1. Violet

Violet

1

"You're late!" I scold Maddox as he saunters into my bedroom like he's not got a care in the world.

"Calm down. There's still an hour to go. Nothing really changes when you turn eighteen anyway. You're not going to suddenly be different when the clock strikes midnight. It's really not that exciting."

Shrugging out of his leather jacket, he looks around my room and frowns. "Where's Max?"

"Busy," I huff, as I perch on the edge of my bed, folding my legs underneath me. "He said he'd join us once you got here. Wait, what are you doing?"

I slap my hand over my eyes as Maddox pulls his t-shirt off in one easy movement over his head then starts unbuckling his belt.

"I need a shower, I stink. Unless you want to smell sweat and gasoline all night?" I can hear the smirk in his voice.

Nope, the thought of those ridiculously manly smells filling my bed all night are one hundred percent not appealing. And the heat on my skin is only because it's warm in here and not because my stepbrother is getting naked in my room.

I can just imagine him shirtless, bent over the hood of a car as he works at the garage downtown.

Images just like that have been playing in my head a lot lately and now they're going to be running overtime, thanks to Maddox's lack of personal space.

"You have your own shower! Go use that."

"But yours has all the nice fruity shit that makes my dick smell good." I can hear his pout without needing to see it.

"I really didn't need to know that," I mumble. When I part my fingers, I see Maddox's bare shoulders as he walks into my bathroom. As I stare at him, I tell myself I'm only looking because his numerous tattoos have caught my attention. The ones I've seen plenty of times before.

Without my consent, my eyes slowly trail down to what a very dirty part of my brain hopes will be more bare skin.

But he's still got his boxers on.

That's a good thing and I should definitely not be feeling disappointed by that fact.

Maddox walking around like this isn't something I haven't seen before. The three of us are close and Maddox would walk everywhere shirtless if he could. Unlike me, he doesn't have an ounce of fat anywhere. Neither of them do. I thought they were big when I first met them, but all they've done in the last three years is grow from tall lanky boys to huge men.

I pull on the cotton of my tank top, where it's gathered in the crease of my stomach and push away the negative thoughts about my own body image.

Unfortunately, my brain thinks it's a good idea to circle back around to Maddox's body instead. All that black ink, the toned, tight muscles from working in the garage all day—no!

Enough thinking of him like that.

I need to get my hormones in check before they ruin a good thing. If the pair of them could see into my head, they'd think I was insane.

"What are you doing?" Max's voice comes from my doorway.

"Nothing!" I screech as I turn to face him, my hand still over my eyes with my fingers parted.

Embarrassed to have maybe been caught eyeing his twin, I quickly move my hand away and clear my throat.

"Maddox is home," I say awkwardly.

"I can hear that," Max laughs, raising an eyebrow as he looks at the half-open bathroom door. He goes over and closes it fully, before turning to me with his arms folded over his chest. "You were supposed to let me know when he got here."

"He only turned up a minute ago. Did you get whatever you were busy with sorted?" I ask.

Quietly, he nods then his tongue slowly runs along his lower lip and he looks like he wants to say something else. Instead, he abruptly looks away and goes to sit at my desk.

"So, what did you want to do tonight?" He starts thumbing through a textbook rather than looking at me.

Why is he acting so weird?

He's never usually this cold or indifferent towards me. Max is the nice one out of the pair, well they're both nice to me, but Max has a genuine softness whereas Maddox is usually the grump.

Reaching down under my bed, I pull out two bottles that I snuck from downstairs and hold them up.

"Thought we could play some drinking games and watch a movie or two." I jiggle the bottles so they slosh loudly, making Max finally look at me.

"Sweetheart, I don't think that's a good idea." He offers me a weak smile as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Oh, come on, it's my birthday in…" I check my phone for the time, "forty-nine minutes. I want to be stupidly drunk with my two favorite people when I turn eighteen."

The bathroom door opens, bringing with it a cloud of steam and Maddox with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

His chest is glistening with droplets of water that trail down to his stomach and my eyes can't help but follow them all the way down to the V that disappears under his towel. I force them back up to his smirking face as he dries his hair with another towel before dumping it on the bathroom floor.

"Yeah, come on, we can't deny the birthday girl. She gets whatever she wants tonight." He gives me a wink and my cheeks heat.

If he knew exactly what I wanted, he definitely wouldn't be winking at me.

"Mad," Max says sternly, his eyes darkening as they bore into his brother. Maddox's shoulders sink slightly, his smile dropping for a second before he shrugs and leaves.

Ignoring the awkward tension, I grab my laptop to start picking a movie. I can feel how hot my skin is and I know the embarrassing blush is clear on my cheeks and chest. Hopefully it fades before they notice.

Once I've decided on the first movie, I settle into the middle of my bed with both bottles of alcohol and study the labels, deciding what one will be the least gross to drink tonight. I'm not a big drinker and the only times I am is when I'm with Max and Maddox.

Like good older brothers, they tell me I'm not to go out and get wasted at parties without them to look out for me. Lucky for them, I don't like going out much anyway.

A few minutes later, Maddox comes in wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a baggy black t-shirt. His hair's mostly dry now and sticks up all over the place where he's not bothered to brush it. When he sits next to me on the bed, I run my hands through it, smoothing it down for him.

I feel the bed dip as Max comes behind me and he clears his throat loudly. "So what did you pick?" He takes the laptop from me and I turn to face him.

Maddox leans over me, his chin resting on the top of my head so he can look at the screen and he groans when he sees it's The Great Gatsby.

"Hey! I thought you said you liked this one," I pout, tilting my head back so I can look up at him.

"I did, the first time. After the third watch it got boring."

"Fine, I'll pick something else," I sigh, but Max holds the laptop out of reach.

"No, we'll watch your movie. Didn't you say she gets whatever she wants tonight?" Max says gruffly to Maddox and my mouth goes dry.

Since when did he get so commanding?

My mind runs away with itself, as I imagine all the dirty things he could order me to do in that tone.

"Earth to Vi," Maddox snaps me back to reality as he waves the bottle of vodka under my nose.

I quickly snatch it from him and take a huge swig, followed by a series of coughs as it burns my throat.

"Easy, girl," he laughs, patting my back.

Taking the bottle back from me, he drinks from it like it's water then relaxes back against the headboard and eyes me curiously.

I can't tell what he's thinking, but Max can and it mustn't be good because he's scowling at his brother.

I settle in between them, separating them so they don't start an argument over something stupid and we watch the movie as we pass the bottle between us.

Soon enough, all the tension I've been holding in my muscles is gone and a warm buzz prickles my skin.

We talk about our days and avoid the topic of our future.

Our leaving date for college has been an ominous countdown hanging over our heads for the past year and none of us want to bring the reality to light.

"Any plans for tomorrow?" Max asks and I frown at him.

"What do you mean? It's Saturday tomorrow and it's my birthday." Between my studying, Maddox's work at the garage and Max's baseball practice, we always find time for each other at the weekends. So I assumed we'd all be together tomorrow.

Max looks over my head at Maddox and I feel him tense next to me.

"I thought you two were going to hang out with me?" I say quietly, trying to hide the hurt in my voice.

"Sorry, Vi, I've got to work," Maddox says, his jaw tight as he refuses to meet my gaze.

I snap my head towards Max.

"Practice, sorry," he says with indifference.

"Seriously? Tomorrow is the one day of the year neither of you could get free?"

I understand what they both do is important to them, but we always make time for each other when we need it.

Now that I think about it, they've been busy more and more recently.

"Let's not argue. Drink up." Maddox holds the almost empty vodka bottle out to me and I take it, downing the last few shots. My head feels fuzzy and it helps me forget what I was even mad about.

I lean back and the bottle slips from my fingers. "Oops," I giggle.

Max snatches the bottle from my lap and shouts, "For fuck's sake Mad, how much did you let her drink? She looks wasted."

"I'm not her keeper. She's eighteen, brother, she can do whatever she wants now."

I feel hands on my face and when my blurry vision clears, I see Max's face right in front of mine.

His soft lips just inches away.

There's a strange heat on my own lips as he stares at them.

He strokes my cheek softly with his thumb and I lean into his touch.

Then, I feel the ghost of a hand on my back, sliding it's way up to the exposed skin under my ponytail. A soft gasp escapes my lips as long fingers encircle my neck. I feel Maddox's warm, vodka-soaked breath on my cheek as his chin rests on my shoulder.

When I turn just enough to look at him, his eyes are focused intently on Max.

They share a silent moment, just the two of them, blocking me out of whatever they're communicating in their heads. I shouldn't be so jealous of their bond, they've grown up so close and I've only been part of the family for a few years.

"Let's try," Maddox says quietly.

"Not like this." Max shakes his head ever so slightly, like the motion was meant just for Maddox's eyes, but I see it. I often see more than they realize.

With a tense exhale, Maddox pulls away first. The heat of him quickly fades from my body and I'm left feeling frozen as Max follows suit.

"Happy Birthday, Violet," Max says as he heads for the door. Maddox slams his shut across the hall.

I can't move, can't even stop my face from looking so pathetically sad.

Without another word, Max softly closes my door behind him. I'm left with only the company of the movie still playing as midnight strikes and the alarm on my phone rings out hollowly in my empty room, signalling in my birthday.