Mae stood up and moved away from me. Jack asked Ezra what was going to happen now, and I heard the wonderful, deep boom of his voice but I couldn’t understand the answer. It was like listening to the adults talk on Charlie Brown.

I was quickly fading out, unable to concentrate enough to hear the most important conversation of my life. The lull of their voices put me to sleep.

Milo yelled, and that’s what woke me up. My whole body felt stiff and ached when I opened my eyes. Ezra had his arms around Milo, holding him back, and Mae stood in between Milo and Jack, trying to reason with him.

He kept screaming at Jack, demanding to know what he did to me and why he thought it was alright. Jack wasn’t saying anything. He just stood behind Mae, looking remorseful.

“Why would you even think that was okay?” Milo shouted, futilely fighting against Ezra’s arms.

“Milo, she’s alright,” Mae said. Her hand was on his chest, more to calm him down than to hold him back. He couldn’t break from Ezra’s grip. “She’s just weak and this is where she wanted to lay.”

“When Peter finds out, she’s as good as dead,” Milo said, and tears streamed down his cheeks. “You’re supposed to care about her so much and you just killed her!” Jack flinched and looked at the floor.

“Stop yelling,” I grimaced. Sitting up was difficult, and I saw Jack move to help me, but then he stopped and took a step back. Mae ended up leaving her post in front of Milo and helped me into sitting up. “My head hurts. And so does my neck. And every part of my body.”

“That’s from sleeping on a hardwood floor.” Mae rubbed my back. “Other than being sore, how are you feeling?”

“Tired. And a little a dizzy.” I ran a hand through my hair.

Milo stopped fighting against Ezra, but he kept an arm on him. Sniffling, Milo wiped at his face with the back of his arm and tried to pretend like he hadn’t been crying.

“Jack, go in the medicine cabinet in the main bathroom and get the vitamins,” Mae instructed, pointing down the hallway. “There should be some iron and B12.” He nodded without looking at me and went down the hall. “Milo, why don’t you get her something to take it with? Something with sugar. We have some Mountain Dew, don’t we?”

“I’ll check.” Milo took a step towards the kitchen, but Ezra held onto his arm.

“Can I trust you?” Ezra looked at him, and Milo nodded sheepishly. “Good.” He let go, and Milo hurried over to the fridge to get me a pop.

Jack appeared back with the vitamins and handed them to Mae. As soon as she took them, he took several steps back from us. He stood all the way on the other side of the room, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the floor.

Milo came back in with a Mountain Dew, glaring at Jack as he handed it to me. I couldn’t open the can because I could barely do anything, so Mae did it.

Crouched next to me, she actually held me up with her hand on my back. She handed me a couple pills, and I greedily drank the soda. It tasted better than I remembered it tasting, which I thought was odd.

“Feeling a little better?” Mae pushed the hair behind my ear and watched me closely.

“I guess,” I shrugged, but I only felt slightly more alert. “Why did you guys even have vitamins? You don’t eat.”

“I bought them for you,” she said. “We all knew this was a possibility.”

“Are you sure she’s okay?” Milo stood next to Ezra, looking at me nervously and fidgeting. “She’s just so pale.”

“She’ll be just fine,” Mae assured him. “Do you hear her heart?” She paused, and Milo cocked his head, listening for the sound of it. “It’s a little fast, but it’s strong. That sound means she’ll be alright.”

“We should get her up off the floor,” Ezra said.

Mae took the empty can from me, and Ezra bent down in front of me. I looped my arm around his neck and he lifted me up. Having never been that close to him before, I felt a little awkward, but I couldn’t help but notice how wonderfully male he smelled, like sandalwood and spice.

He set me on the couch in the living room, and Mae followed behind us, carrying a blanket. Once he put me down, Ezra crouched at eye level with me and he breathed deeply.

Almost sadly, he looked away and stood up. Mae wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, and left her arms with them, cradling me to her as she sat next to me.

Ezra stood in front of us, resting his hand on his chin, just watching me. Milo and Jack stood off to the side of the room, and I could feel them looking to Ezra expectantly. A decision was in the process of being made right now, one that I didn’t understand.

- 22 -

“Guys, I’m okay, really,” I said meekly, hoping to ease the tension in the room.

“We know, love,” Mae whispered, squeezing me briefly to reassure me, but she kept her eyes locked on Ezra.

“Yes,” he nodded, his expression regretful. “You can smell him on her.”

“Fuck,” Jack said under his breath and turned away, so his back was to us.

Mae let out a sigh and rested her forehead on my shoulder. I understood what Ezra meant as soon as he said it, but I shook my head in disbelief.

“I’m wearing his clothes.” I touched at my shirt. “And I don’t even know why it matters. So what if I smell like Jack?” I looked over at Jack, but he still had his back to us. “Who cares? Does it even matter?”