The Promise

Chapter Seven

I looked to my side to see the four males that I had felt such a connection to the night before. The one that had spoken was the long-haired blonde male I believed might be named Paul. The grin on his face suggested he was playful, but something lurked in his frame, warning others that he could be cruel.

"I'm Paul!" The blonde-haired man was named Paul. His deep blue eyes gazed at me, showing softness towards someone he had met once. I felt safe in his presence, confident that he wouldn't be cruel towards me.

"I'm Marko!" The curly-haired guy stated, positively bouncing on the balls of his feet. He had bright green eyes and a cropped white tank underneath the jacket. It was very colorful and called out. I was unable to resist my urge and reached out. My fingers were skeletal, and hardly any fat beneath the skin pulled tight over the phalanges. My blue veins stood out prominently even though my skin had sunburned. I touched the sleeve of his jacket, tracing over the embroidered patch.

The same tingling feeling erupted beneath the tips of my fingers. I heard Marko gasp. I almost pulled away, but the jacket was more intriguing than his shock. He didn't pull away. Therefore, I continued to trace the outlines of the embroidered shapes on his coat. On the right sleeve, there was a skull patch that fascinated me.

Marko preened to the rest of the nest while his jacket captured my attention. He was the first person their mate had reached out to, and Marko was enjoying the attention. He felt rather pleased with himself while the other three males glared at the shorter man.

"I'm Dwayne," the velvety voice said from beside me. I was startled out of my reverie and let go of the jacket. I looked up at the man who had spoken. The one who made sure I didn't fall last night was the only brunette out of the group. His eyes made me feel like I would drown in a pool of chocolate.

"I'm David," the platinum blonde smirked at me with a lit cigarette in a gloved hand. I wanted to shiver as his eyes looked over my body. I was sure he was the most unhinged of the group - used to getting his way and commanding the others. David reminded me of a feral cat that hung around the neighborhood in Phoenix.

"You're -" Paul tried to coax me into admitting my name. I tore my eyes away from the leonine man and gazed at Paul again. I didn't want to talk and would rather never speak again, but the pull with these four was tantalizing. They compelled me to want to introduce myself.

"Aria Emerson," I stated, voice soft and gentle as a butterfly wing. No matter how soft I had spoken, even hampered by the noise from the Boardwalk, all four men had heard my name loud and clear. They could hear my name as if I had stood on tiptoe and shouted it directly into their ear canal.

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful lady," Paul shamelessly flirted. He reached out and brushed a lock of auburn hair behind my ear. My ear started to tingle from the skin contact as my cheeks reddened like the setting sun in Africa. I lost track of time and was content to listen to the four converse when Sam appeared.

"ARIA!" He shouted, clutching a comic book in his hand. I immediately focused on my brother while the four men all fell silent. I took in the scowl prominent on his face and the anger within his steps.

I reached out a hand with a burning question in my mind. My brother sniffed, handing over the comic book that was the cause of his ire. My brow creased as I looked down at the comic book; it was something about hunting vampires. Though dark, the men could read the comic's title and chuckled.

"Those comic book freaks are ruining my experience!" Sam shook his head. Apparently, whoever ran the store was upsetting my little brother instead of letting him search for comics like he enjoyed. "They keep giving me this stuff!"

"The Frog brothers?" David questioned, voice calm and colder than Antarctica as he regarded my little brother, who nodded in answer.

"Yeah," Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I don't read horror comics. Those two are really weird. I thought they would leave me alone after I told them to keep it yesterday. But they keep pestering me! They wouldn't let me leave until I took the comic!"

"Interesting," Dwayne said, reaching down with a large hand to take the comic from my hands. He began to flip through it, snorting at some of the illustrations.

"I'm going to go home," Sam announced. "Are you coming?"

"We'll bring her home," Paul winked, promising my brother. He wasn't amused, giving the blonde a scowl.

My brother knew a little about my past relationship in Phoenix. He hadn't liked my ex-boyfriend, and seeing me come home with unexplained bruises solidified his hatred. Sam was protective, but I knew why he was so protective. My baby brother didn't want me to get hurt physically, emotionally, and mentally, like in the past. I tried to pretend I was strong but would shatter like my bones.

"Are you alright?" Sam stressed, gazing at me with his piercing eyes. He searched my face for any discomfort, anything that would tell him that I needed help. I smiled brightly at my brother, nodding at his question. He sighed, waiting a second more. "Fine," Sam mumbled before glaring at the four men before him. "But if any of you hurt my sister, I will kill you."

"We won't hurt your sister, kid," Marko said, voice devoid of any mischievous tone and deadly serious.

"Alright," Sam nodded, still gazing at the guys dressed like punks with narrowed eyes. "But have my sister home before 1 am!" I rolled my eyes at my little brother, not liking how he commanded them. Sam wasn't my father or my mother. "And eat something, Aria."

I gaped at my brother in shock. Sam was taking this overprotective act too far. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, glaring at him. He withered a bit from being under the heat of my glare, but he didn't back down.

"Sam!" I gasped, shocked that my brother would have announced part of my private affairs like that.

"What?" Sam finally stated. "I'm not blind, Aria! You're getting worse since your stay -"

I glared at him, and he stopped talking. "You journal all the food that you eat, Aria. If you keep this up, Mom will be burying you at the end of the year."

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as pain filled my chest. Instead of responding to my brother, I fled and held my bag to my chest. In my malnourished state, I had a hard time running for an extended period. Therefore, I didn't manage to get far away, but it was enough to be out of sight of my dweeb brother. I managed to slip into the crowd, their bodies enough protection to mask anyone trying to track me down.

I continued to walk down the crowded Boardwalk until the crowd thinned; finally, it was only me on this part. My legs were shaking from the exercise, and my side hurt. I looked between the bench and the sand before sinking onto the soft, white sand by the Boardwalk.

A light pole was above my seat; therefore, I had enough light to read. I pulled out Anna Karenina and continued reading the forbidden love story. Soon, I lost myself in the pages of Russian literature.

"Princess," I heard a voice say, pulling me from the pages of Russian literature. When I looked up, I saw the four men I felt that weird pull towards lounging around me. I felt safe enough to let my guard down and enjoy the novel. I subconsciously mused that perhaps I had felt safe because I could feel their presence. "It's almost 1 am."

"What?" I licked my dry lips at Dwayne's declaration. I scrambled, panicking that I wouldn't make it home on time. I barely remembered to stick the old ribbon between the pages of Anna Karenina before shoving it deep inside my messenger bag.

"Let's get you home," David's calm voice stated. He held a hand to me, which I looked at momentarily. Then I accepted his help, putting my tiny hand within his as David pulled me to my feet. David looked down at our hands, noting the difference with a smirk, before entwining our fingers together.

I walked with them down the Boardwalk, feeling safe as the fog enveloped the once lively Boardwalk. The crowds were starting to disburse as shops closed. The Boardwalk would be closing soon, around 3 am. We walked towards their four motorcycles, and I stopped dead. I was hesitant. Sensing my hesitation, Marko spoke up.

"We did promise your brother to get you home by 1 am," Marko's eyebrow rose in a silent question. He gave me a sly grin as if this was an excuse to get me onto one of their motorcycles. After a moment of debate, I finally nodded, conceding my defeat.