Chapter Fifteen
Before opening my eyes, I stretched and rolled over.
I let out a short shriek as the floor rushed up to meet with my face. I threw my arm out in time and my forearm made contact first, jarring me before the rest of my body ungracefully flopped down onto the rug.
“Son of a…” I grumbled in pain.
I leaned forward and dropped my forehead down onto the rug. I took stock of my body. Nothing was broken. My arm stung, and my stomach felt like someone had punched me in the guts.
That had not felt good.
What the hell? I groaned loudly. I never slept so close to the edge of the bed. I moved around a lot when I woke up and liked not face planting on the floor.
How did I even get up here? The last thing I remembered was falling asleep downstairs on the couch with Julian. I didn’t remember waking up and coming up the stairs. Had I taken up sleep walking? I didn’t have very many hobbies, but I was pretty sure I didn’t want to get into that particular one. I would end up breaking things or broken myself. And, I’d read somewhere once that people who sleep walked didn’t remember the things they did when they woke up. That was a scary thought.
I was contemplating getting off of the floor when the door blew open. I turned my head to the side in time to see Addison and Abel run in. They skidded to a halt and I saw their eyes frantically skirt through the room, looking for what, I didn’t know. Why were they in my room?
I gave a little huff and pushed myself up to my feet. I shook my arm out, trying to shake off the slight pain. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel good. Popping a Tylenol would take away the sting.
I felt funny standing there with my hair crazy and all over the place and my pretty purple robe draped around me.
“What are you doing?” I asked in exasperation. I stuck my hand out and waved it around the room. “In my room. You burst in here acting like Quinton. What’s up with that?”
Their mouths dropped open and they gapped at me.
“Us?” Abel asked in disbelief. “You want to know what’s wrong with us? You were screaming and then we come in here and find you laying face down on the floor. There’s no one in here with you. What the hell are you doing on the floor? What’s going on? Why were you screaming? You scared the crap out of us.”
Oh man. I felt my face heating up. They’d heard the terrified shriek I’d made when I’d fallen out of bed. How embarrassing. I wondered who else was here to have heard me. I hoped there was only Dash in the house.
“What the hell was that?” Quinton demanded to know as he raced into the room.
Oh no.
This was worse than I’d thought it could be. I was sure my face now burned bright in mortification.
“Well?” Quinton barked at me. He stopped in the middle of the room. He braced his hands on his hips as he took stock of the room, probably looking for intruders.
I didn’t like his tone.
“Well,” I said as I gave a small shrug of my shoulders. “Well, nothing.”
When in doubt: deny, deny, deny. Look at me, I was just a simple girl standing here in her own bedroom wearing a fabulous silk robe and crazy bed head. I knew nothing.
Quinton wouldn’t believe that for a hot second.
“Nothing,” he repeated as he scowled at me.
It was a good look for him. Too bad it no longer worked on me. I was immune to his dirty looks. Yay for me. If I were alone, I could celebrate the knowledge by dancing a little jig.
I frowned to myself, feeling confused. Dance a little jig? I didn’t dance, and I really didn’t get so excited about such small, unimportant things.
What was going on with me?
I took stock of my body and, outside of the sting in my arm that was quickly disappearing, I felt great. I didn’t understand why. I had just woken up and I hadn’t even had my coffee yet.
“What’s the matter with you?” Quinton asked harshly.
Good Question.
A better one? Why did I feel so energized?
“I need coffee,” I blurted. And It wasn’t a lie, I did need coffee. An entire pot of it.
Quinton pursed his lips angrily and I imagined he was getting ready to yell at me. I didn’t want him to yell at me. It was too early in the day for it, not that I ever wanted to have to put up with it at any time.
“I have coffee for you,” a new voice called from the hallway. Dash strolled into the room with a steaming mug held in his hands. The mug was black with a mouth on it that wore bright red lipstick and had a pair of vampire fangs. I liked it instantly. I liked it more that he’d been thoughtful enough to bring me a cup of coffee and not a lecture like Quinton was gearing up to give me.
“Forget the coffee,” Quinton growled angrily. “Tell me why you were screaming. You scared us and we deserve to know what’s going on.”
“It’s not because she was having a nightmare,” Tyson stated as he strolled into the room.
This was it, I was going to cry.
“No way is she having nightmares that would make her scream,” Tyson said smugly. “That dreamcatcher isn’t going to let anything slip on by, I made damn sure of it. Maybe she saw a mouse run across the floor and it scared her.”
Tyson shrugged casually, like it didn’t matter either way to him. He pushed his way past the twins and marched over to my bed. He walked right up to me, getting in my space.
“Good morning,” he murmured sweetly.
He smiled a small, soft smile at me. It wasn’t as good as the full one, but I’d certainly take it because it was still a lovely one. Tyson moved into me, ignored the other people in the room, and pressed his lips softly to mine.
When he pulled back he wore his big, beautiful smile, the one that never failed to blind me.
I blinked slowly at him as I raised my fingers to my lips. I had morning breath and a bedroom full of guys. He needed to keep his lips to himself.
Without a word to me, he flopped down onto my bed. His head lay on my pillow and he crossed his legs at his ankles, getting comfortable.
He was lucky he didn’t have his shoes on or I would have had to tell him to get off of my bed.
“Well?” Quinton huffed out. “We know you didn’t have a nightmare. Did you see a mouse or a spider or something stupid like that that made you scream like a girl?”
I frowned at him.
“I am a girl,” I snapped. “And I’m not afraid of mice or spiders. That’s just ridiculous.”
“I don’t have mice in my house,” Dash informed me as he pushed the cup of coffee into my hands.
I smiled at him in gratitude, thankful for more than the cup of coffee. He didn’t come bursting into my room demanding answers and giving me a hard time.
“Thank you,” I murmured happily.
He grinned at me. He’d moved into the room easy enough, but I could still see the tightness around his eyes. I didn’t know if he was in pain or if it was simply from the strain of the past week wearing on him.
“Damien brought over donuts when he picked up Julian,” he told me. “They are at the kitchen table. There’s also a box just outside of your bedroom door with the DVD’s he got for you. I don’t think he liked that you left them at the big house. It bugged him so he went and picked them up and brought them here for you. He didn’t want to wake you up so he left them outside of your room.” He looked around the room quickly and frowned. “We need to get you your own tv in here.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need a tv,” I told him quickly. I didn’t want them to buy me things. “There’s a tv in the living room and I have my laptop that I can watch things on. A television isn’t necessary. But, thank you for thinking of it. I just don’t need one.”
“Yes, you do,” Tyson said from his position on the bed. “There are a lot of us and we all need our own personal space. Without our own space we would get on each other’s nerves. Well, except for the twins. They don’t want their own space.” He waved his hand grandly in the direction of the door where the twins still stood just inside of it. “Something about sharing a womb, or, so they claim. Personally, I think it’s weird. I don’t understand the whole twin thing. Then again, I’m an only child. Uncle Quint and I are close enough in age that we were raised more like brothers, but I certainly don’t want to share a bedroom with him. Most of the time I have to fight off the urge to smother him in his sleep.”
I coughed, trying to cover up my laughter. I wasn’t laughing at what he’d said about the twins because I didn’t think their closeness was weird at all. I was almost a little jealous of them. They had each other and had since they day they were born. Before that even as Tyson had said, they’d shared a womb. I wished I had someone to always share all of my experiences with. Someone who’d have my back no matter what. Someone to always hold my hand. Someone to share all of my secrets with. Yeah, I envied the Salt and Pepper twins their closeness.
I was laughing because I could never ever imagine Ty doing anything like what he’d talked about to his Uncle. Quinton drove him mad like he did us all. But they had an unshakable bond that had a whole lot more to do with the blood running through their veins. I didn’t think anything would ever tear them apart or come between them.
“God damn it,” Quinton snarled as he turned to stomp out of the room in his cowboy boots. His frustration at the situation seemed to be wearing his patience thin.
“She was face down on the floor when we came in,” Abel shared helpfully.
I wanted to tell him to shut up.
Unfortunately, Quinton stopped moving towards the door.
“What?” he growled. He turned his hostile gaze on me and barked out, “What were you doing on the floor? And don’t even try to lie to me. We’ve had that conversation before and you know I don’t like it when you lie to me. Enough of this round and round bullshit. Give it to me straight.”
I sighed. This was my living nightmare. Why did he have to push me so hard? And in front of other people, no less. Maybe if it had just been the two of us I would have told him what had happened with all the dramatics and the embarrassment.
“I told you, nothing happened,” I lied.
I took a healthy sip of my coffee and closed my eyes. It had just the right amount of cream and sugar in it to be perfect for me. Dash was awesome. Quinton, not so much, and his points were going down by the second.
“It didn’t look like nothing,” Addison put in not so helpfully. Those damn twins were really raining all over my parade this morning. “You looked like you were in pain when we first got here.”
Fuck it. They weren’t going to give up and they weren’t going to go away until I gave them something. Who cared if they laughed at me? And, Quinton and I had promised not to lie to each other. It was important to us, to our relationship, that we didn’t lie. We could lie to others, but not to each other. I feared the twins wouldn’t ever let me live it down, though.
“How did I get to bed last night?” I asked, stalling for time. “I don’t remember going to bed. The last thing I remember was falling asleep on the couch.”
“On top of Julian, no less,” Tyson said.
My heart stuttered in my chest. Was he mad? He didn’t sound mad. But he and Julian had history between them because of the evil one. I didn’t want to make things harder for them. I relaxed when I saw him smirking at me. He looked like he found the whole thing amusing, most especially my discomfort at him bringing it up.
In this moment, I kind of hated them all.
“Julian put you to bed,” Dash took pity on me and shared. “He wanted you to sleep under your dreamcatcher.”
“That was kind of him,” I mumbled.
“Ariel,” Quinton growled.
He’d officially run out of patience with me. And who could blame him.
“I move around a lot in my sleep,” I told them honestly. “I usually sleep in the middle of the bed so I have room to move. I woke up this morning, rolled over and fell off the bed. That’s what you heard, me screaming on my way down to the floor. There you have it. Are you happy now? Huh? Thanks for forcing that out of me. I was so happy to share it with you.”
The room was as quiet as a tomb.
“Now can you get out of my room so I can get ready to start my day and drink the coffee that Dash kindly brought me in peace?”
Both twins burst out into loud, body shaking laughter. I felt my face heating back up. I knew those two would for sure laugh at me.
Instead of throwing my coffee mug at their heads like I wanted to, I put it to my lips and took another hot sip.
Quinton bit his teeth into his bottom lip and stared down at the floor.
“Get out of my room,” I said in a calm voice. On the inside I wasn’t feeling calm at all. I was starting to get annoyed with them.
Heat burned up my spine when Dash placed his hand on my lower back. He leaned into my side and placed his lips against the scar on my cheek. The scruff of his beard scratched my face, but I didn’t mind. I liked the feel of it.
“Robe looks great,” he said after he moved his lips half an inch away from my face. His words were hushed and meant for my ears alone.
“Thank you,” I whispered with feeling. “I love it. Outside of my Rover, it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever given me before. Thank you, Dash.”
His grey eyes lit up, completely chasing away the dark. I had only seen that once or twice before and I loved it.
“You’re welcome,” he said in that hushed voice that meant his words were only for me. “When you finish your coffee come downstairs and eat Damien’s donuts. You’re the only reason he bought them and if you don’t hurry they will all get eaten.”
He ran his flat palm up my back before turning and walking away. He didn’t spare the others a glance or a word in goodbye.
I wished I could go with him.
Thankfully, the twins had stopped laughing and were watching Dash walk away with frowns on their faces.
“When did that happen?” Abel muttered angrily.
“I don’t know, twin,” Addison muttered back. “It’s ridiculous, if you ask me. Who’s going to be next? Damien?”
“What are you two talking about?” I asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Ty said quietly.
“No,” I shot back. “I really think I do.”
“You don’t,” Quinton said, agreeing with his Nephew.
“I-”
“Don’t want to know,” Quinton said, cutting me off. “Now, tell me if you hurt yourself when you fell out of bed. Do you need me to call Julian and have him come back to check you out? Because he’ll come back right away for you.”
I sighed and told him the honest truth, just to get this over with. I wanted to be alone in my room to get ready for the day and I wanted to be done with this absurd conversation. I was also growing extremely uncomfortable with them all openly touching me and kissing me in front of each other.
He didn’t seem surprised when I told him I actually felt great.
“Julian,” he’d said in response. It was the only one I got from him. Like Dash had done, he kissed me on my scar and walked out of the room.
I didn’t really want to be left behind for the twins to make fun of me and laugh at my expense some more, but I also didn’t want to follow after Quinton.
“What’s everyone doing over here?” I asked. They didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave my room and I had no idea why they were here in the first place. They had a home of their own. Not that I was complaining, because I wasn’t. Just curious.
“We’re here because you’re here,” Abel said.
I wasn’t surprised at his response. Quinton had told me before that the guys would want to be where I was. But did they have to come over so early?
“I’m here to go through your letters and photos with Uncle Quint,” Tyson said. “Julian told us about them and that you want to find your father. We’re here to get the ball rolling on that. And the best way to start is to go through what you already have. The twins followed us over. They don’t like to be alone, as you know. Damien picked up Julian and they went to the mall to buy clothes for you because apparently you have an empty closet to fill. Be thankful you didn’t have to go with them. Damien goes into beast mode just thinking about walking into the mall.”
I took a sip of my coffee and winced. I loved that he and Quinton had come over to help me and I was thankful for Julian having done that for me like he said he would. I certainly didn’t mind the twins tagging along so long as they stopped laughing at me. But I absolutely did not want Damien picking out clothes for me. I didn’t want him spending the money when I didn’t need new clothes. And if he’d picked out the clothes I found at the Alexander house then they likely wouldn’t fit me or be my style.
Tyson caught the wince and grinned at me. He knew exactly why I winced.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “That’s why Julian went along with him.”
“I don’t need clothes,” I told him honestly.
“Everyone needs clothes,” he shot back smugly.
“You’re right,” I agreed. “Unless they want to walk around naked, everyone needs clothes to wear. Thankfully, I already have clothes so that isn’t a problem for me.”
“You can never have too many clothes,” Tyson said in a quiet voice. “And they want to do nice things for you. We all do. You should let them do it and you should be nice to them about it. Dash bought you the robe and I know he got you some of those socks that you seem to enjoy wearing. Did you tell him to take them back? Did you tell him you already have enough belongings and don’t need any more? It’s highly unlikely considering you’re wearing one of the things he got for you. I know you have an issue with not wanting to waste things and living off of the bare minimum. We all get that, we honestly do. But we also want you to have everything you want and need, and we want you to have nice things. We don’t want you to have to want for anything. So they’re off to buy you some shit from the mall. It’s not like they are going to come back with sapphires and rubies to force you to wear. Just clothes and probably some shoes. If it makes them feel good to do it, is it really so bad? I don’t think so. Just smile and say thank you. And if you like what they got for you then you should wear it. It’s as simple as that.”
I sighed in defeat, knowing he was right about all of it. But if they kept buying me nice things then I would feel like a charity case. The dreamcatcher I had accepted without argument and it had been a beautiful gift. The same with the robe. I’d protested the Rover because it had been too much. Mr. Cole hadn’t listened, and he’d insisted I take it.
I was used to having not a whole lot and taking good care of the things I did have in order to make them last longer.
Did I want to have a closet full of brand-new clothes? Yes, yes, I did. I was a girl. And who didn’t like clothes? But I wished he wouldn’t have told me about it until they’d shown up after their shopping spree. I didn’t want to stress about it and worry about them spending too much money on me. Or Damien wasting his money on things that wouldn’t fit me or I’d never wear them.
“Seriously, Ariel,” Tyson stressed. “It’s not a big deal. Let it go and don’t even think about it. Julian will keep Damien in check and it’ll all be good.”
“I need to get dressed,” I muttered unhappily. This morning had taken a bizarre turn, even for me.
“Where’s the box at with the letters?” Tyson asked.
I looked to the end of my bed and was confused. Where had it gone? I whirled around until I found it on the floor by the head of the bed. Julian must have moved it when he’d put me to bed. In fact, that hadn’t been all he’d done. The comforter on the bed had changed from yellow rose blooms to red. He’d changed the comforter before putting me to bed. Why would he do that? What else had he touched while he’d been alone and unsupervised in my bedroom? Nothing else looked to have been moved.
I pointed to where the box with the letters was on the floor and said, “Right there. Though, it was on my bed yesterday. Julian must have moved it before putting me to bed.”
I wanted someone else to know about Julian. I wanted to see if he’d think it was weird that Julian was moving my stuff around without my knowledge.
Tyson didn’t seem to think it was weird at all. If he did, he didn’t mention it.
“I’ll take the box down to the dining room table.” Abel told me. “That’s probably where you guys will end up going through it.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Something was bothering my Pepper twin. I didn’t like it.
I tilted my head to the side and studied him as he moved through my room.
Today, he had on a white long-sleeved thermal and black cargo pants with lots of pockets going down the side. He had a black cord around his neck with a silver pentagram dangling from it. His feet were bare.
Addison was dressed similarly to his twin. Black cargo pants with lots of pockets going down the side. His long-sleeved thermal was a light blue that matched his eyes. His necklace was identical to Abel’s and his feet were also bare.
Addison’s eyes were hard like his brother’s. He made no attempt to smile at me. He was upset about something as well.
“Is something wrong?” I asked in a hesitant voice as Abel retrieved the box from its place on the floor. He hefted it up in his arms easily and headed back towards the door.
“No,” Abel lied.
“It’s just been a while since we’ve been able to be around you,” Addison said in a deep voice.
Abel shot his brother a dirty look. He hadn’t wanted his Salt twin to tell me the truth. Why?
In truth, I missed them because it actually had been a while even though we’d practically been living together at the big house for the last week. We’d all sort of hidden away from each other in our rooms. Or, we’d tried to. Someone else had always been in mine with me.
As I examined him, I realized that it wasn’t hardness in his eyes but hurt. I didn’t like thinking it was my fault that hurt was there.
“Why don’t you guys stay over tonight?” I asked them. “We can watch movies or something.”
They perked up at that and both smiled at me. I got real smiles this time, one’s that reached their eyes and everything.
They both agreed enthusiastically before heading back downstairs.
Down to only the one now.
I looked to Tyson who was still sprawled out on my bed and not looking like he had any intention of going anywhere any time soon.
“Don’t mind me,” he said. “I’m going to hang out right here while you do your thing. If I fall asleep, please wake me up so I can head down with you.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “Why would you fall asleep? It’s still morning. Didn’t you sleep last night?”
His dark eyes locked on mine. “No,” he said in a grave voice. “I did not sleep much last night. I kept dreaming about blood. Lots and lots of blood. Eventually, I gave up trying to sleep and found a book to read.”
A shiver raced down my spine. If he was anything like me, then his dreams meant something.
I didn’t want to know what dreaming about lots and lots of blood meant. I hoped none of us had to find out.
I looked up at the beautiful dreamcatcher hanging from the ceiling above where Tyson was now resting his head on my pillow and couldn’t help but wonder if I’d be having dreams filled with blood if I were to sleep without it.
I wasn’t willing to try.