Baby Project

Aireya

My eyes almost can’t believe what I’m seeing. Tears stain my cheeks as I watch his lips meet hers. Disbelief clogs my throat making it hard to breathe. For a moment they separate to share a laugh before once again sharing a kiss. The blade of a dagger I didn’t see coming pierces my back right in-between my shoulder blades. My heart feels like it’s being ripped out straight from my chest as I can’t help but to stare. I feel numb, stupid and cold.

“Just say the word Aireya and I’ll ensure he knows how pathetic he really is.” growls my twin brother. He sounds like he’s only saying that to be generous. In reality he’d do it with or without my say so. He’s never really liked him to begin with. Neither of my brothers did. I should’ve listened to them. A small smile starts to take over my features as I turn and bury my face in his chest. He wraps his arms around my waist and holds on tight. I have no complaints. It’s a hug that I desperately need as his care sends waves of warmth back into me. “You deserve so much better than that coward, Pretty girl.” he whispers, the pet name I’ve had my whole life warming me in a way I hadn’t expected. I nodded my head in agreement refusing to let him go for a moment more. When he lets go the cold will return and I’m not quite ready for that. Neither am I ready to let go of the type of peace only my brothers bring me.

Cassian Cyrus is a big brother in every sense of the word. He’d been trained for it since before he was born according to our eldest brother. He’s about five minutes older and he takes it seriously. He’s a little over six feet tall and built like the quarterback he is. He keeps his hair done in fresh braids. His skin is kissed by the gods and somehow always has this glow to it. He’s also captain of the swim team and one of the most popular boys in school. Our mother calls him the young prince of the castle and he acts like it. He’s kind and protective. Sweet and vicious. He’d do anything to protect me even if it meant damaging his own reputation. His heart is bigger than it should be, nearly double a normal size and he has no problem showing it. If you’re worth it that is. If you’re not, that heart turns into a black hole ready to destroy everything. It was his idea to have this party tonight. He’d used me to convince Ambrose, our brother, to cover for us. Every year our birthday falls about a week after school starts. This year we turned eighteen and he decided to fight back. I had planned for dinner with some friends, but ended up canceling it for the party. I told them I was leaving with our parents instead. I wanted to surprise them with the new present I’d received earlier today. Never did I expect to find the sight that broke me. My boyfriend and my supposed bully.

“I just want to forget that he ever existed, Cas.” I cried, my tears starting to slow the longer my brother hugged me.

“I can make him disappear like he never existed to begin with, completely erased, just for you Reya.” he teased and dammit I actually laughed. “I know Ambrose would for sure have a couple of ideas on how to succeed at it.”

“No need to go that far Cassian. I just want to go to my room and be alone. Not have to worry about if and when my brothers will end up in jail.” I laughed. “Happy birthday brother.” He sighed before reluctantly letting me go. He didn’t like that I was hurting and for that I loved him more.

“Goodnight sister and happy birthday to you too.” he wanted to say more, but chose not to fight it. It was something I was grateful for. I didn’t want to waste anymore time thinking about how my now ex-boyfriend was cheating on me with my supposed bully at my house, during my party, on my birthday right under my nose. All I wanted was to be alone and not let the drama ruin my brother’s half of the party. I knew he’d tell Ambrose before the night was over and they’d spend the rest of the weekend making me feel better. For now, I just wanted to sulk a little. Or find a way to ignore it altogether.

Trying to force my way through the crowd, and getting some nasty remarks thrown at me, I finally made it to the stairs. I wasn’t as popular as my brother, but I wasn’t quite bottom of the barrel either. I had to hold myself back from sprinting up them. I was sure her little band of cronies knew I’d found out from the smirks they’d thrown at me. I don’t know how they’d even gotten in here. Still my stomach felt knotted knowing everyone would know by the morning. What good was being eighteen, if the first night was nothing more than drama and heartache? It wasn’t fair for me to be the one that was hurting when I should’ve been happy and partying. Everything I had wanted and planned was now ruined and to make it worse, he’s believing that he’s getting away with it. Neither of them know that I’m here just yet. I didn’t want to confront him. That would be more than it’s worth. I’d send the text in the morning ending this bullshit of a relationship for good. Shaking away the thoughts, I opened the door to my room and almost screamed.

Dylan Walter was in my room. THE Dylan Walter. The feared Dylan Walter.

“No one’s supposed to be up here. Not even you.” I say, surprised at both finding my voice so quickly and the fact that it had come out so strong and steady. I didn’t sound anywhere near as broken as I felt and for that I was proud.

“I didn’t mean to intrude.” he says coolly with a shrug. His smooth voice rubs across me like ice cold water. It’s a shock to the system that I apparently need. I feel more alert now. “I was just looking for the bathroom. Ended up opening the door to this one instead and I have to say- I became rather intrigued.” There’s a smirk on his face, but I can’t tell if he’s fucking with me or being genuine. What could have possibly intrigued him enough to actually enter my room?

“Flattery will get you nowhere Mr. Walter.” the voice that hits my ears doesn’t even sound like mine. It’s lighter in a way. Almost flirtier. It sounds like I’m interested in the very guy that I should be running away from. I don’t know if it’s the few drinks I’ve had or the hurt that’s making me want a rebound. From what I’ve heard, if I wanted one, Dylan would be a good choice. He’s used to it and it never lasts longer than a single night. I’ve heard he’s careful and considerate during the entire thing. He cares, at least for that single moment. It’s a win-win situation. For me at least. He’s supposed to be dangerous though, but the boy looking at me right now has a look that makes me want to melt on the spot. If the rumors are true, I should want to run. If those rumors are true, I should stretch before I even attempt to try to seduce him.

“Well it’s a good thing that I’m not trying to flatter you then.” he laughs. For a moment it seems like it takes over his whole body. Part of me wanted to join in on the joy, but a much bigger part is confused over the joke. He takes a moment to straighten up before that smirk is back on his face directed straight at me. “I am, however, flattering your art. All of it. Did you paint this?” he asks and my heart stops as he points towards the barely finished family portrait I’m working on. I had the bright idea, last minute, to paint silly faces on both my brothers. No one was supposed to see it. No one was supposed to read the poems sitting on my desk either.

“They deserve it.” I shrug, my own laugh starting to bubble up in my throat.

“I’ve met them both. I believe it.” he teases. The room stays silent for a moment and I take the time to weigh my options here. If I was thinking about revenge only, then having sex with him would be pointless. Thankfully that’s not the case. With or without a boyfriend, I don’t want to be a virgin anymore. Everyone talks about cherishing it and I just want to get it over with. I’m not really religious and it doesn’t hold importance to me. To me it’s just another part of life and getting older. However, I have always wanted it to be with someone that I cared about. Now I know that is foolish. “Have you been crying?” he asks, shocking me as my attention focused on him again. “It’s your party, you can cry if you want to.” he says and now it’s my turn for the bubble of laughter to explode from me. It scares me for a moment. It was something so simple, so stupid and yet it helped to take away the bit of pain my brother hadn’t managed to get rid of. Before I know it, he’s standing in front of me wiping away the tears I hadn’t realized finally slipped out. “Pretty girls shouldn’t cry. Especially not on their birthday.” he whispers. I shudder at the feel of heat emanating from him.

Suddenly my mind is made up for me and without thinking I lunge myself at him until my lips press firmly against his. His arms wrap around my waist pulling me closer before I can regret it. It all seems to blur together as he leads us towards the bed, our clothes flying in opposite directions.

His hands caressed me, rubbing parts of my body that I didn’t even know could make me moan. His mouth against my neck made my eyes roll into the back of my head. My nails dug into the skin atop his muscles as I bit my tongue so the entire party wouldn’t hear us. There was still a bit of pain, but he was careful. He took it slow so that he wouldn’t hurt me. He made sure that I was okay with everything he was doing. He hit spots that I didn’t even know existed. He made me feel beautiful. Sexy even.

When we were done, he wrapped his arms around me, tucking me into him tightly. I wanted to ask questions. The simple action went against all the rumors I'd heard about him. However, I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth let alone lift my head. A yawn overtook me as he pulled me close to him again and my eyelids became heavy. I drifted off into dreamland before I even knew it.

The sound of my alarm woke me. I stretched until my aching joints popped. Still groggy, I realized that I was actually alone. The side of the bed he’d been sleeping on felt cold and empty like he’d been gone for a while. The thought saddened me a little, but I wasn’t surprised. He’d already done more than I expected him to. He’d held me until I’d fallen asleep and that was more than I could ask for. He made my first time special. He treated taking my virginity like it was a moment he actually cared about.

My body felt sore. Parts of me ached that I didn’t even know could ache. All I wanted was a nice hot bubble bath to rid me of how gross and sticky I felt, but all I could think about was last night. Finding Jason cheating on me with Sabrina really should have hurt more than it did, but it didn’t. Our two year relationship was over when he started pressuring me for sex. I didn’t care about my virginity the way most girls did, but that didn’t mean I was going to allow anyone to force me to do something I hadn’t been ready for. I was sixteen at the time. We had only been going out for about three months when it first started.

After he had a conversation with Ambrose, the demands stopped and he became what I thought was the perfect boyfriend. That was until about four months ago when he told me we should talk once he got back from his summer long trip. He got back the day of my birthday and kissing Sabrina was the first time I saw him. I wanted to be upset, but technically I’d cheated also. I’d given to someone else what he’d wanted all along and somehow that made me feel vindicated. It gave me the courage to break away from what was already dead. Picking up my phone, I unlocked only to see a host of messages lighting up my screen. Each one was from someone trying to tell me about what happened.

Each one contained a picture of Jason with Sabrina and laughing emojis. Each one wanted to try to break me. They thought I was lucky to have him, but they were wrong. He was lucky to have me. Dating me opened doors for his parents they never would’ve been able to walk through otherwise. Dating me came with a popularity boost simply because of ties to my brother. Too bad Cassian didn’t like him. He wanted Sabrina and that was fine, but that didn’t mean I was going to break because he had chosen her. Of course seeing sipping them the moment I became tipsy had hurt, but it didn't anymore. Shaking my head, I pulled up his name and attached one of the many pictures that had been sent to me. Quickly I added ‘it’s over’ and press send. With that done, I grabbed my robe and headed towards the bathroom for a much needed bath.