Page 20

Ellie

T here’s only so much you can do when your boyfriend’s older brothers show up unexpectedly and you’re sitting half-naked on a kitchen counter. Running isn’t an option because they’ll see me if I make a dash for the stairs. I could hide, but that isn’t probable either, because my options are basically non-existent in this room. Panicking, I hop off the counter and try to make myself look semi-presentable and not like I’ve just rolled out of bed after having sex with their brother for the last four days.

Dear god, why didn’t I put any pants on?

I run my fingers through my semi-damp hair, rub my face and try to stretch the hem of the hoodie so it covers a lot more than just the middle of my thighs. The sound of Colin’s voice grows louder as he tries unsuccessfully to stall his brothers and stop them from finding me, but it’s no use. The second Bryce Hunt enters the kitchen and sees me, he freezes and so do I. With his tousled blonde hair, built athletic physique, glacial blue eyes and ridiculously handsome, angular face, it’s not hard to see the resemblance between him and Colin. Nor is it difficult either when a slow, mischievous smile spreads over his lips and a playful look flickers in his eyes.

“Well, well, well what do we have here?”

Colin appears behind him then (looking miserable and entirely caught I might add) followed closely by his eldest brother Graeme, whose ow n baby blue eyes widen with shock when they land on me. Out of the three of them, he’s the tallest and the bulkiest, with his short blonde hair neatly combed and a thickish bread covering his cheeks. He’s good-looking as well, but unlike Bryce and Colin, there’s a serious edge that surrounds him. He clears his throat, aiming a bashful smile my way.

“Sorry,” He apologises, politely averting his gaze, “We didn’t realise you had company, Col.”

“And fit company, at that,” Bryce adds, grinning broadly as he openly ogles me.

My cheeks heat, flattered by the compliment, but feeling self-conscious from all the attention as well. Colin sighs and shoves him out of the way, immediately stepping in front of me and covering as much of my barely clothed body as he can. He tosses me an apologetic look, not thrilled by this at all, before he turns around again, allowing me to huddle behind his back.

“Guys, this is Ellie Simpkins. Ellie, these are my brothers Bryce and Graeme.”

“Hi.” For the second time today, I wave my hand timidly.

Both brothers smile in response, nodding their heads in a silent greeting, but the air in the room is unmistakably thick with awkwardness now. I’m sure it isn’t hard for them to guess what was going on here before they arrived. I highly doubt they were expecting to find me when they decided to pay their brother a visit today. With that in mind, I cough, clearing the paralysing nerves from my throat.

I need to get out of here immediately.

“I’m uh – just going to go upstairs quickly and get changed. ”

Like a bolt of lightning, I shoot out from behind Colin’s back and bolt past Bryce and Graeme, heading upstairs so quickly I’m surprised I don’t trip and hurt myself along the way. By the time I’m safely hidden inside Colin’s room again, my chest is heaving and I bury my face into my hands, feeling the full weight and humiliation of what just happened settle over me.

First Kai and now this?

Seriously? What a way to meet your boyfriend’s brothers. I always assumed I’d meet them one day. I was even looking forward to it after all the research and reading I’d done. Not like this, though. Now they know that Colin and I are sleeping together. Maybe they even suspect that there’s something more going on between us too.

Ugh, what a disaster.

At least his parents aren’t here as well. That would’ve been catastrophic.

Pulling off Colin’s hoodie, I throw on my grey pullover, some jeans and my favourite pair of chucks. I’ve just finished pulling my hair up into a ponytail when I hear a light knock on the door. It creaks open and a very sheepish-looking Colin slips inside.

“Are you okay?”

I nod, offering him a small, but reassuring smile. It’s not his fault that this happened. By the look and sounds of it, his brothers were planning on surprising him for New Year's Eve after getting back from their trip to France recently.

“I swear, I had no idea they were coming over.” Colin tries to explain, but I shake my head and step forward, silencing him with my hands on his chest .

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t.” I smooth my palms over his bare skin and slide them up over his shoulders, clasping my fingers together around the back of his neck. “Obviously, this isn’t how I wanted to meet your brothers, but there’s nothing we can do about that now.”

Colin’s arms slip around me immediately, glueing me to him like he needs the contact more than I do. Smiling, I tuck my face under his chin, feeling warm and safe the way only he can make me.

The best feeling in the world honestly.

“Do they know?”

“They know we’re sleeping together,” Colin admits quietly, “They haven’t made any other comments though so I doubt they think anything else is going on. I can’t promise that they won’t figure it out though.”

I nod, seeds of dread taking root in my stomach because I have no idea how his brothers will react if they do, but I bury the disarming feeling deep before it can spread. There’s no sense in worrying over something that hasn’t happened yet. If that time ever comes, then we’ll deal with it.

“I can tell them to leave if you want?” Colin murmurs into my hair, but I shake my head, pressing a gentle kiss to his throat.

“You’ve met my family,” I murmur, “Now I want to meet yours.”

T he Arm’s is packed to the brim tonight.

Drunk students crowd the pub, already well into celebrating not only the end of an old year but the beginning of a new one. Loud music rings over the speakers and drinks pour out of the bar at a rapid rate. Presently, my eyes are on the karaoke stag e where my two best friends, my boyfriend, his best friends and Bryce are all ‘singing’ Mr Brightside by The Killers . Apart from me, the only other person who opted not to get up onto that stage was Graeme, who seems to be just as equally entertained as I am by the sight in front of us.

Once I was properly dressed, facing Colin’s brothers again felt less daunting, mostly because they both acted like our first meeting didn’t even happen. I’m certain Colin had something to do with that, though he’d probably deny it if I asked him. Honestly, I’m not sure what kind of reaction I expected from either of them now that they know Colin and I are sleeping together.

Would they view me as a distraction like their father does?

Or would they see me as just another girl their brother shagged and nothing more?

But I ended up getting along with them better than I anticipated I would. At least, that’s the impression I got by the time we were done eating the chicken parmigiana Colin made us for dinner. Although Graeme was a bit more guarded around me than Bryce.

One thing is clear to me though; Colin and his brothers love each other very much.

Luke and I have always been really close as siblings, but watching Colin interact with his brothers, listening to them bicker and banter added a whole new meaning to the term ‘brotherly love’. All three of them are like chalk and cheese. None of them are alike a nd yet, somehow you can still see how similar they are, how much they care and how they’ll do anything for each other.

Presently, Bryce has his arm slung over Colin’s shoulders while Colin has his arm around his brother's waist, both of them keeping each other steady while they belt out the lyrics to the song along with everyone else in the pub. The guilt I felt for not seeing Liv and Nat sooner was unnecessary apparently, because the second they found out about Colin and me they were so happy that nothing else mattered. They do expect to hear all the details as soon as possible though. I just hope Colin won’t be too mad when he finds out I caved and told them.

They’re my girls.

I had to tell them, especially since they both picked up on something being different about me almost immediately.

Grinning, I raise my camera and snap a few pictures. You know, just in case any of them need to be reminded of this hilariously embarrassing moment sometime in the future.

“Hard to believe they’re all fully grown adults, isn’t it?” Graeme comments dryly next to me.

“I know, it’s unbelievable.” I agree, laughing when the chorus of the song starts and everyone jumps around, singing and dancing like Cameron Diaz in that scene in The Holiday. “They do look like they’re having a lot of fun though and they are drunk. It sort of comes with the territory.” I joke.

“True.” Graeme chuckles. “Still can’t believe those two heathens are my brother’s right now.”

Tell me about it. Liv and Nat are pretty unrecognisable right now as well.

Colin has only had a few drinks tonight, so he’s probably only tipsy, but Mace, Kai, Bryce and Liv are all completely trashed, which is why th ey keep latching onto each other for balance as they bounce around aimlessly on the stage. Beside them, Natalie thrashes her body around completely out of time to the music so I know she’s definitely broken her ‘two drinks only’ rule. I lower my camera, noticing Graeme staring at her again. He’s been doing that more and more as the evening has passed. Usually, it’s been with confusion or concern, but now there’s something else in his eyes.

Curiosity maybe?

“You know,” He says, quickly shifting his focus back to his brothers, “I haven’t seen Colin this happy in a while.”

I go rigid, not missing the underlying tone in his voice, almost as if he’s implying he knows something and right now, there’s only one thing he could possibly be referring to, especially when it comes to his brother's happiness.

Oh god.

I had a feeling that a moment like this could come up, but foolishly told myself I was imagining it or overthinking things whenever I thought Graeme was looking at me in a peculiar way.

Now I’m not so sure.

“Oh?” I try my best to look and sound as indifferent as possible even though I can feel my palms starting to sweat.

Graeme hums and when I chance a look at him, he’s already staring at me pointedly.

“And I think you know why as well.”

Shit.

He definitely knows.

Swallowing, I clutch my camera tightly, my eyes widening almost comically with apprehension.

This is it .

It’s been hardly a few weeks since Colin and I started dating and we couldn’t even keep it a secret for that long?

To my surprise, however, Graeme smiles, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry Ellie, I won’t say anything to my dad or interfere, but can I ask for one thing in return?” His friendly demeanour shifts and a serious, almost sombre look takes over. “I know we just met and that we don’t know each other very well. Technically, you don’t owe me anything, but I want you to promise me that if you ever feel like this relationship of yours isn’t good for him. If you can see that it’s going hurt him or stop him from getting where he’s been training his whole life to go then I want you to swear you’ll do what’s right and let him go, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s the right thing to do at the time.”

My brain stalls.

I know what he’s asking me to do, I’m just having a hard time comprehending it. He’s fine with our relationship as long as it doesn’t interfere with my boyfriend’s future. I know rugby means everything to Colin. It means everything to all of them. They’ve been eating, sleeping, breathing and working their way towards this future for years before I came along. If our relationship threatens that, then I have to have the foresight to see it and the willpower to do something to stop it before any serious damage can occur . Even if it means doing the last thing I want to do.

Graeme drops his hand when I stay silent, tucking it into the pocket of his jeans. “I’m sorry if I’m over-stepping right now, Ellie. I don’t mean to, but you must understand my position.” He glances back towards the stage fretfully, “He’s my brother, I just want to make sure he comes out of this with his heart still intact. That you both do.”

He shifts on his feet, eyeing me awkwardly and I have enough presence of mind to smile and shake my head.

“No, I understand,” I tell him, resting a hand on his arm, “You’re just trying to protect him. I’d do the same for my brother as well.”

Maybe someone else would be upset or even get mad at him for getting involved like this, but I know exactly where he’s coming from. People will always try to protect the ones they care about. Like I said, I’d do the same thing for Luke, for my best friends and my mum in a heartbeat. I’d do it for Colin as well without even blinking. I just hope I’ll be strong enough to see that promise through if I have to.

Graeme nods, clearly relieved. “Thank you. I’ve been protecting him his whole life, even if it hates me for it sometimes.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you,”

He gives me a wry smile as if to say he disagrees with me, but I’ m happy when some of that worry and tension seeps out of his features all the same.

“Thanks, Ellie.”

I smile as well, handing him my camera. “Would you mind holding on to this? I just going to run to the loo quickly.”

Graeme takes it without complaint and I waste no time making my way through the sea of party-going students until I finally reach the bathrooms. After washing my hands, checking my hair and touching up my makeup in the mirror, I leave the bathroom, barely taking two steps into the passageway before a hand grabs me harshly, pulling me and slamming me against a nearby wall. I blink rapidly, dazed and confused at first. The b ack of my head throbs painfully and when my vision finally comes back into focus, I see the last person I want to see looming over me.

Marco.

An ugly scowl rests on his face and anger simmers in his bloodshot eyes. He’s completely pissed, in more ways than one.

A scream immediately builds in the back of my throat, but he clamps his hand over my mouth, squeezing roughly to keep me silent.

“Relax baby,” He murmurs, the putrid smell of whatever he’s been drinking lacing his breath, “I’m not going to hurt you even though I fucking should for betraying me and sleeping with the enemy like a little fucking slut.” I fight against his hold, but he forces me back, pinning me in place with the full weight of his body now, “But no, I won’t do that. Not tonight anyway.” He brings his lips closer, my skin crawling with disgust when he brushes them over my cheek, “I want you to pass a message on to Hunt for me. Tell him to watch his back for the rest of the season, because we’ll be coming for him when he least expects it.” He leans back, his deranged eyes hardening even more. “Nod if you understand.”

When I don’t do as he asks, the hand he has over my mouth tightens, the tips of his fingers digging into my skin to the point that it’ll probably leave bruises. My heart races and tears swell in my eyes before I give my head a tiny jerk.

“Good girl.” He grins like the devil, coming back in until he’s right in my face again, “Happy New Year, Ellie.”

And then he’s gone, disappearing down the corridor and out the exit at the other end, leaving me to slide down the wall until I’m seated on the floor in a crumpled mess. My chest heaves as I gasp for air , furiously wiping away the unshed tears from my eyes.

Did that just happen?

I haven’t seen or heard from Marco in weeks ever since I took Colin’s advice and blocked his number and now he just randomly decides to attack me out of the blue. He was drunk and clearly not in his right mind, but I’ve never seen him behave like this before. Not since that night outside the stadium and that was a bizarre encounter all on its own.

Is he really that jealous of me moving on?

No. That wasn’t jealousy.

That was hatred.

If he was jealous that would mean that our relationship meant something to him and it never did. He doesn’t care that I’m dating someone else. He cares that I’m dating Colin. This is a matter of pride. Losing his ex-girlfriend to his biggest rival has bruised his ego and now he’s trying to puff up his chest and act tough. He probably won’t even follow through with his threat. He’s always been a talker and not a ‘doer’, but I can’t be sure of anything when it comes to him anymore and the thought of him hurting Colin because of me scares me to death. Moisture gathers in my eyes again, but I don’t bother clearing it away this time. Instead, I wrap my arms around my legs and press my face into my knees.

He wouldn’t actually hurt someone, would he?

“Ellie?”

My head snaps up just in time to see Colin hurrying down the corridor towards me. I get to my feet immediately, practically sprinting the rest of the way until I’m in his arms .

“Are you okay?” He asks, frowning with deep concern when he cups my face and sees the tears streaming down my cheeks, “Why are you crying? What the fuck happened?”

I hesitate, wondering if I should tell him.

Like I said before, I don’t know if Marco will do anything, but I can’t be sure he won’t either and I can’t run the risk of not saying anything only to be proven wrong. One thing that’s become abundantly clear is that Marco is highly unpredictable at the moment. I’d never live with myself if Colin got hurt and I could’ve warned him about it beforehand.

“Marco grabbed me as I was coming out of the bathroom.” I feel Colin go tense the moment he hears that and I latch onto him as tightly as I can, afraid he’ll do something that’ll only make things worse or get him into trouble. “He didn’t hurt me,” I add quickly, “He just wanted me to pass on a message.”

“What fucking message?”

I grimace, feeling queasy as I repeat it. “He said that you should watch your back for the rest of the season because they’ll be coming for you when you least expect it.”

The sickening promise of violence he had in his voice was enough to make me shiver.

Colin heaves out a sigh, folding his arms around me and tucking me into the confines of his chest.

“I’m sorry, love.” He murmurs, brushing a kiss against the crown of my head. “I should’ve told you. Bancroft likes to do stuff like this sometimes. It’s an intimidation technique they use to try and get under their opponent's skin. It’s completely wrong and against the rules of course, but because nothing bad has ever happened before, we’ve never been able to stop it.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, pulling back to look at him, “He sounded pretty serious. ”

“I’m sure,” Colin says confidently. He holds my face gently in his hands, kissing me softly, “I’ll be fine, Simpkins. It’s all for show, okay?”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

He presses his forehead to mine, a slow smile hooking up the one corner of his mouth. “Scouts honour.”

I roll my eyes playfully, but lean in, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him again.

“By the way, I want to give you something. I was planning on doing it later, but…” He reaches into his back pocket when we pull back, producing a small silver pendant, hanging off a thin chain.

“Colin? ” My eyes widen with awe as I stare at it, taking in the design carved into the precious metal. It’s a Celtic knot, exactly like the one on his ring.

He can’t seriously be giving this to me, right?

“Turn around,” He orders gently. I listen without question, watching as he carefully drapes the necklace around my throat. He does the clasp up at the base of my neck and leans down, kissing my shoulder and sending a wave of goosebumps cascading all over my body. “There. Now we’re always connected. No matter where we are.”

Smiling, I pick up the pendant, brushing my fingers over the intricate loops.

It’s beautiful, thoughtful and sweet, just like him. It’s not lost on me either how much this means, not just to him, but to me as well. His ring symbolises his bond with his brothers and his family, but now our bond is represented as well. We’re intertwined, even if we’re continents apart. I turn in his arms, fresh tears springing to my eyes, but for an entirely different reason .

This man.

This wonderful, loving, brilliant man. He’s the best thing that’s happened to me lately. Everything about being with him comes so easily and naturally that it doesn’t seem real. I can feel those three words forming in the back of my throat. I want to say them so badly. To tell him exactly how I feel right now and how much a gesture like this means, but it seems too soon to feel that way, right? I can’t possibly tell him that I love him. So, I show him instead, pouring every unspoken word into my actions when I move and press my mouth to his, kissing him as deeply and passionately as I can.

“Take me home, please,” I whisper against his lips.

He grins, capturing my mouth again. “I thought you’d never ask.”