Shattered Girl (Emmy)

fter saying good night to the guys, I returned to the bedroom and found Drew in bed waiting for meContent is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

Well, don't you look all nice and comfy? I teased as I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Coming out when I was done, Drew patted the space ext to him. Come get in bed, angel,

ou have had a hell of a day and need a good night's sleep." Dew pulled back the covers for me. I climbed in and then slid over so I could cuddle with Im. Resting my head against Drew's chest, I rested my hand on his abdomen, idly sliding my fingers over his well-defined muscles. Drew began playing ith my hair, and I relaxed into him. I wasn't exhausted yet, but I was enjoying cuddling with him.

Tell me something I don't know about you, angel," Drew said quietly.

OK, but to be fair, you must do the same," I told him. He p

gently tugged my hair, so I looked up at him and whispered OK before kissing me.

Let's see, I am terrified of spiders, like burning the house down, scared of them; just the thought of one makes my skin crawl. I love horror movies, specially the ones from the 80s and 90s, though I have watched the old black and white ones too. I will read almost anything, but I prefer fiction over 1on-fiction unless it's a true crime or something I am interested in learning. I looked at Drew while he thought about my answers.

'OK, it's your turn; what do you think about what I shared? Tell me something I don't already know about you."

I understand the spider thing, but I'd like to add all creepy crawly things to that list." I looked at Drew questionably. "Don't worry, I will explain. So before we were deployed the first time, they taught us about the insects we would encounter, which were the most dangerous to us, and where they liked to hide. So when I was in the Middle East, it went from really hot to cold at night, so all the creepy crawlies were attracted to the heat our vehicles put off, and when we were out on missions, they would be attracted to where we were sleeping. We had to check our boots, packs carefully, and anywhere they wanted to hide. After finding a scorpion in my shoe and almost laying my head on a sun spider-"

"Nope, no, stop right there. I get the idea; if you keep talking about it, I will have to strip the bed to ensure nothing in here with us. So let's move on unless you feel like putting a bed back together in the middle of the night." I interrupted Drew. I gave in an involuntary shudder at the thought of my head or any other part of my body getting anywhere near whatever the hell a sun spider was, and no, I was not going to be brave enough to look it up to see what it looked like. My imagination was terrible enough. Drew laughed as I gave another full-body shudder.

"OK, so moving on, I enjoy reading as well. My favorites are science fiction books and zombie apocalypse graphic novels, and you can't tease me because 1 have heard about what's in your e-reader library. Drew smirked, and my cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, yeah, so I read smut. If I got your browser histories, there would be plenty of x-rated things to find. I grinned because now it was Drew's turn to blush

"Anyway, I love a good fantasy or action movie. I also enjoy some of the singing competitions and cooking shows." He shrugged as I giggled.

"Til tell you a secret," I stage whispered. "I love watching survival shows. You know the whole, we are dropping you off for a week on this deserted island. Here's a piece of string and a pocket knife. Good luck. We will see you in a week."

"That's Good to know, so take Emmy on a survival adventure," Drew teased, pretending to write in an imaginary notebook. I stared at Drew with my mouth hanging open for a second.

"No, no. I said watch, not experience. This girl loves spending time outside but insists on having a real bed indoors." Drew laughed at my dramatics, cuddling me close and kissing me,

"Alright, my sweet girl. You need to ge

to get some sleep. Drew said, adjusting me to lay my head on him without cutting off circulation to his arm. I yawned and rested my hand on his chest again.

"Thank you for this trip. The flight up here wasn't the best for me, but I can't remember the last time I had fun like this-if I ever did. A week ago, I was so scared and alone; seeing my mother again was horrible, and meeting your dad wasn't much better. At first, I didn't believe Jake with his impossible promises. I never imagined finding one good guy, let alone five of them. You have all done more for me in the last week than either of my parents did my entire life. I have never had anyone on my side like you guys have been; I don't know if i will ever be able to express how much you all mean to me." I gave Drew a quick squeeze, pressing a kiss onto his bare chest as he continued to rub my back.

"Angel, you mean

mean the world to us. I know we bulldozed our way into your life, but as soon as we learned about you, we all knew you were the one who would bring us together as a family. I know this is unconventional for most people, and I'm sure we will encounter many close- minded people who would judge us. But I think it's safe to say you stuck with us, sweetheart." Drew leaned over, giving me a sweet kiss, and I cuddled closer, letting a quiet peace wash over me. I think Drew is right. Regardless of how unconventional it is, I have found my family. I wonder if this is what love feels like.