Cherished

14

Eva woke up in her bed a few days later. She was finding it much easier to sleep at night. She hadn't had any nightmares recently that she was aware of.

The room was bright, and it was definitely much later in the day then what she normally slept. She sat up, surprised to see a fresh stack of books on her nightstand.

She reached for them, finding a note on top.

Try these - Graham

She flipped through the titles, finding them to be much simpler, shorter books, probably for teenagers or younger. The font was bigger and the chapters seemed shorter. They were perfect. Eva felt an inexplicable rise of emotion.

She dressed for the day, before taking a book and venturing out to hopefully find Graham.

His side of the house was empty, and she was a little disappointed. She was hoping, if nothing else, that Miles or Pierce might be over there.

She knew Graham had an office off of the main foyer, so she tried there next.

"Come in," Graham called when she knocked. He looked surprised when she entered.

"Evie," he said. He seemed pleased to see her and she got those weird flutters again. "What can I do for you?"

"Thank you for the books, Graham," she said tentatively

"You're very welcome," he said back.

Eva looked around at the beautiful office. It was quiet, almost serene, and there was a plush couch in front of the fireplace. She could feel the warmth from it, hear the slight crackle of wood.

"May I stay in here?" she asked him.

"Of course you can. You're welcome in here anytime."

Eva curled onto the couch; it was just as plush as she had imagined it, and opened the book that she had brought with her.

Soon, she was captivated by the pages, lost in a world of fairies and pirates. She had no idea that reading could be so adventurous.

She didn't even mind the fact that she was in the room with Graham alone. She was comfortable and warm.

Sitting up on the couch slowly became laying down. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there reading, but her eyes got heavy all on their own.

It didn't take much longer for her to be asleep.

---

Miles came into the office, with Pierce on his tail, talking a hundred miles an hour.

Graham shushed him, pointing to the couch.

"Aww," Miles cooed quietly.

Pierce walked over, taking the throw that was draped over the back of the couch and laying it over Eva's curled form. She looked so relaxed when she slept. An absolute angel.

"What are we going to do?" Pierce asked, stepping around Graham's desk to his side. "Each of us like her."

Graham gave a deep hum, closing the lid to his laptop as he leaned back in his chair

"She still adjusting, Pierce. It's not a matter we should concern ourselves with right now."

"I think we should concern ourselves," Pierce said back. "She's already wondering our intentions. I think we should be honest with her up front."

"About everything," Miles whispered.

"Everything?" Pierce asked, his voice a quiet drawl as he leaned over to Miles, invading his space which he often loved to do.

Miles nodded, just as Pierce pushed his mouth onto his.

There was a soft gasp that disrupted them.

---

Eva didn't mean to. She really didn't.

She had been listening to them talk without processing what they were saying, still lightly dozing, and when it grew quiet, she had just assumed that it was okay to get up.

She didn't expect to find Pierce and Miles kissing. She had never seen anybody kiss before.

She didn't expect to feel disappointment, either. Why was she disappointed? She couldn't possibly like them in that way. All three of them?

It hurt, too. She was damaged goods, and it was wrong for her to even let her mind venture into those feelings for them like that.

All three of them looked up when she gasped, and she tried to be nonchalant about it all as she moved towards the door.

It hurt a lot, actually, more than she was expecting it to.

What could they possibly see in her that wasn't more than a charity case?

Pierce moved quickly, blocking her exit.

"Eva," he said. "You don't have to leave. We can talk about this."

There was the familiar sense of fear, of being surrounded by them, created by him blocking her only way out. She didn't like it one bit. She didn't like the way her head was spiraling, pounding behind her eyes.

He raised his hands. She didn't know why he did that, and she sobbed helplessly. The movement of his hands had whisked her right back into the past.

"Please don't hit me," she cried, feeling the tears hit her cheeks. She hated crying.

"I would never," Pierce whispered, reaching for her again. His touch wasn't light, it was more urgent as he crushed her to his chest.

He was warm against her. His arms around her didn't feel as threatening as she expected them to, but her tears didn't lessen. She was stiff against him.

"I'm sorry that I scared you," he said. "so, so sorry."

He rested his head on top of hers and she finally calmed. Her racing heart slowed, and so did the tears.

"Evie," Graham started, gaining her attention. She sniffled a bit, pulling away from Pierce to look at him. "Did the two of them kissing bother you?"

Graham had stayed in his seat, and Miles had taken a seat in one of the plush chairs in front of his desk.

She considered what to say. She could just lie and say that she felt invasive, but a part of her wanted them to know what she was feeling.

It was a huge risk. Did she trust them?

She didn't really know yet.

Eva took a deep, trembling breath. "I thought you liked me. I didn't mean to feel that way. I know it was silly-"

"Who?" Graham asked, cutting her off.

"What?" she whispered confused, still trying to dry her cheeks.

"Sunshine, it's not just one of us that likes you," Miles said. "It's all of us."

This has to be a trick. A cruel, mean trick.

"But why?"

Graham stood up, but she didn't really mind, not even as he stepped closer to her.

"I saw them kissing," she added.

"I kiss them too." Graham shrugged.

She took a moment to think about what to say.

"The three of you are equal to me," she said, hoping her words made sense. "but I am not ready for all of this yet."

"We know," Pierce said from behind her. His hand skimmed along her back. "This wasn't us trying to rush you. We just want you to be aware of how we feel."

"Helps take away some of those bad thoughts," Graham said.

She stepped closer to him, one step and then two. He wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed her cheek to his chest.