JAY JAY POV
I was currently clinging to Keifer like a backpack, my heart still racing from the sight of that eight-legged monster on my floor. I didn't care about dignity; I cared about not being touched by something with that many eyes.
"JAY JAY, GET OFF OF KEIFER!" Aries yelled, still struggling under the weight of Percy, who was clinging to him just as hard.
"And you, asshole! Get your hands off my sister's butt!" Aries added, pointing a finger at Keifer while trying to keep his balance.
Keifer didn't even look bothered. He adjusted his grip, his fingers digging in just a little more. "Are you stupid? If I let her go, she'll fall," Keifer shot back, his voice cool and mocking.
Underneath the conversation, I felt him squeeze my butt—just a quick, firm pressure that only I could feel. My eyes snapped to his, and I gave him my deadliest glare. You perv, not the time!
Keifer just looked at me with that signature smirk, his eyes dancing with mischief. "What? My hands are more comfortable there," he said out loud, loud enough for Everyone to hear.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Aries roared, but since he was currently being throttled by Percy, he couldn't actually move.
"It's moving! It's moving toward the bed!" Jare screamed, pointing at the floor.
"AHHHH!" I shrieked, tightening my legs around Keifer's wais
"Relax, Queen," Keifer chuckled, walking toward the door with me still attached to him. He didn't even try to kill the spider; he just used the opportunity to kidnap me out of the room. "Since your brothers are clearly useless against a bug, you're sleeping with me tonight"
"EXCUSE ME?" Jare and Aries yelled in unison.
"The hell you are not!" Aries managed to dump Percy onto the floor. "Jay, get down! Jare, get the shoe! We are not letting that asshole take her to another room!"
"Too late," Keifer said, already halfway down the hall.
I looked back at my brothers. Jare was armed with a designer loafer, Percy was standing on a chair, and Aries looked ready to commit a felony.
"Kill it!" I yelled back at them. "And if I find it in my bed tomorrow, I'm moving into Keifer's house permanently!"
"Don't give me ideas, Jay," Keifer whispered in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "I might just go back and let the spider loose in every room"
Keifer carried me into a guest room down the hall and kicked the door shut, the lock clicking into place. For a second, it felt like the only quiet spot in the entire world. He laid me down on the bed with surprising gentleness, then leaned over and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead.
"So, where did the spider come from?" Keifer asked softly, stretching out on the mattress next to me.
I reached out, pulling his arm toward me so I could rest my head on his arm. It was warm and solid—a grounding force against the shaking I could still feel in my bones. "I think since the windows were open, it might have happened," I murmured, closing my eyes. "The garden is huge; things crawl in."
Keifer nodded, shifting until he was facing me. The playful look he had downstairs was gone, replaced by a gaze so intense it felt like he was looking right through my skin.
"Jay," he called out softly.
"Hmm." I kept my eyes closed for a second longer. I knew that tone
"What did you see in the flashbacks?"
My breath hitched. I knew he was going to ask. Keifer wasn't the type to let things slide, especially when it came to my safety.
"I don't know, Keifer," I said, my voice barely a whisper as I stared at the button of his shirt. "I was in a room... and then I saw blood. Everywhere. And someone was whispering something... I couldn't make out the words, but it felt so out of place. It felt like I was living in hell all over again."
I swallowed hard, the metallic scent of Jare's blood flashing in my mind again. "It made me feel like hurting myself, or killin—"
I didn't get to finish the word. Keifer moved so fast I didn't have time to blink, his lips crashing onto mine in a kiss that was desperate, hungry, and protective all at once. It wasn't just a kiss; it was a command for me to stop talking, to stop thinking those thoughts.
He pulled back just an inch, his thumb brushing over my lower lip, his eyes dark with a terrifying level of devotion.
"Don't finish that sentence," he growled, his voice vibrating against my chest. "You are mine, Jay Jay. Your life belongs to me, not to some ghost from your past. If you think I'm going to let you even think about hurting yourself, then you don't know who I am."
He pulled me closer, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "I'll find out who they were. I'll find out what they whispered to you. And when I do, I'm going to make sure they can never whisper again."
I felt a tear slip down my cheek, soaking into his shirt. "I'm scared, Keifer. I'm scared that one day I'll wake up and I won't be me anymore."
"Then I'll find you," he vowed, his grip tightening. "No matter how far you go into that darkness, I'll pull you back. I'm your king of assholes, remember? I don't lose what's mine."
I swear, my brothers have a sixth sense for when things are about to get romantic. It's like they have a "Jay Jay's Heartbeat" sensor that goes off every time I get within ten inches of Keifer.
"OPEN THIS DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT!" Aries's voice thundered through the wood, followed by a heavy thud—probably him trying to kick the door in.
"OH MY FUCKING GOD, ARIES! GET THE FUCK OUT!" Keifer roared back, his face buried in the pillow for a split second in pure frustration.
I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing. I sat up, smoothed my hair, and went to unlock the door before Aries actually destroyed our guest room furniture.
The second the latch clicked, the door swung open to reveal the "Holy Trinity" of overprotection. Aries looked ready for a brawl, Jare was still holding a shoe (presumably for the spider or Keifer), and Percy was leaning against the doorframe looking amused.
"What is your problem?!" Keifer snapped, sitting up on the bed and glaring at them like he was imagining all the ways he could make them disappear.
"The problem is," Jare started, his voice firm, "she's not going to stay in the same room as you. Not happening."
"Exactly," Aries folded his arms. "Engaged doesn't mean 'share a bed under my roof.' I'm the chaperone tonight."
"Oh, come on, guys!" Percy chimed in, tossing his hair back and winking shamelessly at Keifer. "They're about to get married. I think that's enough of an excuse for a little snuggle time. Personally, if I were that handsome, I wouldn't let a door stop me."
Keifer rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. "Percy, shut up. And you two," he looked at Jare and Aries, "the girl just had a panic attack and a giant spider encounter. Let her breathe."
"She can breathe in the room next door," Aries countered, grabbing my arm—not hard, but definitely tugging me toward the hallway. "Jare already killed the spider. We used a whole can of hairspray and a heavy textbook. It's safe."
I looked back at Keifer. He looked like he was five seconds away from declaring war
"It's okay," I mouthed to him, trying to hide my smile. "Go to sleep, Keifer. I'll see you in the morning."
"In a different wing of the house!" Jare added, pointing the shoe at Keifer.
As they dragged me away, I heard Percy whisper to Keifer, "Don't worry, brother-in-law. I'll leave the guest room window unlocked for you. For a price."
"GET IN YOUR ROOM, PERCY!" Aries yelled.
I saw Keifer's jaw drop at my choice of words, but a tiny, wicked smirk started to form on his lips. He was clearly enjoying this.
"No worries, Jay. Just leave your window unlocked," Keifer called out, leaning against the doorframe of the guest room with his arms crossed, looking way too confident.
"NOPE! Nobody is sleeping today!" Aries barked, spinning around to glare at Keifer. He had ears like a bat when it came to his siblings.
I puffed out my cheeks and gave him my best puppy-dog eyes. "Ariiiiiiiii," I whined, using the nickname I'd given him when we were kids. It usually worked like a charm, softening him up in seconds. "Pleasssssse, Ari? We already shared a room in London, and look! I'm not pregnant yet."
The hallway went dead silent.
Jare's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Percy let out a choked sound that was half-laugh and half-gasp, clutching his chest like he was having a heart attack.
"YET?!" Aries roared, his face turning a shade of red that matched the blood we were all trying to forget. "Yes! The key word! The big old YET!"
He started pacing the hallway, waving his hands around frantically. "Did you hear that, Jare? Did you hear the 'yet'? That 'yet' is the sound of my soul leaving my body!
"It was a figure of speech!" I defended, though I was starting to giggle at his reaction.
"A figure of speech?!" Aries turned on Keifer, who was now fully laughing. "You! Don't you dare laugh! One foot in her room and I'm calling the police, the military, and Mama Gemma! I will sit in a chair outside her door with a shotgun!"
"Aries, calm down," Jare said, though he looked just as unsettled. "Jay, don't say things like that. You're giving him a stroke."
"I'm just saying, he's my fiancé!" I protested as Aries literally shoved me toward my bedroom door.
I leaned against my doorframe, watching the comedy show unfold.
"Aries baby, I have to say, I have to sleep or else my handsome face will have dark eyes!" Percy whined, dramatically touching his undereye area as if he could already feel a wrinkle forming.
"Yeah, same for me," Jare added, rubbing his neck. He looked exhausted
Aries stopped mid-step, his eyes lighting up with a truly devious idea. He turned around, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face. "You know what? I have a better idea. Keifer, me, Percy, and Jare... all in one room. A communal sleepover to ensure everyone stays pure."
"NO, no, no, no," Jare immediately backed away, holding his hands up. "I'm sleeping in my own room. You three in one room. I'm not being part of that disaster."
"Fine!" Aries barked, pointing at Keifer and Percy. "Then it's us three. My room. Now."
Keifer looked like he'd rather walk through a pit of vipers. "You've got to be kidding me, Aries. I am not sleeping in a room with you and your self-obsessed brother."
"Yeah, I guess three in one room sounds great!" I chimed in, grinning widely. Maybe if they were forced to share a space, they'd actually bond—or at least be too busy arguing to notice if I snuck out for a snack later. "It'll be like a boys' night! You can talk about skincare and feelings!"
"I don't have feelings, and my skincare is a secret!" Percy snapped, though he was already heading toward Aries's room.
"This is a nightmare," Keifer muttered, but he saw the look in Aries's eyes—the look that said 'I will fight you until sunrise'—and realized he didn't have a choice if he wanted any peace.
"Move it, Asshole," Aries said, practically herding Keifer down the hall.
As they walked away, Keifer looked back at me, his eyes promising retribution for my betrayal. I just blew him a kiss and winked.
Jare sighed, looking at me with a tired smile. "Goodnight, Jay. Try to actually sleep, okay?"
"Goodnight, Jare. Take care of those hands," I said softly.
He nodded and headed to his room. I stepped into mine and shut the door, but I didn't lock it. I pressed my ear against the wood, listening to the muffled sounds of the "Three Musketeers" down the hall.
"Aries, why is there a stuffed horse on your bed?" I heard Keifer ask.
"SHUT UP, IT'S A HEIRLOOM!" Aries yelled.
"It's taking up my side of the mattress! And Percy, stop applying cucumber cream, you smell like a salad!"
I fell back onto my bed, giggling into my pillow. It wasn't exactly the romantic night Keifer and I had planned, but hearing my brothers and my fiancé bickering like children was the best medicine I could have asked for.
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