The Widow and the Gamers

All of Me Part II

“Huh, he finally woke up.” Damion said.

“Is it normal for you to sleep this long?” V asked me.

“What time is it?”

She paused for a moment, “Almost 11 a.m.”

“That is not normal, I don’t know when I slept in last.”

She smiled. “Glad you were that relaxed.” She loosened her arms to let me sit up if I wanted. I Didn’t want to leave her and only rolled over laying my head on her shoulder. She threw an arm over me again and I threaded my fingers with hers.

Damion noticed me getting more comfortable with V and smirked behind his hand.

“As much as I enjoy this, I need caffeine somehow.” V suddenly stated.

“Caffeine addict?” I asked.

“Sure, we can go with that.” We both raised an eyebrow at that. She sighed, “I quit smoking, this was my answer.” Both of us let it go. “Any preference?” Damion asked her. “I’m not picky, I just go through a lot of caffeine, so I tend to go for things high in caffeine.”

“What’s a lot of caffeine?” Damion asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know, 7 or 800 mg?”

“What?” We both exclaimed in shock.

“That’s not that bad. I used to be a lot worse, I have cut back a lot.”

“If you say so…” Damion said as he started typing on his phone. “There, you will have caffeine within the hour.”

V smiled at him, “Thank you very much. I have been having issues since I landed, mostly stress-related. This should help me out a little.” V leaned back, taking me with her. “I need a nap, I haven’t slept since around midnight.” She flung her other arm around me and found my other hand.

Catching her hint, I allowed her to thread her fingers through that hand also. “Am I being held hostage?” I asked.

“If that’s what you want to call it, sure. I call it being a teddy bear for me to cuddle.”

“The bed would be more comfortable, don't you think?”

“I don’t want to move, if you don’t want to lay here, you can go.” I moved to stand up and she let go of me quickly. Disappointment flooded her face before I lifted her off the couch.

“Fine. If you don’t want to walk, then I will take you.” I said as I walked down the hallway to her bedroom. I then laid us both down on the bed and wrapped my arms around her.

“Can you wake me up when the order gets here?” She asked quietly.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“Thanks,” she said as she fell asleep.

—----------------------------------------

Later in the afternoon,we went to the studio that they used for in real-life group videos. I wanted to pay more attention this time in hopes of getting to know some of the others. I was a timid person by nature unless comfortable with everyone around me. This made me constantly hold on to one of the three men I knew fairly well.

They seemed to realize I was trying to interact but having issues, they passed me to the closest friend when the current one holding me had to do something. I slowly realized I was being passed between Antony, Damion, and Nash.

Finding myself pinky interlocked with Nash’s pinky, I found it easy to find comfort from him. Feeling like I was being watched, I felt my finger twitch and he wrapped his a little tighter to show support. Quickly, I looked up at him and smiled slightly then let my eyes fall to the floor. After what felt like forever, I felt myself pulled to the side. Quickly I fell into step and saw Antony come into view.

Once we appeared in front of Antony, Nash nudged me into him and let me go. Feeling him throw his arm behind my back hand resting on my hip, I threw my arm around him holding on to his belt loop. Finding myself relaxing against his side, I tightened my hold on him. He pulled me around to face him, hugging me to himself. Laying my head on his chest, I gripped the back of his shirt.

He continued talking as if nothing had changed. It seemed almost second nature for him to soothe me while holding a full conversation. Others looked confused by the actions of Nash and Antony. No one could understand why they were acting like this with me.

Soon Antony was called upon and led me to where Damion was seated. Damion reached out to me and pulled me by the hands to sit next to him. He opened his sweatshirt up and let me snuggle into his side, slinging his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into the touch relaxing yet again.

The feeling of being watched came over me again and I looked at the people Damion was talking to. Their eyes were on us which made me shiver uncomfortably. He took notice of my reaction and saw them watching me.

“What is wrong with you?” Damion growled at the two men.

“None of us understand. What is with you three and her?” Donnie asked, looking confused.

“She means a lot to us. I won’t go into detail without her okaying it.” Damion replied.

“How can she ok anything if you three keep hiding her from everyone?” Donnie replied quickly.

“Jesus, I’m right here you two!” I said loudly. “Thank you for keeping my secrets Damion, but it’s obvious that no one is going to leave it be. I’m going to go find Nash or Antony. You talk to these two. I’m fine with anything I have told you.” I kissed his forehead. “Te amo hermanito.” I said as I got off the couch. “Yo también te amo hermana.” He replied.

*********************

I watched her walk away and find Nash again. She hooked a pinky with his and laid her forehead against his shoulder. Nash turned his head and looked down at her frowning slightly. He then cupped the back of her head while he kissed the top. Looking up at him, her smile was strained. Nash then looked around the room and found Antony. Same as before, he pulled her to Antony before passing her off to him. Again he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

I turned back to Donnie and Liam after I was content that she was fine. They both were staring at me like they expected me to start spilling everything I knew. “What do you want to know the most.” was all I said to them.

Donnie almost seemed disappointed that this was all I said. “How did you meet her?” He asked impatiently.

“Antony found her fanfiction online. She writes commissions on a few sites. One of her clients asked her to write one about Nash, but she refused due to him being in a relationship. It goes against her morals to write a romantic story about a person if they are real and in a relationship. They understood and moved on, but she couldn’t move on from the storyline. That night she went to bed thinking about it and ended up dreaming about Antony with the storyline. She wrote it and posted it. Antony found it when he was looking through the new stories about all of us and we all decided that maybe we should talk to her.” I made sure I went into as much detail as possible without oversharing.

“What made you want to talk to her?” Liam asked, looking confused.

“The story was one of a kind, so Antony was curious about her other works. When he read through all of the stories, he was ranting and raving about her. Kept saying how she was a great storyteller. We finally got sick of hearing him talk about her so we convinced him to write her. She wrote back saying it would be easier to talk on the phone instead due to the many questions he would have. They ended up bonding a little and the next thing we knew, he was inviting her out here to California to see us. We didn’t get it at first, but now I know it was the right choice. We needed her and she needed us.” I found myself searching for her and saw her and Antony sitting together talking to Nash and Luc, better known by his channel name Peekaboo.

“I still don’t understand what is so special about her,” Donnie stated, almost frustrated by the conversation.

“I don’t think I can explain to you so you can understand,” I replied. I felt sorry that he couldn’t grasp what I was saying.

“Maybe I can understand. Try me.” Liam replied.

“Nash heard her and knew what was wrong with her. We all know that he isn’t someone who sticks his neck out for someone on a whim. He said he just knew that she needed to be in our family.” I took a breath and let it out slowly.

“Antony was drawn to her the moment he started reading her stories. When he first talked to her, they bonded because she told him something that none of us could ever know about. She is a single parent of two kids because her husband died almost a year ago.” I heard Liam suck in a quick breath. “She has been struggling in so many ways, and mostly by herself. Antony told me the first day she was here her shattered soul called to him. It was as if it was begging him to heal her.”

I took a moment to control my emotions. “The first twenty-four hours of her being here and I can’t see a life without her in it. She called me her soulmate in her sleep. It confused me at first because we had already told each other the bond we felt was familial, not romantic. I then looked around and found platonic soulmates. I think that’s what she means we are. I feel it too, her soul calling to me. I don’t fully understand it though.” I looked up at Liam who was smiling slightly.

“I think Antony finally found out what settling down means. I wonder if he is aware of it.” Liam laughed slightly. “He is in for a roller coaster ride though if she already has kids, it’s not going to be easy for him. Are they young?”

“14 and 11.”

“Oh wow. He is in for a surprise then. It will be worth it for him though.” Liam seemed to be happy for Antony.

“I feel so lost. I really don’t get it.” Donnie repeated. Liam smirked at him. “You are just too young, inexperienced. Antony fell in love with her. She is meant to be in this group with the rest of us. Do you need it put in more simple words?”

Donnie frowned at him. “I get that he fell in love, I just don’t get how someone can so quickly.”

“Some people are just meant to be. That’s why it’s called love at first sight. Most people do need to create a bond, others already have one the moment they meet. Everyone is different and take different amounts of time to fall in love.” Liam spoke calmly as if this was a normal conversation to have.

“If you say so…” Donnie replied.