by Bria Berg
When she got out of the shower, she wrapped her towel securely around her before opening the door to Milo’s room. She just wanted to peek on him to make sure he was okay. Her heart thumped when she saw his bed was empty. Without thinking she swung the door open and frantically called out his name.
“What? What is it?” Milo said turning around. He was in the process of getting some fresh clothes out of his dresser.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw that he was standing. “I didn’t think you would be able to get up yet.”
“I’m a fast healer, especially since you kept a layer of water on me all night long,” he smiled. Unable to help himself, his eyes roved over her body which was only covered by a towel. Quickly he turned around as his body reacted. “I was just going to take a long bath, and soak in the water for a while.” Cold water, he added to himself.
Tessa took the hint and nodded while looking down at her bare legs with a blush. “Feel better,” she said before walking back through the bathroom to her room. After quickly dressing she made her way down to the kitchen and was surprised to see that Ethan and Sam were already making breakfast.
“We figured we’d give this cooking thing a shot.” Sam explained.
“We’ve watched you enough to have some idea of how it’s done,” Ethan put in.
Tessa watched in amusement as Sam scrambled some eggs while Ethan flipped a pancake. They were doing a good job for their first time probably ever using the kitchen for more than a bowl of cereal or a pop tart. The three of them ate breakfast together, deciding it was best for all of them, especially Tessa to stay in the house until hopefully her father would give them some indication of what Dracul would be planning next.
While they were finishing cleaning up, Milo came down the stairs. He wore sweats and a soft baggy t-shirt but everyone was happy to see his strength returning to him. During his long bath, he had time to think about and process everything that was going on. Taking a deep breath, he knew what he needed to do.
“Hey Tess, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.
Sam and Ethan took one look at Milo before sharing a look with each other. “We were just going to go outside to work on the landscaping,” Sam said and they both walked outside, leaving Tessa and Milo alone.
His body language was suggesting something wasn’t right, and dread came over her wondering if she had done something wrong. He moved to sit at the counter while she continued wiping away the mess, even though it had already been sufficiently cleaned.
“You okay?” she asked cautiously when he remained silent.
He pressed his lips together unsure of how to begin. “I owe you an apology.”
“For what?” This isn’t what she had expected.
“I didn’t protect you.”
“Milo, it’s not your—”
“That’s not all,” he cut her off.
She threw the rag in the sink. “What then?”
“Last night, before you went with your dad there was a moment between us, a heavy moment and I’m pretty sure you knew it. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
Her heart skipped several beats while she stared at him wide eyed from his confession. How many times had she dreamt about sharing a kiss with him, but she thought it was only in her mind? He looked vulnerable, scared and ashamed. Finally, she whispered, “You didn’t scare me.”
A brief hope filled his eyes before he looked away. “It can’t happen with us Tess. It won’t work.”
His words almost shattered her heart. “Why not?” her voice squeaked.
The barstool squealed as he abruptly stood. “Because I am your Protector. I can’t protect you if I am always thinking about your smile, your laugh… your lips. Last night, I had a gut feeling telling me not to let you be alone with your dad, but I ignored it because I wanted you to be happy. I need to be focused. If something bad ever happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I would tear the earth apart until I found you.”
“I don’t want this. I never asked you to be my Protector.”
“You didn’t have to. I am what I am.”
“Why can’t we get the chance to be happy?” she argued.
Shaking his head, he replied, “There are no guarantees that we would be happy! What if we did get together, and broke up. Then what? We are bound to each other forever, it’s better not to go down that road. It’s not worth the risk.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest so powerfully she thought it might rip free at any moment. “What if it is worth the risk?”
He looked at her a moment with an expression full of pity, and longing. “It would have to be all or nothing, or else we would both end up miserable. That’s a big commitment to make, for you to make. You are only eighteen, you have your whole life ahead of you.”
“So do you,” she countered. “It wouldn’t be just my choice. It’s yours too.” Even as she said it though, she knew this was a battle she would not win. She saw his resolve set. When he didn’t say another word, she turned and ran upstairs to her room.
Shutting herself inside, she cried again for what felt like the hundredth time in a twenty four hour period. What hurt the most was that Milo didn’t even think her good enough to try. Deep down in her heart she knew she could never live without Milo, and if they did act upon their feelings, no matter what she knew she would always want him. It would kill her inside if they broke up and then he ended up with some other girl; she likely would hate him for it. At the same time however, even with her feelings as they were, if nothing more came from their relationship, seeing him with someone else would still break her heart. It hurt her enough when he and Miss Kelly went on a date, and they weren’t even a couple. Maybe Milo didn’t feel the same way, maybe it was him that wanted to keep his options open. The thought made her feel sick.
Chapter 35
Several hours later, Tessa determined the only way to move forward was to harden her heart where Milo was concerned. She could do it; she spent almost her whole life pretending to be fine on the outside when inside she was anything but. If she could pretend not to care with her own parents, then she should be able to act hardened around Milo as well. A very big part of her wanted to run home and not face Milo ever again; but she knew that wasn’t an option. It wasn’t just about her, it was about him too. If she was reckless and was killed, Milo would die too, and then Sam and Ethan would lose their brother. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she would do her best to shut off her feelings no matter how strong towards Milo. No time like the present she decided as she made her way down the stairs.
All three of the brothers were lounging on the sofas watching a movie as she came into the kitchen.
“Hey Tess, did you get some rest?” Sam asked over his shoulder.
“Yep,” she lied actively avoiding looking in Milo’s direction. “Have you have guys eaten yet? Want me to make you a sandwich?”
“Sure if you don’t mind,” Sam replied.
“Since you’re offering, yes!” Ethan said.
Milo remained silent, watching her like a cat watches a mouse. He knew her well enough to know that she had been crying; he could see the redness in her eyes. It tore him apart to know that he was the cause of her tears, but he had to stick to his decision. If he hadn’t cared so much about her feelings last night, he wouldn’t have allowed her to go with her father without him. She might be hurt for the time being, but at least she would be safe; that was the important thing. A very large part of him wanted to go to her, take her in his arms and make her feel better with soft kisses and sweet words. All this time he believed she only thought of him as a brother, and that she would be appalled if she found out how he really felt about her. The truth is he wanted her, all of her and he knew he would have her forever. He wouldn’t force her to make that decision though; she was so young and had too many experiences that she would miss out on if he asked her to be his forever.
“Milo?” she asked a bit too cheery. “Do you want a san
dwich?”
“Sure, I’ll help you make them,” he said getting up from his seat, wincing slightly when he put his weight on his hurt shoulder.
She didn’t make eye contact as she quickly turned to retrieve the items in the refrigerator. He grabbed some plates from the cupboard and laid them out on the counter before placing bread out on them. They worked silently, Tessa cutting the tomato and lettuce while he sliced the cheese and put the turkey on. Milo grabbed the jar of sliced pickles and spread them over three of the sandwiches.
“Oh I don’t want it on the—” Tessa began.
“I know,” Milo cut her off. “You want yours on the side.”
“Thanks,” she muttered, feeling too vulnerable. He knew her, even the little details.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, nudging her arm.
“Fine,” she quickly replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He studied her features for moment before she turned away saying she wanted chips. With a sigh, he took his sandwich back to his spot on the couch. In trying to make things not awkward between them, it seemed like he only made things worse.
There was no news of anything to do with Dracul over the weekend, and when Monday morning came along, Tessa got up early to get ready just like she would any other normal weekday. After eating a quick bowl of cereal, she waited a few more minutes for Ethan to come down the stairs so they could leave together like they did every morning. When he didn’t show up, she went upstairs to see what was keeping him.
It was still relatively dark and quiet upstairs, the lights weren’t on and there was no running water sounds coming from the pipes indicating someone was using the bathroom. Quietly, she knocked on Ethan’s door. There was no answer so she knocked again. When he still didn’t come to the door she opened it a crack to peer inside. She saw the lump of Ethan still in bed. Tiptoeing over to where he still slept, she nudged him awake.
“We are going to be late for school,” she whispered.
His eyes blinked slowly. “Huh? School?”
“Yes, school. Hurry up and get up.”
He sat up lethargically, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes before rolling out of bed, shirtless like usual. Tessa turned to leave to let him get dressed but not before he chucked a pillow across the room at her. Chuckling, she ducked out of the room only to smack right into Milo. He looked at her curiously, accusingly even and it took her a moment to realize what the scene probably looked like to him—Tessa giggling as she left Ethan’s room early in the morning.
“I was just getting him up,” she said trying to step around him.
He moved so he was in her path as visions of what she could be doing in his brother’s room filled his head. A hot jealously unlike anything he had ever felt before burned beneath his skin when he first saw her coming out of the room, but then he realized that she had her backpack on. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked sternly.
“School,” she said slowly.
“I thought we decided you were going to stay here for now,” he replied folding his arms. He still couldn’t get the image of her and Ethan together out of his head and it was driving him mad.
“Which we did for two days, but today I have to go to school.”
“I don’t think you should. We don’t know what Dracul is up to,” he said curtly.
What was up with Milo’s attitude? Tessa stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Even her father said she would be safe at school, so why didn’t Milo seem to get that? There was only just over a month left before she would graduate, and she needed to keep up her grades until then. His mood wasn’t improving Tessa’s temperament at the moment.
“I don’t really care what you think,” she said folding her arms like him, trying to appear more intimidating. “I’m going to graduate soon, and I have to go to class for that to happen. School is as public a place as any. I’ll be fine there.”
His eyes widened at her tone, one he had never heard until now, before they narrowed. “Right, you’ll be fine,” he said putting emphasis on the last word. He hated it when she used the word fine.
She matched his gaze before she pushed past him with a groan. “Just leave me alone. If you have to protect me then do it, but other than that… just stay out of my life like you obviously want to.” She disappeared down the stairs, not even giving Milo a chance to respond.
“Smooth move,” Ethan said coming out of his room pulling a hoodie over his head.
“Shut up,” Milo glared.
Ethan shrugged before hurrying down the stairs after Tessa. Milo stood in the hallway wishing so much that things could be different. Although he knew that nothing had happened between Tessa and Ethan, anxiety rolled off of him. Something would sooner or later happen; not necessarily with Tessa and one of his brothers, but she was bound to fall for someone eventually and that thought didn’t sit well. He had made his choice though, and at the moment he couldn’t take it back.
Chapter 36
Tessa sat in Chemistry drumming her fingers against the desk as Miss Kelly lectured the class on reduction reactions. Nicole sat next to her, doodling in her notebook until she got bored and nudged Tessa. “I wanted to go dress shopping for prom this weekend; do you want to go with me?”
“You’re going to prom?” Tessa asked in bewilderment.
“Well yeah, Neil asked me over the weekend. I called to tell you but you never answer your phone.”
“My phone is lost,” Tessa replied. She hadn’t bothered to get a new phone since her dad had taken hers. The only people she really talked to anyways, she lived with.
Nicole’s cheeks turned pink as she said, “He showed up at my house Saturday with two dozen red roses, and asked me, so I said yes.”
“Wait a second… Neil as in booger picking Neil?” Tessa asked with disbelief.
Nicole winced. “Don’t remind me. Besides, like you said it was only that once.”
Tessa smiled at that. “What changed your mind?”
Nicole looked vulnerable for a moment, wringing her hands together so out of character for her. “He was always nice to me you know? Even before I got the nose job. He’s kind of sweet too.”
Tessa grinned. She was really happy for Nicole but she didn’t get a chance to tell her because Miss Kelly called them out in front of the whole class. “What I’m telling you is going to be on your final,” she warned. “You two better pay attention if you want to pass, especially you Tessa.”
Blushing from the scrutiny, Tessa looked down. There were plenty of other people whispering, most even louder than they were. Miss Kelly seemed to have it out for her ever since the sweetheart dance though, she was never as friendly and took every opportunity to chastise Tessa in front of the entire class.
It wasn’t at all easy talking the brothers, especially Milo into allowing Tessa to go dress shopping with Nicole. She wouldn’t take no for an answer though; she didn’t want to let Dracul have precedence over her life any more than he already did. Based off of her agreement that the three brothers would come along, Sam and Ethan finally relented. Milo sighed angrily and walked out of the room in defeat, only to get his things to go.
The brothers drove separately as per Tessa’s insistence, since she was sort of looking forward to having some girl time with Nicole. Her love for Sam, Ethan and Milo didn’t lessen, but at times it was hard being surrounded by only men to talk to and keep her company. She also made it perfectly clear that they were to remain unseen so not to draw any attention to her whatsoever.
“So you’re really not going to prom?” Nicole asked turning off the exit to mall.
“Nope,” Tessa replied. “Nobody asked me, and honestly I don’t want to go anyway.”
Nicole glanced at her skeptically. “I don’t get it. Guys drool all over you, and at least half of them in our senior class talk about the escapades they’ve done with you, and yet not one asked you to prom?”
Groaning, Tessa shook her head. “You do know that the rumors about me a
ren’t true, right? I’m not some booty call girl.” She wasn’t close enough to Nicole to tell her how those rumors really started, but it still felt good telling her that they weren’t true.
Nicole chuckled dubiously, clearly not believing Tessa in the slightest. Likely she had seen Tessa’s “ads”.
They didn’t talk much after that, each annoyed with the other. Tessa angry with Nicole for not believing her, Nicole angry that Tessa wouldn’t just be honest. Once inside the store, Nicole went straight to browsing through the dresses. Tessa glanced out of the doors, and sure enough all three brothers were hovering near the entrance. Milo caught her eye with his and she shrugged with a sad smile. Coming here wasn’t as fun and relaxing as she hoped it would be. When Milo gave her a questioning look, she just shook her head and turned.
Tessa attempted to aid Nicole in finding a dress, but the tension between the two was palpable enough to make things awkward. They hadn’t spent any time outside of school together and maybe it was being in school that made them whatever kind of friends they were to begin with. Nicole tried on a couple dresses and asked Tessa her opinion though, at least that was something.
As Tessa was helping put some of the discarded dresses away, a chill went up her spine from the laughter she heard and recognized well. Glancing around the rack, she spotted Brigette and several of her old “friends” walking into the store. All the color left from her face as she began to panic and did the only thing she could think of and ducked behind the rack.
“Oh my gosh, the Ricks brothers are so hot,” Brigette stated, fanning her face. “I wonder what they are doing here?”
