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She never bought home men, kept those far away from me growing up and I respected her highly for that. To put your child before a partner was the right thing to do, but the reality was that it was very rare. How often did we hear of kids not seeing one of their parents after a separation? Only to find out that parent had gotten a golden pussy, or a cock draped in diamonds, so now that had become their only primary concern, quickly forgetting their priorities.
Recently she introduced me to her new toy boy who was six years younger than her forty-seven years. Luckily for him, after a background check which came back clean, I’d given my approval.
After a monotonous few hours of classes, I swiftly left for home. I needed some peace from all the chatter whispered on campus. Hours later, I was still restless.
A sixth sense, a kind of intuition feeling, smothered me. A warning that life as I knew it was about change. My body became restless with pent up, burning energy that whirled inside of me.I wonder if Texas will go a few rounds with me in the ring?
I was always on edge and ready for the variations that everyday life threw at me. I expected it. Life wasn’t stagnant; it constantly revolved whether you sat and watched it pass by impassively or grabbed it tight to ride the waves. Nothing stayed the same, ever.
I decided to forgo pulling Texas away from whatever the fuck he was doing—or whoever he was doing.Fucking playboy. Pulling my sneakers on, I grabbed the dark grey hoodie left on the hanger in the hallway. It could be mine, but more than likely was not. Living with two other guys, especially Preston and Texas, was a daily challenge to my sanity. I patted myself on the back for putting up with them on a full-time basis.
They left their belongings everywhere. As an only child who was very organised, I liked to know where my items were. Everything had a place, just like everyone.
There weren’t enough fingers on my hands to count the number of times I’d throat punched them for messing with my items. I was pretty sure after the couple of years we’d lived together they did it deliberately to rile me up for no other reason than a good laugh. I’d gotten better at sharing, kind of.
I hoped this was Preston’s hoodie, knowing it would be an expensive designer brand and it would entirely piss him off for soaking gym sweat into it. Snatching my keys from the side table, I headed out to the gym I frequented to burn some energy. The shed punching bag just wouldn’t do today.
Ignoring the punching bags and fighting ring, I swerved to the cardio area and plonked down. I set up the rowing machine and slid on my headphones. Music blared in my ears and I lost myself in the continuous rhythm of sliding back and forth. I upped my speed every so often to increase my heart rate then slowed down slightly.
I wish I could say that the music and the endorphins from the workout helped, but it didn’t take the edge off. Grabbing my water bottle, I downed gulps of much needed liquid. After quenching my thirst, I threw it in the bin and wiped down the equipment.
Gathering my items, I grabbed a quick shower, letting the drops of the ice-cold water fall on my flesh, causing goosebumps to rise all over. I despised freezing myself to death under the cold water, but it kept my muscles from locking up and aching.
After I rinsed off, I grabbed the towel and wrapped it round my waist and headed to the locker. Pulling on clean clothes, I dumped the sweaty ones in my gym bag and threw it over my shoulder to leave.
Pulling into the driveway a while later, I stood regarding the house in front of me, leaning my body onto the hood of my car.
A modern two-story townhouse built around five years ago; I knew when I saw it just over a year ago that it was made for me. While most college kids couldn’t even dream of affording a house, I was able to buy it outright. I loved the simplicity of the natural bricks, with a simple black front door and the greenery of the planted rectangular bushes on each side framing the walkway to the doorway entrance, maintained by the groundsmen who kept everything tidy within this gated community.
It was somewhere to safely lay my head and far enough away from my hometown, university, and work headquarters. A small slice of peace that settled my overburdened soul. Needing it separate, I discouraged people who wanted to drop in. It was an invitation only house and you’d probably be waiting a lifetime. My home, my sanctuary. Texas and Preston naturally took two of the bedrooms within the property, I didn’t tell them that was the reason I purchased a three-bedroom place big enough for us all. It was their home as much as mine.
Since I could remember, it had always been us three. Drawn to each other, and the pieces fit. We had selected rooms given to us in the dorms at university as part of our surname linked to our legacy, but those rooms were for our needs, keeping our lives separated from those around us. We had to.
I had few loyalties to people in my life. Those I did trust were etched deeply onto my skull. You could crack it open, but those names would always be deeply engraved.
Preston, Texas, Mom. That was it. Three people who were so ingrained in me I’d willingly put myself in harm’s way for them. After them came The Owls. Naturally that loyalty was a given, but it would always sit slightly behind. Okay… so maybe Miles slipped in as a fourth, too.
My phone vibrated in my back pocket. “What?” I snapped.
“Woah. I was calling my Beta team lead, not the adolescent boy I once knew.” Chris chuckled. The tension eased slightly.
“Sorry, boss. Been a day already.” It was only early afternoon, that said it all.
“Come over to the house. Val’s grumbling about not seeing any of you boys lately. Plus we need to discuss this upcoming function.” I loved Texas’ mom Valerie, so it suited me, as I didn’t fancy throwing dinner together this evening.
“I’ll be over soon,” I told him, hanging up. My mind drifted back in time.
“Hollis, look at me!” Milla laughed. Her long hair swirled round her face in the breeze, swinging her legs back and forth on the wooden swing that’d been placed here in Texas’ garden when he was younger. None of us used it anymore, but Texas’ mom refused to remove it, claiming other people made use of it. No one did except this girl. Everybody was weak for her, everyone loved her. She had that sort of vibe that pulled you in and captivated your senses, even at just ten years old.
I didn’t smile often, but when I did, it was around her. She brought the smiles out from my two closest and best friends, Texas and Preston, too. Our families were close to one another, and we decided years ago that Milla was ours to look out for, to protect, being the closest girl in age to us. All the other siblings were tiny kids or babies and they didn’t interest us.
So, it landed at our feet—she was our responsibility. And we took that seriously. The other month some boy pushed up her skirt at school and laughed that her panties were on display, so Texas walked up to the boy and punched him. The boy had left her alone since.
“I’m going to jump. Watch me!”
“No!” I shouted, which she ignored as she flew off the swing and I watched in slow motion as she hit the ground on her side. I reached her as she cried out in pain, pulling her to me. I needed to touch her. She curled into me.
I was shaking with anger, she was hurt on my watch, and I couldn’t do a thing but hold her as her dad came running over, followed by Chris—Texas’ dad—spurned into action by her loud cries that seemed to score a fissure of hurt across my chest.
