silent

59

• AMALIA •

I wake up wrapped up so tightly I can barely move.

     Not that I want to. It's comfortable.

     I shuffle to the side a little bit, my head dropping onto my fathers chest. I glance up at him, asleep, as he rubs my back, taking care of me even in slumber.

I scoot closer to him, imagining that I look like a fish out of water while I struggle to wriggle my arms out of the blanket.

     He must feel me shuffling, because my dads eyes open a little bit. He smiles at me, then leans down and kisses my cheek. "Good morning, baby." He says.

     "M-morning."

     He looks really out of place and silly under my pink, polka dot sheets. But he doesn't seem to mind the contrast with his mean exterior; it doesn't matter how scary he looks. He's the best dad ever.

He's about to say something when his phone begins to ring. He grabs it off the bedside table and slides his thumb over the screen before putting the phone up to his ear, all the while idly running his fingers through my hair.

"Okay." He says after a moment, "I'll be there soon."

     I frown, hoping he plans to take me with him, wherever he's going. But when he looks down at me with a sorry expression, I realise that that isn't the case. He says goodbye to whoever's on the other side of the line before setting his phone back down. "That was your grandma, she said Xander can come home today. I'm gonna go get him."

"C-can I come?" I ask, although I already know the answer.

"No, baby. You need to stay here."

My lips tilt downwards. His expression softens a little bit. He sits up, then lifts me onto his lap, holding me gently. He kisses my cheek and begins to rub my back, all the while I'm still wrapped up in the blanket.

"Who do you wanna stay with while I'm gone?" He asks me.

"I—I wanna stay in here."

"Okay. Who with?"

"Myself."

"I told you, Amalia." He says, letting out a small sigh. "Someone's gonna be with you at all times. Who do you want?"

"Mason." I say after a few moments.

"Alright." He says quietly. He moves me to the spot beside him, then tucks me under another set of covers before standing. "I'll be back in just a second, okay? I'll only be a minute."

     I nod, and he rushes out of the room. Half a minute later he returns with my older brother, who has a soft smile on his face.

     My dad returns to my side, leaning down to plant a kiss on my cheek. "I'll be back soon, baby." He promises.

     He doesn't give me a chance to respond before he's back out of the door. I look over at Mason, who's sliding beside me onto the bed, a soft expression on his face.

     "Hey, Ammy." He says.

     "H-hi."

     "Are you okay?"

     I nod. "Been worse."

     His lips tilt up into an amused grin. "Yeah?"

     "Yeah."

     He wraps an arm around me, and I scoot up to lay my head on his shoulder. He hugs me close to him, and a part of me has to admit that it still feels a little bit strange. I never thought Mason would ever touch me, let alone give me a cuddle.

It's nice though.

He plants a kiss in my hair. "Do you want me to get you anything? Some breakfast? Water?"

"C-can I have some water please?"

     "Okay, I'll go get it for you." He sets me aside and stands, and he's halfway toward the door when he turns back. "Fuck, I'm not supposed to leave you alone."

     "I can stay by myself." I claim. He tilts his head, then walks back over toward me, lifting me up into his arms without warning, still in my cocooned blanket.

     "Mason." I whine. He doesn't respond, only rubs my back as he makes his way out of the room. He walks down the hallway and down the stairs, keeping his free hand on the rail so he can be more careful while he descends the steps.

     He takes me into the kitchen, and I lay my head on his shoulder, looking up when I hear: "what the fuck?"

     Grayson is sitting by the counter. He drops his spoon into his bowl of cereal, making milk splash up.

I smile and wave at him.

He jumps off his stool and rushes over, taking me from Mason swiftly. He holds me just as easily as everyone else does, and I begin to wonder if I'm really that light, or if they're all just strong. Part of me knows it's the former.

Grayson holds onto me tightly. "How long has she been back?" He asks Mason while hugging me even closer to him.

"Since last night." He replies.

"And why did no one decide to tell me?" Grayson asks, raising his voice a little. I frown and wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him. He hugs me back immediately, spinning around a little bit so he's facing away from Mason.

"Are you okay?" Grayson asks quietly. I nod, playing with the hair on the back of his head. He kisses my cheek after letting out a relieved breath.

I peer over his shoulder as Mason grabs a water from the fridge. He smiles at me, and I smile back.

     "Why don't we go into the living room?" Mason suggests.

     "Yeah, okay." Grayson replies.

     He carries me into the living room, and Mason follows. Grayson sits down on the couch, setting me beside him and wrapping an arm around me.

     Mason undoes the cap on the water bottle before passing it to me. He sits on my other side, then adjusts my blanket so it's not as tight around me and more comfy.

     Mason plants a kiss in my hair. I lean onto him.

• MASON •

We watch TV for an hour or so, but when Amalia leans almost all of her weight on me, I look down to find that she's asleep.

Grayson glances over at me, then follows my gaze. His eyes soften when he sees Amalia.

     "I'm gonna take her back up to bed." I tell him quietly. I stand as he nods, then put one hand under her back and the other under her neck. I lift her up, then walk out of the room.

I make my way up the stairs, then back to her bedroom. She stirs a little as I place her back on the mattress, but then stops, smushing her little face into the pillow. I smile and lean down, kissing her cheek before rounding the bed and sitting beside her.

     Petal—who I forgot before—wakes up and trots over to me, plopping herself down on my lap. I stroke her back as she lays down, her front paws outstretched in front of her.

     I look at my baby sister and let out a small breath, coated thickly with relief. Thank the heavens she's okay.