Falling for Them Volume 3: Reverse Harem Collection

by Amy Sumida

  “Of what, solutions?”

  He chuckled. “No, marrying more than one person.”

  I turned to meet his eyes, confused. “I think it’s illegal.”

  They got still again. Stetson spoke quietly, “I think he means the morality of falling in love with more than one person.”

  I considered it. They gave me time to think about it without offering their opinions, which made me nervous. What if they thought my opinion was wrong?

  “I guess,” I stammered. “I always thought you don’t get to control who you love. That happens on its own. It’s like your dads falling for each other. They didn’t consciously choose to be gay, they just are. Anyone can tell they love each other, and I don’t see how that can be wrong.” I huffed out a breath, since I sounded like an idiot. “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you really love more than one person and they really love you, you can’t control that.”

  “Good point,” Bishop said and sat back.

  “But I’m not sure how it would work,” I continued. “Wouldn’t jealousy get in the way? I mean if I loved someone and they told me but they were in love with someone else, too, I might want to rip out all of her hair.”

  “Also, a good point.” Stetson nodded to the steering wheel.

  I realized we’d veered off my original question. “But, really, how did you know where I lived?”

  “We got into Dad’s computer and checked your school file,” Bishop said.

  I gaped in shock. “You can do that?”

  “Well, we’re not supposed to, but Dad had his computer auto-save all his passwords, so it was really easy,” Alex explained, obviously convinced because he could get to my address easily, it was somehow less bad.

  Stetson ended the argument pretty quickly. “Knowing what we do now, I’d do it over again in a heartbeat.”

  My heart swelled. I tilted my head back and listened to the guys chat while I enjoyed the warm bubble I was in.

  My bubble burst as soon as we got to my house. It sat deserted; my car and dad’s car both still in the drive. The house appeared the same as it always did, but it felt different today, almost lonely. Stetson pulled up behind my car and cut the engine.

  I sat there, not wanting to move because if I moved this would be real. I would really be leaving this house for good. I wanted this for years, but now it’s finally happening, I’m scared. Before I chickened out, my door opened, and Alex helped me out of the truck. I glanced over at Bishop and Stetson coming around the truck and took a deep breath. I wasn’t alone. I could totally do this.

  We went into the house through the front door, instead of through the kitchen to avoid the visual reminder of last night. I led them down to my room, the door hanging open from when dad flung it open, and stepped in. For the first time, I viewed the scene after one of my beatings with the eyes of an outsider. My bed laid in disarray, the blanket and sheet tangled in a heap on the floor and the mattress partly off of the box spring. The papers on my desk lay scattered across the floor, thrown everywhere from the door hitting it. Blood splattered the wall where dad slammed me into it.

  Ashamed of what this room said about my life, I drew into myself. Not just the mess, but all the other bits of my life without dad were on display, too. My favorite picture of my mom and me on my birthday a few months before she died stood on my end table. A colorful scarf covered Mom’s head as she sat in her hospital bed, tubes going into her arms and an oxygen hose in her nose. I sat on the side of her bed, smiling at the camera, convinced she’d get better. Sometimes when I see my mom’s eyes in this picture, I think she knew she wouldn’t make it.

  On the side of my room, near my dresser, stood a waist-high armoire which held my jewelry. Most of it belonged to my mom, and I didn’t wear it often. Not after dad broke a necklace of hers while I wore it. On the other side of the dresser, a small bookcase held a few of my favorite books and some old photo albums, memories of happier times. Most of the time, I couldn’t bring myself to open those albums anymore.

  My laptop sat on my desk, next to my little lamp and my phone charger. That was my whole life, a couple of books, a laptop, my mother’s jewelry, and the proof I had been recently beaten.

  No, this is what your life used to be. It’s different now.

  At my dresser, I started to pull out clothes before I froze since the guys didn’t need to see my underwear. They seemed to understand and busied themselves clearing off my desk. I quickly stuffed all my unmentionables into my backpack and zipped it closed. Soon, I realized another problem. “I don’t have a suitcase.”

  “Use trash bags,” the answer came to me in triplicate. Apparently, they dealt with something like this before.

  I couldn’t believe how quickly we got my room packed up. Everything I packed fit in a couple of trash bags, plus my laptop case and the armoire. The guys lugged the armoire down to the truck and laid it in the backseat. One of the guys would ride back in my car to make room for it. They actually played rock, paper, scissors for the privilege of riding with me.

  When we pulled up to the house, Bishop turned the country music down a little. Seven cars with their hoods raised sat lined up in the grass to the side of the house. “Where should I park?” I asked.

  “Right behind the garage.” He pointed.

  I pulled up and cut the engine.

  As Bishop got out of the car, he let out a piercing whistle. Startling me, I stared at him for a second, but Matt quickly came jogging up from behind one of the cars.

  He put his arm around me and kissed my temple, then shot his eyes to Bishop and asked, “What’s up?”

  “You’ve got to look at Joey’s car. It took three tries to get it to start.”

  I jumped in to defend my chariot. “I’m pretty sure it just doesn’t like the cold weather. The past couple of days it’s started fine in the afternoons when it’s warmer.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow at me, then pondered my rust bucket. “I’ll give it a look. If we’re lucky, it just needs spark plugs.” He gave me another little squeeze. “You want to hang out while I change the oil?”

  “Sure.” I didn’t really have anything else to do. Matt nodded at Bishop and headed back toward a red car. Bishop gave me a hug and jogged off toward the porch. I strolled over to Matt. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Nope,” he answered. “Just keep me company. I’m almost done, this is the last one.” He laid down on a wheeled plank and pushed himself under the car. I was amazed he could fit until I noticed the jacks holding it up. Now, I worried it would fall on him and kill him; although, he was really strong. Maybe with enough adrenaline, he could lift it off of himself. He tinkered under there for a while.

  “So, how was your trip back to the house? Did you get everything you needed?” He asked from under the car.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. There wasn’t much to take.”

  “I noticed that. Alex and Stetson carried your stuff up to your room. You can unpack later tonight, if you want.”

  I sat on the cold ground next to the car. “That sounds like a plan.” I glanced over at the cars and trucks lined up on the lawn. “So, which of these is yours?”

  “The blue Ford F-150 is mine.” He rolled out from under the car with a pan of oil in his hands. He carefully walked it over to a bucket and dumped in the contents. Nodding toward the red car he explained, “This Audi is Alex’s. The green Lexus is Bishop’s. Jaidon’s got the white Mazda, and you know the Ram is Stetson’s.” He picked up a couple of quarts of oil and filled the reservoir.

  “I don’t know much about cars, but I know those sound expensive.” A little afraid sitting near them, I clasped my hands in my lap.

  “Well, they would’ve been if we got them new. We got them as a lease turn in when they were a few years old. Plus, Daniel and Joshua have a rule. They get us the first car. We take care of it, and we drive safe. We don’t drink and drive, and we don’t drive recklessly. If we have an accident, the next car’s on us.
If we do drink and drive, we lose the car, their trust, and a good portion of our own hides. We love the rides, but we follow the rules because we don’t want to lose their trust.”

  “How did you learn to take care of them?”

  “Joshua. He’s really good at all this stuff, and I had an interest when I was younger.” He placed the lids back on the oil containers and slammed the hood shut. He threw his garbage into a bag next to one of the tires.

  “That’s cool.” I fiddled with my fingernails.

  “Yeah, it helped me a lot. I had problems adjusting to being here.” He glanced at me and lowered himself to my right. “I had a step-dad that didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t his, and a mom that couldn’t handle being alone. He used me as a personal punching bag, and she was too scared of what would happen to her if she left him. I used to dread going home. I know what it’s like to be afraid.” He fidgeted. “At the time, I didn’t know what it was like to not be afraid. I jumped at my own shadow and was skittish around the dads, especially Daniel.

  “One day, Joshua was fixing his car. The timing belt was off, and he was having problems getting to it. He was so mad. He kept banging his hand and cursing under his breath, then he noticed me. I’d never seen a man control his anger before. He didn’t just swallow it; he let it go. He motioned me over and showed me what he was trying to reach. His knuckles were scraped raw. He had every right to be pissed at me for spying on him, but he just put an arm around me and showed me what he needed done. Then, he handed me a wrench and told me to give it a shot.” He tapped his leg twice. “After that, I was hooked. I begged him to show me how to fix things. I’m pretty sure he used to break things so he could teach me to fix them.”

  He reached over and clasped my hand. “I know what you’re going through, and I know what it’s like to question everything around you.” He gazed off into the distance for a minute. His thumb rubbed softly back and forth against the inside of my palm. “I want you to know you don’t have to question me. I’m here for anything you need. I’ll fight off the ghosts and hold you when you’re scared. You don’t have to be skittish around the others, either. We all want you to be comfortable with us.”

  I didn’t know what to say. “Thank you.”

  Pulling me to my feet, he leaned into me and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. I went up on my toes as he pulled away from me. He reached up and used his fingers to raise my chin. His thumb caressed my bottom lip. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Couldn’t resist.”

  I stepped back from him. “No problem.”

  He put the lid on the bucket and lugged it to the garage. “Want to help me get them all parked back in the drive?”

  “Um, that’s kind of funny. You, thinking I could drive one of those even a few feet without a panic attack.” I involuntarily took a few steps back.

  “Okay, pretty girl. Go on in, then. I’ll see you in a few.” He hugged me and turned me toward the door.

  The door in the garage led me into a mud room off the kitchen. As I stepped into the kitchen, I noticed Daniel with his head stuck into a cabinet, muttering to himself. “I’ll kill them all, I told them those were my emergency Oreos.”

  I couldn’t suppress the giggle that burbled its way up. “You have emergency Oreos?”

  He straightened. “Had. I had emergency Oreos until some sneak came and took them.”

  He ran his hands over his head in agitation. I bit my lip to not laugh outright. “Why do you need emergency Oreos?”

  “I’m having problems getting out of a funk. I wrote a really depressing scene and the mood’s sticking around. I wanted a pick me up. Now, I’ll have to go to the store.” He peered at me. “Want to come?”

  I nodded. Daniel clapped his hands, and though he was even more buff than Matt, he put me at ease. He grabbed a phone off the counter and patted his pockets. Pulling out a set of keys, he held them up and said, “Let’s go.”

  We strolled back into the garage, and he hit the button to unlock the Blazer. I lifted myself up into the passenger seat and buckled up. He slid behind the wheel and pushed the seat back. “Joshua was the last to drive this.” He smiled as he started it up. Reversing out of the garage, he turned us around to get the front end facing the road, and we were off.

  After about five minutes on the road, Daniel reached over and turned the music down. “Joey, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Okay.” I swallowed anxiously.

  “How do you feel about staying with us, at least until you graduate?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to be a burden.” I chewed my lip, worrying that he would kick me out and I would have to live in my car.

  “You couldn’t be a burden. Honestly, at this point, I think the boys would lose their minds if you went anywhere else.”

  “I’d like to stay, if that’s okay with you and Mr. Keeler.” I stared down at my knees, suddenly shy.

  “Don’t let him catch you calling him that.” He chuckled. “He told you you’re supposed to call him Joshua now.”

  I sighed. “It feels weird calling him that.”

  “I know, but you’ll get used to it.” He paused for a second. “Look, I want you to know that you can come to me or Joshua with anything you need. We don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about anything.”

  I nodded, but before I could say anything, he kept going. “I don’t want you to let the guys pressure you into anything.” At my glance, he explained himself, “I don’t mean physically. We raised them better than that. And I’d kill them. But I meant with school or life in general. They tend to work as a unit, which is great, but that means when they want something they go for it as a unit. And I think they’ve decided they want you to be a major part of their lives…”

  “I’ve noticed they can be a bit much. But I think I can handle them.” I shrugged.

  “I know you can, Joey.” He took a deep breath. “There’s one more thing. Those are my boys. I couldn’t love them more if they came from my blood. You’re important to them, and there aren’t many people in this world who have earned that level of respect. If you’re not going to stick around, tell them now. Don’t break their hearts.”

  We drove quietly for a while, giving me the time to mull over what Daniel said. Would I stick around? I didn’t have anywhere to go, but if I did, would I? My mind went back to our discussion in the dark last night. It changed something. They let me in, and I let them in, too.

  “Daniel, I know you don’t know me. I don’t usually let people in.” I started, “I…I’ve let them in. All of them, even Stetson which surprises me because I kinda thought he was a jerk when I first met him.” He laughed, but I was on a roll so I kept going. “I’m not sure what I’d do without them, and that really scares me because I’ve never needed anyone like this before, and they’re all so special to me. Their friendship has kept me from losing my mind the past few hours, and they are starting to become necessary to me. That scares me because they could all decide tomorrow that I’m too screwed up to mess with, and I’ll lose them. And then, I’ll lose you and Joshua, too, and I won’t have anyone. I’ll have to go back to my dad’s house, and I don’t know if I can live like that after I’ve seen the way you all are with each other. You all care more about each other than you do about yourselves. Do you know how wonderful that is?” I stopped and gasped quietly for breath. I’d word vomited all my thoughts without considering the consequences, but it was over now.

  “Yes, dear, I know how wonderful that is.” He reached over and patted my arm. “More importantly, they know how important that is. They’ve all been in a similar situation to yours, and they know how much their support means. They wouldn’t have offered it to you if they weren’t going to stick around.”

  “But they’ve only known me for a few days.” I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

  “Do you know how long it took Joshua and I to decide we wanted to adopt Jaidon?” He asked. “About thirty seconds. We saw him and knew he was meant to be wi
th us. Sometimes, you just know.”

  He turned into the grocery store and found a place to park. “I know it seems like everything is going really fast, but I can promise you the boys didn’t rush into this without thought. They wouldn’t have brought you into this family unless they wanted you here.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Okay, now, let’s go get those emergency Oreos.” His eyes filled with a gentle smile as he stepped out of the SUV.

  He came around and opened my door for me. As he helped me down he said quietly, “And no matter what happens, you won’t lose Joshua and me.”

  After being in the store twenty minutes, we already had enough food in the cart to feed an invading army. Walking down the aisle, I insisted Daniel let me get the ingredients I needed to cook dinner. I make a pretty good spaghetti, my grandmother’s recipe, and I wanted to do something to thank everyone for being so good to me.

  Quite a few people shot us odd looks as we shopped. It took me a while to realize why. I had two black eyes, a busted lip, bruises, and other assorted evidence of getting the crap kicked out of me while walking with someone who would make a football player seem puny. Imagining what everyone staring at us must be thinking made me laugh hard enough I forgot to be uncomfortable.

  By the time we got back to the house, we needed to eat lunch. I learned everyone’s job on the trip home. Daniel did most of the cooking in the house; as Joshua was, in Daniel’s words, “Mainly useless and sometimes destructive,” in the kitchen. Joshua did most of the handyman type work and took care of the day-to-day running of the house. The guys did most of the cleaning and other chores. I liked that everyone had a job, and they all took care of each other.

  After helping Daniel put the groceries up, I started putting some sandwiches together as the guys finished their chores and filtered into the kitchen. Not knowing what everyone preferred, I made a couple different kinds: turkey, ham, and roast beef, then piled them high on a platter. Daniel grabbed a couple of different kinds of chips and set them on the big kitchen table and told the guys to get the drinks. Soon, a variety of two liter bottles of soda and a few bottles of water stood in the middle of the table. Everyone sat at the table and started filling their plates. Well, almost everyone.