Gifted Connections 2

“Me too,” Jaxson stated as I felt his bare hard chest press against her my back.

“I guess I’ll pull out some air mattresses,” Jace sighed.

“I’ll take her couch,” Remy grunted.

“I’ll grab the pillows and blanket,” Troy volunteered.

/> “I’m going to clean up the kitchen, and then I’ll be back,” Drake said before I heard the rattling of the spoon in the bowl.

I woke up to several annoying alarms going off. I felt physically warm, but emotionally numb. I had every reason to despise Collin, but it was hard to separate the boy who had been sweet to me and the man who he had become. I didn’t know if he would have remained loyal to us, but deep down I believed he had been trying. Didn’t that count for something?

I mourned at the loss of a young life, too soon to part from earth. I mourned for the man he had been trying to be. I even felt sadness at the possibility that his child would grow up never knowing him. It was proven yet, but deep down I felt the child was his.

Sadness was quickly replaced by anger. Anger at Horatio. Anger at Ned. I didn’t want that selfish prick near me or the children. How could I trust a man willing to abandon a team member? He had already shown his true colors. His self-preservation outweighed his ability to sacrifice for others. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he’d only taken the extra five seconds to lean down and help Collin up, Collin would still be alive this morning.

Remy stood up first and stretched. He rubbed a weary hand across his face. “Time to get up. Day 1 of training starts today,” his voice boomed filling the room.

I turned and buried my head in Noah’s chest. “No,” I said resolutely.

Noah rubbed my back languidly. “Maybe we should start tomorrow,” he said with a big yawn.

“It’s 6 a.m., we just fell asleep a few hours ago,” Jaxson groaned as he placed one of his hands up my shirt and onto my bare hip.

“Do you think Horatio is waiting until tomorrow? Do you think he cares if we aren’t ready for whatever he may have coming for us?” Jace spoke as he stood up.

I snapped my head around and met his piercing blue eyes. “That’s not fair.”

“But it’s true,” Troy groaned as he twisted his body back and forth, attempting to stretch out his back.

“I’ll grab us some protein bars,” Drake yawned.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked sitting up as I pushed my wild curls off my face.

“We get up, we get dressed, we start day one of training, we get the children ready for school, some of you will go to school, and at 4 o’clock we meet up at the Knights facility for the second part of our training,” Remy said with determination.

“I meant about Collin,” I bit my bottom lip. “Who’s going to tell his parents? Who’s going to tell Rose?”

“Pops and Steven are heading to his parents’ house this morning,” Troy frowned, sadness lingering in his eyes.

“I’m going to tell Rose,” Drake sighed decisively.

“That’s it?” I asked my eyebrows knitted. “What are they going to tell his parents?”

“We’re holding a memorial for him tomorrow afternoon, if his parents elect to take him home,” Jace explained slowly. “His parents are gifted so we can tell them the truth, mostly. He died with honor, protecting our way of life.”

Several alarms went off once more, reminding us to get moving.

We went downstairs where Jemmy, Gavin, and Rachel stood waiting for us. They kept casting glances my way, making me feel more self-conscious. I didn’t know what we were waiting on until Terrance, John, Michael, Dawn, Marcel, and some other guy I didn’t recognize, came strolling in. They were dressed in their running gear. Everyone looked as tired as I felt.

It came increasingly evident I was still under the microscope. I could tell all eyes were on me. I had lost it last night. I couldn’t remember all the details, but I remembered enough.

After pouring a glass of orange juice, I looked at the team, an eyebrow raised. Terrance had a look of respect in his eyes, John had a look of wonder, Michael’s eyes were filled with envy and reverence, Marcel’s eyes were fearful, Dawn’s eyes held admiration, and the last guy looked leery, like he expected me to blow up at any minute.

Heck, I didn’t blame him. I still felt on the edge. I felt trapped within my own body. There was a part of me that wanted to wallow in grief, and the other part wanted to get rid of this anger brewing beneath the surface.

I imagined he was Ned’s replacement. Hopefully he was better at his job then Ned was. I held my hand out to him. “I’m Blake, who are you?”

I heard Jaxson snicker and watched as Marcel took a step away from the new guy. The new guy looked like he was barely older than me, average height, with a slightly rounded belly, closely shorn brown hair, and brown eyes.