Protective Shadows (The Protective Series, Book 2)

Chapter Eighteen

[Janne's P.O.V]

December, 2014

"Alright mum," I spoke into my iPhone, dragging my black, heavy suitcase along the linoleum floors of Los Angeles airport. "I'll be there soon. Juha, Dominik and I are on our way right now. See you soon. Love you."

I pressed end call, sliding the slim device into my jeans pocket. Juha and Dominik walked beside me at snail pace, their eyes gazing around at the vast, massive airport, taking in the views that we hadn't seen in years now. We all lived in Helsinki, and so we rarely saw mum or Tina. When we did, we got a good week, maybe two, and then we were off again. We were on a tight schedule - me for Crimfall, the viking metal band I was the drummer for, and the other two for work. Juha worked as a graphic designer and tech expert, while Dominik was a sound engineer.

Juha looked nothing like me. If people didn't know we were brothers, they never would have guessed, in any universe, on any planet. He had cropped brown hair, not even long enough to pull or tug, and wore a thick, black framed pair of square spectacles on the bridge of his nose. A light layer of facial hair lined his upper lip, and a thicker layer lined his chin. He was pale, too, like me. Being in Finland constantly, most of our lives, we hardly saw the sun. People called us couch potatoes, but even when we did go outside when the sun emerged, it disappeared not even ten seconds after.

Dominik, on the other hand, had a close resemblance to me. He may as well have been my twin, save for the different face shape between us. My face was more oval, and taut, while his was chubbier, and fuller, eliminating the chance of high or sunken cheekbones. The guy was buff, like me, hitting the gym every day of the week at least twice.

"L.A sucks," Dominik groaned, his arm muscles turning limp as he continued on, through the security gate. "Man, why can't mum and Tina just move back to Finland? It's way better than this place."

I shrugged, loading my bags onto the conveyer belt, walking through the metal detector without one bleep. "L.A has more to offer, I guess."

Juha and Dominik followed me through the airport, and eventually into the waiting taxi. I myself preferred my own apartment to the family house we'd all lived in when I was seven. Of course most of my life I lived in Finland, and I was a proud Finn by heart, but L.A brought back bad memories every time I saw the run-down house. Dad hadn't been very fatherly at all.

As if it wasn't bad enough he had beat me up for being bisexual, he threw his empty beer bottles at my head, and sometimes the glass smashed into my skin, knocking me out for hours, or causing me to bleed a lot.

When the taxi dropped us outside the family house, my heart sank in my chest. I had wanted to bring Jed to meet my family, but he had changed his mind about marrying me, instead flying over to Finland with Asko. My mother would have been in her element to meet him, and would have showered him in hugs, kisses and endless love, no doubt. She had always been more than eager to meet my boyfriend, if I ever got one.

Dominik knocked a few times on the wood, and we all stood in awkward silence, until our mother poked her head around the door.

"Janne!" She beamed, throwing her bony, frail arms around me and my brothers. "My boys! You all came!"

"Yeah mum," Juha and Dominik sighed from behind me once they had been released, shrugging the straps of their back packs higher up. "What's for dinner?"

"Typical boys," she tutted, shaking her head. "Do you think of anything other than food?"

Dominik and I exchanged an amused glance, shrugging at her. "Sex."

Tina, our sister, walked in from the doorway leading to the hall, flicking her blonde hair over one shoulder. She wore a simple blue dress, the hem hanging low on her thighs, and had painted her lips a rich shade of cherry red. She was the beauty of the family, and was the manager for a metal band called Red Moon Architect. She believed in love, music, exercise and good food, and always maintained a positive outlook on life, much like Juha.