We ate dinner in silence. Nick came out of the living room, I heard Jeremy in there still with Lucas, and came to sit with us, the three of us quiet, my arms and legs shaking. I had to let go of that horrible frame of mind, that 'hurt him' mindset, get back into my usual one. The one where I wasn't even able to step on a spider.
"You okay?" Reece asked softly and I nodded, trying to smile. "Sorry. I didn't know how the twins were made. Shouldn't have hit him."
"He spoke?" Nick said, finally, and when we both nodded jerky nods, I saw a little relief there. "About fucking time. You've got my permission to hit him anytime, Reece."
"Yeah, but not Clayton's permission. He's gonna be pissed." He laughed softly, trying to relax, and when he offered us that whisky, no one argued. Just enough to calm down a little. "Showers might help. What's this about an epidemic, Nick?"
I remembered, suddenly, that Reece had been looking at something on his phone. Nick glanced up.
"Something about that disease in dogs suddenly tripling in rate. Quadrupling. Doubling. Depends on what channel you're on. There's official government advice now. It's not important to us, not really, but they're not sure why suddenly so many dogs are getting sick."
"I thought it was in dogs ages ago." Reece muttered. "What's the panic?"
"Mostly shelter dogs and wild dogs.. It's spreading through house pets now. We'll watch the news when you two have showered." Nick's eyes were on my shaking arm. I saw Reece nod again out of the side of my vision.
"Come on, Aussie, I'll help you get into a warm shower. Is she meant to go back tonight?"
"If she is, I'll tell Clay she needs a rest." Reece replied, standing also.
"I'm fine. You two don't need to protect me all the time." I muttered, grabbed the crutches, and lifted myself up. "I'm just tired."
While in the shower though, Nick nearby so I could lean against him, I stood there in the hot water as it pounded on my skin and realised I wasn't sure why I was so upset. I wasn't sure what I was, to be honest, it wasn't like Demetruis had said anything particularly upsetting. Except for claiming 'we' had sex, when it was rape, and what he'd admitted he'd done with Elena, that upset me more than I wanted to admit. I wasn't sure why. Deep down I knew that this was a possibility, that she had been raped, I always knew that. To hear it straight form her though...
"What he say?"
I told Nick, as he helped me dress in the big tshirt I wore for bed, so big that the neckline fell over one shoulder. He didn't say a word till I was done and hugged me closer, arms around me, breathing in and out slowly against my bare neck.
"Good job." He said, finally, softly. "You did it. He admitted he knows them."
"He raped Elena. I think." I still wasn't sure if that was what he meant exactly by 'had a go'. Probably.
"Yeah, and he's now in the basement with Clay." He reminded me. "Let it go. Clayton will handle it."
Of course he would. I knew that. I sighed, shut my eyes, and let Nick hold me for a while. I was too tense to go to sleep through. No matter how much he tried to stroke my arms or back, I stood there stiff like a board, unable to relax.
"Come downstairs. We'll watch the news, it'll bore you to sleep, and we'll deal with tomorrow when it's light." Nick offered, stepping back, and I nodded.
"Sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." I muttered as we went back downstairs.
When we came down from the showers there was no one around. Everyone had gotten bored of the news, apparently, and had gone to bed. Reece came down a few minutes after we did, hair damp, and Reece headed straight for the fridge.
