The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 4

Nothing that I could have pictured about the boys was correct. Charlotte walked over and grabbed my hand, bringing me over in front of them and smiling, reassuringly.

"Boys, this is Maya. Maya, these are my four sons." She said, motioning over towards them.

I looked back in shock and almost choked on pure air. Sitting in front of me were some of the most attractive boys I had ever seen. They must have been about high school age, but they all looked like they had just stepped off a magazine shoot. If you wanted to talk to them, you probably had to speak to their agent first.

I stayed silent, and so did they. They looked me up and down with surprise, and a bit of anger maybe. They clearly did not want an outsider here. I wondered if Charlotte had run this by them first or just decided to throw me to the sharks and see if I could swim.

I decided to try to distinguish them mentally, so as to not get them confused.

First there was the one closest to me, who had light brown hair and dark brown eyes like mine. His jaw was sharply defined, and dark eyebrows hung deeply over his eyes. He seemed the oldest of them all and was by far the biggest. His shoulders and chest were broad beneath a dark flannel, and his hands looked bigger than my head. He shifted his body ever so slightly towards me and in front of everyone else, and I realized he was being protective over the others. How interesting. It always seemed to me that the people who did the most for others were the ones who were hurting the most. I wondered what his deep dark secrets were.

I turned to the next one, and immediately my brain sensed that I should be worried. This older boy had midnight black hair but bright blue lightning eyes, and his face seemed to be stuck in a perpetual smirk. He sat casually on the couch as if he didn't have a care in the world, but the way he had scanned me when I first walked in told me the opposite. I had an immediate urge to prove myself to him. I can fight well, I wanted to say. Don't be so cocky.

The third boy had dark olive toned skin, and dark eyes to match. His brown hair seemed to spill in a curly tumble over his head but wasn't bothering him. He seemed like an athletic type, who was into soccer or baseball, maybe. I almost wished I had checked their rooms earlier, so I could tell if my guesses were accurate. They normally were, but I couldn't be positive without proof. Reading people was a gift, but also a necessity. Trust is not one of my strong suits.

The last boy I faced seemed the nicest of them all, his face holding a semblance of a smile. He seemed cautious but optimistic and stood up to welcome me after a tense minute.

"Hi, I'm Caleb." He said, with a soft and boyish grin, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you." He said before sitting down again. His blond hair fell over his eyes as he looked at the floor, avoiding the glares of the others.

"Brooklyn." The athletic boy said, without looking up from his cuticles.

"Damon." The scary one smirked, eyes on mine. I held his gaze evenly to show I wasn't afraid.

"And I'm Dominic." The oldest one finished.

I turned to Charlotte, who smiled broadly as if things were going well.

"Great!" she said. "Thanks for that, you guys!"

She faced me then and said, "I know that living in a new house can be nerve-wracking and strange, but please know that my boys are completely safe and can help you with anything you need!" I saw Damon roll his eyes with distaste at her last comment, but I was particularly interested in Dominic's expression at the word "safe". It was subtle, but it kind of looked like he had been shocked.

"Thanks." I managed to say.

She nodded. Her expression seemed to want more from me, so I asked what was on my mind.