1. Indi
INDI
“About time you two showed up.”
My cheeks flushed at Felix’s bitter tone as I sat down at his dining room table.
He was sitting at the head of the table, visibly annoyed, wearing his glasses and rustling his messied black hair.
Dark rings hung under his eyes as he sat there, surrounded by stacks of papers and files.
Amongst the chaos, I noticed a familiar pink handgun tucked beneath the scattered paperwork.
It made me smile, knowing who it belonged to.
Only Felix would buy his girlfriend a custom pink handgun.
Felix picked up a coffee mug, pouring the last few drops of whiskey from an amber-colored glass bottle. By the way he was staring at the screen and tapping at the keyboard of his laptop, it was clear he’d been up all night working. “Long night?” I asked sheepishly.
Felix shot me a look before his emerald-green eyes flicking to Haze, now standing directly behind me. “I could ask you two the same.”
My cheeks burned as I looked up at Haze, who was proudly grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, we had an amazing night, didn’t we, little sis?” His hands gripped my shoulders.
“Not now,” I hissed.
Thankfully, in spite of our relationship, Felix never showed a hint of judgement or disdain.
According to Haze, our older brother mentioned noticing our unusually close bond at an early age.
It made me wonder, but as my thoughts began traveling back, Haze’s kiss on the top of my head ripped me back to the present.
“Focus, little sis,” he whispered in my ear.
Felix groaned while rubbing his temple. “Fucking twins. It’s way too early for this shit.”
Agreed. It’s time for business, not pleasure.
I cleared my throat and tried to direct the focus back to why the hell we needed to come all the way out here. “So…what’s this ‘emergency’?” I asked while crossing my arms.
Our older brother opened his mouth to speak, but went silent as his bedroom door opened in the distance. All of our focus moved as he immediately shot from his chair, greeting the woman who had entered the room.
“Good morning!” The white-haired woman smiled, her hazel eyes sparkling as she approached the dining room, wearing only one of our brother’s t-shirts. Felix immediately pulled her close and greeted her with a sweet kiss.
“Did we wake you?” he asked softly.
Dream shook her head, her long hair swaying against her pale face as she stared up at him, completely engulfed in his existence.
“No, I was up feeding Lady Zaza and heard voices.” Her head turned as those intoxicating eyes met mine with a vibrant smile.
“I didn’t realize your family was coming.
It’s nice to see you again, Indi.” She looked past me at my twin. “You too, Haze.”
Haze nodded, and I smiled back at the woman. “How are you feeling today?” I asked.
Dream shrugged playfully, leaning into Felix, resting her head against his chest. “There may be cracks…but even the warm sunshine reaches the darkest depths.” She wrapped her arms around Felix, hugging him tight. “I’m just so happy to be home.”
Felix tipped her chin up and stared down at her, wearing an expression he only ever showed when Dream was around. “You never have to leave here again, cottontail.” His mouth fell onto hers as the two kissed, embracing one another. I had to force my eyes away, feeling a bit awkward.
Looks like we weren’t the only ones who had an eventful night.
Haze cleared his throat as he pulled out his vape pen, taking a hit. I looked up at Haze, knowing we were thinking the same thing. He grinned, offering it to me as I did the same.
Felix reluctantly pulled away from Dream, taking her hand as he led her back to his chair.
He carefully pulled the woman into his lap as he sat back down and took another sip of his drink.
Ever since Kief, our cousin, had kidnapped her, he’d become even more overly protective of Dream.
She was moved into his home with her tarantula and never set foot outside without him knowing.
Sure, most people would see the situation as some form of prison, but not Dream.
She was beyond happy to be here, away from the world.
Especially after everything she’d gone through… both of them.
Dream playfully snatched the coffee mug and took a sip, giggling as Felix played with a strand of her hair.
I’m glad they found you.
After nearly dying, Felix spent so much time searching for Dream.
Thanks to the help of his old friend, Hui, he was able to locate her.
And with Haze’s help, Felix was able to break her out of that godforsaken asylum Kief had forced her into.
Felix was reluctant to share the details, but from what I did hear, god knows what horrors she endured.
Dream had returned completely broken…shattered both mentally and physically.
She had even been forcefully lobotomized before Felix found her.
And yet, despite the absolute nightmare, she survived.
No one could ever doubt Dream’s strength, not after everything.
Nor could they say Felix didn’t love her, seeing as our brother had spent so long tending to her every need, refusing to let her out of his sight.
And being here with Felix seemed to help her so much.
Sure, she still struggled, in a lot of ways, but Felix was amazing with her… just as she was with him.
I watched Dream play with Felix’s glasses, admiring how they were together.
You would never know these two had experienced some of the darkest shit with how happy they are in this moment. They really were made for one another.
Haze must’ve noticed my fixation as he leaned down and whispered into my ear.
“You know, in a way…I’m glad it was Dream who was taken.
” My eyes widened at his bold remark. “Relax, it’s not that I don’t like Dream or anything like that.
” He paused. “But had Kief taken you, he wouldn’t still be breathing.
He got lucky with Dream.” He patted my arm as I swallowed the reality of his words, knowing he meant every single one.
A buzz from Felix’s phone caught his attention as he checked it. “Finally.” Not even a minute later, a sudden loud knock came from the other side of the front door, making all of us freeze. Haze’s grip on my arm tightened as Felix carefully stood, setting Dream in his seat. “He’s here.”
He? He who?
I felt a bit of anxiety in response to the unknown.
We all watched in anticipation as Felix walked toward the front door, unlocking the many locks and precautions he had installed after Dream’s return.
Haze stepped closer and blocked my view, instinctively protecting me as our brother opened the door.
Felix’s voice hit my ears as I tried to look around my twin. “Gotta say, I half didn’t expect you to show up.” I tried to see who it was.
Who is here? Is it Hui?
Haze’s posture stiffened, and he nearly backed into me. I listened to a second set of footsteps as they walked back towards the table, followed by a voice that made my own body tense.
“Long time no see, Haze.”
Is that—no…it can’t be.
“Is this some kind of fucking joke?” Haze snapped, turning to face Felix as he returned to Dream’s side. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
It is him. But…why? How…I don’t understand.
The man walked around and stepped into view, his hands in his pockets, wearing a cocky little expression as he took a seat at the table, adjacent to me. The smell of weed flooded my nostrils as I blinked, realizing that the brown-haired man before me was exactly who I thought he was.
What the hell is going on?
Those deep, dark brown eyes of his locked onto mine as he flashed me that damned, playful grin…the same expression he wore even back then.
“Nice to see you again, Indi.” He looked me up and down, flicking an eyebrow. “Time’s been good to you.”
“Why you—” Haze nearly rushed at the man, seething as I reached out and stopped him.
Felix cleared his throat, attempting to break the tension. “Enough.” He took another sip from his mug. “Haze, Indigo…you remember Spider.”
My blood ran cold at the verbal confirmation that one of my ex-boyfriends was sitting at the same table as me and my family. The very one I had caught cheating on me long ago.
Dream, seemingly lost as to what the hell was happening, finally spoke up.
“Um…Spider?” She looked over at the man, wearing baggy street clothes and skater shoes.
He looked almost the same as he did back then, except now he was covered in tattoos and piercings, and looked as if he could stand toe to toe with either of my brothers.
“That’s such a unique and interesting name.
” She bit her lower lip, then smiled. “You all have such pretty names.” Her smile fell.
“But…how do you know them?” She asked, pointing from the man to my twin and me.
Spider grinned, cocking his head to the side as he looked back at me. “Oh, me and Indi go way back…don’t we?” He winked.
Haze ripped his arm from my grasp and dragged a chair from one side of the table to the other, while aggressively planting it between us with a loud thud before plopping down.
He glared at the man and crossed his arms, visibly pissed.
“I’ll ask one more fucking time.” His head then turned to Felix.
“Hermano, what the fuck is he doing here?”
Felix dropped his head and groaned, too tired to deal with everyone’s shit. “Look…there’s really no simple way to put this but—”
Spider scoffed. “Yeah, there is.” He looked straight at Haze, unphased by his temper. “In simple terms, I’m your boss, Haze. And I’m here ‘cause I wanted to be here.” His eyes moved past Haze to me. “Surprise.”
What did he just say?
The room fell into complete silence as Haze and I tried to process what was just said.