10. Chapter 10
Sophia
I loved waking up early. It meant I got to watch the sunrise and enjoy a few moments to myself before the chaos of the day started. What I didn’t love was when I woke up with not one but two toddlers in the bed.
I cared about Jasper and Juniper like they were my flesh and blood, but I had a Wyoming king-size bed, and somehow, I was being pushed off the side of it.
No human that small needs that much space.
But here we were, Jasper’s foot in my side, and Juniper snuggled up with her dad.
But Lucian was much harder to move than I was.
Ugh, I didn’t even make these kids, and I was the one suffering. How was that fair?
But that’s when I realized I didn’t need to take this. I had a boyfriend and a girlfriend downstairs that I could join. Cameron may snore, and Mason may not respect personal space, but neither of them pushed me out of bed.
With that in mind, I headed downstairs, fully prepared to join them in Cameron’s bed. But the second I got to Cameron’s door, what I saw stopped me in my tracks.
A puddle of people wasn’t a strange sight for me. Humans like to be touched, and it’s biologically normal. But, normally, when I saw a cuddle orgy, it was Mason, Cameron, and Lucian. While two of the three people were correct, they had the completely wrong Castillo in that bed.
I gasped as I covered my mouth.
Was this an option? I could have been with Sebastian too? Why didn’t anyone tell me!
Mason lay between the two boys, her head on Sebastian’s chest, while Cameron held her close with one arm. One of her hands was on top of his, and the other rested under her head. Just above Mason, Cameron had his hand open and his palm up, and Sebastian’s fingers were resting on his.
Out of everyone in the house, I expected Sebastian to sleep with Cameron the least. Lucian was iffy but deep, deep, deep down, I knew they loved each other in a way only siblings could.
Sure, they both pretended to hate each other, but they were the only ones allowed to speak negatively of the other.
I remember when we were all kids, Lucian broke my younger brother’s nose for calling Sebby a creep.
But I thought Cameron and Sebastian genuinely hated each other. But here they were, blank faces and holding hands.
I shrugged as I took in the beautiful moment for just one more second before ruining it.
I cleared my throat before cupping my hands around my mouth, “Happy birthday Cameron!”
As soon as my voice filled the room, the tranquil scene before me was shattered like glass.
Mason stirred first. When she lifted her head, there was a tendril of saliva connecting her to Sebastian’s chest. She shot me a sleepy smile as she stretched.
Her return to consciousness was soft, sweet, and calm, just like my beautiful girl.
The boys, on the other hand–well, they’re boys.
I obviously wasn’t loud enough to wake Cameron, but Sebastian’s sky-blue eyes shot open. He blinked rapidly as if he were trying to clear his vision before using his free hand to grab his thin-rimmed, brassy glasses.
Once his sight was restored, he looked around the room. He smiled as his gaze settled on Mason, but his happiness was short-lived because the second he realized he was holding Cameron’s hand, his joy was replaced with horror .
Sebastian’s fingers twitched before he recoiled in disgust. In his rush to be away from Cam, Sebastian severely misjudged how much bed he had behind him. This resulted in him tumbling backward.
His startled yelp filled the room, followed by the thud of his body against the hardwood floors.
Cameron’s eyes flew open at the sudden commotion as he rushed to sit. His hands instinctively went to Mason as if to protect her. Eventually, his eyes fell to Sebastian on the floor.
“Why the fuck were you holding my hand?” Sebastian’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.
Awww.
Cameron looked down at his palm like he had just been told it had killed someone. And that’s when I decided that Cameron and Sebastian’s sleeping together probably wasn’t intended to be romantic.
The still morning didn’t last long, as the chaos of a large family returned the second everyone woke up.
Sebastian vanished into his apartment the second the kids came down.
Mason wanted to make Cameron breakfast this morning as a birthday treat, Lucian wanted to be near Mason, and the kids wanted to help.
That left Cameron and I to watch the carefully contained disaster that was cooking with toddlers from the safety of the dining room.
Normally, I’d be in there with them. But Cameron’s birthday signified the end of the good part of the year.
The last two months contained all the holidays my family celebrated, the ones that hadn’t been the same since I was twelve.
Each year, I tried to add as much good as possible into the last part of the year, and for the most part, it worked.
But, with a proposal looming and a baby coming not far after, it was hard to shake this cold, inky feeling clinging to my back.
I crossed my arms just to hold my sweater closer .
“Somethin’ wrong?” Cameron’s honey gaze dissected me as he took a sip from his coffee.
Today was his day, and I shouldn’t ruin it by talking about someone he had never met—someone he’d never get the chance to meet.
I forced a smile and tried to be my bubbly self. But I couldn’t even get words out.
“Holidays are tough,” I whispered.
Cameron’s gaze softened before his massive hand engulfed mine. “We go over this every year. You ain’t gotta hide your grief.”
My lips pressed into a thin line as a long-forgotten sadness stole my breath.
That was the crazy thing about mourning the death of a loved one.
Most days, I was fine, as I should be, considering my sister killed herself over a decade ago.
But small things would remind me that I’d never see Charlotte again.
The closest I got was talking to my nephew or visiting Char’s widower.
“I should be happy that Mason and Lucian are probably getting married, right?” I squeaked.
“Yes and no.” Cameron shrugged as a bittersweet but watery smile crossed his features. “I felt the same way last night… I’m excited to see them happy, but it’s an adjustment.”
Cam’s shoulders slumped slightly as he ran a finger along the orange porcelain of his mug.
Knowing I wasn’t the only one struggling with Mason and Lucian was comforting. But I had a feeling Cameron’s reason would be different than mine.
“When Charlotte, well, you know.” The words dried in my mouth as I forced myself to swallow. “It was her first year married, and she just had my nephew like two months before. And I know it’s dumb, but I’m worried something’s going to happen to Mason.”
I turned my head slightly to watch Mason just in time for Juniper to put a flour handprint on Mason’s black shirt. Jasper promptly yelled at his sister before handing Mason a dry napkin from the counter. I knew she hated gritty textures, but she managed to laugh it off for the kids .
Mason’s life had been full of bad things that would last a lifetime.
From this point on, she deserved a life that was directly taken from a storybook.
She deserved to be happy and healthy, but I had this sinking feeling that fate wasn’t going to let Mason off that easily.
That thought had been in my subconscious since Mason’s dad died, but I did my best to ignore it.
Until Lucian told me his plans to marry her, that’s why their engagement and the shotgun-style wedding that would inevitably follow needed to be a big conversation between Lucian and me.
He knew it’d be like rubbing salt in a wound, and my brain took that as a sign that these last few months would be the end of Mason.
But I couldn’t tell anyone that without looking crazy, so I just pretended to be happy. I didn’t want to risk ruining their happiness.
“You realize something like that ain’t gonna happen to Mae, right?” It was like Cameron could read my mind.
But that was a fact I didn’t appreciate. Not right now, at least.
No one expected something like that to happen to my sister.
The worst thing Charlotte did was get pregnant at the end of her high school career.
My moms wanted her to be successful, and she tried to make it right by marrying her high school sweetheart and going to college classes online, but she felt like she failed our moms by not breaking the cycle.
And after her son was born, postpartum depression took my sister’s life.
Mason was prone to depression. Mason had tried to kill herself before, and while she was doing better, she still wasn’t in a good place mentally. It was all too easy to believe she’d get depressed and make Lucian a widower, just like my sister did Justin.
But we had enough gloomy people in my house. It wasn’t my job to complain. Everyone else in this house had it worse than me trauma-wise, so it was my job to be cheerful. So, instead of letting Cameron know that wasn’t enough to comfort me, I forced a smile and changed the subject.
“Are you excited about church today?” I chirped before stealing his mug and a sip of his coffee .
My nose scrunched at the bitter taste. You’d think after three years, I’d remember my boyfriend is a psycho who drinks hot, black coffee. Something as good as coffee wasn’t something that should be enjoyed straight, especially because no one in this house literally did anything straight.
“I, uh, yeah, that’s a word for it.” He threaded his fingers into his hair as he exhaled a breath so large it made his chest sink. “If I tell you something, you promise to keep it between us.”
I perked up at the idea of a secret. “Cross my heart.”
Cameron took his coffee back and wrapped his massive hands around the mug. His gaze focused on something in the distance, something I couldn’t see.
“My dad’s in town.”
I covered my mouth with my fingers as I gasped. “What? I thought you didn’t talk to him.”
“I don't,” Cameron grumbled. “I think he found out about Mason and–”
“Oh, he wants to be a grandpa?”
Cameron’s lips pressed into a thin line, and he rubbed his temple. “Something like that.”
Normally, I’d say that was a great thing. It would mean that someone would have the chance to reconnect with their family, that their parents would admit that they were wrong, and move on. But, from what Cameron had said about his dad, I didn’t trust it.
“Well, too bad! Just ignore him.” I coached.
Ultimately, it was Cameron’s choice whether to let his dad in or not, and I had a feeling Cameron was strongly leaning toward the latter. But as Cameron looked away and his shoulders slumped, I wondered if there was something about this situation he wasn’t telling me.