Shackled Eagle

RAINEY

People often say that it’s the small things that count. I’m starting to believe that’s true.

Sitting here at the dinner table with Ansel’s family, I’m hit with a wave of realization. I’ve been missing out on this. The laughter, the unity, the bond… It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.

Mr. Austin is regaling the table with a hilarious story about Aiden, and everyone is laughing. It’s real, genuine laughter.

Ansel’s twin brothers are nineteen and go to a university just a few miles away. Their parents couldn’t afford to send them to one of those fancy, prestigious schools everyone talks about.

The twins are identical, and it’s hard to tell them apart. But Aiden has a beauty mark near his nose, and Arden doesn’t. That’s one way to tell them apart.

Alex went to Crossview High School, the same school Ansel started at. But Ansel only spent a term there before he got a scholarship to Crosshill High because of his excellent grades.

They might not be a high-class family, but the bond they share is priceless.

Ansel’s laughing at his dad’s story. He glances my way and notices my distant look. He reaches under the table to touch my arm.

“You okay?” he whispers.

I nod, realizing I’d been lost in thought for longer than I’d intended. I go back to eating the delicious meal Melissa made.

Ansel was right: she’s an amazing cook. I can’t remember the last time I had something this good.

I like being here with Ansel’s family. It’s not one of those awkward dinners where the parents grill you about your future plans.

It’s comfortable, like they’ve known you forever and don’t need to ask a bunch of questions.

“Wow, you’re almost done with your food, Rain. Would you like some more?” Melissa asks, smiling warmly.

“Uh, yeah… Thank you.”

She takes my plate and heads to the kitchen.

“Where’s Alaric? He should be home by now,” Mr. Austin says, checking his watch.

~Alaric? I hear that name a lot.~

Arden shrugs, stuffing his mouth with vegetables. “Probably out with some girl,” he mumbles.

“Dude.” Alex gives his brother a look. “You better not say that around Sam.”

“Yeah, watch your mouth, Arden,” Ansel agrees, looking at his brother who just frowns.

“But it’s true. Even Sam knows it. The whole neighborhood does.”

The front door opens, and heavy footsteps come in before the door slams shut.

“Speak of the devil,” Alex chuckles.

The footsteps get closer, and I look up to see a guy walking in. He’s holding a toolbox and has a leather jacket slung over his shoulder.

My jaw almost drops when I see that he looks a lot like Ansel and his brothers, but mostly Mr. Austin.

He’s tall and muscular, with a bit of stubble on his face. It’s not gross like Jeff’s.

He’s wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans, all covered in grease. He must work as a mechanic or something.

“That’s my older brother, Alaric,” Ansel tells me. “He’s twenty-four.”

“Alaric, meet Ansel’s friend, Rainey,” Mr. Austin introduces.

“Oh, hi. Nice to meet you. It’s about time Ansel brought a girl home,” he chuckles, extending his hand to me.

I blush at his comment and reach out to shake his hand, but he quickly wipes it on his shirt. “Don’t want to get grease all over you.”

I smile as he takes my hand and gives it a light shake. His hand is rough and calloused. He must do a lot of hard work.

I notice the tattoo on the inside of his arm. It’s the same design I saw at the tattoo shop the other day: a snake wrapped around the number five.

I squint, my curiosity piqued, but when he pulls his hand back, the tattoo is hidden again, and I have to look away.

He leaves the room just as Melissa comes back with my plate. She sets it in front of me and looks at her disappearing son. “Alaric! Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m going to take a shower!” he calls back. His footsteps fade as he goes upstairs, and his mother frowns.

“He hardly ever eats dinner,” she complains.

“Well, more for me.” Arden grins, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

The front door opens and closes again. A moment later, Sam walks into the dining room, holding a little boy who I guess is the Anthony she mentioned earlier.

I’m surprised to see her, but she did say she was going to stop by tonight at the café.

“Oh, Sam, you’re here.” Melissa smiles, adding more vegetables to her husband’s plate.

“Good evening, everyone.” Sam smiles back.

My mind immediately goes back to my worries from earlier. Is she Ansel’s girlfriend? Is the kid theirs?

Sam puts the little boy down, and he runs over to Ansel, who picks him up and sets him on his lap.

The sight doesn’t ease my worries. It just makes them worse.

“Sam, would you like some dinner?” Melissa asks.

“No, I’m good. I just ate. Thanks, Melissa.” She grins at her, then her gaze sweeps the room, landing on me. Her face brightens. “Oh! Rainey! Hi.”

I offer a half-smile. “Hi…”

“Oh, you two have met?” Mr. Austin inquires, dabbing his lips with a napkin as he glances between us.

“Yeah, we bumped into each other today at Ansel’s job. Speaking of, where’s Alaric?” Sam’s brow furrows as she steps back, calling up the stairs. “Alaric!”

“He’s in the shower,” Aiden informs her, lifting his glass to his lips.

“I hear my little guy down here!” Alaric’s voice echoes off the walls as he bounds down the stairs.

“Daddy’s here,” Ansel announces, ruffling Anthony’s hair.

~Daddy’s here?~

He lets Anthony slide off his lap, and the little boy races over to Alaric, who effortlessly scoops him up into his arms, planting a kiss on his head.

“Hey, big guy. Whoa, you’re getting heavy. Has he had dinner, Sam?”

“Yeah, he ate, babe,” she replies, moving toward Alaric and planting a kiss on his lips.

~Oh, okay.~

So Sam and Alaric are together, and that’s their son? I can’t help the wave of relief that washes over me. Now I feel terrible for assuming she was Ansel’s girlfriend.

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day, Alaric, and you didn’t answer.” Sam crosses her arms, tilting her head to the side as she glares at him.

Alex and Ansel exchange glances, and I notice the guilty look on Aiden’s face as he sips his juice.

“Uh, I’ve been busy,” Alaric responds. “I’m going to take a shower. Are you coming up?”

“Yeah.” Sam looks a bit downcast but manages a smile nonetheless.

I remember the earlier conversation among the boys about Alaric being with another girl and that Arden shouldn’t mention it in front of Sam. Is he cheating on her?

“I’ll be back, Ma. Cover my food up,” Alaric tells his mother before he heads off with his son and girlfriend toward the stairs.

“Oh shit.” Arden, who has just reentered the room, freezes, holding a plate piled with food. “Did he just say cover his food up? Cause I just emptied the pot.”

Melissa shoots her son a glare, and he just shrugs, heading toward his seat, but not before he starts eating.

Alex grimaces at his brother. “And you say you’re the sane one.”

I try to suppress a laugh as Melissa turns her attention back to me. She smiles. “Rain, we’re a bit short on rooms in this house, but you can sleep with—”

Aiden interrupts his mother. “She can just sleep with me. I don’t mind.”

“No, she will not be sleeping with you,” Arden counters. “She can sleep with me. I think I can control myself better than you can, Aiden.”

Ansel grins, shaking his head in disbelief at his brothers. “What makes you think I’ll let my guest sleep with any of you?”

“Tell them, Ansel.” Alex grins, shifting his gaze to me and cheekily raising his eyebrows. It’s not hard to guess what he’s thinking.

“She won’t be sleeping with either Aiden or Arden,” Mr. Austin declares.

“Dad, why? Why would you do this to me?” Aiden whines dramatically.

“Because you can’t control yourself, Aiden,” Alex chimes in, rolling his eyes.

“I can.”

“No, you can’t. Dude, you watch porn for breakfast. There’s no way you can convince me that you’re not horny all the time.”

“Alex, you’ll sleep in the twins’ room tonight, and Rain, you can sleep in Ansel’s room,” Melissa decides.

My cheeks flush at the statement. The thought of sharing a room with Ansel is nerve-wracking.

Alex grins, draping his arm over his chair and glancing between Ansel and me. “I don’t have a problem with those arrangements… Not at all.”

***

By the time we finish dinner, the rain has started pouring down heavily on the rooftops of the house.

Ansel’s dad asked for his help with fixing a TV in his parents’ room, and I offered to help Melissa clear the table.

I wanted to wash the dishes as a thank-you for letting me stay the night, but she insists I go upstairs and get some rest.

After a bit of persuasion, I decide to head up to Ansel’s room and call it a night.

I am pretty worn out after the day’s events, including the confrontation with Olivia and Lisa in the girls’ restroom and Jeff’s embarrassing behavior at the café. I could use some sleep.

Looking up and down the narrow hallway, I realize that I don’t know which door is his. I take a chance and knock on one, and the door swings open to reveal Alaric, Ansel’s older brother.

He’s finally showered and is now dressed in a sleeveless tank top and athletic shorts. Now that he’s clean, he looks even more like Ansel.

“Wrong room,” he says simply.

“Oh, sorry.” I offer an awkward smile and start to move away, when Sam appears over his shoulder. “Is that Rainey?”

Alaric steps aside, giving his girlfriend room, and I turn back around to meet her gaze.

“Hey, is everything okay?” she asks, tying the strings of her burgundy robe.

I nod, offering a small smile. “Yeah, I just got lost.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, I figured that much. What I meant though was if everything’s okay after what happened today…with your stepdad.”

“Oh…” I shift uncomfortably. “Yeah… I’m okay.”

She grins, a real, genuine smile, and I can tell she’s eager to hear more. But I’ve always struggled with opening up to people, so an awkward silence stretches out between us.

“So, um, do you have something to sleep in?”

I shake my head. “No, I was just going to sleep in my tank top.”

She grins again. “Oh, but it gets so cold at night. You could catch a chill. Okay, wait here.”

She dashes inside, then reappears in no time with a folded set of clothes in her hand. “Here. I’m not sure about your size, but I think this will work.”

I smile, taking it from her. “Thank you.”

“And Ansel’s room is two doors down from this one. Try not to knock on the twins’ door. You won’t make it out alive.”

I chuckle. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She laughs. “Okay. Goodnight, Rain.”

“Goodnight, and thanks.”

“Sure.” She nods again, waiting for me to turn away before she closes the door.

***

I knock on Ansel’s door, hoping he’s back from helping his dad with the TV. When there’s no answer, I realize he’s not in.

Hesitantly, I wrap my fingers around the doorknob and push the door open. Just as I thought, the room is empty.

I step inside, feeling a bit uneasy. I’ve never been comfortable invading other people’s space when they’re not around.

But he did say I could sleep here, so it’s okay, right?

I flip on the light, gently closing the door behind me. The familiar scent of him fills the room, pleasing my senses.

Ansel’s room is a stark contrast to mine. It’s not a big space, but it feels cozy and inviting.

The room is simple, with a closet on the left, a bedside table on the right, and a large, fluffy rug in the center of the room.

There are two beds. One must be Alex’s, since they share the room.

I set my bag down and decide to change.

The rain beats against the small window across from where I stand, and a tree casts its shadow on the glass, its branches scraping against it rhythmically.

I shiver as the cold night air seeps in through the cracks as I pull off my dress shirt.

Feeling the chill, I jerk my legs as I quickly grab the slim zipper at the back of my skirt and pull it down.

After several seconds of struggling, cursing under my breath, I finally manage to yank it down. I roll my eyes as I slip off the uncomfortable fabric, hissing when my toe gets caught in the hem.

Now only in my bra and underwear, I reach for the clothes I was given, when the door to the room suddenly swings open.

I snap my head in its direction, my eyes widening in surprise as they meet Ansel’s.

He freezes, and I blink, rooted to the spot as if time has stopped.

His eyes rake over the large tattoo of an eagle with shackled feet on my back, before he swallows hard and quickly turns his back to me.

“I’m sorry. I should have knocked. I didn’t know you were in here.”

~Oh, God.~

Quickly, I grab the shirt Sam gave me from the bed and pull it over my head, my cheeks burning.

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have been in your room… I—I should have waited until you got back.” I quickly grab the shorts from the bed, slipping them on while nearly tripping over my own feet.

“No, it’s not okay. I shouldn’t have just walked in. I’m too used to living in a house full of guys. I didn’t see anything though…if that makes you feel better.”

He runs his hand through his hair, puffing out his cheeks.

No, it makes me feel worse, because I know he ~did~ see something. He saw my bra, he saw my underwear, and who knows what else he caught a glimpse of.

He’s just trying to make me feel less embarrassed, but it’s not working.

“I—I’m dressed now.”

He seems hesitant, despite my announcement. “Can I turn around?”

“Yeah.”

He turns around. His face is noticeably red. His eyes drop to my legs for a brief second. The shorts reveal a fair amount of skin.

I cross one leg over the other, pulling the T-shirt down further in an attempt to cover up more.

“I’m sorry,” he says, scratching his forehead awkwardly.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I came in without asking.”

“No, you did have permission. I just should have knocked.”

He gives me an apologetic smile, his gaze lingering on me. His eyes are so captivating that I have to look away. Wanting to change the subject, I reach for my skirt on the floor.

“I—uh, I don’t know which bed to sleep on.”

“Whichever one you want.” He smiles, stepping aside. “But if I were you, I’d choose my bed. Alex brings a girl over quite often.”

Understanding what he means, I nod. “Oh,” I chuckle.

“Yeah, he’s not exactly a saint,” Ansel laughs. “I’m going to take a shower. You can get settled in.”

I smile. “Yeah, thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Don’t mention it, Rain.”

He smiles before he walks to a door I hadn’t noticed on the left side of the room. When he opens it, I catch a glimpse of a bathroom over his shoulder before he closes it behind him.

Wow, that door could have saved me a lot of embarrassment.