Hunter's head snaps around, eyes landing on me immediately and I see Marcus turn my way, but he quickly resumes whatever task he was doing before.
"Morning." He says with a slight nod, along with a faint smile on his lips. "Come sit." He says as he pats the stool next to him. I let out a small breath and go to join him. "We were just going to have some breakfast. Perfect timing."
"I don't want to intrude." I reply as I lift myself onto the cushioned stool.
"Nonsense. You just saved Marcus the trip down the hall. Coffee?" He talks to me like we’ve done this regularly. How can he be so calm when my anxiety is climbing by the second?
"Sure, thanks."
Hunter stands from his stool and walks around to where Marcus is grabbing a mug from the line of hooks under the cabinet next to a full coffee pot. Marcus pours into the two mugs in front of him first, then turns to Hunter and pours mine.
"Creamer? Sugar?" Marcus asks this time, not looking up at me.
"Creamer is fine."
He doesn't say a thing as he pours before he goes and does the same to the other two. The way they work together is effortless, they don’t even have to ask for help as they flow together, anticipating each other's needs.
Hunter grabs a small spoon but Marcus reaches it first, placing it in the mug for him. Hunter stirs the mug before walking back, placing the mug in front of me.
How are they so in tune with each other?
"Thank you, both of you." I say, taking the coffee in my hands and letting the smell calm my nerves. Marcus grabs the two mugs he’s working on and turns towards us, making his way to the other side of the island. Handing the black coffee to Hunter and taking a sip of the one with creamer. His eyes glance briefly over the rim of his cup before he returns with three full plates of something that admittedly looks delicious.
"Alright, let's eat then we can talk." Hunter says, clapping his hands together before diving into his food. I pick up my fork, taking a small bite of sausage and my stomach growls evenlouder. I feel eyes on me and I look up to see Marcus staring at me as he rips into his piece of bacon.
I knew I’d have to tell them everything, the dirty and gross parts included.
Just thinking about it made my skin crawl.
Here. We. Go.
10
Marcus
"So…" Elliott drawls out, "What do you guys need to know?" Her eyes are still locked on her mug with her bottom lip between her teeth, her leg bouncing on the stool.
"Let's start easy? How about we start with how you came to be in Everton?" Hunter says.
"Easy?" She scoffs, taking one more sip of coffee before setting it down and keeping her hold on it. "Alright…the Donovans adopted me when I was ten. I was in foster homes since I was basically a baby. They saved me, really…well…" I see her swallow hard as her eyes glaze over for a moment, "I thought they did."
"Are you okay to keep going?" Hunter asks her softly, trying to be comforting. He can sense her unease just as much as I can.
She nods and continues, "I’ve lived with them ever since."
"And Samuel Donovan is your brother?"
"Yes, at least that’s what I thought." Elliott looks away, avoiding Hunter's gaze. "That the Divine had spoken about my place in his life when he visited my last foster home." My eyebrows furrow and she looks at me slightly before she snaps her eyes away again, "Samuel was the one who picked me from all the other girls at the foster home. He chose me as his. I know now that he chose me to be his future wife."
"And you found out at the funeral?" Hunter pushes for her to continue and I keep my eyes on her, watching as she starts to squirm with unease in her seat. Her eyes glaze over and she stares into nothing as the words leave her lips in a whisper. "He announced it in front of the whole community that day. I never knew that was my role." She shakes her head, closing her eyes, "I should’ve known better than to hope for a real family."
"You couldn't have known." Hunter leans in towards her, his hand landing on her knees only for her to jerk away from his touch.
"I was naive." Her posture grows stiff as she sets her mug down softly in front of her on the countertop. Her eyes flicker to me but I keep my face expressionless. "I should have been able to tell something wasn't right." Her eyes slam shut and she starts to shake her head. She goes to stand and Hunter copies her movement, "Can I take a break?" She stands there in front of Hunter with her head low, staring at the ground.
"We barely started." I interject.
"It's fine. I get it, take some time. We can talk again in a bit." Hunter answers her question like I didn't say a fucking thing.
