13. Chapter 13 - Layrin
Chapter 13
“ I can wait for Roux to get a shirt.” I shrugged, kept my voice as even as possible, but my heart was pounding and my flesh burning with need. Yep, I needed him in a shirt, but I wasn't about to admit that to them.
“Yes, Roux! You're totally bothering me.” Roux turned his ire onto his brother just as Ravi winked at me, his mouth pinched to the side as if that would stop his lips from quivering.
Fucking Ravi. Even when he was helping, he was definitely not helping! I sat down, my back to the both of them, not wanting them to see how they affected me. Footsteps going up the stairs and quiet arguing sounded behind me as I covered up my chuckle. It was cute when they acted like the boys I used to know.
The realization came a moment too late that while I was saving myself from those two, I’d set myself up for the most dangerous one. Rion was still seated on the coffee table right in front of me, scooting closer with laser-like focus. Out of the millions of things I thought he would ask, the last thing I would ever expect came out of his tight-lipped mouth. “So, what are you doing with the Riccis'?”
That's what he wants to know? That's what consumed his thoughts?
I threw my hands up, huffing out a breath as I sagged into the couch. “Really?! What is it with you guys and them? Is it some old rich family feud? Something like the Capulets and the Montagues?” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at that last part, hoping he got the hint about how ridiculous this all sounded.
He straightened up and crossed his arms, eyes screaming that he wasn't going to quit. “Something like that.”
Does he realize how stupid that sounds? I had shaken my head and sat up, ready to tell him some hard truths, when quick steps raced down the stairs. A happy-go-lucky voice belted, “We’re all dressed and ready!”
Ravi hopped the couch, landing right next to me. His head shifted between me and Rion before he gasped and covered his mouth. “Oh no! Am I interrupting your first fight? Should I take a picture? Keep a memento? I’m sure you're both going to want to remember this moment forever.”
In unison, Rion and I twisted our heads in his direction, glaring at him with the fire of a thousand suns. He shielded himself from us. “No! Not together. You know that when your anger teams up, it's invincible!”
A small exhale, then a smile crossed my face. He pointed at me immediately. “Got ya! You know you can’t be mad at me forever, Rin. My boyish charm is your weakness.” While he was right, I didn’t want to admit it so I punched him in the arm, just like I would when we were nine.
He whined like it hurt, but with the defined hard muscles that met my fist, there was no way it did. I smirked at Rion, who returned it with a small smile, and I knew we were done being frustrated with each other.
I didn’t know what it was about with these boys, but I was comfortable with them in a way I couldn’t be with others. I had only been with them for one year of my childhood, but that was all it took. As soon as I saw Ravi, I knew I was going to drop anything and go with him. These boys were once my everything, and I needed answers.
Just like Pandora's box, everything I’d felt when they left flew out of that tightly latched box deep inside me. My hands clenched together, picking at my nails, and my throat felt raw. Unwanted tears gathered in my eyes, so I looked down, not wanting them to see me break down. The only word I could get out of my mouth was “Why?”
I heard the creaks and shifting of fabric, but I still couldn't look at them, unable to make sense of all the feelings and thoughts rushing around my brain. There was a dark vortex inside of me, throwing out one horrible thing after another. I took a shaky inhale to try to calm my body and mind, but it wasn't enough. The pain was just too much.
A set of fingers dug into my shoulders, turning me all the way around and forcing me to look up. Familiar fire-filled eyes looked down at me, Roux's fingers tightened to the point of being painful before he croaked, “We had no choice. Do you hear me? We. Had. No. Fucking. Choice.”
Drops of water hit my hand as tears carved their way down my face. I stared at him, the angry brother that would always push me away, always make me feel unwanted. This man was begging me to believe him, to see his sincerity and take a chance.
The only one who could make me truly believe those words would be Roux.
“He’s right, you know,” Ravi’s soft voice called out from right behind me, but my eyes were glued to Roux, still feeding off him.
Rion whispered, “We tried to send you a gift when you turned eighteen, but it was sent back to us. We didn't know where you were.”
“I didn’t know that,” I whispered back, lowering my eyes to Roux’s chest when they watered over again, turning his defined chest into a hazy, undefined tan wall. After they left, I thought they didn't care about me. I’d thought that I was just some girl they once knew, but if they sent a present at eighteen, that meant they had at least thought of me once in the past eleven years.
I did mean something to them.
That thought broke the dam welding up my heart, and instead of the occasional drops, it was a free-flowing waterfall. Roux’s grip became less forceful, more like he was just holding me up now, and I appreciated it. “I ran away after I turned eighteen. Miss Vaughn wanted me to stay for one more year. She thought she could get another year's worth of checks since she’d found me as a baby and could claim she miscalculated my age, but I knew I had to get out, get away.” Swiping at my tears became useless because they were just replaced with new ones. Once I got started, I just kept going.
“I’d done enough under-the-table jobs to purchase a beat-up, old Honda Accord and drive a few towns over where no one knew me as Layrin, the cursed child.” I spat that last part out, still pissed that was my lot in life. “Then the rest… It was just survival, living one day at a time to get to the next.” I shrugged, puffing out a laugh that held no humor. “It's not a big deal. That's just life, right?”
Yanking myself out of Roux’s grip, I closed my eyes and settled back onto the couch. The vortex of feelings inside of me began to calm, knowing the worst of it had already come out.
“Rin?” Ravi’s sweet soft voice said as the couch dipped right next to me. “What do you mean by the cursed child?”
Blowing out a heavy sigh, I answered without opening my eyes. “You know how they felt about me. It just got worse when I went into high school.”
“Just because she found you on Halloween, that's hardly a reason for the whole town to call you a cursed child.” Rion’s condescending tone came out loud and clear.
Clenching my teeth, I sat up and opened my eyes. “You would be right if that was all it was.”
The boys looked at each other, doing that triplet talking thing inside their heads. I snarled before I interrupted their silence. “When you make a friend and bad things happen to them, people get wary.” Raising my hand, I ticked off the situations. “When the boy who was your first kiss gets his face bashed in, people talk.” Rolling my eyes, I kept going. “And don't get me started on the fact that the guy I had… relations with disappeared. Later, he showed up with his dick cut off, so traumatized he couldn't talk about it.”
I huffed again and lowered my hand, not too sad about this one. “Then my high school bully ended up getting hit by a bus. She lost a toe and broke both of her legs. So, yeah, I ended up being Layrin, the cursed girl. Hide your boys and girls from the girl who would ensure bad things happened to you or your family. Don’t invite the cursed girl to join, or else you will all get hexed. Make sure she stays hidden from society, so people don’t associate us with you.”
My fists clenched as I thought back to everything I had gone through. It was insanely hard to get a job when people didn't want to see you, so I had to work in the back or in the alley. All of it was done under the table since beggars couldn’t be choosers, and that meant they could pay me whatever measly amount they wanted. I worked harder than anyone else my age even while making less than minimum wage, but it was fine because as soon as I left that shitty old town, I was free of it. No one called me Layrin the cursed, again.
“So, I got out and went a few towns over, making sure no one knew who I was. I worked odd jobs until Mel hired me at the diner.” And I met Vivian. My first adult friend. Her smile popped into my head, and my throat closed up. If I hadn't already dried up from crying earlier, the waterworks would’ve burst again.
“Enough about me.” I waved them off, trying to draw the attention away from me before I looked up, afraid to see the pity most people gave me when they heard just a bit of my story. My eyes widened at the sight of them. Rion’s fingers were digging into his biceps, Ravi’s chest rose and fell at an accelerated pace, and Roux’s nostrils were flared. All three of their faces had darkened, looking like they wanted to go to war.
“I could have every one of their bank accounts drained in—” I put my finger against Rion’s lips to silence him and gave him a true smile. His lips smashed into a thin line as I reached for Ravi and Roux’s fisted hands, keeping my eyes on Rion’s the whole time. “While it's sweet that you want to defend me, I just want to let it go. I never really talk about my past because I want it behind me, not affecting my future. The past is in the past.”
I squeezed their fists and nodded to Rion before I let go. “So, what about the three of you? All I remember is that rich guy coming to get you, then away you went. Miss Vaughn later said he was your uncle. What have you guys been up to? What have your lives been like? Why did you even go to the orphanage when you had a living relative?”
Each of them had the same hesitation, the same far-off look that said they had seen some shit. What could they have been through to earn that look? Did the prep school kids make fun of them or something? Before I had a moment to ask, Rion beat me to it.
“When our uncle found us, he explained that he hadn’t known about us. At the time, the Ambros family consisted of our father, our uncle, and our grandma. Our family runs a large firm out of Manhattan, New York.”
Ravi spoke up next. “One night, our parents were coming back from a trip, but they got into a plane crash and died.”
My face fell. I hurt for these boys. I knew that I had been left in the woods, my parents not having wanted me, but they’d had parents that loved them. That lost must’ve been a hard thing to process.
“I’m sorry.” I bowed my head for their loss.
Ravi snatched my hand and squeezed it, drawing my hand up to rub his cheek along my palm. I rubbed my thumb over his cheek, giving him the comfort he was begging for. With Ravi, it was easy because he was always the first one to take that step forward.
Roux’s voice tightened as he rolled his eyes at Ravi. “This happened when we were about five. A family friend had promised our parents that they’d take us and raise us away from all of it, wanting us to have a simple life.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean you lived with this family friend for four years before you came to the orphanage?” My eyes ping ponged between them. They’d never really told me their story, and although it had always seemed like a sore subject, I did not expect this.
“Yes.” Rion took a breath and responded, “We actually thought she was our mother, but our uncle showed us proof that she wasn't.”
My mind was still reeling from the news. “Then how did you end up at the orphanage?”
“She realized my uncle had caught on to what really happened, so she told us we were taking a long trip. She packed us up in a van and drove around neighboring states for days, trying to lose his tail. She eventually ended up at the Virginia state line, where she put us in the bed of a truck and told us we were going to live in a new home from now on.” Rion kept his face neutral, but I knew that had to have hurt.
Clutching at my hand, Ravi added, “She never told us what was going on, so when we came to the orphanage, we thought she would come back and get us. Obviously, she never did.”
“Then our uncle found us. He told us who our family really was and what was expected of us.” Roux tried to sound like it didn't bother him, his face frozen in a stone-like expression, but his eyes could never lie. I knew this bothered him.
Something about what he said caught my attention, so I turned toward him. “What was expected?”
Rion took over, calling me to face him instead. “Our family has been around for generations and has been a figurehead for the firm for just as long. We needed to start at the ground up, so we went through some intense training when he brought us back.” He reached for my hand in my lap, hesitating long enough for his eyes to flick to mine in question.
I grabbed his hand, trying to tell him that I would be there for them. They were important people in my life, the only positive link to my childhood. I would help them in any way I could.
His hand squeezed mine, eyes staring at our grip with this far-off expression. “These obligations were the reason it took us so long to try to contact you.” He raised his head, his gaze begging me to understand. “The plan was always to come back for you, to take care of you, like we’d promised all those years ago. We just…”
“Lost me after I took off.” I finished the sentence for him, almost a little dazed. Everything was falling into place, and part of it was my fault. My muscles tightened as dark thoughts swirled around my mind. You were always impatient. Of course they needed time. We were just kids, but as soon as we were adults, you got up and ran, making it so they couldn't find you. This was your fault. You're the problem, and you always have been. They were yours, but you screwed it up.
A gentle hand began to rub circles on my back, soothing my body, which switched me out of that head space and back to reality. “But now you’re here, and we have a second chance to make things right, to live up to our promises, and, Rin, we want to.”
My head snapped up, looking at Ravi like he didn't know what he was talking about, then Rion chimed in. “We don’t want to waste this opportunity to get to know the adult Layrin. Hopefully, we can be the ones you can count on again.”
I peeked a glance at Roux, trying to see if this was just his brother's declaration or if they all agreed with this. In typical Roux fashion, with arms crossed and a tight-lipped line for a mouth, he nodded. That was the best I was going to get, yet it filled my soul.
For just a flash of a second, I envisioned jumping into each of their arms and kissing them. Ravi’s would be soft and sweet, his tongue playfully, always wanting more. Roux’s would be dominating and rough, his hands pulling at my body to keep me where he wanted me. Rion’s would be slow and methodical, taking his time to light the fire inside of me, making me practically beg him for more.
I shook my head, reminding myself that I needed to rein in my wildly running emotions. We’d just agreed to be good friends again, and there was no need to ruin that with my lust-filled thoughts. “I think that sounds great. I’d like to start fresh with all of you and learn about the men you’ve all turned out to be.”
“There’s one more thing, Rin, that we need to tell you.” Rion’s stern voice had everything inside of me coming to a halt. See, I knew this was all too good to be true . I swatted that dark thought away and forced my nerves to calm. Facing Rion, I motioned for him to continue, bracing myself for the worst.
“We’re going to need you to pretend that you only know one person, R. Ambros.” My brows pinched as I shifted my attention to Ravi, then to Roux, both of whom avoided looking me in the eye.
Rion stayed quiet while I digested his request. Thinking back to when Ravi talked to Elio, he’d never mentioned his brothers or any other Ambros. Then there was the time Ravi had given me the two-finger sneeze, the signal we’d come up with in the orphanage when we wanted the others to play dumb, to trust the other person to make their play.
I twirled around toward Ravi. “Was that why you gave me the signal?”
His face brightened like the sun. “It was a gamble to rely on our old code, but you caught on quick, and he didn't notice.”
“Notice what?” I was still confused about what I was supposed to keep hidden and why.
“That we knew you from before you came to this school. The Riccis' will use you to get to us, and we don’t want you mixed up in the mess between us,” Rion answered, but I had this sinking feeling in my stomach that he wasn't telling me the whole truth.
“That, and we’ve convinced the whole school that R. Ambros is only one person, not three people playing the same role.” Roux sighed like all of this was just a bother to him.
Lowering my head, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. These weren’t just simple secrets. These were big life-affecting secrets that were going to take some effort on my part to keep because one thing was for sure, I was going to keep their secrets. The Ambros triplets were back in my life like they’d risen from the dead, and I wasn’t about to ruin that for anything.
It also ties you to them. They can’t abandon someone who knows their secrets . I kept that ugly thought to myself, hating that it came from my insecurities, but at the same time, I knew it was the truth.
“Okay.” I faced them with my best we’re-in-this-together smile. “Now, you need to explain why you’re pulling the triplet trick on everyone and why the hell you and the Riccis have such bad blood.”
“The Riccis…” Ravi started, but he then looked to Rion.
Rion shifted on the table, finger tapping on his knee as his sharp tone explained, “It’s more or less a rivalry thing. Our firms are competitors—same field, different pond kind of deal. This school brings in the best money can buy, which means we were bound to run into them here.”
Ravi pulled his legs in to sit criss-cross style. He faced me, eyes gleaming with excitement. “Both our families want us to prove ourselves and make a name for our families over the others. It's part of the reason we’re keeping our triplet status a secret, giving us an edge over them.” He winked at me, and I gave him a small smile of appreciation before turning to his brother.
“Then why…” I rubbed my head, fumbling with the right words to say until I spat out, “Do you think they’re going to harm me if they find out we’re close?”
Roux’s cold, hard gaze met mine. “Yes. These guys have big money, and they can make illegal things go away like nothing.”
Shaking my head, I responded, “Then doesn't that mean we can’t be friends? If they catch on, they’ll use me like you said.”
Rion shook his head, putting both feet back on the ground as he leaned forward. “Not if we approach this carefully. Since it seems like you’ve already made friends with Cinzia and Elio, us making friends with you will keep them in balance. Plus…” He cocked his head and gave me a rare smirk. “They think it's two against one, so they’ll believe they have the advantage even if we spend more time together, but you’re right. You’ll need to make up some excuses to meet with us for a while.”
I narrowed my eyes on Rion. “I don’t like lying.”
His chin went up as he looked down at me. “And you don’t think they’re lying to you?”
Damn it! He had me there. I did think they were keeping things from me, but I also got that feeling from the triplets too. It had to be this whole rivalry thing, which had nothing to do with me. I slumped into the couch, trapped between not wanting to lie but also wanting to hang out with these boys. I knew which urge would win in the end, but I still felt a little guilty about it.
“We wouldn't ask you to do this, Rin, if we didn't think it was necessary. The world here is much more vicious than you think.” His hand curled around mine. “We just want to keep you safe. We need to keep you safe, but we also need you in our lives.”
My eyes flew open at his words, and for a second, all their gazes had an edge to them, something that wasn’t right, something that looked… dangerous. Obsessive. I blinked, and it went away, the three of them patiently waiting for my response.
I ignored the warning bells inside of me for the first time. “Fine. Fine. I agree.” They blew out a collective breath in relief, but I didn't want to let them off the hook just yet. “But you need to remember that even if I’m your age, I’m only a freshman here, so you need to give me some good excuses, Mr. Juniors.”
Ravi laughed to the sky, but Rion just stared at me in an unsettling way. Roux got up, grumbling about ordering some Chinese, and when I leaned back to tell him what I wanted, he waved me off. “I already know you want orange chicken.”
I stilled for a second before a giddy feeling began working its way through my chest. I stumbled over my next words. “Well, if they don't have—”
He was already around the corner when he replied, “Then get fried rice with chicken. Yeah, I know.”
I turned back around. “How?”
Ravi and Rion looked at each other before turning to me. Ravi giggled out, “Cuz we know you, Rin. Even though we’ve been apart, I’m positive I could guess a million things about you and still get most of them right.”
I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from smiling too wide because I knew I'd made the right choice. I was going to trust these boys again, and this time, I would prove to them that I was worthy enough to not be left behind.