Sighing, I offer up an understanding smile. “Yeah, I know. D said the same thing.”
Donovan specifically doesn’t meet Kaleb’s astonished expression, choosing to find the blank television screen more interesting. It’s almost comical how uncomfortable they get when they agree despite essentially being two sides of the same coin. They may not be blood, but they are definitely brothers in all the ways that matter.
Callie’s phone buzzes. It’s a muffled sound, and Callie groans when she realizes the couch must have eaten it while we were shifting around. “Alright, everyone off the couch. I lost my damn phone.”
Connor and I comply, moving to stand on either side of Felix. It’s impossible not to appreciate her perfect round ass as she bends over, lifting cushions. Dressed in the change of clothes Connor brought for her, her black leggings show every delicious curve while her oversized sweater slides toward her chest, revealing glimpses of her golden skin. Memories of how my hands were all over her the night before make my fingers tingle to touch her again. I always feel like I’m swinging from a pendulum when it comes to Callie. One moment, I want to be sweet and cuddle her in my arms, and then the next moment, I want to bend her over that couch and do naughty things to her until she begs for release.
“You know, you could be helping instead of looking at my butt,” Callie comments with a frustrated huff. Her elusive phone doesn’t appear to be in the couch.
Donovan releases a gravelly laugh. “Looks like you’re doing fine on your own, Angel.”
She flips him the bird, then gets down on her hands and knees to search under the couch. Felix flushes now that he has a front and center view of her wiggling around, her arm stretched out to see if she can feel for her phone. Connor tilts his head to one side, apparently also too distracted to help.
Kaleb blinks a few times and then shakes his head like he’s trying to remind himself that he’s supposed to be the gentleman out of all of us. Going to the side of the couch closest to the door, he lifts it at least three feet off the ground, uncovering Callie’s phone. She quickly retrieves it and stands up, giving each of us a glare.
After Kaleb puts the couch back down, she gives him a beaming smile and announces, “Congratulations, you’re Best Boy today.”
At first he appears surprised, his eyebrows raised and eyes wide, but his expression quickly morphs to something softer, his lips pulling into a genuine smile that reaches his eyes. As they stare at each other, it’s painfully obvious how much he loves her and that she loves him back. I don’t feel jealous, it’s hard to after what D and I got up to last night. No, mostly I feel pity for the idiot. Kaleb is the smartest person I know, but when it comes to life, he always makes everything twice as hard for himself than it needs to be.
Connor sighs, Donovan shifts his weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable about the unspoken feelings floating around, and Felix watches Kaleb with a knowing expression, mouthing a soundless, “Come on. Do it.”
Well aware that Kaleb is not going to do anything while we watch, I break the bubble with a grumpy, “Why does he get to be Best Boy for the day? I’m the one who’s about to spill my guts to my parents.”
“And you got to stare at my ass for a few minutes, which I’m sure made you feel better,” Callie counters, flashing me a playful glare before she enters the code to unlock her phone.
“We all felt something.” Donovan grins wickedly.
Callie rolls her eyes and shakes her head, muttering, “Boys!”
Donovan gets up from the recliner so he can whisper quietly in her ear. “Get used to it. Every moment I’m with you, I imagine all the things I want to do to you, and seeing you on your hands and knees gave me all kinds of ideas.”
She shifts to look at him, their lips surprisingly close for the audience they have. We haven’t really reached the part where we’re kissing her in front of each other… at least not in front of Connor, Felix, or Kaleb. Donovan doesn’t seem too concerned, but the man also has a death wish. He keeps his cocky expression, looking pleased with himself when she presses a hand to his chest.
Callie bats her eyelashes before her mouth twists into a Cheshire grin. “I hope you have an excellent imagination,” she purrs, her fingers scratching down his torso, “because with that attitude, you’re going to have a lot of solo time. Just you and your ideas.”
Connor and I are the only ones with strong enough hearing to understand what otherwise sounds like mumbling voices, and we both hoot with laughter. Donovan looks pained with the promise of celibacy if he doesn’t behave, Felix awkwardly chuckles along but is obviously confused, and Kaleb has clearly had enough of us all, choosing to examine my vaulted ceilings instead.
As I gasp for air and tears leak down my cheeks from laughing, my heart feels lighter than it has in a long time. I don’t know if Callie or Mildred will be able to cure me, but I do know that being with the guys and girl I love is worth stealing every moment of life I have left. Almost like she can read my mind, she walks over, takes my hand, and gives it a gentle squeeze.
“She’s here,” Callie murmurs, holding up her phone to indicate she means Mildred. Looking into my eyes, she asks, “Ready to face the music?”
I nod glumly, my earlier elation dying instantly. “Let’s go break my parents’ hearts.”
∞∞∞
My mother covers her mouth, tears streaming down her face, as she listens to the recording. She looks so vulnerable still dressed in her silk loungewear and robe, her pale blonde hair loose around her face. Dressed similarly to my mother, my father sits beside her, appearing as if his heart has been ripped from his chest. They started today with a lazy brunch, discussing if today’s weather would allow a game of tennis this afternoon, which I then ruined by inviting them into the sitting room off of the patio, the hazy light of day barely seeping through the large windows as I spilled the secrets I’ve kept for the past two years.
I shrink back into the large, brown couch, wanting to hide from my parents’ sorrow. Callie interlaces our fingers and puts our joined hands into her lap. Donovan leans over from my other side and braces his elbows on his knees, his expression grim. Connor, Kaleb, and Felix are waiting in my suite upstairs under the guise of needing to keep James from learning something he’s not supposed to.
Sitting across from us in a modern, minimalist chair of brown leather with gold metal armrests, Mildred is unnervingly still. Unlike my parents’ displays of grief, she wears a familiar terrifying expression—the one I’ve witnessed on Callie’s face as she sinks into the cold darkness of a vengeful goddess. I swallow heavily, my thundering heartbeat felt throughout my body, and I hope that seething rage isn’t pointed at me.
When the recording ends, there’s a minute of silence before Mildred asks, “Do I want to know how you managed to extract this confession?”
“Probably not,” Callie chirps, her mouth pulled tight in a grimacing smile.
“I lured her into a private room with a promise to feed from her, and then I charmed her,” I confess quietly, my gaze focused on the round, glass coffee table because I’m too much of a coward to see my parents’ reaction.
Donovan sighs and shakes his head, clearly still on the side of not talking about last night as much as possible—at least not mentioning the torture, attempted murder, and coverup portion of it.
