She May Not Belong to One of Us, but She Belongs to All of Us

Chapter 35

Haner's POV

Well what an eventful couple of fucking weeks! Just days ago Amelia was practically in love with Shadows and Rev. And now she has been in my room for the past three weeks with me. We've been talking, watching movies, and sharing memories. The woman even has me painting. Me, Synster fucking Gates, is painting and pretty successfully if I may add. Not only did I tell her my last name, I'm letting her call me by it. Who in the fuck swapped my mind and body?

"Haner?"

"Yes, little one?"

"If you're quite done being a space cadet, I paused the tutorial. How are we to achieve perfect Bob Ross level quality art if you zone out before we start painting the cherry blossoms. Shape up soldier."

Laughter ricocheted through me. Melissa's dramatic antics and constant picking were growing more and more frequent. At first, I would just roll my eyes but as the time we spent together grew, I couldn't help but laugh every time.

"Ai ai captain."

A curt nod and a cheeky smile were the only response I got before she resumed the tutorial that was playing on her phone. Looking over her, it is perplexing to believe that Rev had her in the palm of his hand and let it all slip. And for what? Anger, misunderstanding, sex? Don't get me wrong, dating isn't our best skill but before me was a woman with brains, beauty and a wicked sense of humor. How do you not do everything in your power to lock her down? Tuning in to the tutorial before I get another verbal reprimand from Melissa, I begin painting the adorning the green trees with blooming blossoms. In what felt like a flash of time, we both stepped back from our canvases looking over our work.

"Why does yours look so much better than mine?"

Stomping her foot to accompany her pout and question, she turns to me expecting an answer.

"I paint from the heart, little one. You are painting to distract yourself and to stay holed up in my room."

Using her hand, I pull her in a hug, placing my head on top of hers. Huffing she tucks her head deep into my chest. Melissa has been staying in my room pretty much twenty-four/seven for the past three weeks. Between take out, having me go to get whatever Chef cooked that day and whatever she needed from her room, she really hasn't needed to leave my room. And I'm certainly not complaining about it. Never before has my room smelled like anything but pizza, sex, or my cologne. Now everytime I enter my room, it smells like pure sugar, or vanilla, once it even smelled of mangoes. The change has been a much welcomed one. The only thing I wanted to do more than keep her with me was to get an answer for why she needed me in the first place. She never has been the type to indulge in things that bring up negative emotions but my curiosity is killing me.

Everytime I start to feel like this was too good to care about the reason why I refer back to the image burned into my mind. Distinctly the memory of once accidently walking in Rev's room without knocking. There in the middle of the black bedspread was Rev snoozing peacefully with his tall, lanky body almost completely cupping the back of Melissa. She was just as knocked out, snoring lightly with her hair pulled in a bun. Their bodies looked almost made for one another as she was so adorably balled up. It was a stark slap in the face seeing just how seriously close the two of them were. Yet just a few days later, she won't leave my room and Rev has been an absolute wreck. He can't focus, his aim is lazy, and getting more than three words from him is now a luxury. None of us are particularly chatty, but damn even getting him to say 'yes' or 'no' is becoming more and more of a chore with him. Shadows hadn't been too much easier to deal with. His temper flaring up at any given time. There were holes in so many walls around the house, we just decided to stop calling the contractor until he was finished.