by Rye Hart
I wanted her to know that what had happened between all of us was not a mistake in our eyes. My brothers and I had talked extensively about what had happened that night, and not one of us regretted it. Whatever she thought about herself for the encounter, it simply wasn’t true. What we all shared that night was beautiful, and every one of my brothers agreed with me.
But I couldn’t get her to pick up the phone so I could tell her.
Walking down the sidewalk, I stopped into a florist shop on a whim. If Sam wasn’t going to return my calls, maybe she would open the door for me. I walked around and picked out a few exotic flowers for a beautiful bouquet, then I set off for her place. I drove across town, hoping and praying that Sam would answer the door.
I parked my car and set for her front door. I didn’t have much hope, though, none of the lights were on in her place. It looked deserted. I didn’t even see her car around. But it didn’t hurt to try, so I knocked anyway.
I knocked, and knocked, and knocked.
I stood there for ten minutes, hoping I could wait her out. I couldn’t stand there forever, though. I set the flowers on her porch with the small note I’d written to her, then I headed back to my car.
My phone ringing out from my pocket got my attention, and I had high hopes that it might’ve been Sam.
But instead, it was Lauren.
“Hey, Sis.”
“What did you guys do?”
I furrowed my brow as I slid behind the wheel of my car.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“What did you guys do to Sam?”
“Uh, you're going to have to be more specific,” I said.
“So you guys did do something. Tell me now. What the fuck did you do to my best friend?”
“Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
“Calm down?” she asked. “I get a phone call from Sam crying on the other end of the line and talking about wanting to back out of my wedding, and the only thing that comes to mind is Vegas. What the hell did you and the rest of the brood do to my fucking maid-of-honor?”
“Wait a second. Back up. Sam’s backed out of the wedding?” I asked.
“Yes. The entire thing. She wants out. She’s gone to be with her fucking parents, Luke. Her parents! She hates her parents. Can’t stand her parents. Left for college and never fucking saw those assholes again. And she’s gone to see them.”
“Shit,” was all I could think to say.
“Shit is right, Luke. I’m going to ask you again. What the fuck happened in Vegas? I’m supposed to get married in three weeks, and my best friend doesn’t even want to attend!”
This was bad. Incredibly bad.
“Lauren, listen to me. I’ll figure out what’s wrong, okay?” I said.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Something happened in Vegas. She didn’t leave because of work, did she?”
I couldn’t tell Lauren what happened. This was her best friend, and it wasn’t my place. Besides, if I did tell Lauren what happened, she would kill me on the spot.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
“Not right now, I don’t.”
“I’ll get this sorted out, okay? Sam will be there at your wedding.”
I could hear Lauren at the beginning stages of crying, and it broke my heart.
“She’ll be there,” I said again. “But I have to go. You have my word, though, Lauren. Sam will be at the wedding. She’ll be your maid-of-honor, just like I know the both of you want.”
“Okay,” she said with a sniffle. “Fix it.”
“I will,” I said.
I hung up the phone and blasted a text to the guys. They needed to meet me at the main office immediately. I sped across town, weaving in and out of traffic and rushing through yellow lights. This was serious, and the more time Sam spent with her parents, the worse things would get for her.
She was desperate. And when Sam was desperate, she made terrible decisions.
“What is it?” Liam asked.
“The fuck’s the emergency?” Levi asked.
“I know where Sam is,” I said.
“Where” Logan asked. “She’s with her parents,” I said.
A hush fell over all of us as Levi’s face grew red.
“She’s fucking what?” he asked.
“This is bad,” Logan said.
“Where are you with those divorce papers?” I asked.
“I’m working on it, but I’m having to jump over some hurdles. I’m trying to make it so that Samantha doesn’t have to touch a thing, but I’m still trying to figure out which one of us she married,” Liam said.
“Wait. How do you know Sam’s at her parents?” Logan asked.
“Lauren called.”
“So she’s talking to Lauren,” Levi said.
“Enough to tell her she’s backing out of the wedding,” I said.
“The fuck?” Levi asked. “She backed out of the damn wedding? It’s three weeks out!”
“No shit,” I said.
“When did all this happen?” Logan asked.
“Twenty minutes ago,” I said.
“Sam wouldn't back out of Lauren’s wedding. Lauren must’ve misheard something,” Logan said. “Those two have been tight for fucking years. Sam isn’t like that.”
“Sam isn’t a lot of things, but a lot has changed over the past little bit,” I said. “We need to get those divorce papers to her. I promised Lauren Sam would be at her wedding as her maid-of-honor, and I know that’s the only way.”
“Once I get the paperwork from Vegas saying who her husband is, I can mail them out to her,” Liam said.
“We have to get her away from her parents,” Logan said. “They’re toxic.”
“The priority here is Lauren’s wedding,” I said.
“No, the priority is Sam’s happiness,” Logan said. “She’s distraught. She feels like she’s out of options. That’s the only way she’d ever imagine going and staying with her parents for any amount of time.”
“And the more time she spends with her parents, the more she loses herself,” Levi said.
“Liam, is there any way our lawyer could get in on this somehow? You know, speed up the process?” Logan asked.
“Divorce is a specialized area, but I can ask him and see if he knows someone,” Liam said.
“Just explain the situation and tell him that he—or whoever he recommends us to—will be paid handsomely to get us those divorce papers for Sam without her having to lift a finger,” I said.
“On it,” Liam said.
“What the fuck are we supposed to do until then?” Levi asked.
I panned my gaze over to him and saw the defeated look in his eye. He was thinking what we all were. He was worried for Sam. He missed her. I could see it in his eyes.
I missed her, too.
We had to get her back.
“We keep calling,” I said. “Keep sending her messages to let her know we care about her. That’s all we can do.”
And it sucked that we had no other options. Because if it turned out that I was the one married to Sam, I honestly wasn’t sure I’d want to divorce her.
CHAPTER 10
LOGAN
I groomed my goatee in the mirror, trying to get my mind off all the shit going on around me. Sam gone. Lauren being pissed off as fuck. Liam finally getting those damn divorce papers confirmed and ready to be sent out. We had all decided that it was best not to know which one of us had married her so that we wouldn’t be tempted to try and talk her out of the divorce. We knew if Liam was the only one who knew, he’d take that secret to his grave.
Fuck. If her parents saw those papers in the mail, they would go ballistic. And that was the reason why I wanted to go see Sam. I wanted to shield her from the hell her parents would rain down on her.
But I knew they were weird about us.
Even though we’d grown up in similar households with similar incomes, her parents were always under the assumption that we’d ruin the
ir little girl. Lauren and Sam had to fight for their friendship during their teenage years, and most of the time Lauren was going over there. Very rarely was Sam allowed to come to our house.
I chuckled in the mirror as I rinsed my razor off.
If they only knew what had happened between us and how much she had enjoyed it. How their little girl they’d tried to control so much over the course of her life fit me perfectly. She fit all of us, really, and it didn’t weird me out as much as I thought it would, sharing her with my brothers. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but if it was the only way that I got to be with her, then so be it.
I let my mind wander back to that hotel room in Vegas. I leaned against the sink as my skin crawled with delight.
My cock throbbed at the memory of our weekend together.
What had happened was hot, and a long fucking time coming. Sam had no reason to feel embarrassed or ashamed of what happened, but I knew she did. Deep down, Sam was independent and stubborn almost to a fault, but there was still a little good girl in there somewhere. No one gets raised by the kind of parents she had without having some sort of issues with letting go.
All I wanted to do was talk to her. To tell her how special I thought she was, how special we all thought she was. I wanted her to know how much we all wanted her and how we all wanted her to be happy. I splashed some water on my face to wash the rest of the shaving soap away. I’d never been serious about girls. One or two girlfriends here and there, but nothing that lasted more than a few months. But this? Sam? This was different. I couldn't deny my feelings for her any longer. She was hot as fuck in Vegas, but now that I’d been with her, there was no going back for me.
I set out to grab a cup of coffee and meet with one of my brothers.
“Levi!”
I clapped my brother on the back before we sat down at our usual coffee joint.
“The fuck gives?” he asked.
“I’m glad you could meet me. How are the projects going today?”
“Same as always. Had to get rid of one of the guys on the site we have at the north end of town.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Came in drunk for the second time in a row. Almost got himself fucking killed.”
“I’m sure Liam will figure it out.”
“He better. That project comes due in a fucking month,” he said. “So why did you want to meet?”
“Have you talked to Lauren at all lately?” I asked.
“No I haven’t.”
“Still focused on Sam?”
“I think we all are. Hell, Logan. I’m ready to drive my happy ass to L.A. and confront her myself. She’s not answering a single one of my fucking text messages.”
“In her defense, you are kind of abrasive,” I said.
“Well I’m sorry, but the situation kind of demands some sort of action,” he said. “She needs her space. That’s why she went up there. She’s choked off in Bakersfield, so she went somewhere to get some fresh air.”
“Los Angeles doesn’t let her breathe,” he said. “It keeps her confined.”
“And what the hell kind of expert are you on that?” I asked.
“I know Sam.”
“We all know Sam,” I said.
“Not like I do.”
“Why? Because the two of you had some fun porch talks as teenagers?”
“What? You jealous she wanted to talk to me and not you?” he asked.
“I’m not here for a fucking pissing contest, Levi. She slept with all of us.”
“And you know damn good and well if she had her choice, she’d choose me.”
“Are you insane? She wants a divorce. From whoever it is she’s married to.”
Levi stood from his chair, and I followed his every move.
“We all know you’ve never had a relationship. You fuck around until you get bored and then move on. Out of all of us, you’d be the worst for her. And that pisses you off,” I said.
Levi stood there, drawing in deep breaths as his hands curled into fists at his sides.
“Give her the space she needs,” I said. “If she’s desperate enough to seek it with her parents, then she’s more than earned it.”
“Fuck that shit. Sam needs someone to help her through whatever is wrong, and I’m not sitting around while she does it alone,” Levi said.
I reached out for my brother, and he jerked his arm, tossing me onto the table. He pinned me down with his forearm and raised his fist into the air as people gasped around us. I’d never seen Levi unhinged like this before, and it was pissing me off. We all knew he had a damn attitude, but this was a bit much.
Sam leaving affected him more than I think even he understood.
I brought my hands up and shoved the asshole off me. He stumbled backward, his ass hitting the chair. I took out my wallet and threw some money down on the table, no longer wanting to be around him.
I’d had enough of his antics to last me a lifetime.
“Get yourself a fucking cup of coffee and chill the hell out,” I said.
I strode back to my car and climbed into my seat. I peeled out of the parking lot, my own rage getting to me. I reached down and scrolled through the contacts on my dashboard, then tapped Lauren’s number.
“Logan?”
“Do you know how Sam’s doing by any chance?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you once you tell me what the hell’s going on.”
“Lauren, come on. We’re all worried about her.”
“And none of you assholes will tell me what the fuck you did in Vegas. So, no. None of you get to know how Sam is until you tell me what’s going on,” she said.
“That isn’t fair. If she’s not telling you, why should we?”
“Because you’re my brothers.”
“Just fucking tell me how she is.”
“No,” she said.
“You’re being a petulant child.”
“And you’re being secretive assholes,” she yelled.
“Lauren, I know you’re pissed. I’m pissed. We’re all pissed. But being pissed doesn't help Sam.”
“No, fixing this does. Which is what you better be doing,” she said.
“Please, Lauren? Tell me how she is.”
“No. If she wanted you to know how she was, she would answer when you called and tell you herself.”
I pulled up to the main office of our construction company and sighed. Fuck. I leaned my head back into my seat and closed my eyes. I called her face up into my mind’s eye.
I missed her.
It made me sick how much I missed her.
“Just tell her we’re thinking of her, okay?” I asked.
“Logan?”
“What, Lauren?”
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Do you care?”
“Of course, I care. You’re my brother. I’m pissed off because you guys won’t tell me what’s going on, but I’ll never not care about you.”
I sighed and shook my head before I pressed my hands into my eyes. I had a headache, and I needed to work. To wrap up this damn week and be done with it. If Liam sent the divorce papers in the mail today like he said he would, that meant she wouldn’t get them until tomorrow or Monday. She’d sign them, send them off, and this entire ordeal would be over with. Sam could come home. We could all talk again about that night. Try to get things back to the way they were. Hope for the best.
And Lauren wouldn’t have to know we all fucked her best friend.
“I’ll talk to you soon,” I said.
“Logan, wait. What’s—”
I leaned forward and hung up the call before I lost my resolve. Then I quickly scrolled through my contacts and pressed Sam’s number. The phone rang, and I silently begged her to pick up. But instead, her voicemail came on instead.
“Hey, Sam. It’s Logan. I wanted you to know I was thinking of you. Worried about you. Wondering how you’re doing. Please call me back when you can. Or text. Or email. Whatever makes you comf
ortable, okay? Just please let me know you’re alright.”
CHAPTER 11
LEVI
“Let me take them,” I said.
“What?” Liam asked.
“The damn divorce papers. You didn’t get them in the mail, did you?”
“No. The lawyer didn’t hand them over until almost four o’clock yesterday.”
“Then let me take them to Sam.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“The fuck you don’t. What the hell is everyone’s problem anyway? Someone has to go after her.”
“Samantha’s not that kind of girl.”
“She’s not a fucking girl, Liam. She’s a woman. And if we’re going to clean this fucking mess up and get shit back on track, she needs those papers sooner rather than later.”
I watched my brother fall silent as he leaned back in his chair.
“What did you do anyway?” I asked.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Liam said.
“You can’t convince me that in less than twenty-four hours you turned those damn papers around. It’s been three weeks since Vegas. You’ve had them for a while, haven’t you?”
Liam pursed his lips, and I shook my head.
“You’ve been lying to us the whole damn time, haven’t you? You’ve had these damn divorce papers how long?”
“A week,” Liam said.
“Seven fucking days! This shit could’ve been resolved that long ago, Liam? Why the fuck did you lie to us?”
“Because I’m not so sure divorce is the right option, okay?” he asked.
He fell silent, and I ripped the papers off his damn desk.
“Don’t open those,” he said.
