Message in a Bottle

~7~

I woke surrounded by warmth and the subtle scents of vanilla and ginger. I was able to breathe deeply, but it caused a sharp pain to bloom just above my stomach. I winced, and the warmth by my sides sprung away from me.

Murmurs bounced around me as I groaned, and a gentle touch wiped down my cheek.

"Can you open your eyes for me, Sang?"

I didn't want to face any more conflict at Monarch, and I ignored the silky tenor.

"Come on, Pookie, just for a minute, and then I'll let you rest."

The ridiculous name lodged somewhere deep inside my heart, and I felt myself being pulled fully into consciousness by the unexpected giggle that bubbled out of me.

I opened my eyes and was struck dim-witted by the angelic face hovering over me. His green eyes were a shade brighter than my own, and blond ringlets framed the most handsome smile I'd ever seen.

"Welcome back, Sang," he whispered. He winked at me, and then his face was replaced by one even more perfect than before.

Chocolate brown eyes glistened at me as the golden haired Adonis smiled, and my heart stopped, I'm sure. He held up a familiar bundle of hair wrapped in a ratty pink bow. "We found you, Sang. We found you and aren't ever letting you go."

I reached out a tremulous hand and touched the hair to make sure that this was real. My Hail Mary worked? My little glass bottle had been found by these handsome young men.

A hand yanked him back, and a brooding visage that was just as handsome, though polar opposites to the golden boy grumbled, "You can't say that shit to a girl, Luke. It's fucking creepy." He turned his attention to me, and a hint of pink stained the tops of his ears. "What my dickhead of a brother meant, was that we would move heaven and earth to keep you out of that charade of a school. You're safe with us, Sang, and when you're feeling better, we'll go through proper introductions."

Another dark haired boy pushed him out of the way, and with an accented voice that rumbled through me, he said, "Get well quickly, Aggele, and we will stand as your guard."

A boy with glasses and one with auburn hair nudged him out of the way and each offered me their greetings, and then one with fire in his eyes kissed my knuckles and said nothing before one wearing half a dozen earrings and the most crystalline blue eyes shouldered him out of the way.

"Forget that shit, Sang! I'm Gabriel, and those morons are Luke, North, Silas, Kota, Nathan, and Victor. Us, along with Doc over there and Mr. B, who'll be back in a sec, we're your new fucking family and will make sure that shit like that doesn't ever happen to you again." His eyes danced, and I couldn't help but answer his exuberance with a small smile of my own. "You're one of us now, Sang, because real family is a fucking choice, and goddamn it, we choose you."

***