Chapter 252: Rhys
Breakfast was complete and utter chaos the next morning. I don’t think I expected it to be anything less, but Grace and Maizie were both up early and already in the breakfast hall helping by the time Sawyer and I woke up and were able to figure out they were ‘missing’. My mother was yelling at the staff. Maizie’s mom, Laura, was harassing Maizie as she worked. Caleb was going around apologizing to the staff and trying to clean up the messes our mom was making. Sammy was hanging off of him like she was a monkey, never going to see him again. And Michael was sitting in the corner with Iris, rubbing his head like he already had a headache.
“Are you good?” I mindlinked Grace.
She looked up and gave me a small smile when our eyes met. “Yes.” She replied before turning back to the food she was cooking.
I nodded and debated which group I went to first. Caleb seemed to be handling the staff okay, I went to the kids. I felt bad. We hadn’t really been available since everything happened. I had so many questions about Iris, and I had no idea how exactly she was going to fit in yet, but she would. She was a kid, and I needed to remember that. They both deserved to be kids.
“What’s going on, guys?” I asked, sitting down at their table.
“Nothing.” Iris grumbled, crossing her arms tiredly.
“I find that hard to believe, you guys have been bickering since you got here, and in the Vampire city as well.”
“She wants to leave.” Michael grumbled.
“Oh? And where are you going to go?” I asked her.
“Back to the Program of course,” She answered as if it was obvious.
“Hunny, that program tried to kill you. Probably more than just the time that my mate saved you from.”
“They weren’t actually going to kill me.” She muttered, but her confidence was fading slightly.
“Oh really? Would you like to test that theory? I can have you dropped back off. And we can see what would actually happen.”
“NO!” Michael shouted as he stood up and slammed his hands down on the table, drawing attention to us from everyone in hall.
“Sit down.” I growled.
A slight blush filled his cheeks, but the angsty teenager he had been when he had first arrived was coming out.
“You are not letting her leave.” Michael answered in hushed anger as he sat back down.
“It would be irresponsible to let her leave, I agree.” I told Michael calmly. “But your sister needs to understand your sacrifices for her. She needs to know the stakes.”
“We’re safe here, Iris. I know that feels crazy, and like we aren’t used to it. Everything we’ve been told is a lie our whole lives. We were told Grace was a monster, and she is the kindest person I’ve ever met. Rhys is more than capable of his job, and he takes care of all of us. We can be happy here, Iris.”
“And what about the others, Mike?” She answered, her lip quivering slightly.
“The others that we are working on rescuing?” Michael quipped. “Iris, I’ve been in nearly every meeting. I’ve seen what we’re working with. We’re working with nothing. But we’re trying. And as I’ve been told, we want to save everyone, but we aren’t sure we can. But you’re here. And we can save you, I. You just have to let us.”
Her eyes welled with tears, and I squeezed Michael’s shoulder.
“They’re going to give us a home, I. Please, stop fighting it. You’re my sister, and if you leave, I’ll leave, but please, just give it a chance. Grace is great. She saved me from myself. Let me save you from yourself.”
“What if you can’t? Michael, if we go back and apologize, I’m sure they’ll forgive us…”
“After whatever punishment they deem fit? You know they’ve killed people for less, I. I’ve not once been physically punished here.”
“You… What?” Iris looked from me to Michael incredulously, and I was proud of the kid for knowing exactly how to get his sister to hear us.
“They love us, I. They promised to keep us together. They protected all of us kids. Up until really recently, we were all in the same apartment. They found everyone homes. They gave us safety. They don’t hurt us here, even when we deserve it. That has to count for something. Grace could have had me executed. She could have left me to Dad. Instead, she hugged me. That’s what’s waiting here for us. The chance to just be kids. And I want that for us.”
“I don’t know how to just be a kid,” Iris answered, her voice small.
And I understood. She was a lot like Grace. Grace had had to learn how to exist in space. She had had to learn how to take up space and not worry if people cared. She had been a child whose existence had been a hinderance, and who had never gotten the chance to just be a kid.
I thought about the way Sammy had made up games in the Alpha Suite just last night as she had played with her doll. She was getting to just be a kid, but even she would have the scars of the past etched into everything she ever did.
I couldn’t heal their scars. I couldn’t undo all the damage that they had incurred. But I could make sure no other kid ever had to carry the weight that these kids did. The way my mate did.
“I can’t heal your scars, Iris.” I said gently. “I can’t make the memories go away. Even though I want to, I can’t… But I can make sure you never have to go back there again. I can make sure that you don’t have to carry the weight alone. Grace and I would like you to join our family. We might not be perfect, but we will make sure you never have to fight alone again.”
And to my surprise, she flung herself and me, and I wrapped my arms around her with my promise that she never had to fight alone again.
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