Defiant Heir (The Heirs #3) - Michelle Heard Page 0,21

I want to be in my own space. I know exactly where everything is in the suite.

Noah helps me up to the suite. I hear him shut the door behind us, and then Mila says, “Welcome back.” Her arms wrap around me.

When she pulls back, someone else hugs me, then Jade mumbles, “I missed you.”

“Thanks, girls.” I tighten my hold on Noah’s arm. “I’m just going to head to my room.”

Noah leads me down the hallway, and when he shuts the door behind us, I let out a heavy breath.

I recall where everything is and head in the direction of the bed. When I bump into it, Noah says, “We should check how many steps there are between everything. If you memorize it, you should be able to move around better.”

“Okay.” I sit down on the side of the bed.

“One. Two…”

“Are you doing it now?” I ask.

“Might as well,” Noah states, and then he continues to count. “Okay, so there are seven steps between the door and the bed.”

“Got it.”

I hear him move around, and then he says, “Five from the bedside table to the bathroom and then five to the toilet.”

I let out a chuckle. “Got it.”

“From the foot of the bed to your closet is four to the right, then five forward.

“I’m not going to remember it all.”

“We’ll run through it a couple of times. Get up,” Noah orders.

Groaning, I rise to my feet, and we begin to practice walking around the room I’ve been living in the past four years.

I hear the door open. “Look who’s home,” Jase says. All the aggression from the fight is gone, and he sounds like his old self again. “Welcome back.” Then he asks, “What are you doing?”

“I’m helping Kao get used to moving around the room,” Noah explains.

“Need help?”

“Sure,” Noah answers. “Go stand by the bathroom.”

Noah leads me back to the bed. “You’re on the right side of the bed. I’ll be at the walk-in closet.”

“And?” I ask, not sure what they expect me to do.

“It’s five steps to Jase. Let’s see if you can do it,” Noah instructs.

I shrug and take five careful steps. Jase lets out a burst of laughter right by me. “You did it. Fucking awesome.”

“Now it should be six steps to me,” Noah says, sounding a little proud.

I turn to my right and count six steps, but halfway through the sixth one, I walk into Noah, and he instantly grips hold of my arms. “Okay, so it’s five and a half.”

“What are you all doing?” I hear Hunter ask.

“Hey, you’re just in time. Stay right there,” Jase answers him. “Kao’s learning how many steps to take to get around the room.”

Noah turns me in a quarter circle. “Four to the right, seven forward to get to Hunter.”

I don’t feel as unsure as I did when we started this practice and walk a little faster. When I should be standing by Hunter, I ask, “And? Did I do it right?”

“Yeah,” Hunter murmurs, his voice hoarse. “You totally did it. I’m right here.” I feel him take hold of my arm.

“Great, let’s do this again,” Noah orders.

“How many times?” I ask.

“Until you can do it without me having to remind you of how many steps to take.”

I keep practicing the steps until it feels like I’m almost walking normally.

“Now for the rest of the suite,” Noah says, popping my little bubble of pride.

“Are you serious?” I ask. “Can’t we take a break?”

“Nope.”

“You gotta stop popping your ‘p’ like that,” I complain.

“Nope,” the fucker teases me.

“Where do you want us?” Jase asks.

“Jase, you stand at the end of the hallway. Hunter, you take the kitchen.”

Noah guides me into the hallway, then I hear Mila ask, “What are you doing?”

“We’re helping Kao get used to moving around the suite,” Jase fills her in.

“Can I help?”

“Sure,” Noah answers. “You can go stand in the living room.”

“Hold up,” Mila says, and then she calls out, “Jade, Hana, Fallon, get your butts out here.”

Fuck.

“What’s up?” Jade asks.

“Yeah?” I hear Hana.

“Where’s Fallon?” Mila asks.

“She’s… sleeping,” Hana answers. I don’t miss the pause, and it makes me think Fallon might be avoiding me. Not that I can complain. It’s what I wanted.

Still sucks, though.

“Hana, go stand by the front door and Jade, stand in front of Kao’s room.”

When everybody’s taken their positions, Noah walks through the suite with me, counting all the different steps. It feels like hours have passed by the time I have an idea of how far apart everything is.

Before I