“Well yeah okay, I was hurt. But it was for the best. The teachers at school finally took it seriously and he couldn’t come near me anymore. It didn’t always stop him, but things got a lot better after that.”
“What do you mean, ‘it didn’t always stop him?’” I ask her.
“Well, he followed me home from the bar once, but I made it inside before anything bad happened. He would also randomly leave me notes taped to my locker. After the first few, I would just throw them away without reading them though. They were so disturbing,” Charlie admits.
I frown and take another swig of my beer. I would have fucked him up more if I had known the extent of what he’s done. Poor, sweet Charlie girl is way too nice for her own good.
“Is he why you moved away?” Andy asks.
“He was a huge part of it yes, but I was bullied quite a bit by my classmates too.” Charlie sighs. “I got out of this town as soon as I could and would have happily never seen anyone I graduated with ever again. Other than Chuck, I have managed to not see anyone since I’ve been back.”
“So, it’s just bad luck that you ran into the worst of them all?” Max clarifies.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Charlie answers with a shrug. “But that’s just the kinda luck that I have.”
“Well, that settles it,” Andy declares. “You’re going to stay here with us. At least for this week.”
Charlie chokes on her beer. “What?” she sputters.
“Yeah, I agree,” Max says. “We can keep you safe from Chuck better if you’re here.”
“I think it’s a good idea too,” I chime in. “You and Max can go to work together and between the three of us we can keep an eyeon you.”
“You were likely going to be spending a lot more time here anyways.” Andy winks.
Charlie giggles but then tries to protest. “I don’t want to impose.”
“Not an imposition at all,” Max tells her. “Have you seen the size of this house? We even have more than one spare bedroom for you to choose from!”
“But you could always just share with me,” Andy murmurs into her ear, making Charlie blush.
I roll my eyes. My brothers are nauseating.
Charlie is looking between Max and Andy, but then her eyes land on me. “I know these two dorks are okay with it, but are you sure you’re okay with me being here Ben?”
I nod. If something happens to Charlie that’ll be it for me. I can’t have another woman’s death on my conscience. Not when there is something I can do about it.
“I’ll need to invest in some noise cancelling headphones but I’d rather you be here and safe.”
Charlie is so freaking cute when she blushes.
Chapter 28
Charlie
I’ve been staying with the boys for almost a week now and I still haven’t picked a bedroom. At this point, I’m convinced that Max and Andy have worked out some kind of schedule and are taking turns having me in one of their beds each night. It’s not always sex. Sometimes we just cuddle and talk. Max also seems to have this thing about going down on me when I am reading. I’ve told him a few times now that it makes it impossible to concentrate on the story and he just tells me to try harder. As if I’d even want to.
I swear I’m not complaining though. I don’t think I have ever been treated this well in my life. Not one morning this week have I had to make my own breakfast, pack my own lunch, or even pour my own coffee. Between Max and Andy, I am very well taken care of.
Andy also let it slip that he has been getting to fuck me raw (he was bragging) so Max went ahead and showed me his most recent clean screening too. We all agreed that as long as it was just the three of us, we didn’t need to use condoms anymore. My guys are both very excited about it (me too) and Max told me he’s going to buy me a present with all the money he is saving by not buying condoms. Which is both hilarious and something he would actually do.
Then there is Ben. He’s been less closed off with me, but I stillcan’t help but feel there is some weird barrier between us. I’ve been trying to get him to tell me more about himself, but he is really good at changing the subject. I’ve told him so much about myself and feel like I know nothing about him.
I tried asking Max and Andy about it, but they just assure me that that’s how he is, and he doesn’t like talking about his childhood so good luck getting any information about that out of him. The one safe subject seems to be Ben’s work. Being a high school shop teacher, he has a new story what feels like pretty much every day with something dumb a student had done. Ben teaches them well, but there’s only so much you can do once you’ve handed a teenager a power tool.
Friday evening, I decide to make the boys dinner as a thank you. I kept it simple, making my dad’s ‘world famous’ spaghetti, with garlic bread and Ceasar salad to go with it. Max helped me set the table, and everything was ready by the time Andy and Ben got home from work.
You didn’t have to cook for us sweetheart.” Andy wraps his arm around me, giving me a small squeeze and kissing my forehead.
