Stumbling to my feet, heart juddering, I push the closet door open tentatively and stare around my empty bedroom. Late morning sunlight brushes through the open blinds, illuminating my surroundings.
On bare feet, I pad towards my trusty baseball bat that I always keep behind my dresser. For protection, of course. And some ball crunching when the need arises.
Someone knocks again.
My feet gliding across the wooden bamboo floors, I push onto my tiptoes and peer out of the peephole.
Only to instantly sag in relief when I catch sight of three familiar males.
Henry, Colton, and Ray stand on the other side of the door, wearing matching irritated expressions.
I wrench the door open just as Colton—the impatient asshole—lifts his hand to knock a fourth time.
“What’s up with males knocking repeatedly on my door?” I huff as soon as I see them. Colton drops his hand with a sheepish smile while Ray narrows his emerald green eyes.
“What other males are knocking on your door repeatedly?” he asks in a voice that promises pain and suffering towards any male who dares to bother his little sister.
“Come in, losers,” I say, stepping back to allow them entry. My heartbeat finally descends to a normal, healthy rhythm.
It’s just my brothers.
Not the crazy ass fuckers trying to kill me.
Just my brothers.
Still, I can’t help but stick my head out the door, my paranoia a physical, tangible entity contaminating the air. Fortunately, there’s no one lurking at the end of the hall. I don’t know what I’d do if there had been—probably scream bloody murder and charge at them with my baseball bat, Sally.
Speaking of…
I timidly lean Sally against the wall adjacent to the door as I turn back towards my brothers, already settling in as if they own the place.
The twins, Colton and Ray, are dressed in a similar color scheme, despite the fact that I know they didn’t do it on purpose. Their personalities are as different as night and day, despite their identical appearance. Colton is a vibrant ray of sunshine, while Ray constantly has a scowl marring his features. My oldest brother, Henry, is often more serious than his younger siblings.
They like to joke that I’m an extension of all three of them—with a compassionate heart and friendly, boisterous personality like Colton, but with a darkness that can rival even Ray’s, and a seriousness and problem-solving mind reminiscent of Henry’s.
“I didn’t expect you guys to be here already,” I say, slamming the door closed and locking it once more. Better safe than sorry.
Henry narrows his eyes suspiciously, but Colton remains oblivious as he throws himself into the nearest armchair.
“What? We can’t surprise our favorite sister?”
“I’m your only sister,” I point out as I move to the fridge and grab a six-pack of beers. I toss one to Colton first, who cheers as if he made the Superbowl touchdown catch.
“So it means that, by default, you're our favorite,” he says with another smirk. Rolling my eyes at his antics, I toss the next one to Ray before handing the third beer directly to Henry. When I move to take one myself, all three of them narrow their eyes.
“Naughty, naughty. You’re not twenty-one yet,” Colton says playfully, but his eyes are hard.
“I’ll be twenty-one in less than a month,” I huff. “Besides, don’t be hypocrites. I still remember the one time that you three got completely wasted when you were sixteen, and Dad—”
All three of them groan in unison, and Ray tosses the couch’s throw pillow at my head.
“Shut it,” he warns, wincing at the memory. I can’t imagine it’s pleasant getting trapped in an ice cream truck for ten hours after you made a bet with your brothers that you can hold your dick in ice the longest.
I’m pretty sure I pissed myself laughing when I found out.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” Colton interrupts, guzzling his beer. “Want to go out for lunch? I saw this new—”
“No!” I blurt automatically, heart racing. When all three of them stare at me, eyebrows quirked, I work to regulate my volume. “I mean, it’s really noisy in a restaurant. Why don’t we just stay here and chat? Avery should be joining us in a few minutes when his class is done.”
The last thing I want is to leave the sanctuary of my apartment. I’m under no illusion that these white walls will protect me from the crazy bomber and gunman if they decide to attack me again, but at least this is an area I can control. I know each room, each crevice. Here, and only here, I’m the monster that hides beneath the bed at night.
Henry continues to stare at me with narrowed eyes, but he relents with a tentative head nod.
“Maybe pizza?” Colton suggests, already on his phone and dialing the local pizza joint. We had it once months ago when they came to visit, and I’m pretty sure they’re obsessed. It wouldn’t surprise me if Colton moved to my town just to eat Mario’s pizza every day.
“Cheese,” I say automatically just as Henry snaps, “Pepperoni,” and Ray says, “Pineapple and sausage.”
Colton throws the latter a dark look.
“What heathen puts pineapple on a pizza?” he asks in mock horror.
“This heathen, asshole. You know that.”
I bet he wishes he had another pillow to toss at the more obnoxious sibling.
As Colton places the order, I survey my brothers with the keen eye only a younger sister can possess. They look…happy. The shadows that normally plague Ray’s face are nowhere to be seen. Even Henry adopts a carefree grin as he chugs his beer. I wait until Colton hangs up, announcing that the order will be delivered in a half-hour at noon, before leaning indolently against the counter.
“Alright, spill,” I say, narrowing my eyes. Ray exchanges an anxious glance with first Henry and then Colton before turning towards me with a defeated sigh. Yeah, fuckers. I wore them down that fast.
“We met a girl,” he says at last, his tone deceptively nonchalant.
But I can’t help
