Theo POV

I knew I was overreacting sometimes. I knew how overbearing I could be. I knew I should probably let go a little bit.

But I couldn’t.

I had a terrible feeling and I simply couldn’t.

I didn’t give a fuck about how crazy I looked. I didn’t give a fuck about their worried glances. I didn’t give a fuck about anything besides her safety.

But what amazed me most in all of this was her understanding of my behavior. She never once got mad at me. She never once told me I was exaggerating. She never once pushed me away.

I could see it was all too much for her. I could see that she wanted to go out and do normal teenage things. I could see how much she wanted to feel safe and not be afraid all the time. And I knew that sometimes my behavior only added to her fear.

But she never pushed me away.

Someone else would have already screamed, cursed, and sent me to hell. Someone else wouldn’t even try to understand why I was doing all of this.
But not her. Not my Lucy. She understood even without me explaining it to her. She listened to me and did what I told her to do, just so I wouldn’t be afraid. She put up with mine, and sometimes Noah’s, tantrums about her safety without trying to fight with us or trying to go against us.

And if she can do that for me, I can survive an hour without her while she is with our grandfather.

I knew how much she wanted to go. She wanted to connect with the rest of our family. She was having a hard time letting them in, but it was getting easier for her lately, and she wanted to get to know them more.

I could do that, right? I could let her go for an hour, right?

She closed her bedroom door and turned to look at us.

“Are you okay?” she asked me.

“I’m fine.” I sighed. “I’m sorry, Lucy.”

“It’s okay.” she smiled, sitting down at her desk chair. “I understand.”

“Of course you do.” I mumbled under my breath.

I looked at Noah. He was staring through the window with a frown on his face. I wondered if he would agree with what I was about to say.

“I know you want to go.” I looked back at Lucy. “You know that I don’t want you to go, but I will let you if Liam makes sure there are enough guards following you.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. Noah snapped his head toward me.

“What?!” he said loudly. “Are you crazy, Theo?!”

Lucy looked at Noah, surprised by his reaction. Honestly, I was too. He was usually calm, and you could rarely hear him raise his voice.

“Noah...” I started to speak, but he interrupted me.

“You are not being serious right now?” he asked, panicked. “You are joking, right?”

“I’m not.” I shook my head. “She can go if enough guards will follow them.”

Noah’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

“Well, I think it’s a bad idea.” he said angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. “Guards can’t protect her from everything.”

My heart started beating faster. He is right. It is a bad idea. Guards can’t protect her from everything. She could get shot. Would they jump in front of a bullet for her? The only reason I took her outside those two times was because I knew I would. I knew Noah would. That was out of the question. We would always protect her from everything.

To be honest, I was counting on Noah agreeing with me. I was counting on him telling me that she should go with our grandfather. Noah being against it is only making me reconsider my decision.

Before we could continue, a knock on the door interrupted us.

The door opened and Liam peeked inside.

“Can I come in?” he asked, looking at Lucy, considering it was her room.

“Of course.” she smiled at him.

He stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Lucy, bent down and kissed the top of her head.

“How are you, love?” he asked her. “Ezra told me you got your period. Are you okay? Are you in pain?”

“I’m fine.” she looked up at him and smiled. “It hurts, but it’s not that bad.”

“Okay.” Liam said. “Take another painkiller if it gets worse.”

She smiled and nodded.

Liam turned to look at Noah and me.

“I heard what happened.” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I said.

“No.” Noah sighed at the same time.

Liam looked at him worriedly. “What’s wrong, Noah?”

“I think Theo got hit in the head.” Noah said seriously.

I raised my eyebrow at him. Really?

Liam’s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at me. “What is he talking about?”

“I said that Lucy could go with grandpa on the condition that enough guards go with them.” I sighed. “Noah disagrees.”

Liam’s eyes widened. He looked from me to Noah.

“Now that is a surprise.” Liam mumbled.

“Maybe they switched bodies?” Lucy chuckled, making the three of us look at her. “You know, like in Freaky Friday.”

Liam laughed, and Noah and I rolled our eyes. She’s watched that movie like five times already.

Liam took her hand in his, pulled her up, sat down on her desk chair, and pulled her to sit in his lap. He grabbed the blanket that was thrown over the chair he was sitting on and wrapped it around Lucy’s waist.

“I will get you a heating pad later, but this will help for now.” he told her, kissing her temple.

“Thank you.” she said, smiling.

Liam smiled at her and turned back to look at Noah and me. “Let’s talk about this, guys.”

“Are you sending guards with them?” I asked, making Noah look at me disapprovingly.

“Of course.” Liam nodded. “Eight guards will follow them in two cars. Reece is going as well.”

“Does grandpa know what they look like?” I asked again. “Will he be able to recognize them?”

“Yes.” Liam nodded. “He has seen their pictures.”

Lucy visibly stiffened, making Liam look at her. He wrapped his arms around her tighter.

“Grandpa said it would only be an hour.” I said. “Is that what you agreed on?”

“Yes.” Liam nodded.

“I’m against it.” Noah said.

I was against it as well. But I had to do something for Lucy. I knew she wanted this. I could put my own fears aside for an hour.

Right?

“I would never allow it if I didn’t think it was safe, Noah.” Liam said softly. “She is my sister as well. She is my child. I would never put her in danger. Your grandpa would never put her in danger.”

“I know that.” Noah sighed, looking down at his hands.

“My men are combing the streets, looking for them.” Liam continued. “They are not here, Noah. They are not close. They probably ran away and they are hiding because they know we are looking for them.”

“Are you sure?” Noah asked, his voice low.

I could hear the fear behind his words, and it made my heart clench painfully. Noah was my brother. His pain was my pain. In this case literary because I completely understood him and agreed with him.

“I trust my men.” Liam said, confidently. “I trust the guards I’m sending with them. I trust your grandpa.”

Noah looked up at him. He was silent for a few moments, only studying Liam’s face.

“Okay.” he whispered.

A part of me was disappointed. A part of me wanted him to fight harder, making Liam change his mind.

Liam smiled at him. Lucy stood up, walked over to Noah, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her to his lap, looking at Liam over her shoulder.

“One hour and they come back.” he said. “Not a minute longer.”

“Yes.” Liam confirmed.

Noah nodded stiffly, wrapping the blanket tighter around Lucy’s waist.

Liam looked back and forth between Noah and me. “Maybe it’s a freaky Wednesday, Lucy.”

She chuckled, lifting her head from Noah’s shoulder and smiling at Liam.

“Probably.” she said teasingly, making Noah and I roll our eyes again.

Liam laughed, stood up, and walked over to us. He kissed the top of each of our heads and started walking outside.

“I love you, kids.” he smiled at us before closing the bedroom door.