Page 30 of Petals of Blue, Part One (Wilted Duet #1)

Twenty-Five

BLUE

Shit.

Some things never change. One of those being my obsession with chocolate-covered almonds. They're my kryptonite, and Roman just lit the fuse.

I'm pretty sure they're holding their breaths waiting for my answer, so I stay quiet for a few extra seconds in hopes they choke. Clearly, the offer of my favorite treat isn't able to quell the anger at the position they put me in.

Honestly, who puts a female in the backseat of a car with three men in the middle of the night with the child-locks on?!

They're so fucking lucky claustrophobia is the only thing I was battling in those long moments. I could have severe PTSD from being kidnapped or some shit.

"Lead the way," I finally relent. "But don't think I've forgotten about you taking me against my will and locking me in your car."

"You did what?" Roman growls. He grabs his younger brother by the back of his shirt and forces Declan to stay behind with him while Jared and Felix guide me to their townhome.

Hushed arguing follows me to their patio door.

Now I'm the one holding my breath as I enter their space for the first time. There was a time when I knew their homes like the back of my hand. Now I have no idea how they like to live. Will their house be sterile like their parents’?

Maybe they'll have fake fruit in their bowls.

The smell of perfume doesn't assault my senses when I finally inhale.

It smells like a home. Like my home before my parents died.

Sugar, bananas, cinnamon. A few steps later and I'm in their kitchen, where a loaf of banana bread rests on the stove.

I can't stop myself from getting closer to the source of the glorious aroma.

"Roman bakes one every few days. Says it's because the smell reminds him of something," Jared says, opening a cabinet and pulling a few wine glasses down. "Little does he know, we all know how your mom did the same thing when you were young."

Tears prick my eyes, and I let him see the emotion when he hands me a glass of wine. God, I miss my mom. My memories of her are few, but I remember how absolutely loved I felt by my mom and dad.

I was fed great meals, dressed in nice things, hugged frequently, and asked about my day. Then they were ripped away from me, and all the warmth of the family I had cooled into greedy indifference.

Declan and Roman enter the kitchen behind me, Felix, and Jared, stealing all the oxygen from the room.

It's too much.

"Excuse me," I murmur, ducking between the brothers. With my wine glass cradled to my chest, I hurry back out the patio door and beeline for the cozy-looking couch.

I tilt my head back and count the stars to calm my anxiety. My nose takes in the fresh air, clearing it of yummy bread and the guys' fresh scent that cleared the cobwebs from my mind as soon as I woke up.

That's what was really startling. The way their cologne and aftershave scents combined into something that relaxed me into a deep sleep. Exhaustion stole my consciousness after crying my heart out, and I'm not surprised.

Sleep and I have a tough relationship. I haven't slept well in eleven years after I truly learned just how alone I was. Nightmares are occasional, but there’s a constant stare down I have with my locked bedroom door every night.

Aunt Linda's boyfriends were all the same in their perusal of me. Some worse than others. But each night I swore my doorknob would rattle. I haven't been able to shake that lingering fear of what could happen if someone were to sneak in while I'm asleep.

So the fact that I slept through the guys moving me and driving us here is horrifying. If anyone can shatter the walls around my heart, mind, and soul, it's them. I've always known it.

Which is why it's incredibly inconvenient for them to have moved to Chicago. Now Felix is my boss, and Declan owns the café in my building. What the actual fuck?

"Hey," a throaty voice interrupts my thoughts. Roman comes into view, extending a bowl of chocolate-covered almonds like a peace offering. "You forgot the whole reason you agreed to come inside."

I accept it and shift over so he can sit with me. He looks surprised, and I kind of am too.

"I'm tired," I say, explaining away my sudden acceptance of his presence.

The soft twinkly lights along the patio highlight his strong facial features. "I know," is all he says.

I study him as I feel bits of my wall crumbling. Roman, from what I have seen, has changed the most of the four of them. He used to be energetic and incredibly motivated. Always working and planning his future, Roman felt bigger than our high school life.

Remembering how determined and loud he was about his hopes and dreams makes me wonder what changed. He seems so quiet and reserved now. So different from the boy who felt worlds away from me.

Where I was focused on living in the present, Roman was future-oriented. I loved him, goodness I did. He was encouraging and smart. Teenage Roman made me want to live a life beyond the tragedies of my childhood.

Then he became one of them.

I start feeling curious after a few sips of wine combined with his gentle, if not sad, presence. Is it a bad idea to ask important questions that I don't know if I want the answers to?

"Why banana bread?"

His following response shocks me. "Would you like to hear a story, Blue?"

"Sure." I'm uncertain as fuck, but why not? My night, actually my entire day, has gone awry in some awful ways, so why not add to the emotional turmoil?

Roman takes a deep breath and leans his head back against the cushions. "There was this girl..."