Secrets of Us: A Forbidden Love Romance
I Knew This Was Going to Happen
I wake up to darkness. My head pounds and I frown, groaning as I look down at my clothes.
I’m uncomfortable, sweating and I don’t even know what time it is. These types of naps are the worst. I sit up, dropping my head into my hands. It feels heavy, and it pulses painfully.
And just like that, all the memories of earlier today come rushing in breathe out and hold in my cry. I will not cry. Not today, not right now.
I push the blankets off and stand up slowly, rubbing my face.
It’s night. The house is too quiet. I grab my phone, seeing the missed calls from Nikki, and then my eyes widen at the time, 8pm.
Shit.
I pull on an oversized hoodie from the floor and make my way downstairs. My socked feet barely make a sound against the hardwood, but the second I step into the living room, three heads snap up.
They’re sitting there like they’ve been waiting hours, and maybe they have been. Jake’s already getting up, his eyes scanning me like he’s trying to make sure I’m still in one piece. Aiden moves to the edge of the couch, his jaw tight, but his hand opens like he’s ready to catch me if I fall.
Zaid’s sitting back, but his knee bounces and his hands flex on his thighs. He’s the first to stand, steps quick and desperate. “Love.”
I stay where I am, not approaching them.
“How are you feeling?” Zaid whispers.
“We checked on you. You were sleeping every time. We didn’t wanna wake you,” Aiden adds, also standing.
Jake stands, reaching for me.
I press my lips together, and for a second, I try to hold it in. I try to stay standing. But the second Jake reaches for my hand, I crack. My throat tightens, and before I know it, I’m falling.
Onto the couch, into their arms.
The tears come hot and hard. My breath shudders out of me, and they all shift in, surrounding me without hesitation. I don’t know whose arms are where; I only feel the weight and warmth of them holding onto me.
“I knew it. I knew this was gonna happen,” I choke out, burying my face in Jake’s chest.
“What, baby?” Aiden asks, his fingers threading through my hair.
“I want this. I want us. But I didn’t want to be the middle of everything. I didn’t want everyone looking at me like, like I’m something to talk about.”
Jake tenses beneath me and Zaid cusses from beside me,
I pull back just enough to look at them, my chest heaving. “In Florida, I was the girl who lost her dad and brother. And now I’m gonna be the girl with three boyfriends. People are gonna stare. They’re gonna make things up about me.”
“Baby,” Jakes whispers, his arms tight around my waist.
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“What we’re doing isn’t normal, It’s not. But I just want to feel normal.”
Zaid’s jaw clenches, and he looks like he’s swallowing glass. Jake’s face softens, but his eyes flash. Aiden takes my hand in both of his, holding it like it’s something breakable.
“What do you need from us? Do you want to end this?” Aiden
asks ietly.
I shake my head, trying to breathe, but it’s all tight, like I’m wearing corset I can’t unlace. “No! Never. But I don’t want to go back to school. I can’t. I can’t do it.”
Jake doesn’t even hesitate. “Okay. I’ll talk to the school. We’ll get you switched to homeschooling with Zaid.”
I exhale, shaky, but it feels like I can breathe for the first time all day.
“Really?” I ask, my voice so small it sounds wrong.
“Really,” Jake says, giving my hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”
Aiden leans in and presses his forehead to mine. “We got you, baby.”
Zaid clears his throat, and it’s almost like he’s struggling to keep up in the conversation. “We made dinner, if you’re hungry.”
I pull back just enough to scrunch my nose. “Not really. I just… I think I wanna be alone for a little while.”
Zaid nods, like he expected that. “Okay”
I stand slowly, my limbs heavy but a little less weighed down than before. I head to the kitchen and grab a bag of chips out of the pantry, and then I’m heading back upstairs.
No one stops me. No one hovers.
I close my door softly behind me, sink onto my bed, and turn on some random movie I won’t remember later. I eat two chips. Maybe three. Then I curl up under the blankets again and watch until my eyes blur. Sleep finds me sometime after midnight.
The next day is the same.
I sleep. Then sleep some more. It’s late afternoon when I finally drag myself out of bed and into the shower. The water is hot, and I stand there longer than I should. I’m pruning by the time I get out.
I’m toweling my hair dry when there’s a knock at my door.
“Alina?” Jake’s voice comes through softly.
My stomach does a nasty little somersault inside me.
sorts.
I don’t want to talk or touch. Or have anyone touch me, I’m feeling out of
“Nikki’s here. She wants to see you. Do you want her to come up?”
I sigh with relief. “Yes, please.”
A minute later, Nikki’s coming up the stairs. She knocks, but only once, before she opens the door. She’s got a worried look on her
face.
“Hey,” she says, stepping inside. “You okay?”
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I Knew This Was Going to Happen
I sit on my bed and look at her, I think about lying. About saying yes
But I don’t.
“I don’t know,” I say instead.
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