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“You’ve got such a pretty face. You don’t need any paint,” Lilah said, giving a little hiccup as she laid her head on Charlie’s shoulder.
“We’re all hot as fuck. Ain’t that right, boys?” Roxie chimed in. I turned to eye my girl. A shy smile bloomed on her face as she saw me checking her out. We didn’t say anything, the connection between us tingling.
“Jesus. Get a room. Match, hurry up. I feel like they’re about to strip and start humping in the car.” Charlie groaned.
“He’s totally obsessed with you. You know that, right?” Roxie attempted to whisper, but we all heard her.
“Makes me happy,” my girl said, as her eyes drifted shut on Charlie’s shoulder.
“Don’t fuck this up,” Charlie said, sobering up for a moment.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Give you my word.” She smiled, tilting her head so it rested on top of Lilah’s. The rest of the ride was quiet, and when we finally pulled up, all three girls were asleep. Match and I got them inside and to their designated sleeping areas. When I put Lilah down on the bed, she jerked awake.
“Shower. Too much paint on,” she murmured, and I remembered that we were both covered. Lilah was still a little drunk, her movements slow as I undressed her. Sitting her up on the bed, I slowly pulled the flowers out of her hair. Then, bending down in front of her, I slid the heels off her feet. Lilah squirmed and giggled as I pulled her clothing off, her hands on me as soon as I was close enough so she could strip me down.
Picking her up, I carried her into the shower and made sure we were both under the water. The drain was a swirl of colors, punctuated by bright white and black. We took turns washing each other, using a special remover to get all the paint off. When the water finally ran clear, I stepped back to admire my work. Barefaced and pink skin, Lilah looked stunning.
The rest of the shower was spent making a mess of each other. Lilah came twice, her cries echoing around the bathroom. Her body slumped against mine as I rinsed her off gently, aftershocks shaking her body as she started to fall asleep. Drying her off, I stuffed her into one of my shirts before pulling on a pair of boxers and collapsing next to her in bed.
Nobody better be fucking on my couch…
Chapter 28
Charlie
Halloween was awesome. It felt nice to reclaim that date, after the shit show that was the year before. Seeing Scythe with Lilah was…fucking great. Never thought it could happen, which makes me feel like a shit person. Scythe had always been nice to me—gentle, even.
Growing up, he was always around, but he held a part of himself back, quiet and brooding. He wasn’t mean, just very serious. Like with the other brothers, I accepted him as he was and claimed him as family.
He drove Crow crazy, though. It was something I noticed early on; the quiet competition between the two. It was oddly one-sided. Crow hated Scythe and wanted to tear him down at every turn. In retrospect, I think Scythe was terrified of disappointing Dad and Reaper. He wanted to be perfect for them…The perfect club brother.
Crow was so deep in his own daddy issues he never thought about how the people around him were suffering. He saw Scythe as competition for Reaper’s attention. Just like he saw Bash as competition for Reaper’s approval.
Regardless, any time Crow came at him, Scythe just took it, absorbing it internally. Then the external results would appear later. Like his hair.
When we were young, his hair was long, dropping into his eyes and hiding his face. It was a light brown, just like his mom’s. She loved his hair. I knew he kept it long for her.
“Hey, pretty boy. Need one of Charlie’s scrunchies?” Crow taunted one afternoon when we were playing tag in the woods. Scythe looked embarrassed, and it quickly morphed into anger. As he stalked toward where Crow was, I stayed hidden, watching with unease. Scythe disappeared further into the trees, and the next thing I heard was a thud, followed by a groan.
“BASH! Help!” I yelled as I ran toward the sounds. Crow and Scythe were on the ground, punching each other, Crow had a bloody nose, and Scythe was already sporting a split lip.
“Stop it! This is stupid!” I yelled before Bash ran past me, ripping the two apart. Crow wiped his face with his arm, then held his hand out like he was showing off an award. There was something dark in his grasp. When he opened his hand, a chunk of hair fell to the ground, long strands stuck to his palm and the knife he held in his other hand.
Scythe’s hand ran over the back of his head where Crow had cut the hair. Short, uneven pieces stuck out at the top of his head at an awkward angle. Upon closer inspection, some of the hairs seemed like they had been ripped out, root and all.
Scythe’s fingers coming back bloody after touching his head. Without a word, he slipped away. The next day, his hair was buzzed short. The area Crow had attacked was raw and bloody.
After that, Scythe never let it get long enough for anyone to use against him in any way again. It obviously didn’t end there. Crow was quick to pick on Scythe’s new appearance, calling him a freak.
“He looks like a fucking alien!” Crow mocked. “Your head looks huge, man. Maybe if you weren’t so scrawny, but I mean…” There were a few snickers as Scythe slipped away, not reacting. Instead, he began working out in secret. In the middle of the night or early mornings, no one ever saw him. I even heard the adults talking about it.
“Just make sure he’s being safe. Why doesn’t he work out here? I can help him with the gear.” Reaper told Beth one day. I remembered her looking uncomfortable.
“I think this is something he wants to do alone…He’s not doing anything crazy. Just lifting jugs and pushups. But I’ll let him know it’s an option. Thank you for offering.”
Scythe never took Reaper up on the offer, but he went from being long and skinny to sporting layers upon layers of muscle. The tattoos came next, and soon, any trace of that scrawny little boy with floppy hair and too-long limbs was gone.
He had grown into this version of himself, became the man he wanted to be. I wish he had gotten back at Crow more, but retrospect was a hell of a thing.
