ALEX.
The room was dim when I woke up, lit only by the faint glow of the television screen that had long gone silent. For a moment, I didn’t move. I simply breathed. I was warm, too warm to be alone.
Carefully, I lifted my head, and that was when I realized where I was, curled against Niko’s side, my cheek resting against his chest. His arm had fallen loosely around my shoulders sometime in the night, not possessive, just there as if sleep had decided we belonged in the same space. The twins were still asleep too. Lucas lay sprawled across my legs, his mouth slightly open, clutching an empty popcorn bowl like a trophy. Sofia was curled against her father, thumb tucked under her chin, her breathing soft and even.
None of them stirred.
I slowly untangled myself, inch by inch, terrified o
