Always with You (WIth You Trilogy)

by Sable, R. J.

  He sighed loudly, putting me into a loose headlock and wrestling me away from the dishwasher.

  “Danny!” I protested.

  “It’s my day off and you’re making me get up before five!” He moaned, tightening his grip so that he could hold me in place whilst he poked me in the ribs. I could hear that he was grinning so I wasn’t too worried.

  “Sorry,” I cringed, squealing as he poked me extra hard. “Let me go!”

  “Nope!” He declared. “Not until you tell me how you’re going to make it up to me.”

  I was just contemplating whether it was worth using my self-defence lessons to get him off me or attempting to placate him with promises of food when I felt him release me.

  I grinned as I straightened up but it turned to a frown when I saw that Jason had pulled him off me.

  “We were just messing, Jason,” I smiled. “He wasn’t hurting me.”

  “Lighten up, loverboy,” Danny grinned, putting Jason in a headlock instead.

  I wasn’t sure how Jason was going to react. I could tell Danny was just messing around. He was treating Jason like he was part of the family and that was huge for me. I sent up a silent prayer that Jason wouldn’t see it as an act of hostility.

  “Man, you need to use deodorant,” Jason grinned, twisting Danny’s arm around and pinning him down to the island.

  “It’s called musk, dude. Pheromones and shit. The ladies love it,” Danny insisted, shrugging Jason off him.

  “Whatever,” Jason laughed. “Don’t be so rough with Jamie.”

  “She can handle it,” Danny grinned proudly. “I’ll bet you anything she was five seconds away from attempting to floor me.”

  “Attempting?” I scowled.

  “Yes, Jellybean. Attempting,” he nodded.

  I scowled at him some more for good measure but decided not to argue with him because I was so happy about the seemingly insignificant exchange that had just happened between him and Jason.

  “Actually, I was going to offer to bake you a cake tomorrow as a thank-you for getting up early.”

  “Cake?” His eyes lit up.

  “Did I hear cake?” Rick joined us, looking equally excited as he practically sprinted in my direction.

  “That was before Danny mocked my fighting skills,” I pouted grumpily.

  “Please, Jelly!” They pleaded.

  “What’s in it for me?” I teased. I was going to make them a cake anyway as a thank-you for helping me move but I figured I might as well torture them a bit first.

  “We’ll wear name badges all day so that Jason doesn’t keep mixing us up?” Danny offered

  I scoffed and shook my head.

  “I never mix you up,” Jason frowned. “You’re Jake and you’re Matt, right?” He pointed to each of them in turn.

  I laughed and squeezed Jason’s hand happily whilst watching the twins sulk. He was right. He never mixed them up. As far as I could tell, he’d gotten their names right every time, which was no mean feat.

  “Victoria sponge cake?” I asked, taking pity on them.

  They both nodded enthusiastically and I smiled before hugging them good night.

  Chapter 8

  Saturday, 6th July 2013

  Adam and I grinned at each other over the mountain of boxes that we’d placed in the lounge. We’d spoken with Eric and Bradley before we left Leeds at the end of the academic year. We knew they weren’t able to come back in time to make the move so we’d agreed to move all their stuff as well. They’d boxed it all up and labelled it before leaving us their room keys.

  I smiled around happily as I looked at what would be my home for the next year. It was small but not as small as the halls we’d been living in. We each had our own bedroom with a lock and there were two bathrooms. Only one of the bedrooms had an en-suite and all of the guys had insisted I should have that room so that I didn’t have to worry about showering and stuff, not that I minded. It seemed to placate Jason and my brothers somewhat though.

  “That’s the last of it,” Matt announced, bringing in a box from the small lorry we’d hired.

  “Thanks, Matt,” I smiled appreciatively.

  They set about carting off boxes to the rooms of their respective owners. Deciding that the kitchen was priority number one, I started unloading all of our pots, pans, and plates.

  The kitchen was my favourite part of our new house. It was a little smaller than the one we’d shared the year before, but there were only four of us and this one was much cosier. Instead of hard, plastic chairs, we now had clean and fresh pine ones with cushioned seats. It was both practical and homely, and the fact that it served as both a kitchen and a dining room made me smile as I imagined preparing and eating dinner together with the guys.

  I knew the boys could be a bit messy but I also knew that I could tell them to move their junk, or clean up their mess without them taking offense. I didn’t mind cleaning up after them a little because they’d already proven they were great company.

  An advantage to having lots of brothers was that they made fantastic moving men. We’d finished packing all the boxes into the lorry before the letting offices even opened at nine. Jason and I had invited Adam and taken them all to McDonald’s for breakfast until we could fetch the keys for our house.

  Our new landlord had given me an amused look as I came into their offices. My brothers had all insisted on meeting him. I suspected they wanted to make sure he was running a legitimate business and not some creepy old dude who would have installed cameras in his tenants’ bedrooms.

  I smiled apologetically as Adam and I signed for our new house keys.

  “Starting the moving-in party already?” The landlord, asked with a smile that only looked half-sincere.

  “No,” I frowned in confusion. “These are my brothers.”

  “All of them?” He raised a bushy eyebrow.

  “All except these two,” I grinned and pointed to Adam and Jason.

  “Five brothers?” He did a quick head count.

  “Seven,” I corrected him. Karl was with his family and Jake was heading to Newcastle today, although I made him promise we’d see each other sometime soon because I felt like there were still a few bridges that needed mending and I didn’t want to lose the relationship we’d just gotten back because of the geographical distance between us.

  It struck me that I’d just, for the first time, told somebody I had seven brothers. It wasn’t that I didn’t think of Matt as a brother, I did – he’d been there for all of us – but until recently, I hadn’t realised he saw me as a sister. It would have felt weird claiming he was my brother if it was one sided.

  I think Matt noticed as well because he gave me a one-armed hug on our way out towards the lorry. He’d been in a pretty good mood since then and it made me happy to see him cheered up. He hadn’t handled the kidnapping well. I think he found it hard to be around me because he didn’t know what to say or do.

  “Where’s your toaster?” Ian demanded once I’d finished unpacking the kitchen boxes.

  “I don’t think any of us have one,” I shrugged.

  The kitchen in our old flat had been equipped with the basics. I figured we could go without for a while, or at least until the next student loan payment came in.

  “What about your kettle?” He frowned.

  I shrugged again. “We can boil water in a pan for now.”

  “That’s not good enough, Jelly,” Ian sighed, massaging his temples.

  “Sorry,” I frowned, not really sure what he was complaining about.

  I saw Jason raising his eyebrow in amusement as he leant against the worktop behind Ian.

  “Jelly, you can’t live like this,” Ian said in disgust.

  I glared at him. He was making it sound like I was living in a hole. I loved our little house.

  “We were gonna get that stuff when Eric and Bradley got back,” Adam shrugged. “That way we can split the cost.”

  “You struggling for money, Jelly?” Ian acco
sted me.

  “No!” I answered quickly, horrified that he thought I might have been. “I have enough money, honest.”

  He eyed me suspiciously. “Okay, but you’d tell us if you needed some, right?”

  “I don’t want you guys to have to pay for stuff for me, Ian,” I frowned.

  He gave me one of his trademark looks and I looked down to my feet lest I burst into flames.

  “Good,” he nodded, clearly happy that I’d stopped answering back. “I’ll take Matt and go and get you a kettle and stuff.”

  “Ian!” I frowned. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know,” he shrugged. “That’s what family’s for, Jelly. You and Adam should have the basic crap.”

  I saw Adam smiling and looking awkward as he hovered by Jason’s side. I suspected nobody had ever treated him like a part of the family before and the fact that Ian viewed him as such almost had me keeping quiet and letting this slide. Almost.

  “I’ve cost you enough already,” I mumbled quietly.

  “Cut that shit out, Jelly,” Matt scowled.

  I clamped my mouth shut immediately because Matt looked genuinely pissed off.

  “That’s enough,” Ian nodded in agreement. “If you really wanna kick up a fuss, I’ll raid the stash under your bed once I get home,” he grinned.

  I just gaped at him because that was my secret. My well-hidden secret. Well-hidden as in stashed under the bed in an inconspicuous jar. It was where I’d put every penny of money my brothers had ever given me until they day I moved out.

  I saw Jason look at me quizzically as if he thought I might be hiding Playgirl magazines under my bed.

  “You know about that?” I asked in surprise.

  Ian raised his eyebrow and smiled a cocky smile. Of course, Ian knows everything.

  I sighed resolutely and traced the tiled floor with my toe. “There’s only about fifty pounds in there, Ian. It won’t be enough.”

  Ian laughed. “Jelly, there’s over six hundred in that jar.”

  “What?” I recoiled in shock and raised my eyes to meet his.

  “Jelly has six hundred quid under her bed?” Matt laughed.

  “It’s a fairly small jar, Ian,” I frowned.

  “I’ve been changing out the notes for fifties since you were ten, Jelly,” Ian shook his head in amusement.

  I frowned. I’d never actually bothered to look in there. I just shoved money in every time I got it. I figured I could give it all back to them at some point so I wouldn’t feel so guilty.

  “That’s not my money,” I mumbled.

  Ian rolled his eyes at me and kissed me on the forehead before pulling his car keys out of his pocket. He grabbed Matt and made for the door.

  “We’ll pick up some food,” he announced. “Anything in particular you want, Adam?”

  “Eh, no thanks. You don’t have to get me anything,” Adam answered awkwardly.

  “Nonsense,” Ian shook his head.

  “But-”

  “Argue and I’ll ban Jelly from cooking for you,” Ian warned with a grin. “You like Nutella, right?”

  “Eh, yeah. Thanks,” Adam nodded dumbly.

  “Your brothers are awesome, Jelly,” Adam grinned at me once they’d left.

  I gawked at him a little because I was still blown away by what had just happened. Ian knew about my stash and had done for years. Why didn’t he ever say anything?

  “They’re not so bad, I guess,” Jason smirked, coming over to hug me. “You okay, little squirrel?”

  “I’m not a kid anymore,” I grumbled. “They shouldn’t have to pay for everything.”

  “They just want to look after you, Jamie,” Jason said gently, brushing my cheek with his finger. “I’d do the same for, Ben,” he added when he saw me pouting.

  “All I do is take from them,” I complained, letting my forehead rest against Jason’s chest.

  “That’s not true,” Jason shook his head.

  “He’s right,” Danny agreed, entering the kitchen with his twin and some empty boxes. “You bake us cakes.”

  “I can’t yet,” I cringed apologetically. “We don’t have any food.”

  “Jelly!” Rick groaned. “I’m hungry!”

  “Sorry,” I pouted, removing myself from Jason so I could give the big cry-baby a hug.

  “A hug won’t fill my belly, Jelly,” he grinned, clearly proud of his rhyming skills.

  “We can nip to the corner shop and get the stuff?” Adam offered.

  Rick proved that all it took to win him over was food by giving Adam a semi-painful looking man-hug.

  “We like this one, Jelly,” Danny grinned, wrapping his arm around Adam so that the poor guy was trapped between them. “Why couldn’t you date this one?”

  Jason scowled at them both and I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

  “He doesn’t have any tattoos,” I shrugged, trying my very best not to smile and failing miserably.

  “Maybe you just haven’t seen them, yet?” Adam grinned.

  “Yet?” Jason frowned. “I like you, Adam, but that doesn’t mean I won’t remove your limbs and shave off your eyebrows.”

  “Duly noted,” Adam laughed.

  It was nice to see Adam so happy. Things hadn’t worked out with Laura, despite an abundance of romantic gestures on his part. Although I was sad for Adam’s sake, I sort of understood Laura’s hesitance. It was hard to build a relationship without trust.

  Adam had been pretty down about it but he figured he obviously wasn’t mature enough for a proper relationship yet and had gone back to his old ways.

  “Less bickering, more food fetching!” Danny demanded petulantly, still focussed on his empty stomach.

  The twins seemed much happier once the cake was in the oven, although that was probably because Adam bought them a chocolate bar each to keep them quiet. He had them pretty well figured out.

  “Where’s my chocolate bar?” Craig complained.

  “Sorry,” Adam frowned apologetically. “I got one for everyone but they got there first.” He motioned to the twins who were both guarding a pile of chocolate is if their lives depended on it.

  “You could try sharing?” Jason shook his head at them despairingly.

  “Don’t bother, Jason,” I grinned. “I learnt early on that they’d rather donate a kidney than share food.”

  “You need food to live, Jelly,” Rick said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “You need kidneys too,” Craig mumbled, opening the door of our empty fridge and then shutting it again just so he could open it one more time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  “Good to know that medical degree is paying off,” Danny quipped.

  I saw Craig scowl and decided that it would be a good time to ask him about his upcoming title fight. He relaxed almost instantaneously and I congratulated myself on negotiating away from a possible sibling dispute.

  I got Craig and Jason to help me with whisking the cream and organising the cupboards whilst Adam and the twins played some weird variation of finger football with a Kit Kat wrapper.

  “Cake!” Rick declared happily, letting Adam score a goal once he saw me opening the oven to remove the cake.

  “It has to cool first,” I reminded him, putting myself between him and the still very hot cake.

  “Jelly, I have no qualms about going through you to get to that cake,” Rick threatened.

  “Rick,” Jason warned, stepping to my side.

  “I’m Rick,” Danny protested, joining the cake-based face-off. It may have seemed like a childish thing to do but I knew he was really just trying to make sure we didn’t argue. The twins did it all the time to try and stop family fights.

  “Nice try,” Jason grinned. “But Rick’s taller than you are.”

  I smirked at Jason as the twins started bickering amongst themselves and enlisted Craig’s help to usher them out of the room so they could continue their argument away from sharp objects.
r />   Thankfully, Ian and Matt arrived back and ordered the twins out to fetch the shopping from the car. We followed and, between the eight of us, we got it all in with just one trip. They’d bought a lot. More than a lot. I watched with my jaw hanging open as they started unpacking bag after bag.

  “Jamie,” Jason took my hand and pulled me out into the hall. “They’re just trying to be nice, little squirrel. I know you want to be independent and you feel like you’re just taking from them but it obviously means a lot to them that they know you’re taken care of.”

  I knew he meant well, and I knew he was right, but I just felt so guilty. “I just wish I could give something back,” I frowned.

  “Jamie, you’re an amazing sister to them,” Jason shook his head, dismissing my protests. “But maybe instead of arguing with them about trying to be nice to you, you could just say thank you and be grateful instead?”

  I nodded. He was right. Of course he was right. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful; I just wished that I could give something back.

  Chapter 9

  Saturday, 6th July 2013

  “Dude, that thing’s massive!” I heard Adam exclaim from the kitchen.

  They were unboxing what looked suspiciously like a flat screen television.

  “Ian,” I gasped. “Did you buy a TV?”

  “Can’t live without a telly,” he shrugged, his focus on the food he was putting into the fridge.

  “If we stay with you we need to watch the football,” Matt offered his completely bogus explanation.

  “Consider it a late birthday present,” Ian added.

  My fingers subconsciously flew to the locket around my neck which was the best birthday present I ever expected to get. I didn’t want anything else.

  “You didn’t have to get all this,” I said awkwardly, looking around at the mountains of food and kitchen accessories they’d gotten us.

  Jason shot me a meaningful look from behind Ian’s shoulder.

  “But it’s really nice of you, thank you,” I added, making sure to hug both Ian and Matt.

  “Granddad would have kicked my arse if he knew you didn’t have a kettle,” Ian mumbled, clearly uncomfortable with my thanks.

  I giggled at the mental image as he hugged me before helping him unpack the rest of the shopping and smacking the twins’ hands away from my still cooling cake.