“You did?”
“This is our home now, honey,” said Mom. “Of course, you have a room here.”
I understood why they were pressing so hard for me to live here. Mom wanted me to have a family after she was gone, but there was no need to take things this far. I was already old enough to look after myself.
The sound of scraping chair legs made me look up.
Noah, Caleb, and Corey were on their feet, looking at me expectantly. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to go with them. At least, we could talk without our parents knowing what we did last night.
Putting my fork down, I got up as well.
They walked out of the dining room without a word. I hurried to follow them, glad to give some privacy to Mom and Brian. She was smiling like I’d never seen her smile before. She was truly happy being here with Brian.
Noah, Caleb, and Corey led me down a few hallways and then up a grand winding staircase. With no one around, I finally felt like we could talk.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
Caleb turned around, his green eyes gleaming darkly. “To your room, of course.”
“Great idea,” I said with a nod. “We all need to talk.”
He gave me a strange look and took the steps two at a time to catch up with his brothers.
Their aloofness was starting to make me uncomfortable. I wish they’d go back to flirting and joking with me.
They took me down an empty hallway on the second floor. At the far end, they opened the door to a room and walked inside.
Entering after them, I was stunned at the sight of a beautiful room that was at least four times bigger than my entire apartment.
The bed with creamy lavender duvets looked like a dream. All the furniture was painted beige to give a calm, soothing surrounding to the place. The walls and curtains were shades of pastel blue. I could see my mom’s touch in every corner.
“Can we talk now?” I asked in a low voice.
“What’s there to talk about?” Noah asked in a grim tone. “You’ve been fucking around us for a reason.”
“Excuse me?”
Corey chuckled. “She talks like a real princess.”
“But in reality, she’s nothing but a lying, backstabbing whore,” Caleb finished for him.
Their cold tones were like sharp slaps to my face. “What are you talking about? This was as shocking for me as it was for you guys. I never knew Brian was your father.”
“You really want us to believe that?” Noah asked. The intensity in his steel-gray eyes sent a thrill of danger through me. “You seriously never googled me and my family?”
“Why would I google you and your family?” I asked. “We became friends just last week.”
He scoffed. “Stop lying. The only reason you helped Corey that night was because you knew who he was.”
“Everyone on campus knows who you three are!” I shouted as my frustration grew.
Noah shook his head. “You’ve known our father for a long time, haven’t you?”
“Yeah. He’s been dating my mom for over eight years now. Of course, I’ve known him.” I took a step toward Noah. “But believe me. I didn’t know he was your dad.”
“He never told you about his sons?”
“He said he had three sons who went to the same school as me,” I said. “When he’s with us, he rarely talks about his private home life. Mom told me not to pry and I never did.”