Page 81 of We Are Yours

It was pointless.

It wouldn’t do any good. I already kept all of his other secrets… what was one more?

I needed to clear the air with Kraven. I spent the morning thinking about it, following my usual routine: eating breakfast, lounging on the couch, reading a book, and getting lost in a captivating story while waiting for Kraven to wake up.

It wasn’t abnormal for Julius not to come home, especially if it was the weekend. We didn’t text much when he was working. I didn’t want to distract him or get him in trouble with his boss. It was well into the afternoon by the time Kraven finally came out of his bedroom.

Part of me thought he might have been avoiding me, or maybe he was just too hungover and needed to sleep for a good part of the day. He froze at the bottom of the stairs when he saw me sprawled out on the couch, glancing up at him from my book. He tried to keep his emotions in check as he stood there in nothing but a pair of gym shorts, hanging low on his hips.

His muscular arms crossed over his chest. His body was already covered in tattoos. It was one thing Julius couldn’t stop. Kraven started getting them often, making Julius worry about infection since he was probably getting them done in someone’s garage.

Kraven rubbed the back of his head like he was lost in thought, searching all over the room looking for answers. A few awkward seconds passed before he finally made his way over to me, still not uttering a word.

I threw my book on the coffee table, turning to sit sideways to look at him, tucking my legs underneath me as he took a seat beside me.

“Isla, I-I-I…” he stammered, figuring out what to say first. Struggling to gather his thoughts, he shook his head, and his gaze connected with mine. Sighing, he shared, “I was really drunk. I know that’s not an excuse, but it’s all I got.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t. Not even close.”

His tone was defeated yet determined, which only baffled me more. Kraven was my friend, or so I considered him one. By the way he treated me, I assumed I was his friend too. Whenever he brought girls around, they would look at me with such disdain, and it never made sense.

I imagined it was from jealousy of living there with them. I didn’t see his flings more than a couple of times, and then they’d disappear. No one ever spent the night with him, and Julius often made jokes that Kraven was always getting his dick wet and needed to wrap it up because he wasn’t ready to be an uncle.

I frowned, wanting to know. “What does that mean?”

He didn’t hesitate in stating, “It means I’m fucked.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about Kraven. I did, very much so. The air grew thick between us, and I couldn’t form words. He literally made me speechless.

“I—”

The door opened, revealing Julius. I swear the brothers had a knack for intruding on each other. It was as if they had some sort of radar for private moments.

“Am I interrupting?” Julius questioned in a snide tone, shutting the door behind him.

“Of course you are,” Kraven bit. “Your timing is impeccable as always.”

I got off the couch, kissed Julius on the cheek, and announced, “I’m going to make some lunch. You guys hungry?”

“Yeah,” they replied in unison.

Between last night and now this, I defaulted on what came naturally.

I fled.

* * *

My mind was running ragged on what Kraven was going to say after that.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

Isla

Sometimes people don’t want the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed. - Friedrich Nietzsche