and we forgave

Chapter 9

ADAM

I thought staying away from her will make me forget her. But it doesn't. It only makes me want her more. Michael suggested I should go get laid. Do it with another woman so that I get my mind off her.

I highly doubt that this is going to work.

I've loved her for more than two years now, a one-night stand won't change this.

It will probably only make me feel guilty.

Like I would cheat on her.

So I back off on everything remotely romantic. I don't go out on dates. I don't kiss. I don't make out. I haven't done this shit even before I kissed Nessie, but now...Thinking doing all that with another woman feels wrong.

So wrong.

"Who knew you were such a bad boy?", her voice. A whisper in my body. She's biting my bottom lip, leaving marks so that I won't forget this. As if I ever could.

"Do you want me to be, love?", I ask her, my voice trembling. She's so close. All over me. I have her pinned against the wall. I would take her anywhere. The wall. The small coffee table. The bed. I smirk.

Nessie notices. "I want to know what you are thinking of now", she answers, mischief in her eyes.

This girl is going to be the death of me. And I highly accept.

"I'm thinking of all the places we could continue this on", I answer. She smirks now too.

"Then I most definitely want you to be a bad boy", she whispers.

I lose it and place her on the coffee table.

I wake up. Sweating. Thinking of what I can't have again.

So I go on the balcony to stare at the stars. My Mom used to tell me stories about them when I was small. She loved everything that had to do with the Ancient world. Loved the Greeks and Romans in particular. She used to work as a history teacher at a school. My Father always wanted to convince her to come work with him at his bank, but Mom always refused. Said she loved history too much for it.

When I left that house, Lewis bought me a telescope. He knew how much I loved looking at the night sky. He one night asked me why.

I am on the terrace outside. Michael and Alec are here too, playing some poker on the porch. James is drawing next to them, leaning against the wall, helping Michael with advice from time to time. Alec has such a cold face; one can't read anything from it. That's why James decided to help our brother. Michael is the youngest and always gets annoyed when he loses. I know that Alec will give up and start to "randomly" lose at the end of the game, just so that Michael can win. He hasn't figured it out so far, only James and I did. I told Alec how proud I am of him once. He didn't answer, yet his mouth twitched.

I am sharing my time between keeping an eye on my brothers and looking at the stars.

Lewis arrives late that night. He usually doesn't come, lets us take care of our own. Says we have to learn to be independent. But he takes care of us. Gives us money for groceries. Enrolled us all at the fanciest high school in New York. Gave us this house in the forest near the estate that belongs to Alec's parents. It belongs to Lewis too. He is Alec's grandfather and the one who saved us all.

Because that's who the four of us were before Lewis found us. A bunch of broken souls, so broken that healing was impossible. But he brought us together. Gave us this chance to heal together.

Gave us a second chance at a family.

"Cassiopeia is lovely tonight", Lewis says, pointing at the constellation. My mouth twitches. I look at the man that became like a father to me. He is in his tux, showing he just came back from work. He is the founder of Dunn Leisures, the biggest hotel company in the States. Alec's parents took over now, but Lewis still goes to the office and gives advice. He doesn't particularly like the work of Alec's parents. Wishes Alec could take over sooner. But he's only sixteen. Still has some years before he graduates.