Cottage on the Hill (MxMxMxMxM)

Chapter One

(A/N: Welome to the second story! This is first chapter has sexual assault in it, and quite a graphic description of violence. I'll try to update this every Friday. I hope you guys love Elliot as much as I do!)

5am, Saturday October 10th

An alarm blared across the room and I jerked and whined, burying my head in the covers. I didn't set an alarm, it's a fucking Saturday. I rolled over and into a hard, warm body. The owner wrapped his arms around me and buried his head in the back of my neck, taking a deep breath. I pushed my body back against his and someone else turned the alarm off.

James sat up in front of me and rubbed his eyes, scrolling through his phone absently. He glanced down at me and his eyes softened, still wet from sleep. "Good morning, Baby. I didn't mean to wake you up."

I shrugged and pulled the blankets tighter around me. "It's alright." I snuck an arm out and reached over him for my phone, falling short. He put it in my hand and I retreated back under the duvet with a triumphant smile. 5:01am. Why is he getting up this early?

"What are you doing today?" he asked quietly, so as to not wake the other three up, though I think Casper should be getting up soon anyway.

"Food shopping... go to the gym, maybe do some gardening?" I said, lowering my phone so he could see my face. He reached out a hand and cupped my cheek. "Do you have to work today?" I knitted my brows and pushed into his touch.

He nodded, almost sadly. "Only a half day, but I have a meeting with some parents whose child is having surgery next week. I'll be home by 2 o'clock I think," he added.

"What's wrong with the child?" I asked, breaking off into a yawn.

"He has a tumour on his frontal lobe."

I pulled a face. That usually isn't a good thing.

"He'll be ok, it shouldn't be too hard to get out, but if it grows or spreads anymore it'll be hard to get out." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes again.

"Good luck," I murmured, putting my phone down beside my head. Hale – the hard body behind me – moaned in his sleep and tightened his grip around my middle. I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Go back to sleep, my love, you look tired."

"I'm alright. I kind of want to go for a run," I said.

"Want me to come with you?" He looked at his phone. "I have half an hour until I need to get ready." I rolled my eyes. I don't know why he doesn't just sleep for an extra half hour.

"No, I'm ok. I think I need to be alone for a bit," I admitted, not quite ready to look him in the eyes now.

"You doing ok?"

"The anniversary is coming up and—" I cut myself short and took a shaky breath. "And it's been eight years this year."

"Ah. Ok. Don't forget that we're here and all of us are ready to talk whenever you need." He leant down and kissed my forehead. I murmured a soft thank youand watched him find trousers and a shirt from the wardrobe.

Hale stirred behind me, but didn't wake up. James headed into the ensuite bathroom and I heard the pipes rattle.

Despite trying my hardest to go back to sleep, my eyes remained wide open and my brain flatly refused to shut down again. I yawned and extracted myself from Hale's arms before finding some shorts and a t-shirt and searching the bottom of the wardrobe for my pair of running shoes. I pulled out Ollie's and Casper's before I found mine pushed all the way to the back.