Silence filled the room for a beat.
Then sudden movement drew my eyes back around just in time to see Ethan’s fist flying at Alec’s head.
Twenty-Six
We all knew Alec was lethal and could’ve stopped Ethan’s punch from landing, but he just stood there and took it. The muscles in Ethan’s arms and back bunched as he delivered the blow. Alec’s head snapped to the side, and he stumbled a little, catching himself on the edge of the island.
My hands flew to my mouth in shock. Tyler and Josh sprang into action, getting between the two cousins. Tyler pressed both palms flat against Alec’s chest, and Josh used his ability, floating Ethan a couple of inches off the ground to drag him back.
“I’m not gonna hit him back.” Alec held his arms out at his sides, and Tyler lowered his hands. “I’m not gonna hit any of you back. If that’s what you need to feel better, I’ll let you all have a free hit.”
“Would you stop being a fucking martyr?” Josh rolled his eyes, releasing Ethan once it became clear the big guy wasn’t struggling either.
“I didn’t punch you to make myself feel better.” Ethan frowned, his voice hard. “I did it because what you did was low, and there need to be consequences for treating our Vital like shit.”
He pointed at me as if to illustrate his point. I lowered my hands from my mouth to my chest. I didn’t like the violence, but I could appreciate the sentiment. They were standing up for me—defending my honor. It was positively chivalrous, and I was beyond relieved they weren’t upset with me, that they weren’t judging me.
“May I speak?” Alec asked in a quiet, serious voice, finally looking directly at me.
I sighed and made a “whatever” gesture, then turned back to face the windows, having trouble holding his intense gaze. His footsteps approached, but then he just stood there, not saying anything.
Frustration built inside me, creasing my brow and making my heart rate speed up. I whipped around, ready to demand what the hell he wanted to say.
“I’m sorry!” he blurted out before I’d even opened my mouth.
I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. He knew how much he’d hurt me. He’d had plenty of opportunities to apologize. I’d all but given up on it.
“You’re sorry?” My tone suggested it wasn’t good enough. Because it wasn’t.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I know I should have said it sooner, but I just didn’t know how. I tried so many times, but something would interrupt, or I would realize what I was about to say just wasn’t . . . enough. I didn’t know how to make sure you understood that I meant it. That I fully recognize how much I fucked up.”
His shoulders hunched forward, and his eyes darted between mine, pleading, refusing to release me.
I crossed my arms and let him fill the silence.
“I’m sorry I rejected you. I’m sorry I made you feel worthless.” He looked disgusted at the mention of that word. “I’m sorry I blamed you for something that was all on me. I’m sorry I suggested that the fact we saved all those people was somehow a bad thing. I’m sorry I said I hated you.”
His voice broke a little at the end, and the lump returned to my own throat. I was already on edge, and here was the strongest, hardest man I’d ever encountered getting emotional. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was finally saying what I’d needed to hear from him since that night. Nothing to do with the fact that I was maybe starting to believe him. At least that’s what I was trying to convince myself of.
“That’s what I’m most sorry about, Evie.” At the sound of my childhood nickname, the tears spilled over, and I had to take a shuddering breath. “Because it’s not true. It couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s me that I hate.”
Tears tracked down my face, but I was also confused. Why was he saying he hated himself?
“My ability makes people literally recoil from me. It causes so much pain. And I’ve been living with that since I was twelve. It’s who I am, and I know I can’t change it, but I hate it. Your mere presence makes the one thing I hate about myself amplified exponentially. I blamed you for that when I should know better than anyone that you can’t control that. It just is what it is. I took my own fucked-up feelings about myself and projected them onto you.”
He took a step closer, his hands in front of him, palms turned up. We were both breathing a little hard, both trying to hold back the tears. He was doing better than I was. His eyes were red and misty, but my tears were already soaking the collar of my hoodie.
“I’m so, so sorry.”
I was finding it really hard not to believe him. The layers of defensive anger I’d built up were slowly crumbling, torn down by the sincerity in his face and words.
And then he delivered the final blow.
“Because the truth is”—he took a deep breath—“I don’t hate you at all, Evelyn. I fucking love you.”
I definitely was not expecting that. My arms dropped to my sides as my jaw unhinged. The tears were still trickling down my cheeks, but I didn’t even know why anymore. I was frozen to the spot, no idea how to react.
I chanced a quick glance in the direction of the table. Tyler was wearing a look very similar to mine—shocked. Ethan looked surprised too, but he was also smiling a little, the dimples only just appearing. Josh had a smug grin on his face, suggesting he wasn’t surprised at all. Naturally . . .
Alec didn’t bother to check the others’ reactions. His focus was all on me.
“I’ve loved you since the day you were born and we went to the hospital to meet you and my mom insisted I hold you. I love you with that same protective, nurturing feeling I had toward you when we were kids. I love you in that uniquely fucked-up, impossible-to-describe way that all Variants love their Vitals—because I can’t help that one. I love you for making Ethan feel like he has a family again. I love you for drawing Josh out of his books and making him rejoin the real world. I love you for making Tyler realize he doesn’t have to be the strong one all the time.
“I tried to fight it—riled against it. But then I saw how fucking smart you are, and I watched you repeatedly get this close”—he held his thumb and forefinger very close together between our faces—“to finding me several times before I could stop it. I watched you show up and fall into this world like you belong here—because you do. I watched you as you embraced the news that you’re not only a Variant but a Vital. And I watched you constantly push every damn button I have. I realized you’re strong. Much stronger than I ever gave you credit for. And I loved every fucking minute of it, even while I was constantly getting frustrated and pissed off. I loved it because I was finally around you all the time. And I love you.”
“Stop saying that.” Something warm and fuzzy—but also incredibly confusing—was igniting in my chest.
“I can’t.” He chuckled darkly and looked up to the ceiling. “It’s out now. There’s no putting it back in.”
“I don’t want you to put it back in,” I replied as Ethan chuckled. His mind was always in the gutter, but I ignored him. “I just don’t understand. I’m . . . what does this mean? What do you want?”
That was the main issue—what the hell did he want from me? Did he expect us to just start acting like a couple? Going on dates? Cuddling on the couch?
“I want you to forgive me. And I know it won’t be this easy—that’s why I haven’t tried to make it right yet, because I didn’t know what I could possibly do or say to atone—but at least it’s all out there now. It’s a start.”
He stopped speaking and just stared at me, the tattoos running up and down his arms projecting the tough guy exterior that completely contrasted with the vulnerable look on his face.
“It’s a start,” I conceded in a low voice. Because it was. He had at least admitted he was an asshole and apologized for it.
He breathed a massive sigh of relief and nodded. “OK. I’m just going to . . . go. For a little while.”
I frowned at him. H
e was leaving?
“I’m not running away,” he rushed out, holding up his hands as if approaching a wild animal. As though I was the one who might bolt at any moment. “I’m just going for a walk, and I’m coming right back. Not running away. Just giving you some space. OK?”
He wasn’t actually leaving. Not this time. I nodded, and he turned around, finally releasing me from his intense stare, and walked toward the front of the house.
I released a massive breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Then I turned to Tyler. If he was determined to break every barrier between us, if he felt entitled to know what was between me and Alec, then I felt no qualms about asking him to use his ability to give me some clarity.
“Was he telling the truth?” I braced myself for a fight—for him tell me he had to toe a line between being truthful and betraying others’ privacy. But he didn’t. He smiled and leaned on the table, staring after Alec, his posture relaxed.
“Alec can be hard to read sometimes.” He kept his eyes trained on the middle distance. “He’s so conflicted about himself, his place in the world, his feelings about it all, that often, even when I detect truth in what he’s saying, it’s laced with doubt. But, Eve”—finally he turned his eyes to me—“I have never heard him sound so sure of anything in my life. I’ve never sensed more truth coming off him than I did just then.”
I let his words sink in for a moment. “Still doesn’t excuse the way he treated me.”
“No, it doesn’t.” The way Tyler pressed his lips together, a frown pulling at his eyebrows, told me he’d be having another chat with Alec. “But he is sorry and he does love you. That much you can be sure of.”
I nodded and sighed. I didn’t know what to say. In true Alec fashion, he’d dropped a massive bombshell and then promptly made his exit, leaving the rest of us to deal with the fallout. Only this time, I needed the space too.
Ethan used the stretching silence to bring the conversation full circle. “So, will you move in with your four boyfriends?”
He flashed me his dimples, obviously attempting to lift the mood, even though I could tell he was anxiously awaiting my answer.
“Yes.” I smiled. “I’ll move in with my four stalkers. I mean my four Bonded Variants. Tomato, tomato.” I waved a hand, but he whooped and lifted me clean off the ground, mashing his lips to mine and making me remember what we’d been up to earlier in Alec’s bed.
As soon as Ethan set me down, Josh enfolded me in one of his bone-crushing hugs. “Thank god,” he whispered into my hair. “I was already planning a roster so one of us could stay with you on campus every night. This is much more convenient.”
“Oh, well, I’m happy to make your stalking habit easier on you.” I chuckled as he released me.
“Come on.” Tyler pulled me over to the couch and tucked me into his side. “We need a break from the heavy stuff.”
He flicked through channels, making the news disappear until he found some shitty sitcom, and we all settled in.
Alec came back and sat in the empty spot next to me, taking my feet and putting them in his lap. Tyler’s hold on me tightened, and he placed a reassuring kiss on the top of my head. I decided to leave my feet in Alec’s lap. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his declarations, but he could have my feet for a little while. I was willing to give him that much.
Halfway into the third episode, Dot bounded into the room.
“What the fuck is this?” She put her hands on her hips, furious. “You assholes promised to tell me when she woke up, and I show up here to find you . . .” She gestured wildly to our various reclined states on the comfy couches. Ethan was snoring lightly, not in the least disturbed by her dramatic entrance.
“Sorry, Dot.” Tyler looked guilty. “We had some things to discuss. She’s fine, see?” He held up one of my wrists as proof.
“No, I don’t see.” She sniffed, turning her nose up. “I need a closer look.”
I peeled myself off the couch with a groan and went over to her. “I’m fine, Dot. I promise.”
She sprang forward and wrapped her arms around me. I held her for a long time, only pulling away when she did.
“I was so worried it had happened again,” she whispered, not looking at me.
“It nearly did.” I wasn’t going to lie to her. “But my guys got me out.”
She nodded, taking a few deep breaths.
Tyler and Alec went back to their computers, declaring break time over, and Dot joined me on the couch. We spent most of the day lazing around, watching movies and eating. Nina joined us not long after Dot, saying she was happy to see me well but not asking any questions.
By late afternoon we had cleaned the fridge out of leftovers, which gave Ethan an excuse to start making dinner from scratch. Tyler and Alec moved to stools at the island bench and opened some beers, chatting with him as he chopped things. I ended up in Josh’s lap, reveling in messing up his perfectly styled hair with my fingers.
When Lucian walked into the room, his suit crumpled and his tie hanging loose, shoulders hunched from the weight of his day, the mood in the room changed.
He stepped up to lean heavily on the island, palms flat on the cool stone, as Dot muted the TV.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” His quiet voice carried in the now silent room.
I’d never heard Lucian swear. I stood, moving to the opposite end of the island, my full focus on Lucian and whatever fresh hell he was about to rain down on us. Alec and Tyler’s postures were rigid in their seats, almost as if they were at attention.
“Lucian,” Tyler started, “we—”
“What the fuck were you idiots thinking?!” the older man cut across him, raising his voice. “That shit is all over the news, the senator hasn’t been seen since this morning, and now they’re starting to speculate that there’s some conspiracy in Melior Group to take her out. Not to mention the fact that you’ve exposed yourselves. Exposed Evelyn.”
He finally raised his head, looking mostly at the two older Variants in his employ but also casting his furious gaze to Ethan and Josh, who had joined me at the other end.
“We couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. All we knew was that Evie was in danger. We acted to protect her.” Alec kept his voice even.
“By bursting in there and causing a national incident, getting on the fucking news?” He gestured to the muted TV, slapping his hand down on the bench. “You should have told me and waited until we could get a stealth team down there to sort this out quietly.”
“With all due respect,” Tyler replied, “we reported it to you immediately, but we couldn’t wait. Every second we wasted could’ve been a second she didn’t have. Not to mention Josh happened to be in the city and got to her first. He has barely any training, and it was a stupid move, but he couldn’t have stopped himself any more than we could have. They were both in danger. We couldn’t wait.”
“You should have,” Lucian ground out between gritted teeth.
“As if you could have.” Frustration leaked into Alec’s voice. “If it had been Joyce, if it had been your Vital, you really think you could’ve waited?”
Lucian’s eyes went wide. He turned to me as I gasped, my hands tightening on the edge of the bench.
“Your . . .” I couldn’t get more than a single word out. The room felt as if it had tilted on its axis, and my grip on the bench was the only thing holding me upright. My mother was a Vital? My mother was Lucian’s Vital?
“Holy shit.” Josh laid a comforting hand on my shoulder, but my eyes were fixed on Lucian. “You didn’t know Lucian was Joyce’s Variant?”
“What?” I couldn’t seem to get my voice above a stunned whisper. “I didn’t even know my mother was a Vital.”
I tore my gaze away from Lucian’s to look at the guys. They all had varying degrees of shock and confusion on their faces. They thought I knew, but Lucian knew I didn’t. Another realization crawled into my mind, and I looked back at him, holding on to the bench tighter. My
knees were weak.
“Are you my father?” My voice sounded steady, but there was a tempest raging inside me, and I hoped I could hear his reply over the noise in my head.
“No!” He held a hand out, pleading. “Your mother and I met when you were already six months old. There’s no way . . . I would never have kept that from you.”
I released a tense breath, relief flooding through me. If Lucian were my father and had been keeping it from me this whole time, I don’t think I could have coped. And the implications of him being Ethan and Alec’s uncle . . . that would have made us cousins. The things we’d done were certainly not familial.
I scrunched up my nose in disgust, and when I looked up, both Ethan and Alec were wearing matching expressions, no doubt thinking about the things they’d done to my body.
Next to me Josh chuckled, and I rolled my eyes at him. Of course he was amused by it. Shit stirrer.
“How is it possible that my mother was a Vital and I had no idea?”
Lucian had been staring into space, but at my question he looked up, eyebrows raised. “Hmm? Oh, yes, she was . . .” He sighed deeply, running his hands through his salt-and-pepper hair in a move that reminded me of Tyler. “I think it’s time you and I had a long talk, Evelyn. There are things I haven’t said because I didn’t want to hurt you, and there are things I simply didn’t know if you knew or not. But in light of recent events . . . it’s all coming out now, and it won’t be long before your father puts two and two together, if he hasn’t already.”
“My father?” My back straightened, my hands closing into fists. If there was any topic my mother had avoided more than why we were on the run, it was the issue of my paternity. My heart kicked up a beat. Even as the vulnerable, young side of me that pined for a dad got excited, the grown-up, logical one reminded me there was a reason Lucian hadn’t told me yet.
“Yes. I think once I explain who he is, and what I suspect him of, you will understand why your mother and I both kept it a secret. Maybe we should sit—”
Vital Found (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 2) Page 31