Shattered Girl (Emmy)

Chapter 22

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When the world came back into focus, I was so confused. There were extra voices in the bathroom, and my hand was cold. Looking down, I saw I was holding onto several ice cubes. I had no idea how they got there. I was sitting in the middle of the bathroom, Jake and Josh hovering nearby. Josh had his phone in his hand, and that's where the extra voices came from. They had called Drew and Mike. I groaned, dropping the ice from my hand and drying it off on the towel that one of the twins had covered me with. Josh crouched next to me, turning his phone around so I could see Drew on the screen, with Mike looking over his shoulder.

"Hey princess, how are you feeling?" Drew asked. I thought about it for several minutes.

"Honestly, I don't know. Kind of like I spent two days locked in a cold basement with no clothes or food." At the horrified looks on the guy's face, I began to think I shouldn't have shared quite so much. Mike was swearing, pacing behind Drew, and the twins looked heartbroken for me. Drew studied me carefully before he spoke.

"Princess, was that what your flashback was about?" he asked softly.

Not wanting to risk reliving those horrific days again, I just nodded. "Why was I holding onto the ice?" I was still confused, but Jake jumped in to answer.

"Drew told us holding onto ice would help bring your brain out of the flashback." I rubbed my hand against the towel again, still feeling the tingle of ice against my skin.

Josh walked to the other side of the room, whispering to Drew. After several minutes, they ended the call; Josh hurried out of the room and quickly returned with a blanket. He stopped a couple of feet away from me, and for the first time since I met him, he looked unsure. My heart cracked seeing the guilty, unsure look in his eyes, "Josh." I said his name, and my voice shuddered. I held my arms out to him like a child, asking to be picked up. That was all it took. He rushed over, wrapping me in the blanket and lifting me into his arms. I clung to Josh tightly, resting my head against his chest as he carried me into the bedroom. Josh settled us into the overstuffed chair I had convinced the guys to move into my room, and Jake, pulling out some sleep shorts and a t-shirt for me, brought them over to Josh. Leaning down, he kissed my head and squeezed his twin's shoulder.

"I will be back in a little bit," Jake said, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Josh let go of me long enough to help me put my pajamas on and then cuddled me back into his arms, wrapping the blanket around us.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl; I never meant for that to happen; you have no idea how bad I feel." He let out a shaky breath, burying his head in the crook of my neck. I could feel his body trembling, so I turned until I was holding him, making shushing noises; I ran my fingers through his hair. Promising him, I wasn't mad and didn't blame him.

We sat like this, wrapped in each other's arms, until Josh finally lifted his head. His eyes were red, his voice trembled, and he whispered he was sorry again. Pulling back a little, I cupped his face in my hands and, staring straight into his eyes, leaned in and kissed him. "I'm not mad at you; no one knew that just playing around would send me into that flashback. I don't blame you. I love how you guys take care of me, how you're so bossy in and out of bed." Josh let out a grumble of protest at being called bossy, and I just gave him my most innocent smile. I curled in closer to him, resting my head back on his chest, and we sat quietly, just enjoying being together.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Jake pushing it open with his hip. He came in carrying a tray with three mugs and several different kinds of snacks. Setting it down on my dresser, he brought each of us a cup.

"Yeah! Hot cocoa," I murmured, giving Jake a sweet smile and siping. "Yum, grown-up hot cocoa," I said with a bigger smile. Jake blushed, pleased by my excitement.

Thank you, sweetheart; I thought we could all use some grown-up hot chocolate tonight." Jake smiled and brought over the snacks; we

drank our spiked cocoa and ate all the snacks.

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Chapter 22

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When we were done, Josh stood up, still not letting go and brought me over to the bed. Placing me in the middle of the bed, he climbed in next to me; when Jake returned from bringing the dirty dishes back to the kitchen, he climbed in on the other side. Snuggled between both guys, I began to relax fully. Josh picked up the remote, finding a comedy, and I smiled; we all needed something lighthearted after what happened tonight. We laughed when the family, on vacation in Europe, accidentally backed into Stonehenge with their car, knocking the entire thing over like a row of dominos. By the time the movie ended, all three of us were trying to cover yawns.

The guys left to change into pajamas; Jake was the first one back, climbing into bed; he pulled me to him, so we were almost nose to nose. Smiling, he began to run his fingers through my hair. I groaned as my entire body melted into the mattress. I felt the bed dip behind me and another body pressed against me. Josh draped his arm over my hip, kissing me on my neck and whispering good night. Jake kissed the tip of my nose and turned so my head lay on his chest. As I fell asleep, my last conscious thought was that I was starting to fall

in

love.