Falling for Them Volume 3: Reverse Harem Collection

by Amy Sumida

  “My family is always going to parties and events, or throwing them. Even when it’s only the four of us, they’re talking over each other, all the time about everything, or playing some game together that leads to good natured ribbing and arguing. They’re great but they’re kind of in-your-face.”

  “And you couldn’t be any more different.” I stated the obvious.

  The urge to run my hand over his cheek and press our lips together surged up in me, and I nearly gave in, until I remembered his boyfriend. Instead, I squeezed him tight for a moment.

  He returned the gesture before continuing. “Yeah, they kind of drag me along and want me to participate, and I get frustrated because they don’t understand. I tend to put up these walls with this family time face on them. I hate it, and sometimes I–”

  “Want to scream at them to make them stop and understand?” I finished for him.

  He did get it after all. I scooted back out of his arms and onto the bench as our gazes meet. The urge to crawl back into his lap and stay for a while passed through me, but I forced myself to shake it off. Apparently, I needed a little physical distance between us. I started to scoot back when the bell rang, giving me a perfect excuse without ruining this moment. I stood and shouldered my bag.

  “Thanks,” I said quietly. “We should probably get to class.”

  Brooks nodded, and we headed inside, Brooks holding the door for me.

  I worried about how Souta and JJ would react to my little morning rant, but after quick glances at Brooks, and what seemed like a silent conversation, they didn’t say anything about it.

  Was I a fool for worrying, a fool for trying to be friends with them? They would forget about me in a few months when I moved on, and I would be hurt again.

  Yet, I couldn’t help myself, I felt better after talking to Brooks. Even Souta’s constant need to touch me, to touch all of us, didn’t bother me. Something inside me seemed to accept these guys as part of my life. Even though I finally relaxed around them, didn’t mean I missed the sideways glances I kept getting from JJ. I wondered what they meant, but figured he would tell me in time.

  The time came before last period. Souta and I had English together but JJ and Brooks didn’t. I found JJ waiting for me outside the girls’ locker room. He grasped my wrist, my good one thankfully, when I came within reach, pulling me to a stop.

  “Hang on, can I talk to you?” Words hesitant, he seemed unsure, and it confused me.

  I shrugged and nodded.

  His gaze skittered around at all the girls entering the locker room, their gazes coming to rest on us, curiosity on their faces as they passed by. “Not here, come on.”

  He pulled me around the corner, out of sight of the locker rooms and released me. I leaned back on the wall and watched as he shifted from foot to foot, gaze firmly planted on the floor.

  After a minute, I chuckled. He tended to be all cocky confidence most of the time. “JJ, what’s going on? I don’t wanna be late.”

  JJ took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and raised his eyes to mine. He wiped his palm on his jeans, licked his lips, and breathed again. I wanted to chuckle again. In the week I knew him, JJ’s never got flustered. I found it totally adorable.

  “So, um, you’ve seen the posters for the dance Saturday?”

  Now I did laugh. Who hadn’t seen those posters? The committee plastered them everywhere. I nodded and lifted an eyebrow. What was he getting at?

  “I, um, I...I... Would you…” JJ stumbled over his words, and I froze in place.

  No. No way. Please no. He couldn’t do this.

  “Go to the dance with me?” he said in a big rush.

  Fuck! Why? Why did he ask me to the dance? I didn’t know what to say or how to handle this without screwing up the beginning we barely made.

  My biggest problem? I wanted to say yes. I wanted to go to the stupid school dance with him and dress up. To find out how he and Souta and Brooks appeared all dressed up. I wanted to dance with all three of them and watch Souta and Brooks being all sweet and coupley. I wanted to enjoy a fun night with my friends. The want surprised the hell out of me. But it wasn’t going to happen.

  Saturday, I planned to lock myself in my room for the day. If it were any other Saturday, any other day, but this one coming up? The word yes would come out so fast his head would spin, but not this Saturday.

  “I... I can’t,” I choked the words out. Hurt and disappointment flashed over his face, and I couldn’t handle it. I took the coward’s way out and ran around the corner and into the locker room.

  Unfortunately, this only got me a few minutes’ reprieve. Today, we worked on self-defense, both powered and unpowered, with partners.

  Of course, it was my luck Coach partnered me with JJ.

  “Why?” JJ whispered in my ear as he copied the hold coach demonstrated, one arm across my throat and the other across my stomach, pinning one hand to my side and gripping my forearm on the other.

  “Why what?” I whispered back, knowing full well what he wanted and stalling for time. I couldn’t tell him the truth.

  “Why can’t you come to the dance with me?” We moved slowly through the motions Coach wanted us to practice, then he began moving among us as we worked through them.

  “You want to,” JJ whispered when I failed to answer. He didn’t ask, but stated. The desire on my face, apparently clear enough for him to read. Coach stopped by and watched us for a moment, correcting a couple things, and then moved on.

  “You said you can’t, not that you didn’t want to,” he whispered when I once again didn’t answer him.

  He didn’t stop for the rest of the period. He never sounded angry or frustrated, only continued to make statements and ask why. I stayed silent. I couldn’t tell him the embarrassing truth.

  JJ grasped my waist when the bell rang, refusing to let me go. “Come on, Sera, please tell me why?”

  For a moment, as I met his pleading gaze, I wanted to give in and tell him. My mind went back to the courtyard with Brooks, to the weekend at JJ’s. No, they wouldn’t understand. How could they? I pulled out of his hold, and he let me this time.

  “I’m sorry, JJ.” A tear rolled down my cheek as the words came out on a sob. “I just can’t.”

  I ran before the tears could fall in earnest.

  Chapter Eight

  I managed to get back to my room before the floodgates opened. Careful of my injured wrist, I flopped across the bed. The tears flowed freely but I contained the sobs trying to escape. Why did I want to go the inane dance with JJ? Why did my heart ache? Examining the inner workings of my brain or heart would never be on my top hundred things I wanted to do list. I shut my feelings and questions out, curled into a ball, and drifted away. Eventually sleep found me.

  A loud bang jolted me out of sleep. Disoriented and bleary, unable to see clearly in the dimness, I struggled to a sitting position, mistakenly putting weight on my injured wrist. I grunted with pain, and then jumped at the sound of footsteps. A familiar growl caused me to come wide awake and scuttle backward to plaster myself against the headboard.

  Fuckin’ Aguirre. What the fuck did she want now?

  “You stupid cow!” A sharp sting accompanied the slap to my cheek.

  My head bounced off the headboard with the force of the blow.

  “What were you doing? Not taking notes! Yelling at the teacher! Leaving class without permission!” Another blow, this time to my shoulder.

  Shock froze me as a burning sensation told me she heated her hands. Being Ignis didn’t mean I had immunity to fire or heat, unfortunately. Tears stung my eyes as my flesh seared.

  I jerked out of her grip, but she didn’t notice as she continued. “You think you’re hot stuff, don’t you? You think my rules don’t apply to you? After your stunt this weekend, you think you’re going to go whore around with boys?”

  Eyes wide, I shook my head as a flame danced over her fist. She extinguished the flame, and a rustling noise in the darkness made
me wonder until she gripped my wrists in one hand. Pain shot through me, but I managed to hold in the cry as she dragged me across the bed. My initial fear turned to anger, and I kicked out at her, unable to use my powers with my hands being held. She sneered when I connected with her shin, smacking my leg with her free hand.

  “Stupid child,” she snarled, yanking me off the bed completely.

  Caught by surprise, I landed hard on one knee, barely getting my foot down in time to stop the other from slamming into the floor. Pain flared in my knee, and a small noise escaped me. A nasty smile crossed her face, and it burned me up.

  Fire rose inside me, and I glared as I tore out her grip, heedless of the pain searing through my wrist.

  “You fucking bitch! I’m not a child!” I ground out as I tried to rise to my feet.

  Rough hands snatched my hair, yanked backward hard, and made me lose my balance. I latched onto her arms, heating my own hands. If she wanted to play with powers, I was all in.

  Her face twisted, and she growled as I seared her flesh. Flinging me away from her, she raised a boot. I rolled to my side, attempting to get away from her, but she rested her boot heavily on me. Forced onto my back, I shoved at her boot, squirming and cursing.

  “Listen here you little bitch,” she spat out, her foot pressing against me.

  I quit fighting, choosing to watch her warily. Fighting tended to make things worse. With luck, I would only end up with a few bruises.

  “If you think you can defy me, think again. They put me in charge of you, all of you. Your life is mine! I own you!” Her voice rose, gaining a hysterical edge. “You’re just some good for nothing little whore. You think those boys care about you? No! They’re going to use you and toss you in the trash.”

  My breath hitched at her words, even knowing them to be untrue. A gasp from the door made my gaze shift to find a couple of the midgets peering in. I tried to give them a subtle go away sign. No way did I want to chance Aguirre getting her hands on them.

  “I could ruin you, and no one would give a damn! All of you stupid, useless, little brats! I’m better than this! I’ll make them see! I’ll bring you in line, all of you!” The first strike of her boot to my side shocked me. Not nearly as hard as I would expect, I still grunted at the impact. At least it was low enough to miss my ribs.

  Spittle flew out of her mouth, her eyes wide and unfocused, not even noticing me anymore. Her screaming became nearly incoherent, the only words I understood mostly slurs against myself or kids in general as she kicked me twice more. She seemed to lose steam after I let a whimper escape.

  “You should remember who’s in charge,” she snarled.

  I waited, listening as her steps faded to be sure she wouldn’t return, before I dared to move from the floor. Rolling onto my stomach, I tucked my knees under me and tried taking a deep breath. No searing pain assailed me, just some twinges of pain where she’d kicked me, though a deep breath never happened. At least, it didn’t appear she’d done serious damage. I rose onto my elbows, forgetting about my wrist. It throbbed in pain when I leaned on it, and I bit my lip against a sob. I rose slowly, more conscious of my injury.

  My side ached as I limped to the bathroom to assess the damage. I hoped it wouldn’t be bad since she’d mostly yelled. When I peered into the mirror and lifted my shirt, I nearly cried with a combination of relief and pain.

  Color bloomed across my side where I’d been kicked. I attempted another deep breath. Nope, not happening. Clutching the counter with my good hand, I tried moving my knee. I winced, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip, as pain flared briefly. The knee barely moved, and I racked my brain to figure out how to hide the inevitable limp.

  Angry, red palm prints marred my shoulders. Teeth sinking farther into my bottom lip, I twisted and leaned experimentally, trying to figure out my range of motion. Muscles pulled and twinged around the forming bruises, and I suspected they would be stiff in the morning.

  Taking it slow, I reached under the sink where I kept my first aid supplies and set the bin on the counter. I had stocked up over the weekend. After coating my arms with burn cream, I rewrapped my wrist. By the time I finished, my bottom lip turned red and swollen from biting back cries of pain and burns marred the bathroom counter. Gingerly I slid a long sleeved, black shirt over my head, the muscles on my side pulling and smarting with every motion.

  Anger rose in me. She couldn’t get away with this. I needed to call May, but Aguirre still held my phone captive.

  Silence in the building told me the other residents went to sleep long ago. I cracked the door and slid out without a sound. Years of mischief taught me to be light on my feet. Moving slowly down the hall, part for quiet and part because of my injuries, I made my way the few feet to Aguirre’s room. With an ear pressed to door, I caught the sound of snoring coming clearly from the other side. Turning the knob with care, I cracked it enough to peer through to be sure she slept. Moonlight shone through the window and revealed the beached whale on the bed. I slid in and searched, quick and quiet, until I found my phone in her nightstand drawer. Taking it, I made my way out. When I reached my room safely, I let out a sigh of relief and sank down on the bed.

  My phone lit up the moment I pressed the power button, like a beacon in the darkness, but I hesitated when I found May’s number. Would she pull me out of here? Now, when I finally start connecting with others, I risk her taking me away from the guys? It would be a good thing, though, right? It didn’t seem like a good thing. I didn’t want to be shipped away from the boys.

  No, Aguirre sounded like a raving lunatic tonight. I dialed May but her voicemail picked up right away. May only shut her phone down if absolutely necessary. As I listened to the monotone voice tell me to leave a message, I considered whether or not I should. This didn’t feel like something to leave a message about. Instead I took May not answering as a sign.

  My resolve hardened, and I dropped the phone into my nightstand. At least I possessed it, if I needed to use it later. Right now I needed to prove to myself I could be strong. I was Ignis, for element’s sake! We were known for our passion, our impulsiveness, and our love of danger! I flipped onto my stomach in bed since my side still smarted. As I drifted into a restless sleep, I contemplated ways to hide my new injuries from the boys in the morning.

  Chapter Nine

  I ached when I woke up. Everywhere. I usually slept on my back and sleeping on my stomach didn’t help keep the aches away. Getting dressed made my back muscles pull, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to hide it. I couldn’t skip and didn’t really want to. Aguirre would know. I cobbled myself together as best as possible, layering my makeup heavier than usual, and headed toward the school.

  As I pushed through the doors, I spied the guys waiting for me. They clustered together, palms laid flat between them. A small whirlwind raced around Souta’s palm, while a little wave of water rose from a tiny bowl on Brooks hand and a decent sized rock rolled back and forth on JJ’s hand. The boys pushed their elements toward each other, the three coming together in a strange sort of shoving match. Each pushed against the others, gaining a little ground, losing a little. Elbows got thrown into sides, and I caught snippets of good-natured ribbing.

  They played Power Push, a clever little training game most often played by the newly powered. Watching the boys enjoying such a simple game sent a jolt of happiness through me, and I grinned. I wanted to set myself down and join in the fun.

  As I stepped into the brightly lit courtyard, JJ glanced up and caught my eyes. He seemed to light up, dropped his rock and stood in one swift motion. He closed the distance between us in a few quick strides.

  “Hey,” he greeted, reaching for my hand and holding it gently.

  “Hey.” I grinned, pulling my hand from his gently and holding up my phone while I peered at the others still playing. “I can’t believe you guys are playing Power Push. I haven’t played in ages.”

  “Uh, yeah.” JJ’s voice sounded a bit flat as he took my ph
one, and I glanced at him.

  He punched in his number, called himself in order to get mine, but his face remained blank the whole time. Was something wrong?

  “We were killing time.” A shudder ran through him, and he grinned at me again.

  Souta and Brooks finally quit playing and came up behind JJ. I started to wonder at the odd expressions on their faces as they watched JJ and me. JJ shifted on his feet, and licked his lips.

  Oh, no. Not again.

  “Go to the dance with me, Sera?” JJ rushed the words out on one breath, and I closed my eyes. Why did he keep doing this to me?

  “I can’t, JJ,” I muttered.

  The shock on Souta and Brooks faces didn’t escape me. Heat bloomed over my cheeks. I hated this happening in front of them.

  “Why not?” His tone contained no anger, only genuine wondering. I couldn’t give him the real reason, though.

  “I...I... I’m washing my hair.” I blurted out the first thing popping into my head like some kind of idiot girl from the 1950s and took off for class. Behind me, laughter rang out.

  “That won’t take long!” came Souta’s voice.

  Of course, JJ didn’t leave it alone, stubborn ass. I made things worse with my rather lame excuse. He kept at it all day, coming up with new and creative ways of trying to get me to either say yes or tell him the real reason why. He texted, or sent notes or caught me between classes.

  “You were completely lying with the hair thing, and you know I know it,” he whispered as he passed by me on his way to his seat in history.

  With Mrs. Kalan watching me closely he didn’t do more, but as soon as the bell rang, he snatched my bag from the floor and walked out with it.

  “Hey!” I called, chasing after him. He turned and walked backward, a goofy grin on his face.

  “Tell me the truth, or I keep your bag,” He shook the bag and made a silly, over the top questioning face at me. “Why won’t you go with me?”