Chapter 13

MAY 26 – FRIDAY 6:10 PM

B lake

I'd never folded a sheet before in my life until this very moment. Ren made it look so easy. It didn't matter that she wasn't as tall and her arms were shorter. She always managed to fold and flip at the right spot so that the unruly material turned into a perfect square.

"Why are you staring at me like that," Ren asked as I gave up on the latest sheet and moved on to towels. This I could handle.

"I'm just amazed. You make them look perfect, and mine looks like that," I said, pointing to my pile that was so badly folded that it was falling over. "I mean, who knew that five people could make this much laundry in a week?"

Ren's laugh was infectious, and I smiled back. She was so pretty. I loved it when her hair was up on her head in a crazy bun, and her eyes were all shiny with happiness. She was the single most important thing in my life, and I really hated lying to her. I guess lying wasn't the right word. It was an omission, but it still felt so wrong. I got the reasoning, and after what happened at the police station, it made even more sense, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

"Here, I'll help you with yours," Ren said, picking up the sheet I'd given up on and handing me two corners. "First, fold it in half. Good and now half again, then walk toward me." I did as she asked, and as I reached her, I took the sheet from her hands and wrapped my arm around her waist. She tipped her head up, and I played our usual game, hovering my lips over hers until she kissed me.

My entire body lit up, and my blood raced, making me feel alive. I tossed the sheet so it landed on my pile and then attacked her mouth again. We'd hardly had a moment alone to ourselves. Not that I didn't like having everyone around, but it was nice, just the two of us doing something totally mundane.

Gripping her ass, she moaned, and I pulled her up my body and then backed up to the chair that was in the corner and sat down. Her sweet lips were divine, like dining at a buffet of fruit and wine.

Breaking away, I sucked her lower lip into my mouth and traced it with the tip of my tongue before letting go to place kisses across her cheek.

"I've missed having you all to myself," I whispered in her ear.

"Are you saying you want to steal me away on a date alone?"

"Not a bad idea, but I'd have a war on my hands if I tried," I said, and she laughed.

"True. Myles seems a little overprotective lately. Not that I blame him with everything that has happened, but I can see the worry on his face." I hated that she was always so concerned about us and how it lingered in her eyes. We wanted to look out for her, and here we were, failing at every turn. The fact that I'd fucked up so bad that she almost watched me die was heavy on my mind. When she woke up in the night and pretended that she didn't have a bad dream, I knew that it was either about Axel, Myles, or me. I'd heard her whimper my name and say no, and I knew.

"We all are, including my brother. Theo is just as bad but better at hiding it," I said and toyed with the decorative clip she had in her hair. I squeezed, and all of her long hair fell around her shoulders. Fuck. Did she have any idea how pretty she was?

"Yeah, I'm kind of surprised about that, actually. Until this trip, I would've said that Theo tolerated me more so than liked me."

Ren kissed my lips softly, and as she did, I had to get something off my chest. "Listen, I didn't mean to eavesdrop the other night when you were talking to Myles about that guy you went to school with."

"Rylan?"

I nodded. "But I did overhear Myles and what he said about adding the other guys into our relationship."

Her brow furrowed. "You don't have to worry about that, Blake."

"Whether I do or don't isn't the issue. Look, I'm very observant. Nash…will figure out that he has feelings for you, and as you've seen, he doesn't take no for an answer. I know you may not see it, but Theo is different with you. He admires you and respects you. It takes a lot to get both from my brother."

"Okay, but I do get a say in this, no matter what, and I'm not looking to add more people to our relationship."

I kissed her nose and laid my forehead against hers. "All I want you to know is that whether you do or don't, I'm fine with it. I never want to sleep in the same bed as my brother. That's kinda weird for me since we stopped doing that around age six, but aside from that…I'm happy. You make me happy, and oddly, Myles feels natural. If, at some point, you decide that you want one of them, just know that I feel the same way Myles does. I'm good with it." I wasn't sure if I really was, but saying it felt like the right thing to do. "But definitely not that Rylan guy. He's skeezy."

She burst out laughing, making me smile. "Skeezy? Wow, that's a word I didn't expect to come out of your mouth." She kissed me again, and I wanted to wrap her up in my arms, lock us in a safe room, and never leave. All the mystery with her and her family was sitting like acid in my stomach. If something happened to her…if I couldn't stop it…my fear was not being able to protect her when she needed me. I couldn't and wouldn't let that happen.

Cupping her face, I kissed her as deeply as I could and poured everything that I was feeling into it. Pulling her as close as possible until our bodies were almost flush, my hands explored and slipped under the T-shirt she was wearing. The bra strap tempted me to pluck it free.

She wiggled on my lap as we kissed, and I wanted her so bad, but there was a part of me holding back. I'd felt it since her attack, not wanting to scare her. Now, it was the worry of messing this up. Fuck, I hated my brain. Everything was stuck on a loop that wouldn't end. I could pleasure her, sure. But when it came to sex, what the fuck did I know?

She wiggled again, and I grabbed the bottom of her shirt to pull it off when a loud thump sounded behind my head, and Ren jumped as high as my heart had into my throat.

"What the hell was that?" She stared at the wall, and I swallowed hard. "No one should be in my mother's room," Ren whispered, her eyes wide with horror. "We need to call the police. What if they're back? What if the robbers were really after me and…."

"Whoa, slow down, it's okay." I grabbed her shoulders before she could jump off my lap. "Look at me, Ren." She slowly peeled her eyes away from the wall over my head.

"But Blake…."

"No, it's okay. Sort of, anyway. It's not a robber or murderer or anything else like that, but I think you're going to be pissed." She narrowed her eyes and glared at me. I swallowed hard. Forget having sex. I'd be lucky if she didn't reach between my legs and castrate me.

Thanks, assholes.

"What are you not telling me?"

I stood and put Ren on her feet and then grabbed her hand as we walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to her mom's room. I reached for the handle, but she grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"No one is supposed to be in there," she said.

"I know, but Myles and Theo are."

Hell hath no fury like the look on her face. Ren grabbed the handle and flung the door open with a bang. Myles, who was in the room going through a box, jumped, his eyes wide. Theo stuck his head out of the large closet a moment later, looking just as guilty.

Ren crossed her arms over her chest. "Would either of you like to tell me what is going on," she asked, her voice as hard as steel.

"Blake, what the hell? You were supposed to keep her busy," Myles said, and I covered my eyes and groaned as Ren looked over her shoulder at me with the same ‘I'm going to kill you' glare.

"I tried, but one of you decided to drop something or hit the wall. Not my fault," I said, crossing my arms.

"Well…out with it. I specifically asked for no one to come in here, and instead of talking to me about wanting to look at something, you break my trust?"

I didn't think three people could look more guilty if you tried. "It's my fault," Theo said, stepping out of the closet.

"Aye, it was his idea, but I agreed to go along with it," Myles said, putting the box he was holding under his arm.

I cleared the dryness from my throat and looked down. "Same. I didn't like the idea, but I understood it and agreed. The only one who's oblivious is Ivy, which is why we had her go get dinner."

"So that's why you were trying to get me to go with her." Ren shook her head. "Great, you can all own up to it when you're caught red-handed, but you still haven't explained why to me yet." Ren marched across the room, and Myles tensed like she was going to eat him alive. Instead, she took the box from under his arm and started rifling through it. "Don't you understand that I haven't even been able to come in here since that night?" She looked at Theo leaning against the doorframe of the closet. "I was locked in there." Ren pointed, the emotion making her voice hitch. "I had to watch my mum die, and you guys come in and start going through everything like she and what happened didn't matter? Like my feelings don't matter."

"It's not like that, Snowflake. We've been respectful, I promise ya. We just didn't want to upset ya if we didn't find anything, but we needed to look."

"It wasn't your choice to make. You ask. You don't just storm ahead and stomp on my memories and break my trust. I wouldn't do that to any of you." No one said anything ‘cause she wasn't wrong. Ren crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me. What exactly were you hoping to find?" Her body was trembling slightly, and even though I knew she probably didn't want me to touch her right now, I rested my hands on her shoulders.

"You know that Myles and I love you, and Theo didn't suggest this to hurt you," I said. "Give us a minute to explain everything."

She didn't say anything, but she walked over to a chair by the bed and sat down. I followed closely. "Theo, why don't you explain," I said, and he rubbed the back of his neck before taking off his glasses. We all turned our attention to him.

"Fine, I'll be the one to rip the band-aid off. The other day at your aunt's house, you asked about the picture of your mom," he said, and she nodded.

"Yeah, my aunt didn't know anything. That picture was taken like twenty years ago. It could've been from any time, any vacation."

Theo crossed his arms. "Is that really what you believe? If it is, then there is no point in showing you what I found. You'll find some way to explain it away, and I'll be wasting my breath."

"Theo, come on, give her a break," Myles said.

"No. Ren isn't the type to hide. So, if she's choosing to hide from the truth about her family, then I'm not going to waste my time explaining any of this to her." My brother turned his serious and impassive stare on Ren, who was clutching the box to her chest and playing with the cuffs on her sweater.

I knelt by her side and reached out, needing to touch her. I ran my thumb over her skin until she flicked her gaze to mine. It was obvious that being in here bothered her, but she was trying hard to fight it off.

"How about we leave the room for now? We can grab a drink, and when the guys are done, we'll tell you everything," I offered as her lower lip trembled. "I promise you that they will be very careful. You know Theo, he's too anal not to be careful, and Myles is terrified you'll kill him," I said, smirking, and she gave me a small smile.

"Okay," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. Standing, Ren placed the box on the chair, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I gave Theo an annoyed glare before we left the room.

Coming here was always going to be tough, no matter what Ren thought, but I think she believed that if she could avoid her mom's room, she could prevent the pain and the reality of the situation. Some part of her had been left in there, and I'd just seen the haunted look in her eyes as I had the night we chased her through the library.

I kissed her on the head as we walked downstairs. "I'm sorry, we never should've hidden what we were doing from you," I said. She nodded but didn't look at me, and it felt like a blow.

Fuck. We totally screwed up.