Not So Delicate ||18+

Atticus ~35~

{Warning: Choking, Praise, Half nudity. Bratty attitude.}

I sat on the couch, her smell was everywhere in my house now and it was driving me insane. Not in a bad way, of course. Hell, I'd make a candle out of her smell and burn it every day if I could.

I heard footsteps come down the stairs, I looked over and saw Callan walking towards me. He sat on the other couch, resting his head against the back of the couch.

"Dexter found camera footage from the building across the street from her apartment. They just have to review it and research the tenants to see who lives there and who doesn't." He mumbled, sighing softly.

"She's out like a light." Zachary said, walking down the stairs to join us. He lays on the floor, stretching. The fool loved the floor.

"She had a panic attack earlier today when I told her about the fire." Callan told us, making me furrow my brows. I hated panic attacks with my whole being. And to think our girl had to go through one, hurts.

"Why'd you bring her here instead of the other house? Don't you think it's too soon? What if she thinks we're moving too fast? Or worse, that we're expecting her to go to third base?" Zachary questions, sitting up and staring at Callan. Despite him being the youngest of us, he was probably the wisest and most logical one.

Zach was the only one to have a full, proper education. He's book smart while Cal and I are street smart. I never once argued with his logic. Except of course the logic that makes no sense at all.

"I wasn't thinking. I wanted to get her someplace safe and this was my first instinct. You can't blame me for it. I think we've made it clear to her that if at any moment she wants to leave, we'll escort her out with smiles." He said, putting his head in his hands for a moment before looking at the ceiling.

We stayed in silence for a few minutes. He was right. We knew it and so did she. Right now she was asleep under our roof, where she's the safest she'll ever be. It felt odd. Having a fourth person, who wasn't Zach's family, occupy another room in the house. I could feel her presence from all the way upstairs. Normally my chest would feel a little tight with the feeling of a fourth presence in the house. But hers...

The doorbell rang, making us stare at it for a good second. Who would be here at this time of night? Better yet, how did they get so close to our front door? Zachary's phone rang, pulling my attention to him. He looked a bit relieved. He stood and walked to the door.

"Hello?" Zachary asked into his phone, holding it up to his ear. "All right. Wait what?" He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it confused before opening the door. His mother stood there. Callan and I stood and walked over to them, greeting her.

"Hi, boys. I hope I'm not disturbing you. Honey, your father is in the hospital. He's fine, don't worry. He only has a bad flu. I need you to take care of your sister for a few days." His mom said softly, her soothing voice flittering through my ears. Callan and I adopted Mrs. Everest, Bailey, as a mother of our own.

"Mother now isn't a good time..." He murmured apologetically, Mrs. Everest practically deflated at his words, making my heart sting.

"Ignore him. We can watch her for a while." I say, making him look at me with wide eyes. I might superglue my lips together at this point. Mrs. Everest lit back up and clapped her hands together.

"Thank you, my boys. She's in the car, I'll go get her." She said, walking away and towards the car parked in our driveway.

"What the hell, Atticus?" Zachary asked, making me shrug. I turn around and walk into the kitchen, hearing a squeal and giggles come from the little girl.