by R. J. Sable
Same age as me,” he nodded. “And then your youngest brother is at uni?”
“Yeah. Jake’s the firecracker in the family. He’s stubborn to a fault. He’s always getting into fights with the others. He's studying engineering at Newcastle. He's twenty.”
Jake was my polar opposite. Whereas I tried to avoid any and all conflict with my brothers to make life easier, Jake went to all lengths to provoke them. I sort of admired him for it in a way because I knew he was letting them know they couldn’t push him around.
“Oh, Newcastle?” He said, stopping his people-watching to look at me. “That's where my brother, Ben, is studying.”
“Cool, what's he studying?” I asked.
“Computer Science.”
“Ah, so being a boffin runs in the family?” I grinned at him before taking a large sip of my latte.
“Not quite,” he laughed. “He's a smart kid though,” he said with a smile.
After he threw away the empty coffee cups and packaging, he insisted on walking me back to the halls.
“You walk slow,” he joked as we made our way up the campus.
“Your legs are much longer than mine!” I complained as I sped up to match his tempo and glanced at his long, muscular legs.
“Excuses, excuses,” he tutted playfully, nudging me gently with his shoulder and grinning at me. He took my hand into his.
“How much younger is your brother?” I asked, continuing our earlier discussion.
“He's twenty-one this year, three years younger,” he smiled as if remembering something. “We're pretty close.”
“Can't imagine what it would be like only having one brother,” I said thoughtfully.
“I bet your house is a madhouse at Christmas,” he joked.
“You have no idea,” I groaned.
Chapter 3
Monday, 25th December 2000
“Move, Jamie!” Karl yelled at me as I prepared the Brussels sprouts the way Ian had shown me, clearly in the way of whatever Karl was trying to do. I picked up the chopping board and bowl and stacked them on top of each other, trying to see over the top as I scurried over to the large table. I'd almost made it when I tripped over something, sending sprouts flying in all directions. A large hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me roughly up from the floor.
“For fuck's sake, Jamie. Can you ever just do as your told?” Ian yelled at me. He'd only gotten back from training a few days ago and he'd been even scarier since then. It felt like he was angry all the time.
“S...sorry, Ian,” I stuttered, looking at the carpet and trying my best not to cry because I knew that would make him more angry.
“Clean up this mess,” he growled, pointing to the sprout covered floor.
I scrambled to my knees and started picking up the sprouts as quickly as I could. I heard Jake laughing somewhere behind me and quickly realised that it'd been his foot I'd tripped over. I stopped my sprout collecting to shoot him an angry glare over my shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at me and stepped closer as if daring me to call him on it. I held my glare a few seconds longer before dropping my shoulders and returning to the sprouts.
“Chicken,” I heard him mutter as he kicked at my leg and made his way over to the kitchen island to help Craig with the other vegetables. I bit my lip and waited for the pain to go away as I fought with my tears once more.
Last year had been a wonderful Christmas. Daddy had been home for the whole of December and we'd celebrated as a family, with presents, amazing food, and lots of fun and games. He'd given me this awesome sketchpad and pencils, which I'd loved. I'd spent the whole day doodling while Craig and Jake shot each other with nerf guns and the others chilled on the sofa, laughing and joking and being nice to each other for once.
This year was so very different. There were no presents. There was no laughter. Ian and Karl had insisted that we have a proper Christmas dinner. It was what Dad would have wanted. The air was thick with his absence. Nobody was smiling and I was sure they were all seconds away from killing each other. They didn't say two words to each other unless they were being mean. I finished the Brussels sprouts and took them over to the workspace where Craig was stood, reaching up and putting them next to him wordlessly. He glanced up from the chopping board and gave me a very brief, small smile. I didn't want to interrupt any of the others so I sat down in the corner and tried to make myself little so that I wasn't in the way, waiting until one of them told me what I should do next.
Several tension-filled hours later, the table was laid and spread with a modest Christmas dinner and we were all sat around it. Ian raised his glass and toasted, “to Dad”. It was the first time I'd ever seen Ian use his sad face. Even after Daddy had died he'd been there for everyone else, taking it upon himself to look after us all and never losing his composure.
Afterwards, I helped Craig wash up and he loaded the dishwasher and when we were done we went down to the den in the cellar to join the others.
The tension in the air was thick. I wasn’t really sure what triggered it, but at some point something snapped and it turned into a massive fight. I tried to stop Matt from hurting Craig, even though I should have known better, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in bed with sore ribs and a throbbing head. That was the end of our first Christmas without Dad.
Chapter 4
Thursday, 20th September 2012
“Here we are,” I said, as we walked up to the door of my halls.
“Here we are,” he repeated quietly, giving my hand a squeeze. “Thanks for the coffee and company,” he said, pulling me into a hug.
“Thank you,” I replied, enjoying his strong arms around me as I rested my cheek on his firm, broad chest. He kissed my forehead gently and I felt his warm breath on my skin as he pulled away from our embrace. I wasn't expecting that. I felt myself blush in response.
“Introductory training is on Saturday at three and we're going out for drinks after, want me to swing by and pick you up on my way there so we can go together?” He asked, smiling down at me.
“I'd like that,” I smiled back up at him, blinking as the sun blinded me.
“It's a date!” He grinned as he set off walking away from the campus towards Hyde Park. I smiled and waved at him as I let myself into the building.
Later that afternoon, I went swimming with the guys as planned. I towelled off and got dressed in the changing rooms of the student gym, throwing my still damp hair into a ponytail. I checked my phone as I threw my gym bag over my shoulder and headed out of the changing rooms. A few missed calls from Danny and a message from him.
Not answering is
unacceptable ;) Call me.
TBLTx
What's TBLT? I wondered as I glanced around for Bradley and Adam. They came out of the male changing rooms just as I was looking for them.
“Fast changing skills at work again,” Adam joked, brushing his towel-dried hair out of his eyes.
“You betcha,” I grinned back at him. “I just have to call my brother, you mind?” I asked as we headed towards the exit.
“Go for it,” Bradley replied.
I scrolled through my missed calls and called Danny back.
“Hello?” He answered after a few rings.
“Hi, Danny. Sorry I missed you, I was in the pool.”
“No worries, how much d'you do?” He asked, sounding genuinely interested.
“Two and a half” I said, wincing and waiting for some sort of jibe. I usually did anywhere between three and four kilometres and even then they accused me of goofing off.
“Slacker,” he laughed and I rolled my eyes.
“I had company!” I said by way of an excuse and he laughed again. “Hey, what's TBLT?” I asked, wondering about his text.
“The better looking twin,” he replied instantly as he laughed then suddenly stopped and I heard him swear away from the phone.
“What was that?” I asked, suspecting that he'd been in earshot of Rick, his twin.
“Nothing, just
Rick being a jealous pussy,” he laughed, then swore again and I heard him telling Rick to fuck off.
I rolled my eyes at their antics. They were inseparable and only kidding around. They were always arguing over who was best looking, which was hilarious considering most people couldn't tell them apart. I often struggled. It was easier if you approached from behind. Danny had a scar behind his ear from a fight with Karl that had gotten out of hand when they were kids, but otherwise they were pretty much impossible to tell apart.
Danny was a little more outspoken than Rick, and kind of a joker. If you knew them well enough you could usually guess who was who. They loved playing up to it though, even though they were twenty-eight and supposedly adults. They insisted on having their hair cut the same way and even had matching tattoos.
“What's up?” I asked when I heard him press the phone back to his ear.
“Nothing much, just wanted to check how things were at uni,” he said kindly. “Things are pretty quiet with you and Jake both gone. Ian’s always in London, Craig's always working and Karl is never here,” he summarised.
“It's all good here,” I smiled warmly, glad he cared how things were going for me. “Lectures don't start until Monday, but I've met some ace people and I'm starting to find my way around,” I grinned. They knew how good I was at getting lost.
“Good, good. Not getting into any trouble I hope?” He joked, but I suspected he genuinely wanted me to confirm or deny.
“Would I ever get into trouble?” I scoffed, unable to help myself.
“I sometimes think trouble follows you,” he said seriously.
I murmured my agreement. He wasn't wrong, I did have an uncanny ability to mess things up.
“I promise I'm doing my best to keep my nose clean,” I tried to convey my sincerity with my tone of voice.
“You better,” he threatened. I could imagine his lips forming a line as he did his best intimidation face on the other end of the phone and it made me smile. Easier to find it amusing when there was a county in-between us.
“Listen, Danny, I'm walking home with my flatmates, I really ought to go,” I said apologetically.
“Not got enough time for your favourite twin?” He complained grumpily.
“You know I don't have favourites,” I sighed, not wanting to be drawn into an argument. “I always have time for you, but I'm being rude ignoring my flatmates,” I whined.
“I'm just messing with you, Jelly. I'll talk to you later. Be good.”
“Bye, Danny.”
I popped my phone back into my pocket and quickened my pace to catch up with the guys a few steps ahead of me. “Sorry about that,” I apologised as I drew level with them.
“No worries,” Bradley smiled.
We walked through campus, making plans for the weekend and talking excitedly about the first week of lessons. The majority of my brothers had been to university so I knew roughly what to expect. I was still nervous, but eager to begin.
It was going to be great living with Adam, we could study together and had made plans to share course books to save money. I'd already bought a few of them second hand off the internet. We chatted all the way back to halls and I headed up to my room to finally unpack the last of my things.
Chapter 5
Saturday, 22nd September 2012
I waited anxiously in the foyer of our building with my gym bag and a change of clothes. I was looking forward to training with the club for the first time, and even more so to seeing Jason. If I was honest, I was a little offended by how okay he was with us just getting to know each other as friends, but I knew it was for the best. I liked being around him and really would like to get to know him better. I saw Jason approaching and opened the door to go over to meet him.
“Y'alright, little squirrel,” he greeted me, hugging me tightly.
“You know, I'm going to come up with an equally ridiculous nickname for you if you don't cut it out,” I joked, glaring at him but unable to hide my smile.
“Oh, really?” He sounded amused. “Such as?”
“I don't know… pom-pom face or something,” I said, beyond embarrassed that was the best I could think of. I'm pathetic.
He laughed at me and we headed off to the track, hand in hand.
Once we arrived, I dumped my bag in a locker and we jumped right into it. The training session was great fun. Nobody seemed to be to elitist, they were all just there to get a good workout and have some fun. It was a good reminder that I actually did enjoy exercise sometimes.
I showered quickly and got changed into my skinny jeans and a grey tunic, wrapping a glitter-threaded, decorative scarf around my neck and clicking some pearl studs into my earlobes. I headed out to meet the ten or so guys and girls who were going out for drinks. We headed up, away from the campus and ended up in a fairly traditional pub in an area I'd not yet explored. We pulled a few tables together and everyone crowded in. I was in the corner, trapped in between a couple of guys whose names I still didn't know.
“Jamie, you want something to drink?” Jason asked, motioning to the bar.
“Just some water, please,” I smiled back at him.
He nodded and headed over to the bar with a few of the others. I noticed that several girls at the bar were checking him out. One of them pressed herself up against him as she made room for herself at the bar. She was practically grinding on him and I was pleased to see he barely seemed to notice her. She placed her hand on his arm and whispered something into his ear and I watched as he grinned and started talking to her. I tried in vain to read their lips but was distracted by the discussion at the table.
“Jesus, term’s not even started yet and Reed's already racking them up,” the guy next to me said laughing and pointing at Jason.
“Reed?” I asked in confusion. “You mean Jason?” I looked at the slightly spotty guy to my left.
“Yeah, Jason Reed,” he nodded. “He's got quite the reputation, he must be in the hundreds by now.”
I blushed, embarrassed by his frankness. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, he was extremely good looking. I just didn't have him down as that sort of guy. No wonder he wasn't bothered by me not wanting to get into relationships. I don't imagine he does the relationship thing.
“Yeah, he's a bit of a dick. If he didn't know his shit I'd have kicked him out the club already.” The blonde girl at the end of the table scowled in Jason's direction. She'd identified herself as team captain earlier and I wondered idly if she was one of Jason's hundred.
I watched as the girl at the bar scribbled something down on a piece of paper and slid it a little too slowly into his front pocket before she winked at him and turned away. He grabbed the tray with drinks and walked towards us, grinning and shaking his head. He handed the two guys next to me a beer each and placed a glass of water in front of me. He grabbed a glass of what looked like cola for himself and slouched into the chair opposite me.
“Jamie, this is Jenks,” he nodded to the spotty guy on my left and I smiled at him. “And Grayson,” motioning to the handsome black guy on my right. “Jenks, Grayson. This is Jamie-Lea,” he smiled at me and they both said hi. I thought Grayson might have had an American accent, but I wasn't sure.
“Welcome to the club,” Grayson smiled at me. Yep. Definitely American.
“Thanks,” I smiled shyly and took a sip of my water.
“Nice job today,” Jenks said, nodding at me.
“Thanks,” I blushed.
“You compete at all?”
I laughed at the idea of me competing. “No, gosh no,” I giggled. “It's just for fun and a good way to keep in shape.” I took a sip from my water and looked up at him. “I don't think there'd be any point in me competing,” I admitted honestly. “Do you guys compete?”
“We compete for the club against the other universities, and in a few other clubs,” Jenks explained.
“Jenks is a pro on the rowing team and Grayson is in the MMA club,” Jason clarified, giving me a lingering loo
k.
I wondered briefly if he wanted me to mention Craig, but I just nodded.
“Cool,” I said quietly, focussing on my water.
“You coming to the match tonight, Reed?” Grayson asked.
“Sure thing. Usual time, usual place?” Jason asked.
“Yep, you coming Jenks?”
“Can't tonight, sorry mate,” Jenks shook his head, taking a sip from his beer.
“No worries. Jamie, you wanna check it out?” Grayson asked, turning to look at me.
“I've only ever seen the fights on TV,” I admitted. “It'd be cool to see one for real.”
The guys raised their eyebrows at me.
“How on earth have you managed to avoid seeing a match?” Jason asked, looking perplexed.
I shrugged, blushing again. “Craig always said he couldn't focus on the matches if he was worried about me in the crowd,” I explained.
Grayson looked confused. “Your boyfriend fights?”
I laughed. “Craig's my brother, he's pretty into MMA,” I explained.
Jason glanced down at me and winked as he addressed Grayson. “Her brother is Craig Carter,” he grinned at Grayson who nearly choked on his beer.
“You're kidding?” He said incredulously, wiping beer off his chin with a serviette.
Not this again. I couldn't help but be a little annoyed at Jason for bringing it up, but one look into those green-blue eyes and I'd forgiven him.
“Nope, he's my brother,” I said quietly, wondering whether I should call Craig and ask him why I knew nothing about this but realising immediately that it really was none of my business.
“That's awesome!” He said, looking genuinely impressed. “But you've never seen him fight?”
“Nope,” I shook my head, feeling a little ashamed. I really ought to have looked for a video online or something. But to be honest, it hadn't occurred to me, I didn't realise how seriously Craig took it. I mean, I knew he'd made a bit of money doing it and paid his way through medical school but I guess I never really thought about it.