Identical

Chapter 16 - The Getaway

James' POV

I close my bedroom door quietly as I return to the others in the living room.

"She's sleeping."

"Good," Tom says, downing the scotch in one gulp that Chris had given him. Chris returns with another full glass, and Tom takes it but just stares into it.

"Maybe it's time for us to change our line of work, Boss," Robert says, nursing his own scotch.

"A little late for that, don't you think, Mate?" Chris asks, and I can see he's thinking the same thing as me.

"I agree with Chris. I think we have to figure out how to move forward from here," I say, keeping my thoughts to myself.

"Is it...is it always like that?" Tom asks. I look to my brother and see that a little bit of the light I'm used to seeing has left his eyes. I know I shouldn't have involved him. Still, if I hadn't, none of us would have likely come out alive.

"Not always. Sometimes they serve us tea and crumpets instead," Chris replies, and I can see he's trying to make light of the situation. We all have our ways in dealing with what we just faced - Chris turns to humor, Robert chews the situation apart to see how it might have gone differently, and I... well, I usually just internalize it until it eats away at a little more of my soul. Not today, though. Chris has started with the jokes, but Robert has been unusually silent, something that gnaws at my soul even further.

I walk to Tom, patting him on the shoulder.

"Tom, Cory is safe because of you," I say, and I mean it. He looks up from his liquid mirror and meets my gaze.

"I did nothing," he says. I know he's trying to find his own way out of the dark void of today's events.

"You bought us some time at a critical moment," I say, taking him into a brotherly hug. "I owe you a debt I'll never be able to repay," I whisper then I feel him tense up. I release him and follow his gaze toward my bedroom.

"I want to go home," Cory says, standing in the doorway. She's dressed as she was when we found her - jeans and a t-shirt covered in paint, minus the one remaining Converse I had helped her remove before putting her to bed.

I walk to her and take her into a hug. If I could absorb all the pain she's felt since meeting me, I would. If only it were possible.

"Love, I'm not sure if that's the best idea," I say, taking her face into my hands. I see a haze in her eyes as if the happenings of today are just starting to sink in.

"James... please. I just want to go home," she says, and I can see tears brimming in her eyes. I let out the breath I've been holding.

"Alright, Baby," I whisper before stepping back from our hug and saying to the others, "I'm taking Cory home." The men don't respond as I grab one of my sweaters to put around her shoulders. 

*************

Cory's bare feet pad softly across the threshold into her living room. She looks around as if it's a strange and unfamiliar place until she finally looks toward the stairs. My heart is beating in my chest at her look, like a scared child who thinks the upstairs may be haunted. If I'm honest, I know she'll face a number of ghosts when she decides to ascend those steps.