"If you let go of me, I will kick you in the face." my threat fell off my dry tongue with very little anger in it. My mind was still on trying to get myself to stay afloat without being down by the tide.
"You aren't going to drown." Tobias shifted me in his arms with a smirk, "If anything, you're breasts will act as floatation devices." I gave him a dark look, not in the mood for his snide comments.
"One more remark out of you and I walk home and we forget about this whole swimming thing, understand?" I tried to put as much irritation and warning in the second threat as possible.
"You're no fun." he muttered, pulling me further into the water despite my kicking and squirming, "It's like all your idiot brothers took all the fun and drained it out of you."
"Let's go back to shore." I whispered, my mind drifting from his previous comment, "We're too far out, Toby. We're-"
"Calm down." my best friend cupped my wet cheek and stared down at me with a look of reassurance. "I've got you. I'm not going to let go until I know you're ready, Lex." I forced a smile, my arms tangled around the back of Toby's neck as I stared at the rushing water around us in horror.
"When you swim, you're going to have to push forward and kick your legs." he explained, making the gesture with one of his arms. I shook my head, feeling warmth continuing to spread through my cheeks.
"I don't want to do this." I croaked, hiding my face against his slippery shoulder.
"Alex, you're going to have to face your fears eventually. The best way is to do exactly what it is that you fear." He started to drop his arms from my back so my legs were in the water. I shook my head, staring at him in desperation.
"No!" I cried, "Tobias, stop!"
He started to untangle my hands from where they were wrapped securely behind his neck, but didn't let go as he pushed himself away, allowing my body to float upward and my arms to stretch out before me.
"Kick your legs." some part of me believed Tobias had done this before; had taught someone how to swim. I was just positive it hadn't been a sixteen year old girl who had been terrified of water her entire life.
"Alexis." Tobias' use of my full name caught my attention, "Kick."
I shut my eyes for a moment and let out a shaky sigh, trying to figure out how the hell children were able to do this without completely freaking out.
"I'm going to let go now. I need you to swim toward me." Tobias went on after I had followed his instruction. I gripped his wrist, shaking my head.
"Please don't." he laughed at the expression on my face.
"You can do it, Alex. You live with eight brothers, this can't possibly be the worst thing you've ever experienced."
*
After going back and forth in my mind, I decided to keep my clothes off and folded under the seat until we got back to my house. Tobias was going on about how I could improve certain techniques to get better, but I was zoning out half of the ride home and hardly heard a word he said.
When we finally stepped into my house, we were welcomed with the usual sight of my brothers sprawled out on the floor and couch, screeching like pterodactyls while playing one of their shooting games.
My eyes fell on Griffin first, the odd man out. He was lounging in Jace's old worn red bean bag chair with a book. I could barely get over the initial shock that he could actually read something other than the back of a cereal box.
"Hey." James muttered under his breath with a quick glance in my direction. That was all it took for him to pause the game and all of our brothers to start tossing balls of paper and trash at him.
"What the hell is that?" he gestured toward my bikini, his eyes slowly drifting to my shirtless best friend beside me, "And why the hell are you both soaked?"
"Toby was teaching me how to swim." I grinned, "He's a great teacher." my answer caught Griffin and Jace's attention, their eyebrows both drawing together in unison.
"I bet he is." Jace mumbled.
"I'm sure he loved having his hands all over you." Griffin added with an obnoxious, suggestive look.
"I did, actually." my best friend's dark eyes were on Griffin, "She's got a nice ass and rack."
Half my brothers groaned in disgust, a couple made gagging sounds, and Jace just looked at Tobias with a look that was somewhere in between confusion and anger.
"I'm sure she does. It's a shame nobody gets to see them, isn't it?" Griffin retorted, as if he were trying to challenge everything Tobias said. I felt him tense beside me, looking ready to walk over and knock Griffin out cold; or at the very least, try to.
"Can you guys take this somewhere else? I'm not a fan of hearing about my sister's tits and ass, thank you very much." Johnny shot a disgusted look at Toby.
"We don't need to hear his crap anyway." Tobias gave me a gentle shove toward the staircase as he spoke.
Jace and Mason rose at once, "Where do you think you're going, kid?"
"Up to my room." I answered Jace before Toby could.
"You're barely dressed and you expect me to allow him up there?" Jace snapped, his eyes a stormy gray.
"I didn't know you were my father." I crossed my arms over my chest, "Or that you had a ridiculous power trip that makes you think you own me, Jason."
"I'm trying to protect you, Alex." my brother said through gritted teeth.
"Protect me from what? Tobias is harmless, Jace." I turned to Toby and gave him a prompting look, "Tell them, Toby."
"You know what? I'll just head home." he placed a kiss on my right cheek before setting my towel in the washer and heading for the door. I waited until he was gone to turn on my brother.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I threw my hands up in exasperation, "You can rule and run my life forever, Jason. I need to live."
"There's a difference between wanting to live and wanting to have a guy between your legs." the words left my brother's mouth in a snarl, "I'm not letting you become some sort of sex toy for a guy that can't keep a girl for longer than a couple weeks."
"Like you're any better." I slapped my hands over my face and shook my head, "God, I am so done with all of you thinking you own me and can give me a playbook on how I'm supposed to live my life."
Ethan and Eliott exchanged a look, Mason and Ash kept their eyes trained on the mantle, and the triplets all gave me a pair of disapproving glares.
"I can't live like this anymore, guys. Lucas is gone and it's only a matter of time before each and every one of you imbecile's follow in his footsteps. You won't be able to live my life for me forever." I lowered my voice, ending with a shaky sigh.
"You think life is so easy and full people just as innocent and naive as you? It's not. But I'm going to let you see for yourself." Jace pointed his finger until it was only inches from me, "Under the condition that the second a guy breaks your heart or forces himself onto you, you don't come running back to us and crying for help."
"Jace, man. That's a little harsh." James shook his head, his eyes on his twin.
"You think the world is some magical palace of rainbows and unicorns? Then go ahead and find out, Alex. I'm going to give you a heads up here and now. People are going to pretend they care then turn their back and walk out of your life like you meant absolutely nothing to them." I started to back away, gnawing at the inside of my lip as my brother's cheeks started to drain of color.
He looked as if he had been punched in the gut repeatedly, it was a look that he would get at the mention of his only weakness; our mother. We never talked about her, but he made his hatred for her loud and clear as day whenever he got the chance.
"But that's something I'm going to have to learn for myself, Jace." my voice was barely a whisper as I slouched my shoulder's slightly and shot up the stairs before I could allow my heart to give into guilt and take back every truthful word I had thrown in his face.
*
Jace ignored me through dinner. Most of the boys ate in the living room or their rooms, but the triplets and I had spent dinner at the table with Aliyah and Dad. The tension that hung in the air was so thick I could tell our parents felt it, they just seemed hesitant on asking exactly what happened.
"How was your first day of summer vacation?" Aliyah eventually broke the tense silence, questioning eyes on me.
"It was okay. Toby taught me how to swim." I replied. She smiled, one of her eyebrows raising in surprise.
"Oh, really? That's great. I'm sorry I haven't had the time to do it myself." she looked remorseful, but I waved off the apology.
"I get it, Ally. You're always on the move, you don't have time for juvenile things like teaching me to swim." a hint of a smile started to appear, "I was wondering if you could take me shopping this weekend."
All four boys at the table looked toward me as if I'd just announced I'd dropped out of high school. They looked as if they wanted me to repeat what I had said to make sure they had heard right.
Dad looked more concerned than confused, a crease starting to form against his forehead.
"Shopping?" Aliyah seemed taken back too, "Of course, sweetie. I'd love to do that. Hoping to find some new summer outfits?"
I shifted under my brother's and father's gaze uncomfortably as I nodded, meeting my stepmom's kind brown eyes across the table, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
***AN***
Hope you guys enjoyed!
Let me know what you thought!
~ChasingMadness24