Lucky's (Mis)Fortune: CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Aiden's hand was in mine when Mr. Sawyer opened the door thirty minutes later to tell us we were safe.

I squint at the sudden light in my eyes before snatching my hand out of Aiden's. He gets out of the small, narrow room before I hesitantly do the same thing, following after the two a few steps behind.

The heavy smell of blood nearly makes me throw up and the sight of dead bodies makes me quickly look away and close my eyes momentarily. When I open them again, the bodies turn into those that belonged to my family that unfortunate day. The view in front of me turned into the one I had seen as I stepped through the front door of my childhood home.

I close my eyes again, swallow the bile in my throat and let out deep breathes.

The warmth of someone's hand brings me back to reality. I look at his hands before looking up at his face.

"You don't have to let go," Aiden says, reassurance and concern in his eyes.

I let him drag me away. His hand on mine distracted me from what was happening around us as he took me outside where everyone was gathered and empty of dead bodies, instantly letting me relax.

"We're going to one of our safe houses while our people clean the house and we find out who attacked us," Eliott informs us as soon as we reach them.

From the looks of it, everything was ready to go. Bags in the trunk, snacks and blankets on the seats for a comfortable ride.

"I- I need my stuff." I knew better than to contradict what he said. "I still have to study for my finals," I murmur, turning my head towards the ground. It felt dumb to be worrying about that when there were clearly more important things to be concerned about.

"Go get Jordan's backpack and any books on his desk," Mr. Sawyer's voice full of authority came, turning it to someone I didn't know and I had never met before.

"I can go it's fine." I take a step towards the house but was quickly stopped.

"You're clearly shaken up. You're not leaving our side anytime soon," Eliott says, a strong grip on my wrist.

I look at him for a few seconds, debating on whether to fight back or not. I sigh, giving up on fighting them and turn to the man that had been instructed to get my stuff. "There's a book on my bed that I need and my backpack is on my desk chair... If you see it, I would appreciate it if you could bring my sketchbook that should be on top of my desk." I smile at him gratefully but with a nonchalant face, he gives a single firm nod before jogging into the house.

"Don't smile at him. Don't smile at anyone," Eliott states coldly, grabbing my chin.

"Why?" I wonder, tilting my head, confused.

"Just don't." He pauses. "Please."

I smile at the addition of his sentence and the fact that he looked the tiniest bit of sheepish before he turned away.

I spot Leo leaning on his blue sports car, his phone against his ear. He looked serious and maybe a little concerned. However, what I was wondering was in which car I should go. The black Tesla in front of us or the sports car few feet away.

"Do you get car sick? We'll be traveling a few hours, two or three," Aiden asks, giving my hand a squeeze. I hadn't even realized he was still holding it. "I'm sure Eliott wouldn't mind going in the back with me if that was the case."

"I," that meant that I was going with them, right? Butterflies run through my stomach. "I should be fine in the back."

He smiles, opening the car door. "Let's go then."

We both get inside the car, waiting for the other two. We remain quiet just like we were inside the tiny room earlier although now, I couldn't hear his nor my nervous breathing. That was good, of course. "You look so... perky, given the situation," I comment seeing him smile widely out the window.

"Well..." He begins, still smiling, scooting closer to me. He takes my hand once again. He brings my hand up to his lips. He closes his eyes and kisses it, leaving his lips against my skin for a long second. My heart raises, not thinking about anything but the feeling of his lips on my body. He raises his head, opens his eyes, and presses my hand against his cheek just like he did a couple of days ago. "You gave me the best news even if it was during one of the worst circumstances."

I could barely hear his words. I could only think about how much I wanted him to kiss me, maybe do more. A lot more. I was ready to give my whole self to him.

"Thank you for believing in me," I whisper, my voice unable to do anything else. I look away, trying to stop my thoughts from escalating. "I- I know I'm not the strongest and the way I react to situations is discouraging."

"I think you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Eliott and Mr. Sawyer come inside the car before I can retort. I take back my hand quickly, feeling as if I was being caught in an unfaithful act. However, there was no way Aiden has been feeling the same as I do. I have seen how much love he holds for his boyfriends, he wouldn't have those type of feelings for anyone else.

I should distance myself from them before I get hurt. They'd hate me if they knew how I have been feeling around them.

I know it will be hard but if I want to stay here and have them by my side I should remember that they can only be my friends. That's the only way. It's more than I could have ever hoped for.

"When will you understand that you don't have to let go of me?" Aiden sounded frustrated and maybe a little too serious as he said it. "You don't want me to hold your hand?" How could he say this out loud in front of his partners?

I glance at the other two and just as I had suspected, they were looking at us. "Doesn't it make you feel uncomfortable? Especially in front of your boyfriends? It makes me uncomfortable," I respond, my face feeling flushed.

"If that's what you're concerned about," Eliott begins as he shifts to look ahead, "Then you should know that we don't care. We're okay with it."

I look at the three of them, wondering how sincere they were or if this was just them trying to not seem possessive or toxic. No matter how much I tried to get anything from their expressions, they seemed okay with it.

Aiden takes my hand in his, smiling widely before looking out the window as the car takes off. I lean my head against the window, feeling drained.

The four of us remain silent. The only sound was the low volume of the radio. At times, people spoke and others it was the soft hums of music the soothed me into calmness.

It was probably one hour into the ride when Mr. Sawyer spoke. "Are you awake Jordan?"

I straighten up. "Yeah."

"What were you going to say earlier in the kitchen before the ambush?" At the question, Eliott tunes into the conversation, removing his headphones. Aiden looks at me, grinning brightly, nudging me to tell them.

"I was going to say that I made a decision about the last conversation that we had. I decided that I want to stay here. I don't want to run away from this."

For what must've been the first time ever, I saw Eliott smile, a big smile full of relief. My heart flutters at the sight.

"You'll need to put in a lot of work. Can you handle it?" Mr. Sawyer, the realist that he is, said.

"I know. I've thought about it and yes. The answer is yes."

"Then I'm glad you decided to stay Jordan. I honestly don't know if we could have lived without you," he says, looking at me through the rear mirror.

I turn red at that, nearly choking on my own saliva but the others weren't even a little fazed by his statement.

Oh?