Chapter One #3
“Do that tonight, guys. Don’t make her life hard. She is here to help, but she is not your slave,” Dom says.
“You a timekeeper or something?” Kip asks.
“Partly. I’ll manage your schedules for the games and anything that has an effect on the team.
I’ll ensure you have the things you need in order to just focus on the game.
I don’t mind cooking or doing laundry, but I’m not gathering shit.
Just ask, and I will when I have time. If you need it soon, do it yourself.
If you’re shitty to me, I’ll fuck it up out of spite,” I say.
“I am not your boss, but I have a lot of control when it comes to your day-to-day lives. Be nice to me, and I’ll return the favor. ”
“How far does that extend?” Mateo asks, grinning.
“Not as far as you’d think.” I laugh.
“You and Hunter are going to be the death of me,” Ray says.
“They’re fine. It’s nothing I’m not used to,” I say. ”I’m going to go to the house and start on my stuff. Does anyone have any questions?”
“You still loyal to the Titans?” Elijah asks.
“I am friends with four of the first-line guys, but otherwise no,” I say. “I was fired after waking up from a medically induced coma, so we aren’t exactly on good terms.”
“For being attacked?” Conner asks.
“Yeah, basically. It’s a long and complicated story,” I say.
“You go on,” Ray says. “They have practice tomorrow afternoon.”
“Okay.” I smile. “Nice to meet you guys.”
“Want me to come help with boxes?” Ray asks.
“No, I’m okay,” I lie. A few of them are already questioning if I can even do this job, so the last thing I want is to feed into that by not being able to carry a few boxes into the house.
By the time I navigate the GPS and get to the house, I already have a headache.
I need to eat and relax. I’ve done way too much today.
Instead of handling the boxes later, I grab one and go up to the house.
I locate my room upstairs at the end of the hallway, past everyone else’s bedroom.
One by one, I carry the boxes in. When I get to the last one, I’m nearly in tears from the pain.
“Hey, roommate,” Kip says. I flinch hard when he touches my shoulder, making him recoil with wide eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…”
“It’s okay. It’s not you,” I say.
“Need help?” he asks, taking the box out of my hands. Everyone is hollering and being loud when we get into the house, only feeding my migraine. The lights are so fucking bright, and I just need things to be quiet.
I slowly follow Kip up the stairs. When we get to my room, he sets the box down and cocks his head at me. “You aren’t okay,” he says.
“The brain injury left me with a few lingering symptoms. I get pretty bad migraines when I overexert myself. I’ve been going nonstop all day today, so I’m just getting a bit of a headache,” I say, downplaying it a lot.
“Anything I can do?” he asks.
“Uh… if you could get them to be a bit quieter, that would be really helpful,” I admit.
“I got you.” He grins. “This is a lot of shit. Do you need help sorting?”
“No, I…”
“That wasn’t really a question,” he remarks. “I’ll be back.”
“Really, I’m good,” I say.
“Really, I’m going to help anyway. Admittedly, it’s because I want to ask you inappropriate questions about what happened,” he admits. “You seem to be forthcoming with it.”
“I am.” I laugh.
“You change and get comfy. I’m going to make the others help.”
“Elijah and Jovian don’t seem to like me,” I remark.
“They’re not very trusting of new people,” he explains. “They’ll come around.”
I nod, and when he leaves the room, I call Tate and place the call on speaker so I can move around the room without having the sound blasting in my ear.
“Hey, Ari!” Tate says happily. “Get there okay?”
“Yeah. I am at the house now.” I sigh.
“Uh oh. What’s wrong?” Logan asks.
“Who all is there?”
“Me, Tate, Beck, and Jax. Why?” Logan asks.
“Just curious. I have a headache,” I say. “I have everything inside. A few of the guys are going to help me sort, apparently.”
“You will let them help but not us?” Beck asks.
“He didn’t really ask,” I say, and they laugh. “A few of them are reluctant to be totally accepting. I’ve only met the six starting players. I’ll meet the others eventually.”
“They know what happened?” Jaxon asks.
“Vaguely. I’m here to do a job, not make friends, so they will only know what I tell them. It’s not like it matters anyway,” I say.
“You made friends with us.” Logan laughs.
“You forced me to be your friend,” I say. “Plus, I wasn’t around them more than two minutes before being called a puck bunny.”
“Little do they know you’re a nun in disguise.” Logan laughs.
“I think raping a nun with foreign objects is a special kind of sin.” I laugh.
“You’re a dark little shit. I love it,” Tate says. “Still have to go to PT?”
“No. I was cleared. I should definitely find a neurologist here, though. I’d love to find a migraine medicine that works at least a little,” I say.
“How bad is it right now?”
“Not terrible. I can just tell that I need to hurry up and relax. I am keeping most of the lights off right now. One of the guys knows I have migraines, and it sounds like he got them to stop being so loud down there.”
“I’m glad you’re communicating, Ari. Even though I would much rather you sue the fuck out of this place and retire, I know you won’t. It is important that they know the things you experience. If your symptoms are bad, you need help, and you know that.”
“I know how far I can push myself. The last thing I need them to think is that I’m some kind of charity case that Ray took on. I will do my job and take care of myself the best I can,” I say. “Which one of you dipshits put condoms in my shit?”
“Not us. Conrad or Ethan, probably,” Tate says.
I throw the box and cover my mouth as tears threaten to surface. It is an open box and is likely the same one they used when they raped me. No DNA was found, but one of them definitely raped me.
“I’m going to unpack and get some sleep. I’ll text you guys tomorrow,” I say, desperately trying not to cry.
“Okay, Ari. We love you. If they fuck with you, tell them your brothers will skin them,” Tate says.
“Yeah, yeah,” I say. “I’m okay, guys. Talk to you later.”
“You were raped?” Hunter asks from behind me. I turn around and see Hunter, Kip, Mateo, and Connor at the door.
“Yeah.” I sigh. “Are you always this nosy?”
“Yeah, but we didn’t want to interrupt. What’s up with the condom thing?” Mateo asks.
“Uhm… One of the players who packed up my shit left them,” I say. “Look, I can do my job. That’s all that matters. I’ll keep my shit out…”
“Oh God, an independent brat,” Kip says. “Why do I feel like you are never going to ask for help?”
“Because I won’t.” I smile apprehensively.
“Ray knows one of the players raped you?” Connor asks.
“I don’t remember…”
“Let’s start here. My sister was brutally gang raped in high school by a bunch of football players. She was a cheerleader and thought that somehow she caused it. She never spoke up and pulled the same bullshit, saying that she didn’t remember.”
“I’m just not there yet,” I admit.
“Well, your secret is safe with us, but we play them soon. Who is it?” Kip asks.
“I survived once; I'd like to not have to relearn to walk again,” I say, shutting down.
“Was there more than one?” Hunter asks.
“You aren’t going to give up, are you?” I ask.
“No.” He smiles.
“Fine. I will explain this one time, and then I don’t wanna talk about it again. I will make your life a living hell if you speak of this to anyone ever. Got it?”
“Got it,” Kip says, shutting my bedroom door. They all notice my reaction immediately when I’m closed into the room with them, and they frown.
“You prefer Ari?” Connor asks, and I nod.
“I promise, we will not hurt you. We are intrigued by you, yes, and Hunter is definitely going to want to fuck you, but no one is going to pressure you into anything. No one is going to run their mouth or make your life any harder than it already has been. If you are going to live in this house, we need to know how we can help you. If you were hurt by someone, and there’s any chance of them coming after you again, we need to know that. ”
“Okay,” I say, rubbing my hands down my face and sitting in my bed.
“I was violently raped. They, uh… used objects, too. I had brain damage as well as pretty significant injuries from the rape. Also, one of the sick fuckers bit my finger off. I was drugged with acid, and they must’ve been wearing a mask or something because the only thing I can remember is getting raped by a demon.
Which I guess is not inaccurate… The cameras in the rink were conveniently not working, and there was no evidence left behind.
Literally everyone’s fingerprints were found, so they can’t really narrow it down, and no one knows anything.
The four players I’m close with were not in town and were cleared.
The coaches were cleared. The goalie and the center were given an alibi by the head coach, but… ”
“But it was them,” Kip finishes for me.
“Yeah. Conrad and Ethan,” I say. “I’ve never said that out loud before.”
“Your friends don’t know?” Hunter asks.
“No. They would quite literally kill them, and I don’t want to be the reason they go to jail,” I say. “I knew better than to run my mouth. I walked in on them assaulting someone and told the coaches. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut, and none of that would’ve happened to me.”
“No matter what they told you, it is not your fault,” Mateo says.
“Back up,” Connor says. “Did you say that someone bit your finger off?”
“Yeah,” I say, holding up my right hand.
“That’s pretty fucked up. Maybe it was a demon. Who the fuck does that?” he asks.
“I don’t know, but for all I do know, I could be wrong. I have no proof that it was them. I can’t trust my memories,” I say. “I get migraines and dizziness. That is the main long-term effect outside of nerve pain. I know how far to push myself, so I’ll be fine.”
“What can we do to help when you struggle?” Mateo asks.
“Sorry if this sounds rude, but why do you give a fuck?” I ask.
“Because you live in this house, and I would like to not find your dead body because you didn’t ask for help,” Mateo says bluntly.
“When things get bad, I need it to be quiet and dark. The nerve pain is almost debilitating, but I try to alternate between heat and ice when it’s bad.
Most of the pain is in my neck and upper back from when my head was slammed back against the ice.
The theory is that it will heal in time and go away.
I will most likely always have migraines, though. ”
“So tie you up in a dark room with headphones on. Got it,” Kip smirks. “Will you tell us if it gets bad?”
“Worst case scenario… what happens?” Mateo asks.
“Uh. I mean, I’m at high risk of having a stroke,” I say. “I guess that’s a possibility."
“Right. So, help you even when you don’t want it. Cool,” Hunter says. “Want to keep the condoms?”
“No. Have at it,” I say, standing and turning back to the boxes.
“You sit. Just tell us where shit goes,” Kip says, pointing for me to sit.
“It’s…”
“Do we have rope, Hunter?” Kip asks.
“Fine. Jesus. Y’all are going to get on my nerves. I can feel it.” I laugh, sitting down.
“We can be your surrogate stepbrothers,” Connor says.
“Definitely step, because it’s only a little weird to fuck your stepsister.” Hunter winks dramatically at me. I shake my head at him, and they all start opening up boxes.
I direct them where I want everything, and every time I try to get up and do it myself, one of them leads me back to bed to sit. No matter how I try to spin it, they are determined to do this. I don’t want to fight the first day I meet them, so I just let it happen. It’s a battle for another day.
By the time they are breaking the boxes down and I am sorting through papers, I am exhausted. It’s after midnight now, and I need to sleep. I rest my head in my palm with my elbow propped on my knee. I close my eyes and nearly fall asleep when I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Lay down and get some sleep before you fall off the bed and get another brain injury,” Kip says.
“Kip!” Hunter scolds, but I laugh.
“That was awful.” Hunter laughs.
“What? It’s true,” Kip shrugs. “Girl, lie down. We will grab the rest of the boxes and let you sleep.”
“Thank you, guys. Really. You didn’t have to do all this,” I say.
“You can thank us with breakfast. Deal?” Connor says.
“I don’t know if that counts, since I was going to cook anyway.” I laugh.
“You’re not our cook, so it counts,” Hunter says. “Good night, Ari.”
“Night.” I sigh.
I watch as they gather up the boxes and leave the room. I am far too tired to get up and change, so I just lie down and curl up on top of the blanket.
I can’t help but feel happy that they were so welcoming. The other two don’t give a shit, but it seems to be a trend with those positions to be a dickhead. Let’s just hope that these two aren’t rapists, also.