Secret Royalty

Chapter Six

This is an unedited chapter, watch out! I'll come back later to clean it up. Hope you like it!

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After we finished his portion of the meal, we sat comfily on the couch, my head resting on his stomach, his feet resting on the coffee table. “What now?” he asked, his voice vibrating in his stomach.

The simple movements of his voice made me break into laughter. My eyes scanned the room and fell on the cabinets by my cheap television. I breathed in and out, hoping to calm my giggles. “We could play a board-” I began, but was cut off by my fragile, yellow front door being kicked open from a combat boot.

Immediately, I sat up straight. “Pierce!” I cried as she marched in, sitting down in my armchair. I quickly turned around and whispered through my teeth, “This is why we lock our doors, Jed, so crazy orange-heads can’t break in.” My socked-covered feet fell onto the ground before I trudged and locked the door, preventing any neighbor cats or crazy best friends from coming in.

I shuffled over to Pierce and squeezed into the chair with her, automatically forgiving the fact that she almost broke my brittle door. “Dean?” I questioned, causing an abrupt nod from her head. “Again?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up. Pierce nodded once more and her orange bangs fell into her eyes. I brushed them back behind her ear.

“I will beat that idiot,” babbled Jed, his head shaking from side to side. I turned to look at him, my face dripped with a signal telling him that he needs to shut up or else he will have a black eye. I pulled my knees tighter to my torso to make room for Pierce and watched her intently.

Her arms crossed over her chest, her lips set in a deadly line. Even though I’d grown accustomed to her “silent” moods, it still bothered me. “Just talk,” I whispered, hoping that she would speak.

She sighed and continued her staring contest with the wall separating my kitchen from living room. “He’s being a dick,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Care to explain more?” I asked. I sensed Jed’s eyes glued to me but shrugged away the thought.

“He broke up with me again,” she said, her arms digging tighter into her chest.

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding and closed my eyes, hoping to calm myself. “Why don’t you just break up with him for good? I think we all are tired of this on and off thing,” I suggested, hoping to help her. I had always hated seeing her like that.

She sniffled and I could tell she was holding back her tears. She never cried. The last time I had seen her cry was the day she found me, trembling on the kitchen floor, abandoned from my own parents. I bit my lip in thought. “I think I need to,” she slurred, her head bobbing in a nod.

I ran my hands through her chin-length hair and studied her face. A tear trickled down her cheek. Seeing that sight brought all my memories back. Flashing across my eyes, I saw my mother and father smiling back at me when I thought we were a family, Sam holding my hand as we walked through the neighborhood, and my entire fake childhood. I shuddered inwardly, enduring not to cry in front of Pierce, which would only make things worse.

I quickly hopped off the couch and stumbled up the stairs to my room as Jed took my place next to Pierce. I crawled under my favorite furry blanket and began quivering; I had always hated that. Whenever I let the wicked thoughts cross my mind, I always began to do odd things, and shaking was at the top of the list.

Around ten minutes passed before Jed came up to find me. “She’s better now, you know,” he hummed, “she’s watching television.” I bit my lip and stayed in my black hiding space.

He pulled up the corner of my blanket and light flooded in. I swiftly crept into his lap, resting my chin on his shoulder. His fingertips traced along my spine. “We are such a broken family,” he stated. I didn’t cry then, when he talked about families, for I promised myself I wouldn’t. “Sorry,” he muttered, “I forgot.”

I took deep breaths, my nose filling with the scent of Jed’s cologne. “It’s fine,” I mumbled into his shoulder as my arms wrapped around his neck.

“Aren’t we clingy today?” he questioned, his voice filled with a chuckle. I closed my eyes and focused on the movements of his fingers along my back.

He kissed my hair lightly. Promptly, I disregarded his question. “How do you stand being with two girls,” I probed, “two broken girls and not go insane?”

He thought for a moment, almost troubled to answer. “I have a sister, so I am used to it,” he replied, letting out a loose breath.

“Why don’t you ever talk about your family? I’ve told you about mine,” my voice was filled with curiosity; my eyes were stretched out wide. I moved my head so I could look at him.

His mouth twisted in frustration and he bit his lip. For the first time in a month, I thought of him as more than just a friend, but I shoved the thought aside. “Because it’s complicated. I don’t want to bring you into it,” he mumbled almost inaudible.

I studied him gingerly. “Something bad happened?" I asked as his shoulder shrugged.

“You could say that,” he spoke, his lips pushing into each other, “but not exactly.”

I knew from then on he didn’t want to tell me, so I allowed the conversation to die. My mind focused on his shallow breathes while his fingers trailed the length of my back.

It was a few moments later when he spoke again. “Want to go downstairs? I bet Pierce feels lonely,” he grinned as I pulled away.

My head nodded. Jed shifted off the bed, my body still cradled in his arms, and walked slowly downstairs. As he sauntered down, I could see Pierce watching a cartoon show and a smile played on my lips. Jed set me down on the couch, next to Pierce, where he quickly joined us.

I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her shoulder. “Jed actually has good advice,” she whispered, a small smirk appearing on her lips.