Bound to Earth

39: Mornings Suck

Valentino had been off since we arrived, quieter than normal. His fingers would drag to the ink bracelets around his wrist, spaced out. When I'd nudge him back into reality, he'd smile at me or laugh it off.

Mirai had been sleeping all morning. None of us were willing to wake or bother her after what she'd been through yesterday. The only thing keeping me from barging in was the calmness she kept, the occasional hum of her cello through the wall. I hadn't felt any fear pour off of her the entire time, not even a nightmare.

My mind was spinning at night. I kept trying to find my balance while my thoughts kept tugging me in every direction. I already struggled with keeping myself together, adding my family was something I had yet to learn how to balance. It was something I wanted to learn how to balance.

Malachi's voice had dragged me from sleep as he and the other guys huddled together, talking. I'd barely woken up, glaring at everything and curling into Valentino.

Repetitive tapping on the door had me sitting up straighter, peeling my eyes open. Brynjar cracked the door open, peaking before opening it wider. 

"Can I come in?" Mirai's steady voice had me sighing in relief. 

"Of course." Brynjar closed the door behind her. He glanced at me, eyes wide, and I shrugged unsure of what to do either. Silence dangled in the air, everyone else having the same thoughts.

She was already dressed in jeans and a loose top. She sighed, folding her legs under her on one of the open chairs. "I'm fine, really."

"It's okay to not be." Alistar moved to take a seat next to her. Out of all of us, he would understand her the most at the moment.

"I am okay, or I will be." She swallowed, eyeing her fists as she clenched and unclenched them. "I kinda wish I—I killed him sooner, and I think that's what scares me the most." 

She took a deep breath, shaking her thoughts away. "So, what am I doing for an education?"

We all blinked, none of us considering she'd need to keep learning.

"I can teach you Language Arts or whatever they call it. Rune is good at history, mainly 'cause he lived through all the shit. Valentino is good with anything business or economy." Malachi rested a hand on my knee as if saying he already had this part planned out. "And Token and Alistar are good at beating the crap out of people."

Alistar shoved Malachi. "I can do calculus or whatever science they teach now a days, prick."

"When we finish this job, we'll start working on all your school shit again." Malachi ignored Alistar but couldn't stop the grin on his face from the small triumph. It wasn't often he could find the opportunity to wedge himself under Alistar's skin.

She crossed her arms over her stomach. "Well, I don't want to be packed with work. Can't we do like half school and then go out and beat the crap out of someone?"

I snorted. She sounded as if she was picking up my habits. It'd be fun watching her grow and mature. "If you finish whatever shit you get for the day, you can join whoever has a job in the evening."

"Fine. What are we doing today?" She scooted in front of Malachi, handing him a few hair ties.

Malachi scooped up sections of her hair, weaving it into a crown. It was their own little routine every morning, Malachi braiding her hair. "We think we have a lead on the witch cult, through a Bunyip."

"So we're going to go beat up a Bunyip? What even is a Bunyip?" Mirai twisted, tugging Malachi with her.

"Look at the TV." Malachi straightened her head. "Do you know what a kelpie is?"