by Willow Dean
All in moderation is what I say! It can’t be against the right of passage either considering I’m still here, alive and kicking.
Well, sort of.
Jax and I sit in companionable silence. Just two people enjoying their meal and watching the world go by. Unsurprisingly, our peace doesn’t last long.
Completely lost in our own thoughts, we both jump when someone drops out of the tree and lands next to us.
So much for working on your awareness of your surroundings, Mila.
My hand goes straight to my chest in an attempt to try and calm my racing heart. Of course, we all know who the culprit is.
I mean…who else could it be, really?
Linc, who arrives the normal way, slugs Micah hard in the arm whilst he continues to brush away the errant twigs and leaves that have gotten tangled in his clothes.
“Bro, what was that for?!” Micah whines, frantically rubbing at his arm.
“You scared Mila half to death. Be more sensitive,” Linc chastises gruffly. Looking like a kicked puppy, Micah apologizes immediately before sitting down and delving into his lunch.
Meeting Linc’s gaze over Micah’s shoulder, I give him a grateful look, to which he averts his eyes bashfully. His cheeks flush a pretty pink at my silent acknowledgment as he too settles down to eat his lunch, not showing much interest in speaking or interacting with us as per usual.
One thing you need to know about Linc is that everything he does has intention. His silent and broody nature may make him appear aloof and completely disinterested. When in reality, he is anything but.
Once you get to know him, you’ll find him to be a very thoughtful and attentive person. Someone that goes above and beyond to help protect those that he loves, no matter the cost.
As someone who has now experienced the darker side of life, it’s not difficult for me to see that he uses those emotions to conceal his true self. Try as he may, the pain in his eyes still shines far too brightly for any amount of covering up to be successful.
He may be fooling the simpletons here, but he can’t fool me. Locking his emotions away in an iron cage, he dons a mask to make himself look unapproachable to avoid having to open up or face his true feelings.
Used to being the silent protector, he’s the person who will happily sacrifice anything in order to take on other peoples burdens. All so that they are able to live carefree and untroubled lives.
Although we’ve spent minimal alone time with one another, since I started living with them, it’s obvious that he doesn’t open up to anyone.
I plan to change that. I plan on getting to know his deepest darkest secrets, if only to relieve some of the burden that weighs heavily on his shoulders.
I want to help him as he has helped me. I want to ease the weight of his worries and to coax him out of his shell. He, more than any of our ragtag group, deserves true peace and fulfillment.
As I finish my sandwich, I’m overcome with another wave of exhaustion. Maybe it was too much to start back on full days. It’s already taken a lot out of me and we’re only halfway through the day.
Sighing, I lean back and close my eyes again, hoping to get a little shuteye.
“Where’s Rick and Austin?” Someone asks.
“They’re with Lachlan. They got called in to look at another part of the case.” Hums of acknowledgement go around before everything goes quiet again.
Lying here, out in the open, with the smell of freshly cut grass and the guys by my side, everything feels right. Natural.
I would give anything to have my family back. Yet, in this moment, in a twisted way, I’m glad that things have turned out the way they have.
Despite not knowing the guys or Lachlan all that well, they’ve been so welcoming and forthcoming. We are all getting to know each other one piece at a time, and it’s slow going, but there’s a strong sense of satisfaction each time they share a new part about themselves with me.
It’s nice to see them finally opening up. Even though they do a decent job of masking their emotions, each one of their frames has been stuffed full of anxiety and tension since the very second I first met them.
Not that I blame them. I would probably react the same way if I had to take some random person under my wing without having even met them properly before.
It’s bad enough having someone completely new and unknown crashing into your daily life and invading your living space, but to then have to adjust your life around that person and continue to keep your secrets to yourself. Difficult is an understatement.
Despite their clever cover-ups, it’s clear that each one of them has a painful and traumatic past. It should therefore come as no surprise to me, that they don’t like talking about it.
Triggers seem to be a taboo subject, yet it’s not hard to determine that the subtle flinches and frequent glazed over looks are not normal reactions to simple everyday occurrences.
Nevertheless, they all seemed to have relaxed a little since I dive-bombed their lives.
At the risk of sounding like I’m blowing my own trumpet, they do appear to have become more chilled and willing to open up ever since we first met.
For all I know, this could be their normal. I merely hadn’t witnessed it since I’d not been the resident rodent that is overtaking their lives. Until now.
Meh. Whatever.
I could talk myself around in circles. My point is, opening up is good. Clamming up is bad. Simple.
Hopefully, we’ll come to be even closer when we start training and completing missions together. It’ll be nice to feel a part of something again and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to help eradicate some of the shadows that follow in their footsteps.
A quiet groan distracts from my musings. It sounded like Micah but I couldn’t be sure.
Cracking open an eye, my suspicions are confirmed when I see his face tense up just as the most high-pitched, annoying voice to have ever blessed this earth, breaks the silence.
Naturally, it belongs to the clingiest and most self-obsessed girl in college. “Micah, Baby!”
Oh dear heavens above. I’m going to have to scrub my eyes and ears out with bleach and a particularly stiff brillo pad. Her presence is that awful.
“I haven’t seen you in ages! What are you doing out here?”
Darcy Thiccs, and yes that is her real name, walks towards us in the skimpiest outfit known to man. Flanked by her two go-girls, Macy and Bianca. I think?
I don’t know! It’s not like I pay that much attention to them.
Gem and I always referred to them as Crabbe and Goyle because of how much they remind us of the two idiots in Harry Potter who worshipped the air breathed by that Slytherin fool, Malfoy.
They share a lot in common too. All of them are spineless and utterly clueless twits.
“Darce. What a pleasure,” Micah drawls sarcastically. I wince.
Darce?! Seriously?! That’s just gross.
Crossing the grass and plonking herself down in Micah’s lap, she throws her arms around his neck and nearly elbows me in the face in the process.
Jax pulling me to the side with his extraordinarily quick reflexes is the only reason I avoid getting a black eye. My reaction times are obviously, not quite up to par just yet.
Linc barely even reacts to her arrival as his gaze remains firmly fixed on the food in his lap as he continues to eat. Micah looks pained, but surprisingly enough, he makes no move to dislodge her.
Moving his hands away from her, he puts them on the ground behind him and leans back, putting at least some distance between himself and the blown up Barbie doll in his lap.
Wasting no time at all, Darcy notices the gaping space between them and leans into his chest as she starts pawing at him. Literally.
Quite fucking literally.
Linc clears his throat and Darcy’s attention snaps straight to him. Pinning him with a predatory stare, she holds an air of practiced arrogance about her as she practically spits words at him, her voice as cold a
s ice.
“Aww, you brought your recluse of a brother with you as well, how sweet. Maybe one of the girls will take pity on him, won’t you B?”
My body tenses at the malice in her tone. Linc’s spine straightens almost imperceptibly before he relaxes again. Making a conscious effort to hide his discomfort, he pretends as if he didn’t just hear every single word she said.
Micah looks annoyed but doesn’t make any moves to defend his brother. Jax tightens the arm that he left around my shoulders, but doesn’t intervene either.
Are neither of them going to say anything?!
I wait a couple of seconds more to see if either of them has the balls to stand up to her and support their brother.
Nothing. Not one twitch.
Unhooking Jax’s arm from around me, I stand up and clear my throat. The bitch doesn’t even acknowledge me. Instead, she continues to paw her filthy mitts all over Micah, spewing filth through that satanic mouth of hers.
“Excuse me, Darcella?”
Darcella. Get it? Like Cruella…Cruella Deville.
No? Well, I thought it was funny. I can’t help it if you suckers don’t have a half-decent sense of humor.
“Fancy taking yourself and your merry band of followers elsewhere? I’m sure your little pot of wisdom would be much more appreciated somewhere else,” I urge as diplomatically as possible before tagging on under my breath, “Somewhere that is most definitely not here.”
Aannd…nothing. Nada.
Stepping round in front of her, I grab the wrist that she continues to use to maul Micah with and earn myself a scowl.
Well at least I got her attention.
Crouching down so I’m at her eye level, I keep my eyes fixed on hers. “You don’t just get to waltz over here and sit in his lap, without his permission, whilst insulting his brother. Get your filthy ass out of here before we have a problem,” I growl.
Woops! There goes that anger again. Such a shame I let it get the better of me.
“And who do you think you are? The queen bee?” She snarls, before her face softens into that of faux innocence as she returns her attention back to Micah. “Micah is mine, aren’t you darling?” She coos in a sickly-sweet voice, peering up at him through thick lashes that continue to batter away incessantly.
I swear. I’m going to puke.
Micah visibly swallows, seemingly unsure of what to do or say. He refuses to even make eye contact with me as I remain crouched at his feet with her wrist still in my grip.
Sighing, I let go of her hand and stand. I won’t do everything for him if he isn’t even willing to try and help himself. I’m bending down to collect my bag when her next words stop me dead in my tracks.
“Besides, you can have his brother. He’s just a useless waste of space anyway. All he’s good for is being broody and socially inept. The loner doesn’t even speak. You are more than welcome to him,” she says snidely, waving a dismissive hand in his direction.
Gritting my teeth, I see red.
Catching her hand mid-wave, I haul her off Micah’s lap and drag her away from our group, launching her towards dumb and dumber.
Getting close up in her face as she rights herself, I close the distance between us so that our noses are nearly touching.
“I don’t care who you think you are. If you ever speak about anyone like that again, or come drool over Micah like a blood sucking leach, I will make you wish you had never lived. Get your filthy, skank-ass out of here before I make you,” I state coolly.
Even I’m quite impressed that my voice doesn’t crack with the amount of anger welling up inside me right now. It may not break, but anyone with half a brain cell could detect the sharp and menacing undertone that holds a silent promise of violence.
Darcy is able to detect at least that much as her eyes widen and a tremor runs through her hands.
All bark, no bite. Pathetic.
After a second, she puffs herself up and tilts her chin up so that it’s higher than mine. If I weren’t so infuriated, I would have laughed at her weak prostration. She’s about as intimidating as a Shiatsu with a fucking blow up bow-tie around it’s neck.
Crossing her arms over her chest and huffing, she stomps her feet -I kid you not- and spins with a flick of her hair over her shoulder.
Strutting away, she calls back over her shoulder. “If I were you whore, I’d watch that gaping, dirty ass of yours. They won’t always be around to protect you.”
I wait until the trio disappear through the doors of the cafeteria before whirling on Micah.
“What the fuck was that?” I demand in utter disbelief. He didn’t even bother to stand up for himself, let alone his brother!
“I don’t know. I don’t even like her. She’s just always had this…fixation on me,” he replies with a shrug, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
Crouching down in front of him, I clench my jaw, trying hard to restrain my anger and irritation at his blatant disregard of the verbal spew she just vomited at his twin.
“I do not care what she thinks of you, nor what you think of her.” His head snaps up at my words. A hopeful look gleaming in his eyes. Wow. Of all the people, I did not expect that reaction from him.
He thought that I was upset because she showed an interest in him, and that I thought what? Maybe that he returned her feelings?!
My breath hisses between my teeth as I seethe. “What I do care about, is that fact that you let her shit talk your brother like that and you did absolutely fuck all to stop her.” His smile drops, leaving behind a face full of pain and remorse.
Lowering my voice, I look him dead in the eye.
“You guys may not have confided in me yet, and you may not see what he does for you all, but it’s obvious that Linc does everything in his power to protect you all. He sat there in silence, taking her tongue-lashing and vile words so that you weren’t caught in the crossfire.” His eyes flick over to his brother for a second before settling back on me.
“He let her abuse him without even questioning it, all because he was thinking about saving you from her childish and self-righteous outburst that was sure to follow if you intervened.”
Lifting my head, I look to Jax who is watching on, just as ashamed. Good. He knows full well that I include him in what I say as well.
“You should both be ashamed of yourselves.” Standing abruptly, I walk over to where my bag is and reach down to get it, just as my vision waivers and everything goes funny. Before I even register what’s happening, I’m halfway to the floor.
Wait, no. I’m hovering midair. Huh.
Okay, hovering isn’t exactly correct. The taut muscular arm around my waist might have something to do with why I’m currently suspended in mid-air. Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes meet Linc’s glazed ones, which are full of turbulent emotions that he rarely shows.
Twisting in his grip, I place my hands on his arms to stabilize myself as he moves me to a standing position.
“Has the dizziness gone?” A gentleman of few words, but a gentleman nonetheless.
I nod, giving him a soft smile, not quite sure what to say after that save. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Letting me go, I go to bend for my bag -slowly this time- but Linc intercepts me. Hoisting it over his shoulder, he sweeps an arm out in front of him with a little bow and a look that says, after you.
A chuckle slips out of me as I tap his chest with the back of my hand. A grin lights my face as I lead the way to my next class.
Family is a beautiful thing to have.
Fortunately, I don’t have any lectures with Jax or Micah this afternoon. Just the next lecture with Linc, then IT with Rick this afternoon.
Exhausted and grumpy, I just want a sugary cup of coffee and a nice warm bed. I just hope the rest of the day goes without a hitch.
Unlikely.
17 Mila
Exiting one of the stalls to wash my hands, I find three figures lined up with their backs to the exit of the girl’s bathroom. Al
l of them are facing in my direction and blocking the only exit out of the room.
All I want to do is go home, is it really too much for me to ask for just one afternoon of simplicity and smooth sailing?!
Currently, the only thing standing between me, a delicious cup of coffee and a nice comfy bed is that snotty nosed brat and her minions.
Maybe I should buy them yellow suits and dungarees to go with her Dalmatian spotted fur coat.
A snicker slips loose at the thought. I mean seriously, couldn’t they at least be a little less cliché and accost me somewhere other than the piss pot?!
The rose gardens around back maybe, or the courtyard out front, or hell...I don’t know, just somewhere that isn’t here!
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the whore of the century.” Oh, how original. “You really think you can have all three of them? You don’t stand a chance with any of them, apart from maybe that social loner,” potty mouth jabs.
Knowing she isn’t going to let me go anywhere until she’s ran her mouth, I lean back against the sink and feign boredom. I even start inspecting my nails as I wait for her to finish her tirade.
“Micah will never take a second look at you. You parade around like you think you’re it. Well news flash for you,” I cringe as she does that head wiggle and flicky hand thing, “you are nothing but an ugly clinger. My boys will be glad to get rid of you.”
As if they practice synchronicity, the minions cover their giggling mouths with their hands whilst Darcella looks on smugly, quite happy with herself.
All I can offer in response to her threat, is a raise of an eyebrow. “Are you done? Got everything you want, out of your system?” I tilt my head. Silence. “Good, because I’m bored and want to go home. Now if you’ll excuse me,” I state dryly.
Stepping forward, I go to move past her but she mimics my movement and ends up directly in front of me instead. Her face flushes in anger as she tests the meaning of the words personal space, getting as close as she possibly can without physically touching me.
“Why don’t you just wheedle your way back home to your parents? Oh wait. That’s right. You don’t have any,” she sneers with a sadistic grin, victory shining brightly in those positively ugly grey eyes of hers.