Let them go

Chapter 8

Noah POV

“She said what?!” I gasped, staring at Theo. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?!”

“What would you have done?” Theo sighed.

“I would have comforted my sister.” I said frowning.

We entered the kitchen and saw Liam and Ezra sitting at the kitchen island, sipping their coffee.

“You need to control your girlfriend, Ezra.” I said angrily. “She can’t go around blurting out words like they don’t mean shit.”

Ezra looked up at me and sighed.

“Sienna feels terrible, Noah.” Ezra said. “She apologized. She didn’t know. It wasn’t her fault.”

I was pissed as fuck, but a part of me understood that it wasn’t really Sienna’s fault. She really didn’t know. How could she? I was sure that Ezra never told her. We never talked about it. It was too fucking painful to talk about the worst thing that ever happened to us.

“I told her a little bit about what happened.” Ezra continued. “I told her what to avoid. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not.” Theo mumbled as he sat down next to Liam.

“Where is Lucy?” Ezra asked, looking behind us.

“She is still getting ready.” Theo said as he grabbed a bowl and filled it with cereal. “She will be here in a few minutes.”

I decided to wait for Lucy right here, at the entrance to the kitchen. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to be the first one to hug her. I wanted to apologize for not knowing about what Sienna had said. Why didn’t Theo tell me that yesterday? I wanted to scream at him.

“Come eat, Noah.” Liam told me.

“I’m waiting for Lucy.” I mumbled, trying to stay calm.

“She is okay, Noah.” Ezra said softly.

I turned around and glared at him. What if she wasn’t okay? What if she had nightmares again? What if that word triggered something?

Theo and I slept in her room last night. I hadn’t noticed anything, but she had nightmares before and we didn’t notice. What if she didn’t sleep at all?

I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned around immediately.

“Sunshine.” I said as relief washed over me.

She had a smile on her face as she approached me. That had to be a good sign, right?

I wrapped her up in my arms and leaned my head on hers.

“I’m so sorry.” I mumbled. “I didn’t know about Sienna. I would have done something. I’m sorry, Lucy.”

“It’s okay, Noah.” Lucy said softly as she tightened her arms around me. “I’m okay. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know.”

How was she so kind and understanding when all I wanted was to burn the world down because she got hurt?

I kissed the top of her head and reluctantly let her go.

“Hey, honey.” Ezra said softly as he reached out for her. “Come here.”

She walked to Ezra, and he hugged her tightly.

“I love you, honey.” Ezra said as he kissed her temple. “I’m sorry about what happened. I talked to Sienna, and I explained the situation a little bit better. It won’t happen again.”

“It’s okay, Bear.” Lucy said softly. “She didn’t know. I don’t blame her.”

“Are you okay, love?” Liam asked as he placed his mug down on the kitchen island. “Did you sleep well?”

Ezra let Lucy go, and she turned to look at Liam.

“I am okay.” she said, smiling. “I was just a bit surprised when she said it. Please don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“We will always worry about you.” Ezra said as he placed a kiss on her cheek. “You are our baby. It’s our job to worry.”

Lucy looked at Ezra and bit her lip. I could tell that she wanted to say something, but no matter what she said, we wouldn’t listen. We would always worry. We would always care. We would always protect her with everything we’ve got.

Ezra picked her up and placed her on the bar stool next to him. I sat down next to her and placed my arm around her waist.

“Eat, love.” Liam told her softly.

I gave her a bowl, and she put a little bit of cereal in it.

“What would you like to do today?” Liam asked. “It’s been a while since we had a family day. I thought that we could do something together.”

“Eat junk food and watch movies all day.” Theo said immediately.

“I agree with the movie.” Ezra said, frowning. “I don’t approve of eating junk food.”

“Oh, come on, Ezra.” Theo sighed. “It’s just one day. We will go back to eating your healthy food tomorrow.”

Ezra rolled his eyes and looked at Lucy.

“What do you think, honey?” Ezra said. “Should we eat junk food today?”

“I could go for some Ben & Jerry’s.” Lucy said with a small smile on her face.

“Of course you could.” Ezra sighed, shaking his head.

“You are outnumbered, big bro.” Theo snorted, making Lucy chuckle.

“Liam?” Ezra called him. “Support me, please.”

Liam looked up at Ezra and smirked.

“I do believe that I just bought a new tub of Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream.” Liam said as he winked at Lucy.

Ezra sighed, and Lucy smiled brightly at Liam.

“Fine.” Ezra mumbled. “But only because I love Lucy so freaking much.”

Ezra pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head.

“How about us?” Theo pouted. “You don’t love us?”

“Of course I do.” Ezra gasped, faking hurt. “How can you even think that I don’t love you?!”

Theo rolled his eyes playfully and continued to eat his breakfast.

“What did you and Sienna do yesterday, love?” Liam asked Lucy.

“She braided my hair, and we talked.” Lucy answered, looking at Liam and smiling.

“Did she do a French braid?” Liam asked.

“Yes.” Lucy grinned. “She said that she would teach me how to do it myself.”

“I’m relieved.” Liam sighed. “That braid is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do.”

“No, the hardest thing was watching Lucy’s face as you pulled her hair trying to do it.” Theo snorted, making Liam glare at him.

“At least I tried to learn.” Liam said. “I haven’t seen you braiding her hair.”

“Yes, because she would be bald if I tried.” Theo said, making the rest of us chuckle.

He wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t the most patient person. I could see him pulling her hair out, trying to figure out how to do it.

“Sienna can teach you tomorrow, baby.” Ezra said, interrupting Liam and Theo’s discussion. “She is coming here for dinner.”

“I don’t think that Sienna should be alone with Lucy.” I said immediately.

“She won’t hurt her, Noah.” Ezra sighed. “We talked about everything, and she knows what not to say.”

“It’s okay, Smiley.” Lucy said softly as she turned to look at me. “Sienna didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sure that it won’t happen again.”

I wished that I could be as sure as Lucy was. I was angry and scared. I didn’t want Sienna to hurt Lucy again. I would go batshit crazy. Theo would rip her apart.

I pulled Lucy into my arms and took a deep breath. I looked at Theo. I could tell that he agreed with me.

We would need to keep a close eye on Sienna. We would need to make sure that she didn’t say or do anything that would hurt our sister.

We promised her that nothing and no one would ever hurt her again, and we would keep that promise. We needed to keep that promise because I didn’t know what I would do if someone hurt her again.