Falling For Them: A New Adult Reverse Harem Collection

by C. L. Stone

  Jake was sitting crossed legged beside him, chewing on the side of his thumb nail. He lowered it long enough to agree with his brother. “She’s pretty lost. You can see it in her eyes. She thinks she’s got it together, thinks she’s fine with moving, but she’s not really. She needs friends; she just doesn’t know it. Everyone needs friends.”

  “She’s exhibited no signs of being like us.” Nate pushed his glasses up his nose. “And she’s given no signs that she knows what we are either. I didn’t get any vibes from her, and she’s pretty easy to read. I think it’s pure chance she fitted yesterday. Matt, maybe you just felt a connection because, instinctively, you knew something was wrong with her and you tried to heal it subconsciously.”

  Matt blew out his breath and shrugged against the wooden floor. “Maybe. And your name?” “I must had heard someone else say something that sounded like it.” He shrugged. “I don’t think we need to worry about her anymore.”

  “What? You want us to drop her? Fuck you!” Josh snapped. He glared at Nate where he leaned against the wall, one leg propped up.

  “No, of course not! I merely meant we can be friends with her, get to know her better, and not worry about whether she’s going to cause us trouble.”

  “Oh, I have a feeling she’s going to cause us trouble,” Matt murmured, still watching the shadows above his head. “She’s cute, and I’d date her in a heartbeat. So would Josh and Jake, wouldn’t you?”

  “Too bloody right,” Jake sniggered. “She caught our attention the moment she stepped into the classroom. So uptight in her shirt that’s buttoned right up to her neck with her tie properly tied.”

  “And her skirt that hits just above her knees,” Josh said, and threw Jake the ball. “And did you see those black knee highs socks and chunky shoes? She stands out without even trying, not to mention she’s smart and easy to be around.”

  Jake sniggered and tossed the ball towards Matt, who lifted his hand and caught it without even looking.

  “She was quick in French, fluent with only a couple of mistakes,” Nate murmured and caught the ball that was thrown at him. “Intelligent and beautiful.”

  “She got a hundred percent on O’Connor’s test. We thought he was going to ask her to marry him, he was so damn excited,” Josh said and lifted his hand to Nate. Nate threw him the ball, and he tossed it to Matt, who had sat up.

  “We were close to asking her,” Jake snorted. “A hundred percent! She loves Maths, ergo she’s perfect.”

  “So who gets to ask her out?” Matt asked, tossing the ball to Nate again.

  “Well, we’re not stepping back for you two.” Josh snorted.

  “You can’t both date her at the same time,” Matt exclaimed.

  “Why not?” Josh demanded. “We’d treat her right.”

  “I know you would, but could you honestly see her letting you both date her? How would you manage dates to the cinema and stuff?”

  “We’d take it in turns if she didn’t want both of us with her,” Jake answered.

  “People don’t do that! It’d be weird, and she’d never go for it,” Nate snorted and tossed the ball at Josh a little harder. “And what makes you think she’d say yes to you two, and not me or Matt?”

  Josh just grunted in reply and threw the ball to Jake.

  “So what do we do? Toss a coin?” Matt asked in exasperation, catching the ball Jake tossed at him.

  “Why don’t we wait and let her choose?” Nate suggested. “We all like her, we all fancy her. She may not feel the same about us, and then this whole conversation is a waste of time. She might just view us as friends.”

  Matt threw the ball to Jake and lay back down on his back, folding his hands on his stomach.

  “So, let’s just keep it to friendship and see how it goes,” Nate added and crouched down, balancing himself with his fingertips on the floor. “We’ve only known her for a couple of days. We may end up viewing her like a sister.”

  Josh snorted heavily and looked over at Jake with a shake of his head before speaking up. “Nate, not sure what floats your boat, bro, but we can guarantee we wouldn’t have these kinds of thoughts over a sister.”

  “That’s because you let the wrong fucking heads do your thinking!” Nate snapped and rolled his eyes when all they did was hoot with laughter, bumping their fists together. “Jesus, guys. If she could see you now, she’d run for the hills.”

  “If she could see us now, she’d have one of her fits, and we’d be doing a lot of explaining,” Matt said dryly, pointing at one of the candles that was hanging in mid-air, suspended on nothing.

  “Which reminds me,” Nate said and picked up his phone. “I’ve researched this. If we’re going to be spending time with her, and I know I aim to spend as much time as I can with her, then we need to know this.”

  Josh and Jake groaned when Nate said research. Josh leant backwards until his head was on Jake’s knee, looking up at him. “Brace yourself, Nate has been let loose on the internet again.”

  “Well, Matt, it looks like it’s just you and me that will know how to deal with her if she fits.”

  Josh sat straight up and faced Nate. “Go on, we’re all ears.”

  “You’re all bloody morons. Now pay attention. If she fits, she’s going to fall, because for her it looks like her muscles go rigid in a seizure. If we can catch her, great, if not we have to make sure we clear the space around her so she can’t hurt herself on anything. We need to time the seizure, that’s the part where she’s rigid, if it goes over five minutes we must phone for an ambulance. Once she starts to jerk and shake she’s okay. We just make sure she doesn’t get hurt then, and keep reassuring her that we’re there.”

  “Don’t we have to put something in her mouth to stop her from biting her tongue?” Jake asked.

  “No, she could choke.” Nate shook his head. “We really just have to let her go. Once she stops jerking we roll her onto her side and stay with her till she’s with it completely, which can take a while, thirty minutes or longer.”

  “How long did it take her to come out of it?” Jake asked, sitting up to look at Nate.

  “Well, she seemed fairly lucid quite quickly. She tried to get me to put her down. She knew what had happened. I didn’t see her again after we left, though.”

  “O’Connor has us sitting on either side of her in Maths,” Josh spoke up. “If she goes down on the steps we can catch her.”

  “We’ll stick close in case she needs our help. I’ve also researched triggers, or potential triggers,” Nate said. “She said she doesn’t have photosensitive epilepsy, so flashing lights should be okay. But I suggest we keep close to her if we go anywhere like that with her. Tiredness, stress, and alcohol are all triggers—”

  “Well, that rules out getting her drunk on her birthday.” Jake let his breath out on a sigh.

  “We aren’t getting her drunk. Ever! You fucking reprobate,” Josh snapped and smacked him up the back of the head.

  “I’m getting drunk on my birthday. It’s a rite of passage,” Jake mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Josh.

  “Don’t be an ass, we are not getting drunk on our birthday!”

  “There doesn’t have to be a ‘we’ in this, Joshua,” Jake sneered.

  “There’s always a ‘we’, Jacob!” Josh snarled at his twin.

  “Stop!” Matt got up onto his knees. “I am way too tired to deal with any cuts and bruises you two put on each other. No one is getting drunk on anyone’s birthday. Imagine the chaos if we got out of control because we were drunk. We can’t lose control like that, ever!”

  “Jonas would skin you alive, right after I’d kicked you into next week!” Nate snapped.

  “Fine,” Jake grumbled, folding his arms. “I just wanted to get drunk once, that was all.”

  “Why?” asked Matt in surprise. He rarely heard the word I out of either of their mouths; it was always we. This was obviously something Jake was serious about.

  “Just to
see what it’s like,” he replied, with a shrug.

  “Alright, alright,” Nate said, holding up his hands. “After we’re all eighteen, we’ll get together here and you can get drunk to see what it’s like. But just once and just us here!”

  “Don’t look at me when you have a hangover and can’t think through a fucking migraine.” Josh snorted.

  “I won’t look at you. I may be sick over you, though.” Jake chuckled and avoided the head slap that was sent his way.

  “If you’re sick over me, I’ll make you wash my clothes by hand!” Josh snapped and then ruined it by laughing. “Idiot.”

  “Moron.”

  “Okay, okay, you two can make up later.” Matt stood up. “I’m going to bed or I’ll never get up in time to pick Lily up. You wanna crash with me or go home?” he asked them.

  “Crash with you.” Nate looked at his watch. “It’s well into the witching hours now.”

  “Frightened you’ll get turned into a toad?” Josh chuckled, standing up and holding his hand out to Jake to help him up.

  “No, but I may not make it to the end of the drive before I pass out.”

  They made their way outside. It was pitch black; the moon was almost new and there was no light. An owl hooted and its mate returned the call.

  Flashlights were switched on and Nate snapped his fingers, extinguishing the flames in the upper room. The candles fell to the floor, making a thumping noise as they hit the wood. They would stay there until they needed them again.

  “We’ll have to bring Lily here,” Matt said as they reached the edge of the woods. The manor ahead of them was dark. There were no lights on in the windows, and Matt knew his parents would be fast asleep now.

  “Yeah, during the day, though,” Josh said as they crossed the perfectly mowed lawns. Another owl hooted, but there was no reply this time. They rounded the house and let themselves in through the back door into the boot room. Silently, they crept through the house till they were in Matt’s room. They’d done this hundreds of times over the years. None of their parents were surprised to find in the morning that they were all together, and they never bothered trying to stop it. The four of them had been a unit for as long as any of them could remember, and when they’d reached six and started to develop abilities that were different, they each turned to the other, rather than their parents. They’d instinctively known that if any of their parents found out it would cause trouble, so they were careful to keep it hidden from everyone but each other. Until Jonas.

  Nate’s was the only place they didn’t camp down in and that was only because his room was too small. Matt’s room was the usual go to place, though. The manor had spacious, high ceilinged rooms with large sash windows. Matt’s room was no different, and with the bathroom opposite it was the best room for them all to stay together. They were here so often that they each had a change of clothes and nightwear in Matt’s wardrobe.

  Josh and Jake dragged out the spare double mattress that Matt kept under his bed and put the sheet over the top that their Aunt June demanded they use when they slept over. They’d have been happy just plopping down fully dressed and sleeping till morning, but Aunt June would have their hides if they did that. Nate and Matt shared the double bed and had done so since their first sleepover at five years old. Matt slept better when they were all in the room, but he never told them.

  Once they were all settled, Matt switched off the overhead light and got into bed. Josh and Jake were on the mattress and already half asleep.

  “See you in the morning,” Matt spoke up and was rewarded with grunts from the twins. Nate muttered a good night, and it went quiet, save for the snores coming from the foot of the bed.

  9

  MOVING AGAIN

  Lily finished the last piece of toast, her eyes on where her mother was cleaning the top of the counter with a cloth. She’d been scrubbing at the same spot for the past five minutes, and Lily didn’t think it was because it was dirty.

  “What’s up?” she asked her quietly.

  “Up? Nothing’s up, Lily.” Her mother’s voice was bright. She gave the spot one last swipe and turned to face her, but her smile was strained and her eyes were darting around the room.

  “Did you stain the counter?” Lily nodded to the counter. She crossed to the Bristol sink that sat under the mullioned window and washed up her plate.

  “No, no. I just needed to clean up.”

  “The same spot for five minutes?”

  “I hardly think so, dear,” she replied, but it was vague. “Listen, darling, there’s something I’ve been thinking about.”

  Lily watched her mother cross to sit at the table, the cloth still in her hands.

  “What?”

  “I’m not sure here is the best place for us right now. How about we find somewhere else? I was thinking Ireland. We’ve never been there.”

  “Ireland?” Lily gaped at her mother, not sure she was hearing her right.

  “Yes, dear, I hear parts of it are beautiful, just waiting to be painted.”

  “Mum, you’re under contract here. You signed for a year, they gave you a deposit. You said this was perfect. You were looking forward to the challenge of getting the four seasons in one place.”

  “I know, but well, things change. I changed. I don’t think I’m feeling it.” Her mother avoided her eyes in favour of a spot on the table that she began to scrub vigorously.

  “Mum! You can’t just up and leave, they won’t understand. Hell, I don’t understand.” Lily was flustered, panic was edging into her mind. She couldn’t face moving again. “It’s my final year, Mum. I need these A levels if I want to go to a good Uni somewhere.”

  “I know, Lily, but you’ve always managed to settle quickly. It’s still only your first week. You’d fit in somewhere else. You always do.”

  The world tipped beneath Lily’s feet. Her hands gripped the edge of the china sink, trying to anchor herself against the rising panic inside her. She didn’t want to leave here. She liked it here, she liked the quaint little cottage with its thatched roof and leaded windows. She liked the beams that ran across her bedroom ceiling. She liked her college, the teachers, and she liked the new friends she’d made. The boys. She liked the boys. She didn’t want to say goodbye to it, to them. Not this quickly anyway.

  “Lily, I just think we ought to move on.”

  “Mum, please. Listen to me. Every time you’ve wanted to move I’ve never made a fuss, have I? Not even this summer when we moved twice in four weeks! Please, Mum, I don’t want to leave here. Not yet. I’m making friends here, Mum. Real friends.” Desperation crashed through her.

  “You’ve always enjoyed moving.” Her mother got up and crossed back to the side. “Besides, you make friends wherever we go.”

  “Not this fast, usually it takes me until after Christmas before I’m fully accepted. But this time? I’ve made friends straight away. They’re even going to celebrate my eighteenth with me, Mum. I’ve never had that before. I’ve never had friends with me on my birthday.”

  Her mother made a noise in the back of her throat. She pushed her hand onto her forehead as her eyes closed. “Lily, Lily, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “It’s been harder on you than I realised.”

  “Mum, please…”

  There was a knock at the front door, and Lily looked at the clock on the wall. It was gone eight, and she’d missed her lift. Desperation turned to defeat. Her shoulders slumped. “I’ll go. It’s probably the post.”

  “No! Wait!” Her mother called out, but Lily was already in the hallway. She opened the cottage door and gave a gasp when she saw the twins standing on either side of the door, leaning on the door frame.

  “You’re late, Lily Pad—hey, what’s wrong?”

  “I’m… I’m sorry.” She shook her head, her thoughts and emotions all over the place. “Let me get my bag. Sorry.” She turned to see her mother standing in the doorway, her bag in her hands and regret on her face.

  �
�Lily, we’ll talk tonight,” she said as Lily took the bag from her. “Who are your friends?”

  Lily closed her eyes and shook her head before looking at her mother. “It won’t matter who they are,” she whispered. She reached forward and kissed her mother’s cheek before going back to where the twins were still waiting for her.

  Lily moved past them and shut the door behind her. She looked up, seeing the others waiting in the Land Rover.

  “Oversleep?” Matt chuckled as she climbed into the front, putting her bag on the floor at her feet. She heard the twins get in on either side of Nate behind her. She shrugged, trying to swallow the lump that had settled in her throat. A feeling of overwhelming sadness was tugging at her. When her mother said they were moving, they moved. It was as simple as that.

  She wasn’t lying when she said she’d never made a fuss, she’d never felt connected with anywhere enough to want to stay. But it was different here, and she realised with a sinking feeling that it was the boys that made the difference. Two days in, and she was sucked in by them.

  Two days.

  She had to remind herself it was only two days. She didn’t even know them that well. They were kind, good looking, and willing to be her friend. She had never needed friends before. Had never needed the connection that she knew they had. She was always content to drift along, having acquaintances that she could wave goodbye to at the end of the year and not shed a tear. So what made them different?

  Nothing.

  She was just being silly. They would lose no sleep if she left tomorrow and neither should she. She needed to keep telling herself that.

  “Lily?” She felt her shoulder being nudged, and she blinked. She’d been lost in her own thoughts, but Nate snapped her out of it.

  “Sorry, I was miles away, what did you say?” She pushed all her emotions down and turned to him.

  “I was asking if you wanted to come out with us to Matt’s house after college. Figured you’d like to see the house your mum is going to be painting.