INTO THE STARS
———
BRINLEY
Sets of eyes flick to me upon my entrance. I have been holed up in my room for the past four hours, struggling to get to sleep since... everything... happened.
I was scared to leave my room, truthfully. I wondered if he was wandering around the house still and if I were to leave, would I run into him again. The possibilities were both high and low. The house is a decent size but if it was so big, explain how we both so happened to be in the kitchen at the same time.
I still cannot wrap my head around the fact the guy, who has made me feel anything but welcome, has seen me naked. And now, I am stuck in a house with him for the next week and have to pretend none of that happened.
In retrospect, it was a purely impulsive decision, driven by my need to prove him wrong. I wanted to prove to him I wasn't feeling whatever he was, and it failed. Miserably. What can I say? I enjoy sex. Though, it probably would've been better to find someone else to give me orgasms.
Whatever. It is too late now. It happened and let's hope we are both mature enough to ignore it ever happened and go back to how things were before we saw each other naked. We are adults, after all. That is what mature adults do.
"Good morning," Holden says, taking a languid sip of his coffee.
I rub a lazy hand over my eyes and through my hair, hoping it doesn't look like a raccoon is living in it. "Morning," I mutter lazily.
Holden lifts his cup and cocks an eyebrow at me, asking me if I would like a cup. I nod eagerly, my exhaustion levels diminishing just at the thought of it.
I stand next to Holden on the counter while he works on my cup of coffee, making it the same way he did yesterday. "Rough night?" he asks, handing me a warm mug filled with the dark brown liquid, steaming with a chocolaty aroma.
"You have no idea," I tell him, sipping on the hot liquid, wary not to burn my entire mouth in the process.
Over the rim of my mug, I glimpse around the kitchen, actively avoiding where Malachi is standing. Not only because of what happened last night, but because he is standing right where everything took place.
I hear a snort resonate through the kitchen, and I ignore it, knowing where it came from.
"What's funny?" Holden asks, his eyebrows drawn down in confusion aimed at Malachi.
Malachi's composure is back in place, his face stuck in an intimidating look that seems to be permanent. "Nothing." He shakes his head, looking away from the both of us and focusing on something entirely different.
Holden moves on, concentrating on something else. "Planning on coming out on the mountain today?"
Malachi shrugs, sparing me a hasty glance. I respond with a scowl. "Probably."
That is something I have noticed about Malachi. He rarely elaborates, sticking to simple answers. I would find it enticing, but... I don't. The most I have ever seen him talk to anyone was last night. Which, surprisingly, was to me.
I hate that tidbit of information. It irks me.
Brooklynn enters the kitchen, her brown hair tied up in a messy bun and an oversized hoodie almost reaching her knees.
"Good morning!" I tell her in an overly chipper voice. She told me once that cheerful people in the morning piss her off, so I do it just to annoy her occasionally.
"Fuck off," she says, flashing me the beautiful sight of her middle finger while she pulls out two pieces of bread with her spare hand.
I laugh, swallowing another sip of the much cooler coffee.
Everybody is in the kitchen except for Tyson and Aidan right now. Usually, Tyson is the first one awake, so I don't know where he is right now.
My body ignites with the heat of someone's stare. I try my best to ignore it, gulping down a much larger sip of coffee that goes down the wrong pipe, leaving me in a coughing mess. I choke, my throat feeling dry and hot as the coughing subsides.
"Are you okay?" Holden asks the moment the sound of me choking up my lungs stops.
I nod, still trying to catch my breath back.
My stomach growls and I search the kitchen with my gaze for something that appeals to me right now. The only thing I can think of is Cheerios. The downside, the place they store the bowls, is right next to where Malachi is standing.
Feigning indifference, I stride right over, reaching up and opening the overhead cabinets when I feel his breath on the side of my neck.
"See, I have an effect on you, sweetheart," he mumbles into my ear, hiding the action of his head behind the open cabinet door.
"An effect on my gag reflex? Most definitely," I seethe, annoyed by the smugness in his tone.
"Nah, that is my dick," he murmurs, finally moving his face away from the crook of my neck as I grab my bowl and close the cabinet door.
What the fuck happened to forgetting that ever happened?
I send him an irritated glare before I walk off and go pour myself a bowl of cereal. I feel his gaze lingering on my every movement. My body feels hot and my hoodie and leggings feel suffocating, which I try to dismiss as I shovel mouthfuls of cereal into my mouth, that being my main fixation. Not his searing gaze. Or anything else in the room, for that matter.
Thinking over my plan for the day, I think of what I can do. After my breakfast, it might be nice to go for a quick run before coming back and meeting up with everyone on the slopes for a few hours. I'll spend lunch on the mountain and might call my mother. It has been a while since we have spoken and I am sure she misses me as much as I miss her. I could also spend the afternoon—
Shouting echoes throughout the entire house. Very loud shouting at that. It catches me off guard and my brain instantly goes to the possibility of something like a person breaking in or a fire. The possibilities of that happening are pretty slim considering this house would be regarded as secluded and forgotten by someone who isn't looking for it. And as for the fire, we are in the middle of the mountains, but that still doesn't mean it couldn't happen...
I dismiss those thoughts the moment I recognize one of the two voices.
"Care to fucking explain? Don't you think I deserve that much?" Aidan yells at, assumably, Tyson, since he is the only one not in the kitchen right now.
I glance at Brooklynn. Her eyes widened and, as reality sets in, she winces. She leaves the kitchen quicker than I could blink.
Holden seems just as taken aback when I catch a glimpse of him. I think everyone is just listening to make sure there aren't any signs of violence. As far as we know right now, this is purely a verbal altercation. More yelling pursues, interrupted momentarily by something hitting the ground, resulting in a loud thud throughout the whole house.
Holden stirs back to the present, his posture straight as he leaves the kitchen in a hurry. I spare a brief glance at Malachi, his expression revealing absolutely nothing. He isn't staring at anything in particular, seemingly daydreaming and completely out of it, unaware of all his surroundings.
Dismissing him, I leave the kitchen, following the sounds of all the yelling. It doesn't take long to find the place where all the commotion is taking place. In the center of the living room, Aidan looks to be infuriated, while Tyson just listens to his yelling. Not interrupting, simply copping whatever Aidan is throwing at him.
"I told you specifically to stay away from her. Do you not remember that?" Aidan shouts, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I thought- I thought I could trust you to at least come to me and tell me about it."
Tyson seems to finally snap back to whatever is happening, his face remaining serious. More serious than I have ever seen it. I almost wonder if something has taken over Tyson's body. "What would that have done? If I had come to you, you still wouldn't have supported us. You would've done everything in your power to protect her."
This is about a girl, I can tell as much. I am not sure who, since Brooklynn is standing right next to Aidan, just watching everything go on.
"Damn straight I would've." Aidan's arms flail up in exasperation, growing silent for a few moments. "Have you fucked her?"
Tyson's breath audibly hitches and I think everyone in the room is taken slightly aback by that question. "You don't want to know the answer to that."
Aidan's posture is tight and upright. "Is she the reason you are 'celibate'?" He uses his fingers to put fake quotation marks around the last word.
Without faltering, Tyson holds Aidan's eye contact and answers with a simple, "Yes."
Aidan rolls his eyes, smiling insidiously. Taking a few strides forward, he grabs Tyson by the collar of his shirt. Tyson doesn't put up a fight, accepting everything Aidan is throwing at him.
Holden and Brooklynn rush to Aidan's side, trying their best to pull Aidan off of Tyson. Aidan relents, releasing Tyson before anything could grow physical. Brooklynn grabs Aidan by his bicep, guiding him over to sit on the lounge right behind him, beside her.
Silence envelops the room. Silence filled with an awful tension that makes my skin itch as await whatever is bound to happen next.
"Why did you stay so long?" he murmurs, the sound of his voice hoarse as though the yelling is straining his vocal cords.
Tyson scoffs like he cannot believe what Aidan is asking. He stays silent, as though thinking the question over. "Good fucking question," he says sarcastically. "You wanna know why I stayed? Because I fucking love her. Does that surprise you?"
Aidan rests his elbows on his haunches. "Why didn't you tell me? I had to find out from my girlfriend. Who you made a promise not to tell me, might I add."
Tyson winces, removing his gaze from Aidan, obviously being caught. "That was shitty of me to do. Sorry, Brooklynn. That probably wasn't my smartest move."
Brooklynn raises her hands, accepting his apology before she places her hands on Aidan's tense back and begins rubbing soothing circles.
"Promise me one thing," Aidan starts, his voice coming out soft, getting lost in the room, "from this moment forward, stay the fuck away from her because if you break her heart, we'll both lose a friend. My sister comes first. Always."
Tyson's entire demeanor relaxes, breathing a sigh of relief. "That won't be an issue." Aidan's eyebrows tip downwards. "I, uh, may have fucked up. All is well, I can assure you." He releases a humorless laugh that reveals more pain than I think anyone expected.
Aidan stands from the couch, his expression back to being infuriated. "Motherfucker," he seethes, going to lunge forward but being caught by Brooklynn before he could get far enough.
Aidan sits back down on the couch hesitantly. Brooklynn leans down, whispering something in his ear. Aidan shoots one last last glare at Tyson. "Stay the fuck away from my sister."
After that, Brooklynn drags Aidan out of the living room. Upon Aidan's exit, Tyson breathes out another sigh. "Crikey! That went a lot better than I anticipated."
"Do you really think so?" Holden cocks a disbelieving eyebrow at Tyson.
"Well, I didn't get punched, did I?" Tyson says with a slight smile, looking around the room for someone to back him up.
I just chuckle, leaving the living room to go get ready for my morning run. I ignore Malachi's presence right beside me, making a beeline for the stairs.
Let's get this shit show on the road.