Bombshells ~ Complete

Chapter Twenty-Four: Stampede

Xavier and Gabriel had done an amazing job at telling everyone everything. No one could look Kas in the eyes when we walked into the kitchen for an ice-pack and food.

Kas looked at the floor, disappointed with being treated differently.

This was the very thing she wanted to avoid.

I took the frozen peas out of the freezer and passed them to her, which she gratefully snatched. She took the first bag to her right side, and the second to her left.

I couldn't help but wince at her moan of relief.

Ethan and Jaydon looked at each other with wide eyes before looking down at the counter again. The silence was both irritating and unnerving. The boys were usually filled to the brim with chatter or curses, but now there was nothing to be said.

They didn't know what to say or do to make this better.

"How many broken?" Kade asked, out of the blue. Kas opened her eyes and looked at him. She shrugged and looked at me, before turning back to him.

"Ariel says three, but I think that I'm being doused in flames. She also thinks some are fractured." Kas groaned, and put her head back on the counter. She let out another, softer, groan of pain.

I pat her shoulder for a second or two, before grabbing some noodles so I could make dinner for everyone.
Kade turned to me in shock.

"You can tell the difference between broken ribs and fractured ribs?" He asked. I nodded my head, while biting my lip.

I mean, it wasn't an exact science without an x-ray but I was usually spot on. I had to deal with my own injuries since childhood, and father's favorite was kicking. Or just breaking bones in general. If those broken bones came from kicking, it was just a double win. For him, at least.

"Is it because of Callie?" Lucas asked softly. I hadn't even noticed him there.
Now, the more important question.

Who the heck was Callie?

Jaydon could obviously tell I was confused, because he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"The woman who abused you after your mother died?" He made it sound like a question, but he was actually saving my skin. I awed silently, then thanked God that he had put Jaydon on the earth for me.

"I guess so. That and I've been bullied most of my life." I busied myself around the kitchen, fixing enough for ten people. Harder than it sounds when eight of said people eat like pigs. Very big pigs. With black holes for stomachs.

"For what?" Kade asked, sounding aghast. Thank goodness I distracted them from that particular topic. That topic being a woman who supposedly abused me that never existed.

"Being stupid. Being small. It's mostly because I don't stand up for myself." I muttered, stirring the pot of noodles. Just because I was glad I distracted them didn't mean I liked the particular topic that we were on. Bullying was my torture that wasn't at my house.

My father would only laugh when I was younger and complained to my mom about it. She would pat me on the cheek and say that it could be worse.

I found that out the hard way.

"You're not stupid. You know how many languages? Seven? Not including English or ASL. And, yeah, you're small but that doesn't mean they can just pick on you. Why don't you stand up for yourself?" Kade shouted, the sound echoing in the kitchen.

My shoulders slumped.

"Everyone's so much bigger than me. And I've never been taught how to stand up for myself, much less had someone do it for me." I muttered, checking if the noodles were ready. They were. I poured them into the strainer while the boys were silent and Kas was snoring. She had fallen asleep on the counter.

Sounded about right.

"Your dad's never taught you how to throw a punch?" Ethan asked. I quickly shook my head, before flying around the kitchen to get everything set up. The four plates that I could hold at once were taken away from me. I blinked up at Zander, who was stacking more plates on top of the four I managed to get down.

"So, he left you completely defenseless against bigger kids your whole life?" Zander asked. I started counting out napkins but nodded.

Here's your chance to tell them. Tell them everything.

"My dad's a big fan of submissive women." I said, my eyes downcast. The boys all looked at each other, perplexion flashing across their eyes.

"Mom is the farthest thing from submissive in the world. I mean, she built and now runs the (just recently named) biggest and most influential business in the world." Nathaniel laughed.

I laughed along, smiling at the thought of Lila being a business woman. She seemed so soft whenever she was around me. I couldn't imagine her being mean to anyone, much less hostile takeovers.

I put all the forks and knives I had pulled out, down.

"Then my father's in for a nasty surprise." I chuckled. Jaydon then spoke, which was unusual for him.

Sure, he wasn't shy around me or Kas or his brothers, but he didn't usually have much to say. He kinda kept all his thoughts to himself. I didn't think it was healthy for his mental state, but who was I to talk about a healthy mental state?

"How are you dealing with everything? I know you freaked at the wedding, but you seem better now. Is that an act or is it real?" He asked softly. The whole room turned to look at me questioningly.

I glared at Jaydon as I finished pulling out all the glasses. Zander had already placed all the plates.

The only reason they would be eating like civil human beings for the next three weeks would be because I would be cooking for them. If I didn't they would eat like teenagers. The thought made me shudder.

"I don't know. I think I haven't really had time to grieve for what I've lost. And it makes me feel bad to want to grieve in light of all that I have gained." I said softly, looking at everyone in the room.

They all looked at me with guilty expressions, like they thought that they were the ones keeping me from grieving. Sure, I suppose they actually were, but it was more like my brain stopped me from grieving. I didn't know why it did that.

"Is it time to eat yet?" Kas moaned in pain. I winced at the pain in her voice.

Ethan helped her from the chair she was sitting in, and helped her sit down at the table. Where she promptly put her head right back down and went back to groaning in pain.

None of us judged.

"Who wants spaghetti?" I asked with a laugh.

That's when the stampede started.