Okay. Go on your date, but don’t settle. Date me, too. Dating a guy isn’t marrying him. Take a chance with me.
I blinked down at the message, computing what he’d said. He wanted me to date both of them? The idea was ridiculous. Except, maybe it wasn’t? He was right. Dating didn’t mean it had to be serious. As long as I was honest with Ren and Oli, Icouldget to know them both.
KC
Are you sure?
Oli
Yes. Please?
Damn it. What a proposition. Was I really going to do this?
KC
Ok.
9
REN
When I was ten years old, I fell from a tree in our backyard. Mom had told me not to climb up the sycamore, but I’d been young and determined to prove to my parents that I was a big boy, like Luke or our other older brother, Henry, and sister, Alicia.
So, I strode out the door with the determination and innocence that only a ten-year-old could have and climbed to the very top. It was only when I’d reached the highest point that I’d realized I couldn’t get back down. I’d cried quietly, scared of the height and terrified of what Mom would say, before I’d gathered my courage and attempted to wriggle back down. My foot had caught a branch the wrong way and I’d tumbled, landing awkwardly on my ankle.
I’d screamed.
Luke had come running out of the house. He’d comforted me, assured me everything would be all right, but we both knew Mom would never let me hear the end of it. She’d yell and ground me and take away my allowance. We didn’t talk about her in that moment, though.
At fourteen years old, Luke called a taxi and took me to our family doctor, ignoring the cruel jeers from our siblings about how stupid I was. The receptionist at the clinic had to inform Mom, of course, and she’d stomped into the building with so much anger I was more scared of her than falling out of the tree.
Luke had taken the brunt of her rage, though, blaming himself and telling her that he’d dared me.
He hadn’t.
In the end, I’d broken my ankle and they put it in a cast. I’d needed crutches for weeks. But from disaster came hope. Luke and I grew closer than ever. He was a superhero. My big brother who’d protected me from Mom. And when I grew up, I wanted to be exactly like him.
Then, he’d moved away two years later. Everything changed. No one was there to hold my hand anymore. No one was there to help me. Mom didn’t care. She was busy with fundraising and her friends and my sister. Father wanted me to act like a man, but all he did was storm around the house and demand perfection. Was that what a man should be? A fucking asshole? The world around me warped into a nightmare.
And it was entirely Luke’s fault. He’d been the first domino to fall. The superhero I’d loved turned into a villain.
Death came.
Rules were thrown into place.
And finally, I was sent away to a boarding school.
Luke was the plague and my retribution was the cure.
“Thanks for inviting me out.” A pleasant flush spread across KC’s cheeks. His blush was different from Oliver’s, which was layered in innocence. KC wasn’t innocent, far from it, but he was still kind and softhearted, a terrible trait for someone to have, especially while he was so deeply involved with a one-percenter motorcycle club, thanks to Luke.
How did my brother change so much from the guy who used to take care of me? I shifted uncomfortably. And why was he being so nice to KC now? Acting like family to him?
Something slithered through me, and I refused to label it, but irritation dug into me and I couldn’t ignore it.
Jealous.
I wasjealousof KC, which was stupid. Having Luke in your life didn’t help anyone in the end.
