“More than okay,” he says, cuddling me tighter against him. Our legs are all in a tangle, but no one bothers to separate them.
“You don’t mind me being with other guys?” I ask. “Even though I was your girlfriend first?”
“But you’re not my girlfriend now,” he says. “You’reourgirlfriend.”
“I love you,” I blurt, my voice full of emotion. “I love all of you.”
“And you don’t mind this?” Heath asks from my other side, where he’s laying with his head on Saint’s shoulder. “That we’re together too?”
“Why would I mind?” I ask. “I know you’ve all loved each other all your lives, just like I’ve loved you all my life.”
“That’s true,” Saint says, running his fingers through Heath’s hair.
“I mean, it seems only fair, if you’re fucking four guys, that I can fuck one,” Heath teases, leaning in to kiss me. Then he turns to the other side and kisses Saint. I lean in and kiss Angel.
“And you?” I turn to Heath when we’re both done with our kiss. “You’re okay with this? With not having all of me?”
“I have all of you,” he says. “Just like you have all of me, and so does Saint. You don’t have to cut yourself into pieces to be loved.”
My throat tightens with joy at his words, how well he understands me. How well he always did.
“Yeah,” Angel says. “You’re not a pie. You having enough love for them doesn’t mean you have less for me.”
“I don’t have less,” I say, my eyes welling with tears. “I have more. More for all of you.”
Heath leans in and plants a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I love all of you, and you love all of me, and all of them. Just like we all do.”
“Saint?” I turn to my brother, my heart pounding. We’ve been living together for a month, and once in a while, he still struggles to share me. “How do you feel about this?”
“I always chose you,” he says. “When we were kids, I always picked you. I always will. Nothing has changed.”
I wipe away a tear and lay back on Angel and Heath’s arms. “I just can’t believe I’m this lucky, that I can have this much love in my life. What did I do to deserve this?”
“You don’t have to do anything to deserve love,” Father Salvatore says. “You were born worthy.”
I nod, trying to accept that. I guess I still have my own struggles too. But I’ve found a family, one I want to be part of forever, and one who wants me. We’re moving into our own place, and we’ll be together in every sense of the word. Not just with Saint, who I’ve lived with most of our lives, but all five of us.
“Love isn’t about restriction, lamb,” Father says. “You can have more than one soul mate. Why break their hearts and just choose one? You’d never hurt your soulmates.”
“Just like I’d never want to hurt you by keeping you to myself,” Angel says. “And I’d never want to hurt them by denying them the girl they love.”
“Thank you,” I say, my heart filled with so much love it’s glowing. “You’re the best family a girl could have.”
“The best any of us could ask for,” Saint agrees.
“You’re our family too,” Angel says firmly. “Brothers, like we’ve always been. If and when you want to tell your parents about this… Whatever the outcome. We’ll be here, no matter what.”
“Exactly,” I say. “They’re your parents, but we’re your family, Saint.”
Heath nods. “Just because it started at a Catholic school, that doesn’t mean it has to be traditional.”
“And, for better or worse, anyone who’s part of my family gets mywholefamily,” Angel says. “So you just got yourself a big-ass Colombian gang at your back. Anyone fucks with you, we’ll fuck them up.”
“You even have a Father if your dad is a dick,” Heath says. “Daddy Dante.”
“And a sister,” Saint says. “Eternity is a sister to all of us now.”
I’m grateful for his reassurance, especially after what happened with Ronique. It’s nice to know he only sees Eternity as a friend now, the way I do. That he was just trying to make me jealous that day on the beach, and it wasn’t about her. Maybe it makes me a sinner, but I’m secretly glad every time I hear him disparage our parents for me. For what they did. I don’t need their approval anymore, don’t crave their acceptance. I have my own family now, one that loves and accepts every member, just as we are.
