𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 | ✓

𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈 - 𝐁𝐮𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞!

(edited)

It had been two days since I learned the truth.

Not a gentle truth. Not one that settled in like falling snow. It was the kind that cracked something open inside you and then stayed, echoing in the hollow places. But strangely enough, I was okay. Not broken. Not healed either... but breathing, grounded, present.

No one had brought it up since. Not Noah, not the twins, not even Aiden. And I was beyond grateful for that. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was... careful. Considerate.

There had been no talk of the training program Noah once hinted at, and no mention of the shooting training either. I didn't know who had been up there that day or what had happened to him... whether he was still alive or... not. And honestly? I didn't want to know. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

The quiet wasn't threatening anymore. It wasn't the kind that comes before something awful. It was something softer. A space I was being given to just be.

That morning, I was lying face-down in bed, curled up under layers of warmth, buried in a rare kind of peace. My head nestled into the pillow, breath slow, body still. For once, my dreams hadn't been nightmares.

When suddenly-

"Agh!"

An air horn blasted through the room with the fury of a tornado siren, yanking me violently from sleep. Before I could register what was happening, the mattress lurched beneath me... three bodies launched onto the bed like missiles.

"What in the love of God is going on?" I cried, rolling onto my back in pure panic. The room swam as I blinked rapidly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My ears rang from the shriek of the horn, and my heart thudded wildly, ready to flee.

Grinning down at me were Vince, Cole, and Alex, bouncing up and down like maniacs. Behind them, by the door, stood the rest, Chris, Dylan, Aiden, and Noah. Even Noah, usually composed and unreadable, had the smallest of smirks tugging at his lips. Dylan was trying not to laugh but was failing spectacularly.

It was chaos.

Loud, obnoxious, heart-pounding chaos.

But it was also warm. Familiar. Something that wrapped around my chest and held tight.

That, this moment, was family.

I didn't say it aloud, but I felt it deep in my bones.

I had found my place.

I had my brothers. My cousin. I was safe, I was home... for now.

"Vince, I swear!" I groaned.

He just giggled and raised the horn again like a weapon. "3... 2..." he started counting, dangerously close to my ear, as the horn was pointing in the air. At least he didn't considerate leaving me deaf!

"No. Don't...!" my stupid attempts to grab it were soon destroyed by my brother's arm pinning mine onto my chest. Great... They were a team now! Thanks a lot, Alex!

"Watch it, Neffie! You better protect yourself, something is coming!" Cole wiggled his eyebrows playfully, as he was covering his ears... Should have copied him...

The horn screamed, and I screamed with it! I flopped forward, burying my head under my pillow with a dramatic groan. Laughter erupted behind me, loud and unfiltered. They were so proud of themselves.

Then I felt a shift in the room. A gentler presence.

Fingers combed delicately through my tangled curls, the motion slow and comforting.