Chapter 6 ~ #2
I walk into the kitchen, frazzled. I take the cup of tea Maverick offers me, giving him a grateful smile.
"You okay?" Mason tilts his head slightly.
"Mm-hm." I sip from the cup, trying to hide my red cheeks.
Dominic shuffles into the kitchen in daze, heading straight for the coffee machine.
"Here, Dom.” Alec hands him a cup of coffee.
Dom takes it and lays his head on Alec's shoulder, his eyes closing. Alec looks down at him and smiles.
I look over and see the twins grinning identically at their friends. I also realise they're wearing the exact same thing.
"Are you guys trying to trick your teachers?" I ask them.
Mason grins. "He's going to my math class and I'm going to his english class."
"That actually works?" I ask them incredulously.
"You're the only one who's been able to tell us apart so quickly. It took Dom here weeks," Maverick tells me. Something more lingers in his expression.
"It's not my fault you're equally as fucking annoying," Dominic growls, taking his head off Alec's shoulder. I don't miss the longing in Alec's eyes before he quickly masks it.
Is there something going on there?
"Speaking of." Maverick strides towards me. "Who's who?"
"Maverick. Mason." I point them out.
"Who gave you your tea?" Mase throws out.
I smirk. "Maverick."
"How are you doing that?" Maverick gapes.
I shrug, lifting my cup to my mouth, taking a sip. "It's not that hard," I tell them. "You're pretty different."
Pain flashes in Maverick’s eyes before he turns away. I wonder what I said wrong.
Mason gives me an apologetic look, sadness filling his features. He shuffles over to his brother, putting his hand on Maverick’s shoulder. Mason murmurs something to him and Maverick nods, not looking happy about whatever Mase says.
Shit. No nicknames. Leaving. Cannot get attached.
Luc strides into the room in a similar fashion to Dominic, heading straight for the coffee machine. Although, something tells me Alec's not about to make Luc's coffee like he did Dominic's.
Mason tells us breakfast is ready and we all gather around the table.
Dominic tugs me towards him, silently telling me to sit with him. There's one chair left by the time we all sit down and I try to imagine what this 'J' is going to be like. I wonder what he thinks about some random girl whom he has no knowledge of, staying with him and his friends.
Maverick breaks me out of my thoughts when he hands me the bacon. I take a few pieces before passing it down to Alec who's on my left. We do this several times with eggs, toast and a few fried vegetables like broccoli and mushroom.
It's rather silent as we eat, focusing mainly on the feast in front of us.
"You guys cook like gods," I tell the twins who grin. Well, Mase grins. The corner of Maverick’s month curls up which might be his equivalent of a smile.
"Don't tell them that," Luc grumbles.
"It'll go straight to their heads," Dominic chimes in.
The twins object and tell Alec to intervene. Alec finishes his mouthful of food before saying, "Sorry, guys."
They cry out in mock outrage causing me to laugh. Everyone's suddenly quiet. Smiles fill the table.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"Nothing, Rory." Mason shakes his head with a gentle smile.
I pester Dominic on my right but he merely gives me a mysterious smirk.
As we're clearing the table, Alec hands me two painkillers.
"Thanks," I murmur. He turns around and grabs a plain black bag off the bench, holding it out.
"It's got your lunch in it," Alec tells me with a sad smile when I look at him confused.
He made me lunch?
I take it from his outreached hand and before I think about it, I wrap my arms around him. He freezes momentarily before embracing me.
"Thank you, Alec," I whisper and he hugs me tightly. When I let him go, I realise everyone else had disappeared.
He grabs the two blue lunchboxes of the bench.
I go to pick up my bag from beside the table but Alec beats me to it.
He puts my lunchbox in there before putting it over one shoulder, his bag on his other shoulder.
He heads towards the garage before he stops and fills up a water bottle, putting it in my bag too.
He blushes slightly when he sees that I noticed. He grabs my hand and tugs me towards the garage.
“Come on,” he encourages me and I follow him to where a black Dodge RAM is sitting idle.
There’s a toolbox in the tray where Alec puts our bags. He gets in the passenger side seat and throws the two blue lunch boxes into the backseat.
“Missing anything, guys?” He says dryly.
“Oops,” The twins respond in unison. Given the way Alec simply rolls his eyes, I’d say this happens often.
I notice Luc standing beside the back door in long flannel pyjama bottoms. He comes over and opens the car door for me.
“Aren’t you coming?” I frown.
He shakes his head. “I, uh, I won’t be going to school,” he tells me. “I’m doing it online.” He’s doing school online? Permanently?
“How come?” I ask him.
Someone coughs in the car pointedly at Luc. My eyes flick to the ground, realising I’ve pushed the boundaries.
Luc sighs and pulls me in for a brief hug. “I’ll explain everything later, Butterfly,” he whispers in my ear.
He smiles and shoos me along. “Go on. Alec will freak if he’s late.”
I slowly lift myself into the tall ass RAM, trying not to strain my ribs. I put the window down when Luc knocks on it. He looks at Dominic in the driver's seat.
“Take another car next time,” he says dryly.
Dominic turns around like he’s remembered that I’m here. He winces slightly. “Will do.”
“See you, Luci,” I murmur.
“Bye, Butterfly.” Luc smiles.
Dominic reverses out and fiddles with his phone while he turns onto the road.
“Dom,” Alec scolds, taking the phone from his hands.
“Hit play,” Dom tells him, keeping his eyes on the road. Alec plays around with Dom’s phone before music plays through the car’s speakers.
A grin slowly overtakes my face. Dominic looks in the mirror and grins back. George Strait sings about a honky tonk bar as we travel to school.
“What are you two smiling about?” Maverick asks. Dominic shrugs his broad shoulders and I look out the window.
I take a deep breath, readying myself as we approach the school. A hand slips into mine and my gaze meets Mason’s. I draw on the comfort he lends me to get through today.
“What class do you have first, Sweetheart?” Dominic asks me, as we park as close to the front of the lot as he could possibly get us.
I think for a moment. “English.”
“I’ve got English period one too,” Maverick tells me.
“Ok, no class switching guys. Someone needs to be with Rory at all times,” Dominic demands.
I bristle slightly. “I don’t need a babysitter,” flies out harshly before I can stop it.
Dominic’s eyes widen in shock, his mouth popping open.
The car goes silent.
I flinch back and pull my hand from Mason’s.
“S-sorry,” I stutter, my mind going cloudy. I put a hand on my chest when it gets hard to breathe. I gasp for air.
“Shit, she’s panicking,” Mason says.
A car door opens and slams. I look up, my vision blurred. Dominic’s features come into focus.
“Sweetheart, listen to me. I need you to breathe, okay?” I don’t hear the rest of his words but I see his mouth moving. He turns me to face him and he takes deep breaths. I copy his overexaggerated breathing until it comes in on its own.
It's not him. It's Dominic. He won’t hurt me.
Once I’ve got my breathing under control, I look away, feeling embarrassed. Fingers grip my chin and Dominic gently forces me to look at him.
“Rory,” he demands and my eyes reluctantly lock on his.
“Do not ever be scared of telling us what you’re thinking,” he tells me, his gaze growing soft. I stay silent.
“I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself,” Dom persists. “You’ve shown that a million times over. You’re still here, even after what your father put you through.”
Mason grips my hand like he’s afraid I’ll pull away again. “We just want you to lean on us, Angel.”
“We’re going to be overbearing and shit,” Maverick tells me. “But we want to help you, not cripple you.”
“You have to tell us what you need, Rory,” Alec says, having turned around in his seat.
“We’re going to be protective assholes, Sweetheart, but we only do it because we care. Because we need to,” Dom reveals.
I faintly hear the bell ring. I take a deep breath, relaxing my stiff muscles.
“What do you need, Angel?” Mason lifts a hand and strokes my cheek. I lean into his hand.
“I-I need you to bear with me, I’m not used to having this many people care about me,” I whisper honestly. I hesitate before adding, “And I need someone to carry my bag because my whole body hurts.”
Everyone takes relieved sighs.
“Of course, Rory,” Mason says, lifting my hand and kissing it.
I slide out of the car, Dominic grabs my waist, helping me lower myself to the ground before backing away. I can tell I've scared him—made him think he scared me.
I walk up to him and throw my arms around his waist. I realise it’s a little much.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as his arms come around me.
“Don’t ever apologise for speaking your mind, Rory.” Dominic sighs before kissing the top of my head. Eventually his arms release me and I take a step back.
Everyone gets out of the car and grabs their bags—Maverick taking mine too. We all walk into school together before going our separate ways. Maverick and I come into our English class just as she’s saying our names.
“Here,” Mav grumbles. I slide into the corner seat and he sits beside me, pulling out our stuff.
Maverick opens his laptop lid and starts working on another assignment. As the teacher drones on about the classics, I find myself nodding off.
About halfway through the lesson, Mav nudges my shoulder and tilts his head towards the window.
Mason’s standing there waving. I slyly wave back and he pretends he’s having a fight with his hand.
He silently cries out in outrage when it gets the better of him, forcing him to disappear below the window.