Brothers

Aiden

When I woke up I was warm. Which was new.

I’m pretty much always cold, wearing several layers of clothes just to reach room temperature, and when I wake up in the mornings I’m freezing. We don’t have any central heating, basically because we’re dirt poor and any money we do have is spent on food, rent, and narcotics, plus my duvet isn’t exactly substantial.

I snuggled closer to the source of the warmth, breathing in its slightly sweet, musty smell, as the events of yesterday slowly trickled back to me. That’s when my eyes snapped open. I was supposed to be on the couch, I should have been even colder than usual. But instead I was at a comfortable temperature, and face to chest with what appeared, from this close context, to be another person. A person whose limbs were entangled with mine and was breathing regularly, still asleep. I couldn’t move my head back to see who it was without waking him – because it was definitely a him – but I could see that he had a toned and sculpted chest. It was warm against my cheek.

Not that I really thought any of the guys would, but I tried clenching my butt muscles to see if it hurt. It didn’t, but as soon I did it I felt the two hands that I hadn’t realised were on my butt tighten in response. I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t moan and wake him. Who the hell was it?

I was about to find out; as soon as he’d started molesting my ass he’d started to wake up as well. His head was shifting on the pillow and his legs were twisting about, rubbing against mine. He groaned as he woke up fully.

‘Mmm,’ he said sleepily. ‘You okay?’

I tensed up involuntarily as I recognised Caleb’s voice.

‘Yeah,’ I said hoarsely. ‘How’d I end up in here?’ Even though he still had me in a death grip against his chest, I figured we had to be in his room.

‘You can’t sleep on the couch, Squirt,’ he murmured, his voice still laced with sleep. ‘You, of all people, would freeze to death.’

‘Oh. Thanks,’ I muttered.

‘You’re a clingy little bastard in your sleep, you know that?’ he chuckled, and his chest rose and fell with the action.

‘What?’ I asked, my heart rate picking up. What the fuck had I done now?

‘You’re like one of those baby koala things. Pawing at me for warmth. We have to get you-’ he yawned, ‘a second duvet for your bed.’

Though obviously mortified at the thought of having pawed at him all night – what if I’d said something in my sleep? – I smiled. A second duvet would be nice.

‘What time is it?’ I asked after a moment. Hopefully it was too late to even consider going to school; Caleb often didn’t get up til three of four in the afternoon unless he had work.

He pulled his right arm off me and rolled backwards to pick his phone up off the bedside table. ‘Half seven,’ he murmured, putting the phone down and replacing his arm, but crooking it at the elbow so his fingers were playing with my hair. ‘You should get ready for school.’

‘You’re not coming today?’ I asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I wished I could stay here like this forever.

Caleb chuckled again. ‘I’ve got my quota of school days for the month.’

‘You went three times.’

‘I know.’

I was about to start grumbling at him when the door opened and a small figure bounced into the room, landing on top of us on the bed and causing us both to groan.

‘Morning,’ Alana grinned, a half eaten piece of toast in her hand.

‘Get the fuck out of my room,’ Caleb groaned, untangling himself from me and pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes.

‘Who made you breakfast?’ I asked suspiciously.

‘I did. I made breakfast for everyone, so get up.’

‘You made breakfast for eight people even though we have like... Two tins of beans and a packet of peanuts in the whole house?’

‘I went to Tesco first. There’s toast and butter, tea, cereal, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, black and white pudding, sausages...’ She trailed off as Caleb and I both jumped out of the bed like ninjas and bolted from the room. Following our noses, we arrived at the kitchen with record speed and dived into the already frantic fray at the previously unused kitchen table.

‘She can stay as long as she wants,’ Damien was saying around a mouthful of fried... something. ‘Seriously. Long as she likes.’

‘Forever,’ Peyton added, shovelling eggs into his face. ‘She can stay here forever.’

I grabbed a plate from the table – it looked like she’d also done all of our washing up – and started loading food onto it, going weak at the knees from the smell. As soon as I had a small mountain, I retreated from the kitchen and landed on one of the couches contentedly, not bothering with cutlery. This definitely took the prize over half-cooked congealing spaghetti from a tin.

I barely noticed as Alana came and sat next to me on the couch.

‘This,’ I choked out, ‘is the most amazing thing you’ve ever done. You sleep okay?’

Alana nodded and sipped at her cup of tea. ‘Not as well as you, by the looks of things,’ she added slyly.

This time I really did choke, glancing towards the kitchen to make sure nobody was paying attention to us. I needn’t have worried; they had all been reduced to base, feral creatures, practically climbing on top of the table to get at the food. It was a weird sight, as every single one of them was dressed in nothing but their boxers.

‘What happened last night?’ she asked, wearing her gossip face.

I shrugged. ‘I dunno. I fell asleep on the couch, and I think Caleb must’ve brought me to his room when he got home from work.’

‘Awwww!’ Alana gushed.

‘Shuddup,’ I mumbled, looking down at my plate. ‘Nothing happened.’

‘Yet.’

I sighed and looked up at her. ‘Don’t, Alana. Nothing is going to happen. He’s my brother.’

‘Yeah, whatever. First time I’ve seen two brothers in bed with their hands all over each other.’

I blushed. ‘Well... That was kinda my fault... You know how cold I get...’

Alana grinned. ‘You glomped him in your sleep, didn’t you?’

I blushed harder. ‘Apparently.’

‘You’re such a doof,’ she said indulgently, finishing her toast as the others all slouched into the sitting room, wearing expressions of intense satisfaction. I glanced back at the kitchen table, and saw it was now bare. Fuckin’ animals.

Jayden, Rain and Dylan all positioned themselves dramatically on one knee on the floor in front of Alana, and the others followed suit.

‘Never leave us,’ Dylan said.

‘Stay always.’

‘We need you.’

‘Be our mom.’

It went on. Alana was giggling on the couch, blushing.

‘Marry me,’ Rain said, and Alana’s blush deepened noticeably, making us all smirk and whistle.

She stood up, proclaimed, ‘I’m far too old marriage,’ and flounced out of the room.

The boys stood up and landed themselves onto the couches. Caleb threw himself down beside me, flinging his arm across the back of the couch.

‘Anyone going to school today?’ Damien asked presently, stretching to indicate he wasn’t. ‘Besides Supernerd, of course.’

‘Yeah, go get dressed,’ Caleb said, nudging me. Grumbling, I left the room and wandered down the hall to my own.

‘You decent?’ I asked, waiting for Alana’s response before opening the door. ‘And you call me a doof,’ I said smugly as I saw her sprawled out on my bed, her face buried in my pillow.

‘Shuddup,’ she muttered, lifting her head and looking at me. She was still red in the face.

I sat on the edge of the bed – no mean feat considering how narrow it is – and gingerly lifted up the hem of the black band tee I’d given her to look at her ribs and stomach. The bruises had blossomed overnight, and were now a canvas of black and greeny-yellow splotches across her skin.

‘Jesus,’ I muttered. ‘Maybe you should stay home today.’

‘Is Rain staying home? I’ll do the opposite of what he’s doing.’

I shrugged.

‘Can you go ask him?’

‘He’ll know I’m only asking cos you want me to.’

Alana groaned. ‘Educated guess?’

‘He’ll probably stay home. In fact, I think it might just be you and me today, I’m pretty sure they’re out of weed.’

‘I’ll go to school then.’

Twenty minutes later I was avoiding Alana’s death glare as Rain drove the three of us and the twins to school in the “family car”.

--------------------------------

‘I’m going to kill you,’ Alana hissed.

‘You’re going to kill me? Alana I am sitting inside the Girls’ bathroom because you won’t let me leave. If anybody is killing anybody here it will be the other way around!’

‘Do you think he knows I like him?’

‘I think that would be a fair assumption, yeah. But you know he likes you too so what’s the big deal?’ I was finding the whole thing utterly tiresome. But at least it was a distraction from the boring drudgery that was my school day. And the fact that my thoughts kept drifting back to a certain brother of mine...

‘Tell me a story.’

‘Once upon a time there was a wicked witch who lived in a large town operating below the poverty belt. One day she kidnapped a Supernerd and locked him in the Girls’ bathroom, but she lived to regret it.’

She gave me the evil eye but opened the door of the stall, allowing me to step outside. I walked up to the bank of sinks to peer in the mirror before leaving.

‘Tell me the story about waking up this morning.’

I sighed, feeling and seeing myself begin to blush. ‘I’ve already told you three times.’

‘But I only asked once.’ Alana was smirking. ‘You like telling it.’

-----------------------------

Caleb

‘Caleb!’

I groaned inwardly and turned towards the sound of my boss’ voice. Twenty-two years old, suffering a horrible case of acne, and undoubtedly an involuntary virgin; Larry metaphorically rode my ass every day he was on duty. And even metaphorically it grossed me out a little. Luckily, there were only about five minutes til my shift ended anyway.

‘Yeah?’

‘I need you to go in the back and sort out these order forms, then stack the New Releases alphabetically according to title, not artist.’

I stared at him. That would take two hours. Two hours unpaid.

He smirked. ‘You got a problem with that?’

I forced myself to smile and shook my head. ‘Nope.’ I needed this job. My other one, doing bar and promotional work for a local dive, only paid half what this one did, and even together they were barely covering rent, tuition, and basic living costs for both Aiden and I. Come June I wouldn’t have to worry about tuition anymore, but there would be college expenses for Aiden, and he’d almost certainly have to move out, so that would mean student accommodation... I couldn’t afford to piss Larry off, basically. ‘No problem,’ I added, trudging past him into the store room.

I dropped into one of the three chairs around a small wooden table and started sorting through the forms Larry had handed me, running a hand through my hair agitatedly. Odds on, he’d change his mind about the new stacking system once I was nearly done and have me put it back the way it was, which would mean another hour... I’d be late getting to The Briar Rose, and have my pay docked.

My agitation mounting steadily, the pen I was using to compare the order forms with the invoices began making harder, darker indentations on the paper until suddenly the nib snapped off, squirting ink everywhere. I groaned, quickly shoving the forms out of the way so they wouldn’t be ruined, and then sat there for a minute trying to collect myself before rummaging around in the staff kitchen for some paper towels.

As I closed my eyes and tried to take deep breaths, I felt two small hands begin to work on my shoulders.

‘Stressed?’ my co-worker, Vienna, asked sweetly as her hands gently pummelled the knots in my shoulders and I let out a hum of satisfaction.

‘Yeah,’ I muttered, letting my head drop forward as she moved onto the back of my neck. ‘Larry.’ Like I needed to say anymore. Larry was a floor manager in Virgin Megastores, while I was a lowly sales assistant. Vienna shared a job title with Larry, meaning that technically she was my boss as well, but she worked the DVD section while I was in music. She didn’t have to have much contact with Larry, but it was well known that she despised him.

‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll make sure you get paid,’ she murmured, her thumbs digging roughly into my neck and kneading out the knots lodged there. It felt great.

‘Thanks,’ I murmured back, my eyes closed, enjoying the brief reprieve from work. They snapped open again though, as I felt her hands slip across my shoulders and down over my chest. I lifted my head slowly as her chin came down on my shoulder, and turned to look at her. I knew what was going on, and didn’t need to say or hear anything as I let my lips drift towards hers. She kissed me back, her hands ghosting lightly over my chest as I brought one hand up and touched it to her cheek.

I pushed my chair back from the table and pulled her onto my lap; she sat facing me with one leg on either side of my waist, pressing her body up against mine as I licked her bottom lip and invaded her mouth. I could feel my pants tightening as I slipped one hand between her legs to feel a damp spot on her tight pants. She pressed herself into my hand and I rubbed against her slowly.

I knew what was going on, and I didn’t need to say or hear anything as she fucked me.