I stood in the middle of the room looking around. I still couldn't believe I was here in the house that I bought. Not many 19-year-olds are able to do what I did and buy a house. I had brought the last box in and was excited to start getting unpacked. I arrived here yesterday in the late afternoon. My mother and David were not thrilled, but they knew I needed to do this, and I wanted to do this on my own. I wanted to prove to them and myself that I was capable of this, they had asked if I had told the boys I was moving up here and I told them yes. They also thought I was living with the boys, which was a lie, but I didn’t want them to know I was here. Mom was proud of me heading off to college, but I know she worried. She didn’t need to. Dad, Uncle Stanton, Uncle Harry and Uncle Conrad made sure I was able to take care of and protect myself. I really didn’t think the boys would care if I was here or not. My mother had married David a year and half ago, but they had been together for close to two years. The boys, which included David’s fraternal twin sons, Jayson and Alexi, not to mention their friends Daymon and Lucus, had accepted me into their group even if they were a year older than me. Honestly, Jayson, Alexi and I hit it off that first night we met at dinner. Mom had been trying to arrange a meeting between us for a while, but shit kept getting in the way. After that first dinner Mom and I spent a lot of time at the house. I got to know David, Jayson, and Alexi. A few months later Mom and David got married and things were great. Mom and I moved into their huge mansion. The twins and I got along great, and they always seemed to have to be near me. They were very touchy with me as well, which I was all for. They always had their arms around my shoulders or a hand on my waist. I had a huge crush (hell I still do) on both and had hoped that maybe we would move in together but then shit changed in the blink of an eye about three months into my junior year.
[{Flashback Start} It was three months into my junior year. Jayson and Alexi (who were seniors) had introduced me to a few of their friends. Etta, Marnie, and I had clicked right away even if they were the same age as the twins. Etta and Marnie had grown up with the twins. There were a few other girls that more or less hated me, but I could care less. They hung around or on the twins all the time even if the twins ignored them. I was making my way to my next class when I heard Alexi’s voice.
“So, who is she and what is she to the two of you?” Shayla asked.
“Is she like your stepsister or something? You two are so protective of her it is like you want her or something.” Marie asked.
“Her name is Taelin, and she is not our stepsister. Her father passed away when she was younger, but her mother passed away when she was 14. Her mother and our stepmother were best friends. Our stepmother is also her god mother and none of her other family members were able to take her, so our stepmother did.” Alexi told them.
“She is cute, but just someone that lives with us. She is a little too quiet and shy for the two of us.” Jayson commented.
I heard a few of the girls laughing but all I could do was stand there in shock. I thought the three of us were getting along, but I guess not. Fuck them, I don’t care what they think about me. I don’t care what anyone thinks about me. If they don’t want to be seen talking to me or for me to be around them then I will leave them alone. I turned around and walked the other way taking the long way to class. They aren’t worth my fucking time. {Flashback End}]
I began to distance myself from them after that. I spoke with them when I had to, which was mainly at dinner with the family. I didn’t bother them at school. Etta and Marnie had tried to talk with me about what was happening between the three of us, but I would always change the subject. I had more important things to do than worry about people whose opinion doesn’t mean shit. I knew Jayson and Alexi were here attending college, but I made sure they had no idea that I was here as well. I have no doubt that they will be told that I am here by Mom and David at some point. Mom and David don’t even know where I live. They had been out of town when I moved here. I did everything myself. My father passed away when I was 12, but he had left me a substantial inheritance. So, I was able to buy this house mainly because I didn’t want to live in the dorms. I know David bought them a house to share when they left for college last year. I am not sure why David bought them a six-bedroom house or why the house had a second master bedroom. No one had used it since the house was bought which I thought was weird, but it is not my fucking problem. I hadn’t stepped foot in that house once. I let out my breath as I opened one of the boxes and got started putting shit away.
I have been at this for the last two days. Unpacking sucks! The only saving grace is that I didn’t have that much shit. The only room that was still disorganized was the kitchen, but I have orientation to get to so that will have to wait. I beat the rush to orientation, but soon the room was full. I thought I saw Lucas on my way here, but I am not sure. The guy was standing too far away making it impossible to see his face that clearly. I do not think he saw me, not that I care.
“Taelin?” A familiar voice said.
I glanced behind me to see Etta and Marnie. I let out a squeal as I hugged the two of them. I haven’t seen them as much since they left for college last year. They and the twins had grown up together and were the best of friends. They were over at the house a lot until they left for college.
“What are you doing here?” Marnie asked.
“I moved up here a few days ago to attend college. I have my own place here on campus. Where are the two of you off to?” I explained.
“Do Jayson and Alexi know that you’re here or that you have your own place?” Etta asked.
“No and I don’t think they would give a fuck. Please do not say anything to them. Mom and David think I am living with them. I answered.
“Taelin, I think there has been a misunderstanding between the three of you.” Etta told me.
“There is no misunderstanding. They said some shit that I heard and told all those girls that hung off them how they truly felt about me.” I replied.
“Taelin those girls hung off them, but Jayson and Alexi had already found the one they wanted before school even started that year. They had already chosen their Queen months before.” Marnie added.
I saw a look pass between them, but they promised me they wouldn’t say anything to Jayson or Alexi. I don’t think Jayson and Alexi will care that I am here. I told them what they said, and I could see a look of irritation on their faces. Not sure why they would be irritated. They didn’t seem to notice when I stopped talking to them in high school. Etta, Marnie, and I headed to a café to grab something to eat and drink. I see a few of the guys that I am guessing are on the hockey team with Jayson and Alexi. I haven’t been to one of their games since my junior year in high school. I was able to come up with excuses last year with it being my senior year.
They weren’t always excuses, but most were. I have no desire to be around those two or any of their friends. I thought Lucas and I were cool, but I guess not. He was the easiest to talk to, but after I heard what they said, and I heard him laugh at what they said my opinion of him changed. I returned to my house about an hour later.This first week has went well. I love almost all my classes except for math. All my art classes are great. I did see a couple of the guys from the hockey team in them. I doubt they know who I am. I am sure Jayson and Alexi haven't even mentioned me to them. I have chosen to ignore them unless I am forced to work with them for whatever reason. I did see one of them point at me. I rolled my eyes and walked away. I do not have time for their shit. I kept waiting for Mom to call me and ask why I was not living with Jayson and Alexi, but so far that has not happened. I had fully expected the few guys I saw; especially the one that pointed at me to tell the twins I was here and for them to tell Mom. Mom wants all of us to come home this Saturday for a family dinner. I will be there, but I am not thrilled with the idea. I bet they will bring their future queen home with them. Whatever I no longer care. Once I graduate, I am hopping on the first plane to Europe. I hope to get a job in one of the art museums in Europe. I am hoping to land a job in one of the art museums in Paris, but who knows? Right now, my main focus is school and that is all that matters.
It has been six months since Alexi, and I have seen Taelin. She rarely came with our parents when they would visit, and when we came home for summer break, she was away at some art camp or something like that. I have no idea what happened to make her distance herself from us and more or less avoid us. Janelle, her mother, asked us to come home for dinner about three weeks ago, but Taelin ended up not being able to come home for it. She told her mother that she had a class trip that was important and counted for a large part of her grade. I knew Janelle had been disappointed, but she wanted Taelin to focus on her school, so she dealt with it. Alexi and I are fraternal twins, but we look a lot alike. Most believe we are brothers, not twins. We have always been close and gotten along great. We have the same taste in women, but we have never found one that we both wanted or wanted to share. That changed the first time we saw Taelin. [{Flashback Start} Alexi and I had met Janelle a few tim
I do not think I have ever seen Dad look that pissed. I was still trying to understand what happened. I closed my eyes and wished this whole thing to be a nightmare, but it wasn’t. I knew all the color had drained from my face when she recited that entire conversation we had back in high school. All I could do was watch as Taelin walked out, and I did nothing to stop her. I wasn’t sure she would listen to us if we tried to explain to her that what we said isn’t what we felt or meant. At least now it made sense as to why she distanced herself from us. “Um, I should go. Thank you for letting me come and the food was delicious.” Zoe whispered. “Zoe we are not upset with you. This fucking situation is all my son's fault. I will have Tom take you back to Colton’s place. He should be home by now. If he is not Tom will wait with you until Colton returns. I am sorry you had to see our family drama. You are welcome here anytime.” Dad said. “Do not worry about it. This was nothing compared t
I was not expecting to find a stunning girl sitting at the table with Mom and David. Let’s not forget she was sitting between Jayson and Alexi. I knew what that meant and who she was to them. My already cracked heart shattered at that moment. I somehow kept myself from breaking down at dinner. I thought I had gotten over my crush on them, but I was wrong. I cried to myself to sleep that night after getting home. I had just returned from the grocery store and the house was freakishly quiet when I walked in. I liked living on my own, but all this silence was starting to get to me. Even when it was just mom and I the house was not this quiet. David’s house was always a hive of activity. I grabbed the last bag out of my car when my neighbor walked up the driveway. I thought it was weird that they weren’t college kids, but they managed one of the apartment buildings down the street, so they chose to live in their house. Gloria had told me that she and Fenrick liked living around the younger
It has been a week since the family dinner from hell. Jayson and I have been keeping an eye out for Taelin, but with every little luck. I have seen her around the campus, but I cannot get to her fast enough to talk with her before she disappears. Jayson has been having the same problem. I should have known it would not be easy to find her so the two of us could speak with her. Taelin has always been able to go unseen. I am not sure where she learned that, but she is damn good at it. The weather has been on her side as well. It has cooled down significantly. This means she is wearing beanies so her hair is covered and hoodies which can help conceal her from everyone as well. I was hoping that we would have found her by now and cleared everything up, but that is not the case. I look around once again before someone punches me in the arm. I shoot a glare at the perpetrator. “Come on we have to get to practice.” Nick says. “I know, but this is driving me crazy.” I admit. “I know, bu
Week three of college has started. I both love and hate this time of year. I love the fall and all the changes in colour, but I hate that it is getting cold. I didn’t grow up in this weather. Mom and I moved here about a year before she met David. Her job had transferred her and we both thought it would be a good thing for us. A fresh start. I hadn’t known that all of my adoptive uncles had a gym here until I walked in and saw Uncle Stanton. They were surprised and thrilled that we would be living closer to them. This is also how Mom met David. It was a warm day for this time of year so I decided to study outside. I had been out here for about fifteen minutes when I noticed a shadow above me. I glance up to see Zoe standing there. I shouldn’t take my hurt and anger out on her, but she is the last person I wanted to see. She was nervous and I could tell she wasn't sure if she should talk to me or not. “I was wondering if we could talk?” Zoe asked. “Sure have a seat. If this about Ja
Alexi and I were sitting in Dad’s office when our phones started blowing up. No one was calling, but an alarm that our IT unit had installed on everyone’s phone was popping up. It was only triggered if someone was taken. Shit who the fuck was taken? Everyone that had the alert was already asking what the fuck was going on. I looked at Alexi but he was as fucking confused as I was. “Where is she headed to?” Dad asked. I had not realized that he had been talking to someone until I heard him ask where she was. She, I do not like the sound of that. I dialed Zoe’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Fucking red flags started going off. I noticed Alexi trying to call her as well and again it went straight to voicemail. I knew it was not Zoe who Dad was talking about. Shit did someone kidnap Janelle? “Did someone kidnap Janelle?” I asked. “No, but I expect Janelle to call soon. I am sure that she got the alarm on her phone.” Dad told us. Janelle did not call, but she came into
I lost my mind when I saw that fucker holding my kitten. I could tell that her hands were tied which pissed me off even more. The weird thing is that she did not look upset. Taelin stood there with a smirk. Zoe on the other hand looked like she was going to pass out. She was scared shitless, and I hated that look on her face. When Dad started talking to the fucker that was standing between Zoe and Taelin, I could not figure out how dad knew him. I looked at him better and I thought that I might know him. When he said his name was Dontay, I knew who he was. Dad, Mike, and Raul ran his family out of town years ago. They were told never to come back. I should have known Zoe’s father was behind this shit. I am not surprised he sold Zoe to this fucker. When that guy grabbed Zoe’s hair, I knew shit was going to hit the fan. I saw Jayson grab Daymon by the arm. I watched as Taelin smiled and I had a bad feeling that she was going to do something. Holy fucking hell, I had no idea that my kitte
I needed to use the bathroom, so I did. I watched as they went straight to Zoe. I know she told me that she had no interest in them, and she might not, but they seem to want her. I did what I needed to in the bathroom and then while everyone was distracted, I stealthily left the house. I knew no one saw me and I made sure to text mom as I was taken back to campus. Our driver gave me a ride, but I told him to drop me off by the dorms. I walked back home and smiled when I was greeted by Ombra (shadow in Italian) and Tigro (Tigger in Italian) as I shut the door. They have both grown a little this last week. They both rubbed against my legs as I looked down at them. I made my way into my bedroom for a shower. I slowly peeled my clothes off as I had decided to have a bath instead. I let out a groan as I stepped into the tub. The hot water slowly soaked into my muscles relaxing them. I knew I would be sore in the morning. I had bumped into something during the fight and one of those assholes