"Come here, honey!" called Katherine, so I had no other choice but to join her on the deck. I climbed up the wooden steps hoping that my face wasn't red or puffy from crying and dropped my heavy bag to the ground. Much to my discomfort, everyone went silent.
"Boys," began George, breaking the silence, "this is Jackie and—"
"—and she will be staying with us for a while," finished Katherine, while giving her husband a stern look. A loud breath of air escaped my lungs as I sighed. I hadn't realized how much I didn't want the boys to know why I was really here. I wasn't ready to talk to a bunch of strangers about my family. Besides, if the boys knew, they might treat me like something breakable and that was the last thing I wanted.
At the moment, they were all staring at me like I was a foreigner invading their personal country.
I decided it was time to make peace. Slowly, I raised my hand and shyly waved. "Hi guys. I'm Jackie."
One of the older boys swam forward and pulled himself out of the pool, breaking line with the others. I took one look at him and my pulse stopped. He looked like he had just stepped out of a sports magazine. His pale blond hair was messy and matted down from the pool and I couldn't help but notice that his perfectly toned muscles were lightly misted with water. There were water droplets caught in his dark eyelashes that sparkled in the sunlight, framing his bright blue eyes. Overall, he made me want to melt.
"Why?" he questioned, fixing his bright eyes on me. "Why are you staying with us?"
"Cole!" George scolded. "Don't be so rude. Jackie is our guest."
Cole turned to grin at the other boys and then proceeded to look back to his father. He shrugged. "What? We were all thinking it. I was just the first one to say it."
A few of the other guys nodded in agreement. I felt myself freeze up, afraid that if I told them why I was here, I would break down and start crying again. I definitely didn't want that to happen.
Katherine noticed my panicked look and jumped in to save me. "As you all know, I went to visit Jackie's mother, M-Molly." She stumbled over my mother's name. "There are a few family issues going on right now, so I offered to take Jackie with me." Katherine took a deep breath when she finished. I felt relieved that I wasn't the one who had to lie. Maybe once I settled into the Walter household I could tell them the truth, but not until I knew where I stood with the boys.
"Well, I think I'll just grab the rest of my stuff," I said, wanting to get away from the dozen pair of eyes that were staring at me.
"Oh, right, I forgot. One of you boys needs to help Jackie to her room, while I go make dinner. You all behave yourselves." Katherine pointed a finger at her kids.
When I turned to leave as Katherine and George disappeared into the house, someone caught my arm. I looked up to find myself face to face with one of the boys. He was the tallest of them all, and probably the oldest too. His golden blond hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and the few strands that weren't held back had curled in the heat. His strong jaw line, thick chin and long straight nose made the glasses he was wearing look rather small. His forearms were very toned, and his hands were rough, most likely from working on the ranch.
"You planning on staying long or do you normally pack this much?" he asked with a smile, looking down at my giant hockey bag. Thinking of home caused my lips to tremble and I felt tears form in my eyes. I didn't want to stay very long at all, but where else could I go? His smile faltered, and the look of concern in his eyes made me feel like somehow he understood. It made me trust him. I wasn't quite sure why, but maybe it was because he looked more like a man than the rest of the boys.
"I don't think I'm going home," I admitted in a low whisper. I didn't want the others to hear, but they were all chattering in the background and not paying attention anyways. He nodded his head and dropped the subject. His small act of kindness made me want to start sobbing again. However, I had a gut feeling that the rest of the boys wouldn't be as nice. I knew that if they thought I was weak, they would eat me alive and spit me back up later.
I made a decision, then and there. If I was going to survive in a house full of boys, there was no way I could let them know about my past or the pain I was suffering. I made myself a rule: no talking about New York. By shutting that part of my life into some deep corner of my mind, I was protecting myself. Being numb was better than feeling pain anyway, right?
The eldest boy cleared his throat to get his brothers' attention. When it quieted down, he started to introduce everyone. "Well, I'm Will and you've already met Cole," he said, pointing to his fair-haired younger brother who had nearly exposed my secret earlier. Cole smirked and saluted me.
"Yeah, never mind him. He's a dick," Will said. "Over here is Danny." Danny was almost as tall as Will, but much skinnier and his chin was covered in stubble.
"That's Isaac, my cousin," continued Will, pointing to a boy who stood out, due to his midnight black hair. He had the same facial features as the other boys, but was clearly from different parents.
"This is Alex." A younger looking version of Cole stepped forward. He was wearing a baseball cap, and it looked like he spent every day in the sun because his skin was tanned perfectly. I gave him a nervous nod, and he waved back.
"Lee is Isaac's little brother." He gestured to another boy with black hair, and his scowl made me look away.
Next, Will introduced me to Nathan. He was a scrawny teen, but I could tell that when he grew, he would be just as attractive as his older brothers. He was dry, and the only boy not dressed in swimwear. His shirt and jeans were covered in paint. I smiled when I saw two brushes sticking out of his pocket. It almost seemed a little cliché to me when I recalled Katherine saying something about him liking art.
Then there was Jack and Jordan—the first set of twins. They were both wearing the same orange striped shirt, which was heavy with water and clinging to their skin. I was grateful that Jack wore glasses so I could tell the two apart.
Next was Peter, who insisted on being called Pete. Pete had bad sunburn and was sporting an adorable bowl-cut.
Before I could be introduced to the last two boys, they ran from the group and jumped on me. For a moment I thought I would be able to keep my balance, but then my knees buckled and I fell back—straight into the pool.
I paddled back up to the surface, sputtering and gasping for air. I could hear most of the guys laughing.
"Hi Jackie!" cried one of the twins as he stood at the edge of the pool. He was a cute little kid who still hadn't lost his baby fat. Freckles covered his face and his blond hair curled all over. "I'm Zack and that's my twin, Benny!" I looked over to see an exact replica of the smiling kid break the surface of the water.
"Holy crap! Someone get Jackie a towel!" Will demanded. He stuck out a hand to help me up, and soon I was shivering on the side of the pool. It was too early in spring to be swimming. These boys were crazy! I was handed a red Power Rangers towel and I quickly wrapped it around myself to cover the now see-through white shirt I was wearing.
"I'm really sorry about that," Will said, before shooting the younger twins a glare.
"The only thing I'm sorry about is that he gave her a towel," someone muttered. I whipped around to see who it was, but they were all standing together silently trying to keep the grins off their faces. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to Will.
"It's okay, but I'd like to go inside and get changed."
"I can help with that," another voice joked. This time the boys couldn't contain their laughter.
"Isaac!" Will snapped. He glared over my shoulder at his cousin until the boys quieted down. Then he turned back to me. "Do you have any other bags in the car?" he asked.
"A ton," I said and nodded my head.
"All right, I'll start unloading the car and someone can show you to your room."
As Will retreated off the deck, I felt myself shrink. So far my only friend had just left me with the enemies. Taking a deep breath of air, I gulped and turned back around. The Walter boys looked at me, their faces blank.
After an awkward thirty seconds, Cole shook his head in irritation and pointed at the house. "Are you going to just stare at us, or do you want to go inside?" he asked. Cole might have been hot—his damp hair had dried into a dreamy I-just-had-sex kind of way—but I could tell he was a jerk and his words made my eyes gloss over with tears. I blinked them back and looked away.
"I want to go inside," I muttered quietly. Then, to show him so, I picked up my bag and hung it over my shoulder.
"Don't forget these," one of the boys said, picking up my skates.
"Thanks um..."
"Nathan," he said with a smile.
"Thanks, Nathan."
"So you play hockey, huh?" Cole asked. His arms were crossed over his chest almost like he didn't believe it.
"Yeah, almost every day since I was six," I stated, proud of myself. "I play goalie." Thinking of hockey made me think of my mom, who had always taken me to practice, even though she didn't know anything about sports. Another wave of pain washed over me and I realized that I had already broken my new rule: no talking about home. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought. But I couldn't help it. Cole's skeptical tone gave me a sudden urge to prove myself to him. Consequently, I couldn't help but feel frustrated with the beautiful boy standing in front of me for making me break my rule so quickly. It made me realize that this was going to be a lot harder than I thought.
"So you're good?" asked Isaac. I nodded, not willing to say anything more. He smirked at me. "I love a girl who knows how to handle a stick properly."
I frowned at him in disgust. Did he really just say that?
"Just ignore him," said Alex, giving his cousin a shove. "He's the family pervert, so if you need me to beat him up, just ask." I offered Alex a small smile. He was just as cute as his older brother Cole, but I could tell he didn't have the same cocky attitude.
"Thanks Alex, but I think I can handle him," I said. Isaac wiggled his eyebrows at my comment. Yuck, I didn't mean it like that!
"That's good," said Cole, "you're going to need to be strong if you're hanging around here."
He grabbed one of my bags that Will had started to pile on the deck, and threw it over his shoulder before heading into the house. Everyone else grabbed a towel and followed him in. For one long moment I stood on the deck alone, looking at my new house. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pictured the penthouse back in New York and the hurt flooded through me with ease. My family was gone and they were never coming back.
"Hey Jackie, are you coming or what?" someone called.
I opened my eyes and nodded my head. This might be where I have to live, but I knew it would never be my home.
***