"Good morning, sleeping beauties. There's a beautiful day ahead of us. Let's not waste a minute of it, okay?" Rhys bellows bright early the next morning, causing me to moan and bury my head in my pillow.
But instead, I nuzzle into something warm and solid. I squint my eyes open to see Ryker peacefully sleeping beside me, his arms securely wrapping my body. The events of last night flood my mind, making me feel dizzy for a second, but when the realization of sleeping next to Ryker sets in, I bolt upright.
I look at Rhys with a definite expression of guilt and mortification but rather than showing any disappointment or disapproval, he gives me a bright smile, plopping on my bed next to his brother and jerking him awake.
"Wake up, Ryker.... Get up, get up" he shakes his shoulders vigorously until Ryker removes his hands from my body and pushes Rhys
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asks, annoyed, removing his hair from his face. When he turns his face towards me, his eyes widen, as if just realizing that he was in the same bed as me the entire night.
"Shit. I slept here?" he asks to no one particular, running a hand through his long hair.
"Are you surprised? Cuddling with Rosie is almost addictive" Rhys says with a grin, a totally unexpected reaction. It kind of makes me feel more guilty though, knowing that he has no idea about how I might feel for his brother, having complete faith in me even when I'm sure to break it.
"What are you doing here? Came to join the cuddle fest?" Ryker asks. I hear his voice change into a defensive tone, deflecting any suspicion.
"Nah. I'll get my turn some other day. Or night. Right now, we have a trip to plan" he says
"What trip?" Ryker asks
"Hate to interrupt, but we have classes and now that I'm awake, I'm gonna go get ready" I say, sliding off my bed. Somehow, my legs wobble but Rhys holds my arms, supporting my wait.
"You are not going to college today" Rhys says in an authoritative voice.
"I've already missed enough classes, Rhys. Plus, I've had more than this petty bruises" I say it as a joke, but it turns out to be completely opposite. Rhys stiffens in front of my eyes and I hear Ryker take a long breath.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that" I say, pulling myself away from both of them.
"It's just... we're still making all that sink in, Rosie. What happened to you... with you, no one should ever experience such a thing" Rhys says softly, moving closer to me. I lower my head
"That awful bite mark is enough of a reminder" he adds, gently brushing his fingers above my wound. It's like a feather touch, soft and unnoticeable.
"How's the head?" He asks next, running a hand through my scalp
"Not as bad as it looked yesterday. I'm okay, Rhys, really" I assure him with a smile
"You were talking about a trip" Ryker reminds him.
"Oh, yes. I was thinking that since none of us is gonna go to college today and Rosie barely ever goes out, we can all hit the beach today" Rhys says. I feel my face instantly light up.
"The beach?"
Rhys nods with a grin
"So, it's settled. If we leave in an hour, we'll be there in two more" Ryker says, sliding off the bed and leaving us in the room alone
"I've never been to a beach before" I tell Rhys, smiling.
"Well, you've been missing out. Let's fix that, okay?" he says, kissing my forehead. When he turns to leave, I call his name
"I was wondering, why are you guys not going to the college? It's just me who's kind of hurt" I ask. Rhys stares at me for a minute, then smiles, "We just need an excuse"
I don't take long in putting my barely worn black shorts which I remember Rosa insisted I buy because they looked 'Oh, so sexy' and a sleeveless cute pink crop top which showed my belly button. I pack an extra pair of clothes in a bag and rush down the stairs. We all quickly shove our breakfast in our mouths and run along.
"You guys, take good care of her" Ray tells the boys, who all nod.
"Try not to exhaust yourself, okay? You need time to recover and I wouldn't have approved of this if I didn't think it will do you some good" he says to me. I give him a hug, kissing his cheek.
"You don't need to bother yourself. With me or with him. He's not gonna hurt me again, not when I'm with you guys" I tell Ray. When he looks at me with an unchanging expression, I sigh.
"I'm quitting my job. I'm gonna stay at home most of the evenings, boring myself to death or be with your brothers, I swear. Just loose that frown on your head, please? I really don't like it"
At this, his face splits into a smile and he hugs me again. "That's exactly what you wanted, right?" I ask teasingly. He chuckles.
"I won't get in trouble, promise" I kiss Rosa and Ruby before heading out.
"So, you ready?" Rome asks me. I nod my head excitedly. I need to get my mind off some things.
The drive is long, yes, but it doesn't seem like it with the boys singing songs along the radio and telling me weird stories and memoirs of their lives. In those long two hours, I find that Rome sings the best of them, which is still not as good as you might think and he is totally into supernatural stuff which I established was the reason I call him my best friend.
Rhys had this crazy obsession with collecting different currency coins when he was little and currently, he has currency of 78 countries which is mind blowing, really. He promised he'll show me his secret lair. Then, he also had a secret crush on Scarlett Johansson, but then, which guy doesn't?
Ryker is pretty basic in all his choices. May it be his clothe choice, or food choice or accessory and furnishing choice. He says simplicity is underrated and many people fail to see it's real beauty. His words always do something to me, may it be annoy or allure.
We reach the beach with the sun high up in the sky and I immediately abandon my flip flops and run on the hot sand bare footed. "This is amazing!" I say, spinning with my hands outstretched.
"Easy there, bird. You might fly away with the wind" Rome says, pulling me along with him closer to the water.
"We should make sand castles" I suggest, sitting down on the sand under the big umbrella they set up. They lay all our picnic types belongings on a blanket and pull out cold drinks from the cold case.
"That's for children" Ryker chuckles dryly. "Well, seems like a big loss to lose your childishness, doesn't it?" I reply back, but it's good humoured. But I guess he didn't think of it as that.
"How I've missed your banters" Rhys says, shaking his head. He joins me and starts collecting the sand. "We're doing this?!"
"You seem surprised" Rhys says with a smile. "I guess I didn't think you'll go along with it. Asking wasn't doing any harm" I shrug, making his laugh.
"I'll go take a stroll" Ryker says, taking a long swig of coke before putting the bottle back in the case and leaving us.
"Guess he couldn't resist checking out the scantily clad female population here" Rome laughs and sits beside me. His words send a jolt through my heart but I ignore it. What Ryker does is none of my business.
We build a sandcastle, the three of us, but the result isn't how I thought it would be. "This doesn't look like how I've seen in movies and pictures" I say, shaking my head
"It looks more like a grave" Rome agrees. "We just dug someone's grave. Or more like, built it" Rhys says, dramatically slowly, making me shiver.
"Jeez" I say, getting up, making them laugh. When I turn my back on him, a handful of hot sand hits my back.
"What the hell??" I turn back but they hit me with another. "This is the real fun part" Rhys grins
"Don't worry. We'll hit you with small ones" Rome says, throwing yet another ball of sand at me. When another, and one more hits me, I finally get to my senses and start running. I pick some sand on my way, throwing it behind me blindly, laughing and shrieking.
"That hurt" I pick one big ball and throw it at Rhys, making him laugh. I start to run again but I bump into someone before I could even begin. I look up to see Ryker staring intently at me. I feel my breath hitch for a second but then I yelp as another ball hits me.
Instinctively, I move to hide behind Ryker.
"Come out, little munchkin, we're just playing" I giggle
"Save me, Rudy" I say, ducking behind him. A minute later, Ryker's picking up handful of sand and throwing t at his brothers. "Four can play this game" he shouts and the war begins
We keep playing with sand for God knows how long before we jump into the water and splash around like kids. A wave almost takes me with it into the ocean but I have three tethers holding me to the ground. And I feel blessed in that moment.
"Okay, we should dry ourselves. No one wants to catch cold" Rhys says, forcing us out of the water and towards our little settlement. We all lay on the sand, drying ourselves in the scorching sun which sure is gonna leave a good tan while the sand latches on to our bodies like a second layer of cloth.
After sometime, along with some light lunch we packed and casual chit chat, we decide that it's time we head home. I don't wanna go, but I know better than to whine about it. I just had the most amazing day of my life.
We pack all our things and carry it to our car, throwing them in the boot. "Okay, you can change inside, we'll just change behind here" Rhys says and I quickly climb into the backseat. Thank God they have tainted windows.
I quickly change my clothes and try to open the door. I jerk it, once, twice, but it doesn't budge. I push it for the third time and it gives away and I fall forward in full speed, ready to crash face first into the gravel path. But, someone catches me.
"You're being ridiculously clumsy today" Ryker says with a smile as he helps me get my body weight right. I sit on the seat properly, then peek outside.
"Where are they?" I say, but then I hear the other back door open and Rhys climbs in, "Right here"
When I turn my head, his lips meet mine, enveloping mine into a hungry kiss. I respond back out of reflex, tasting the salt water on his lips but when the door on my other side shuts abruptly, I jerk away.
"Whoa, Ryk" Rhys says casually. Ryker slides into the driver's seat and mutters 'sorry' before igniting the engine and putting the car in reverse.
"I hope you had fun" Rhys asks me, pulling me closer. "It was perfect. Thanks" I say with a smile. He pecks my lips once again.
My eyes catch Ryker's in the rear view mirror for a fraction of a second but it is enough to make me feel guilty. I try to make some distance between Rhys and myself but he doesn't let me. Instead, he tells me to put my head on his lap and sleep through the ride home. And I do just that.
When we finally reach, Rhys wakes me awake and holds my hand while pulling me inside. I turn to see Ryker already looking at me, his face a mask of his usual neutral expression but for a flashing moment, I feel like I see something like sadness take over his features. But then, it can be just my imagination, just what I want to see.
After greeting Ray and Rosa and my sweet niece and telling them all about our little adventure, I slip to my room and dial the one person I never thought I'll be taking any boy advice from. Ever.
She picks up in three rings.
"Hey, mom" I say casually.