “I love you, guys.”

“We love you too, Sunshine.” Noah smiled at me.

My eyes started filling with tears, and I looked up, trying to stop them from falling on my cheeks. They were happy tears, but I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to laugh. I’ve done enough crying.

“Did you look into doctor Lucas?” I asked Liam and Ezra.

Lucas Robins was my new psychiatrist. Nate recommended him, but told me he could find a female psychiatrist if I had trouble talking to a man. I thought about it and decided it didn’t matter. His gender didn't bother me as long as he was a good doctor and a good person. He wanted to help me, not hurt me.

Of course, my brothers had to do their own research before they allowed me to start therapy with him.

“We did.” Liam nodded, sipping his coffee. “We approve of him. I called him and he said he could see you on Friday after school. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes.” I smiled.

I was nervous about starting therapy, but I knew I needed to talk to someone about it. I started to notice that I was more scared and anxious than I’ve been before. I needed to do something about it before it got worse.

“You know that you can talk to us as well?” Theo said softly.

Liam and Ezra talked to him and Noah about starting therapy as well, but they weren’t interested. They said that they would come to Liam or Ezra if they felt that they needed it. Theo was nervous about me talking to an unknown man, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

Theo is right. I could talk to them about it. I could talk to them about everything. But what happened was traumatic for them too, and I didn’t want to add to their pain. I needed someone who hadn’t been through this. I needed someone who I wouldn’t hurt with my stories.

“I know, Theo.” I said, smiling at him. “I will always come to you with every problem that I’m having. Don’t worry.”

He smiled, leaning in and kissing my forehead.

“Come on, kids, eat up.” Ezra said. “Ethan, Aiden, and Riley will be here soon and, Dylan is picking you guys up in an hour. He is taking you all for ice cream, and then you are taking Mike to the airport.”

I looked at Mike and took his hand in mine. I will miss him terribly.