Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Bella
I am helping Blaine cook, or a more accurate description is that I am passing him ingredients while he cooks, which is probably safer because I have no idea what the heck he is making. It smells good, though.
“Do you always cook, or do the others cook too?” I ask him.
“Latham can cook but hates it. Xavier can burn water and has been banned years ago from the kitchen. So unless you want food poisoning, don’t eat anything he cooks,” Blaine tells me.
“My cooking isn’t that bad. I can make two-minute noodles,” Xavier says from the couch.
“Yeah, if you only have to add water. You know, the noodles that come in a cup. Don’t let him near a stove,” Blaine says.
“Can you two stop bitching? You are both giving me a headache,” Latham says, walking into the kitchen and peering over Blaine's shoulder.
“Smells good,” Latham says before pecking his cheek.
They all seem so comfortable with each other though I am curious how their relationship works. I know Addie is with both Cyrus and Eli, which seems to work and can be easily pictured. I quickly scrape that mental image from my mind.
“So, how long have you three been together?” I ask them.
“Xavier and I have been together for around five hundred—”
“Five hundred months,” Latham cuts in.
“Huh?”
Who the heck counts their relationship in months like that? It reminds me of when you ask some mothers how old their kid is, and they reply, “Oh, they are 48 months old.” No idiot, they are four years old. Do they think it makes the child sound younger? I’ve never understood that.
“That doesn’t make sense. That would make you together for forty-odd years,” I tell him.
Blaine scratches his neck nervously.
“Blaine is terrible at math. Clearly, so is Latham. We have been together for five years, Bella. Latham has come and gone for the last few years,” Xavier explains.
“So, you and Blaine were together first?” I ask Xavier, and he comes over, leaning on the counter next to the stool I am sitting on.
“Yep, Latham is a bit of a man whore, and isn’t as exclusive as Blaine and me. Well, until now, anyway.”
“And that works?”
“Yes, we also moved a lot, and Latham prefers Soya City. So when we left, he stayed there, so it made sense to just split things off until we came back again.”
“And what were you doing in Soya City?” I ask Latham.
“Council work,” Latham answers.
“So, that’s where you met Cyrus and Eli?”
“Yes and no, I actually met them a long time ago. Can’t remember exactly.”
“Latham, Cyrus, and Eli were a thing for a bit too,” Blaine answers, and Latham elbows him.
“What? You were,” Blaine says like it's no big deal.
“So, let me get this straight. You were with Eli and Cyrus, then met Blaine and Xavier, and are now with them?”
“That would be correct.”
“And you all work together. I can’t believe you fucked my bosses. Like, it was hard enough to digest that Addie is with both of them, but now to find out you were with them too? Does Addie know?”
“Of course she knows. We are still friends,” Latham says.
“Isn’t that awkward, though, for you two? That your bosses are Latham’s exes?” I ask Blaine and Xavier.
“No. Why would it be awkward? It was in the past. Besides, Eli and Cyrus were always a permanent fixture. Latham was more like their side bitch,” Blaine says.
“What, and now he is yours?”
“I am no one's side bitch. I just don’t like being tied down… Ah, now that sounds even worse. No, it is not awkward. We all knew what we were getting into, and that's it,” Latham says.
Xavier chuckles, shaking his head at how uncomfortable Latham is getting.
“You make me sound like some whore,” Latham says.
“Kind of sounds like you are,” I laugh. “So, you are gay, then? And you two are?”
“I am not gay. Just because I am mostly with men does not make me gay. You know what? I am done with this conversation,” Latham says, stalking off.
“Someone has their panties in a knot,” Blaine says, and Latham flips him off.
“Leave him be. You know he is sensitive.” Xavier chuckles before a flying cushion hits him in the head.
“Heard that asshole,” Latham calls from the couch.
“And, no. Latham isn’t gay, or he wouldn’t be trying to get in your pants to join our weird love triangle. Or maybe it would be a square now?” Blaine says thoughtfully.
“You just stick to cooking. Besides looking nice, you aren't good for much else. And to answer that question, Latham is mostly with us because we are the only ones that put up with grumpy ass and his demanding ways,” Xavier tells me.
I shake my head at the pair of them. “So, how does it work? You line up like the human centipede?”
“That is disgusting. I do not do ass to mouth,” Xavier says. “That’s more Latham’s thing.”
“Fuck off, Xavier, you vile neanderthal,” Latham snaps at him. “No one does ass to mouth. This shit right here is exactly why I come and go. Only so much stupid I can put with.”
“Yeah, whatever. You love us,” Blaine says while dishing dinner out onto plates.
“What about you and past boyfriends?” Xavier says.
“Only had one real one for about two years. My brother scared the others off when I would try to date,” I admit.
“When did that end?” Blaine asks.
“The boyfriend? Ah, not long after I started working for Eli and Cyrus,” I tell them, though I can't tell them about Clayton.
“And the others?” Blaine asks.
“Yeah, my brother caused issues, so I learned quickly to stay away from men.”
“Why not tell him to fuck off?” Latham asks.
“Because he is my brother. He wasn’t always bad; he can be good sometimes,” I tell them.
“Well, I look forward to meeting the good side because I have a hard time believing he has one,” Latham says.
“He has had a harsh life. He isn’t completely to blame,” I defend him.
He is a jerk, but I would probably be dead or in prison without him.
“You aren’t seriously defending him?” Latham asks.
“You don’t know him the way I do, and he is my brother. You don’t have to understand it, and I am not asking you to.”
“But he ruins your life. He harasses you and threatens you. You just said it yourself that you couldn’t even date because of him,” Latham says.
I sigh but don’t bother answering.
“So, how many men have you been with?” Blaine asks, making me a little uncomfortable. “Can’t be that bad. Most people have ten sexual partners in a lifetime. I read that in Cosmopolitan.”
“They can’t have had a very long life span,” Latham chuckles.
“Not everyone is a man-whore like you, and I think it was referring to women. It is a chicks’ magazine,” Blaine says.
“So, how many? No judgment. Any more than ten you're a whore according to Cosmopolitan,” Xavier says. “That was a joke, by the way.”
“Oh, so it is more than ten? No judgment. I lost track of Latham’s toys, and Xavier was becoming a walking, talking STD when I met him,” Blaine says, and I flush scarlet, not because it is more than ten, but because my sex life really is pathetic.
“One,” I answer.
“Is that code for ten or a hundred?” Blaine asks, and I scrunch my face up.
“No, one. As in the number one,” I tell him, holding up my finger.
“You have slept with one person, and you're twenty-three?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“Wait, is this boyfriend so? You were with him and him only?” Xavier asks, and I nod.
“And you were with him for two years, so you lost your virginity at twenty-three?”
“Yes, Clayton, and only Clayton. Can we change the subject now?”
“So, you never had sex until you were twenty-three? Like, did nothing with other guys?”
“No, I have been with other guys.I just didn’t fuck them, okay? Now subject change, please.”
“But why?” Blaine asks.
“Probably because I was busy studying and working and not lying on my back like you three.”
“I will have you know I am an active person in the bedroom and not a starfish. I am rarely lying on my back,” Xavier says.
“Dinner is ready. Come grab a plate,” Blaine tells everyone.
I grab mine and walk over to the dining table and sit down. Halfway through our meal, Latham asks a question.
“Can I ask you something?” Latham says, and I look over at him.
I nod, trying to swallow my food so I can answer.
“When I went over yours and your brother's family history…”
“I am still pissed off about that. Why would you even dig into my past?”
“I was curious when I found the gun in your handbag.”
“Still, it was an invasion of privacy and kind of creepy. But go on, ask away,” I tell him.
“It said your brother killed your parents, so why do you talk to him after what he did?”
“Any question but that one,” I tell him.
“Why did he do it?”
“And that one.”
Latham pinches the bridge of his nose before shaking his head and muttering under his breath. The room is tense, and I suddenly lose my appetite.
“No, I want you to answer. You tell us nothing about the situation with your brother, and I am trying to understand it, but nothing I think of makes sense as to why you would have anything to do with him after he killed both your parents.”
“We can talk about anything else, just not my brother or my family. Just leave that part of my life alone,” I tell him before getting up and clearing my plate.
I rinse it in the sink, but Latham, pissed off, follows me dumping his own plate in the sink.
“Why is it a big secret? We barely know anything about you, Bella. Just answer that one question. Why do you still talk to him?”
“Thanks for dinner, but I am not doing this. I will see you later. I am heading home,” I tell Blaine and Xavier before heading for the door.
Is that why they asked me to come here just to interrogate me?
Reaching for the handle, Latham puts his hand on the door, slamming it shut as I pull it open.
“What the hell, Latham? I am not arguing over something that is none of your business,” I snap at him, trying to yank the door open.
“Latham, stop it. Let me leave,” I tell him, turning around to face him.
He has a murderous look on his face, one I have never seen before. Why is he so upset over something that has nothing to do with him?
“Latham, come on. Let her go,” Blaine says, coming up behind him.
“Not until she answers. It is a simple fucking question, Blaine. She can at least tell us something,” Latham snaps back.
“Looks like we are waiting by the door then because I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“That is where you are wrong, Bella. We have every intention of being in your business because you are ours, and I want to know whether or not I need to deal with your brother if he is going to become a nuisance,” Latham snaps, caging me in with both arms against the door.
“I am not yours or anyone else's.”
“No, just your brother’s, right? You belong to him, though. He owns you?”
“He doesn’t own me, Latham. He is my brother. No one owns anybody. If this is going to happen every time I come here, don’t invite me. I am sick of being interrogated by you.”
“Latham, walk away. Come on. Let her go,” Blaine tries to reason, but Latham refuses to move.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, why the fuck does it matter, Latham? Let me out!”
“It matters because I can’t trust you with our secret until I know yours. I know you are hiding something, so tell me.”
“I don’t need to explain myself. He is my brother, and I have every right to have him in my life whether or not you disapprove of him. He's my brother, not yours. I am not asking you to understand it, nor do I care if you don’t. Now let me the fuck out, Latham.”
He doesn’t move, and Blaine pulls on his arm.
“Let her go,” Blaine says, and he reluctantly moves his hand and steps back.
I can see how angry he is, but some things are better left buried. Turning around to leave, he speaks again.
“I wonder if Cyrus and Eli would like to know you lied to them, that you aren't who you say you are?” Latham says.
I am not about to be baited; he is only talking shit because I refuse to give him answers.
“I don’t know, Latham. Why don’t you ask them?” I tell him, ripping the door open.
“Maybe I will, Arabella,” he says, and I freeze.
“That is your name, isn’t it?” he asks, and I shake my head.
He can’t know, but then why would he mention my name? A name I haven’t used since I was fourteen. A name that died with Isobella.