"Ok..." I replied quietly, I wasn't sure how I felt about his ominous tone.
"Before I begin, I need you to understand that nothing I'm about to tell you can be shared with anyone outside of myself, you, and my brothers. Do you understand?"
I nodded slowly staring at him wide eyed. I had a feeling I was about to be brought into some secret agent story line in some kind of movie.
"There is a world, a secret one mind you, that very few people know of." He started before pausing to take in our surroundings. It was empty but he didn't seem happy with the setting.
"Let's go somewhere else, you never know who's in the shadows."
That was a terrifying thought.
He stood and lifted me out of the booth, he threw a few bills on the table before prodding me out the door. The sun had set and the chilly winter air was in full blast. He periodically placed an arm around my shoulder as we walked making sure I was warm enough and still walking with him.
10 minutes later we were walking up the steps to an old brownstone. It was well cared for and quite large, but it had seen better years. He placed a key in the lock and opened the door, this was his home. It dawned on me, not just his home, but the home of his brothers as well.
We stepped inside and quickly squeezed out of our coats. I could hear loud commotion, it sounded like a mixture of loud arguing mixed with boisterous laughter coming from I guessed the living room.
The place was beautiful. The entrance was kept simple which added to the beauty, there were hardwood floors, and sleek grey walls. Directly in front of me was a very wide staircase with iron hand rails. To my left I could see an archway that led to the kitchen. To my right was what looked like a weight room, and to the left of that was a small hallway covered in darkness. Lex led me to the kitchen.
It was gorgeous! Marble counter tops and stainless steel appliances, Black cabinets that gave it a very sharp and clean look. There was a giant center island stretching the length of the kitchen with bar stools going down it.
"As soon as your jaw gets off the floor you can sit down, if you'd like." He chuckled at my awed expression. I grew up comfortable, but I grew up simple. On top of myself I had 2 older brothers, and while my parents had good jobs, they weren't good enough for us to live like this!
"Your home is amazing!" I remarked while taking a seat at the island.
"Thank you! One of the perks of shady business I guess." He smirked, as if their shady business was the most normal thing in life.
He was putting a kettle on the stove, and rummaging through the cabinets grabbing an array of different snacks. I sat there silent. I wanted him to continue our conversation, but I knew if I rushed him he might think better of it.
"Lex, is that you? Did you happen to grab any milk while you were o-" Ari was standing in the archway separating the kitchen from the living room staring at me. I guess seeing me here shocked him into silence.
"Aw, cat got your tongue?" Aiden quipped walking up beside his brother, as his eyes fell on me.
"Hello..." Aiden said very slowly as he eyed me up and down, he wasn't checking me out, he was sizing me up.
"We didn't know we were having company. To what do we owe this pleasue?" He was shooting daggers at Lex as he spoke. Lex walked up to them and began whispering something, Ari's eyes went wide, Aiden's brows scrunched together in thought. Lex turned to Ari and gave him a very pointed looked and Ari bolted past me and into the dark hallway. He kept speaking to Aiden a bit and I saw Aiden's face soften.
"Oh, you poor little darling!" Aiden said and rushed me into a hug, I was frozen in shock. Behind him I could see Lex standing there, shoulders slumped, a hand on his face trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Is he taking care of you? Is he treating you well?" His hands were holding my face now like a worried mother.
"Umm, he's making me some tea..."
"Oh good." He sighed in relief.
Next thing I know he was pulling a plate out of the pantry and placing it in front of me.
"Here. I'm sure you must be starving with the night you've had." He was hugging me to his chest from the side. Lex now had his head back and eyes closed with his arms crossed. It looked like Aiden was the mother bird of the boys, and Lex was the little boy embarrassed by his smothering. the whole scene made me laugh. That brought a confused look to both their faces.
"What's so funny." Aiden snapped.
"You. All of you! You're just nothing like I thought any of you were." I replied softly, feeling a small tear slide down my cheek. Aiden's behavior reminded me of my brothers. Trevor and Wesley were 19 when I was adopted, they're fraternal twins. They went to college near where we lived so they were around a lot. They always took care of me, always protected me, until I decided to leave and do things on my own. They respected my decision, but I think my leaving hurt them the most. They were my big brothers, they didn't care I wasn't blood, to them I was precious. Seeing Aiden act like them reminded me how much I missed them, how much I missed my parents... how much I missed home. Lex slowly walked over and grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "You don't know the half of it." He said while kissing my forehead. The butterflies in my stomach did a somersault.
"Please, eat." Aiden said after Lex walked away from me, pushing the plate a little closer to me. There was an assortment of little cakes with beautiful flowers all over them. I popped a little pink one with white flowers in my mouth and my eyes went wide. These were amazing!
"I'll tell Ari you approve!" Aiden chuckled.
Ari made these? I never would've thought he baked, especially not this well.
"No need." Lex said and motioned behind me with a nod of his head.
Ari was standing there nervously running his hands down his pant legs. Next to him was Felix, giving me the most calculated death glare I'd ever seen. I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. He was not happy at my presence.
He finally took his eyes off me and settled them on Lex. He gave a quick nod and Lex joined him in the hallway. I could see them speaking, both quite animated.
"Don't worry too much, dear. Felix just doesn't like surprises, it's nothing against you." Aiden whispered at my ear. I gave him a weak smile in reply. I still needed my answers, I couldn't have Felix killing me before I got them.
They came back into the kitchen, Felix moved past me and into the living room with Aiden and Ari on his heels. Lex reached his hand out for me and guided me to the living room. Logan and Liam were sprawled on one leather couch, both reading different books. There was a big flat screen t.v. dominating the main wall, one leather couch faced it while the other one was against the wall to it's left making an L shape. There was a mahogany coffee table in the center, and mahogany bookcases on every wall filled with books and pictures along with a few other knick knacks. Lex gave one of the twins a nudge to scoot over so we could sit down, he looked up and realized that I was there. He reached over and snatched the book from his twin's hand, almost getting an earful till the other one realized what he had. They both looked to Felix in confusion, he just simply gave them a little nod.
I was sitting next to Lex while he gently held my hand, the twins had moved across from us and sat on the floor. Felix sat on the main couch facing the t.v. while Aiden sat on the armrest next to him, Ari had taken his place on the other side leaning on the back of the couch.
Felix stared at me long and hard.
"I'm told you know something about our world." Felix said in a matter of fact tone.
I started to reply when Lex gave my hand a squeeze, telling me to stay quiet.
"Alright... I guess it's time you were told."
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