But my little sister was right. She’d been right all along. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me live with them forever. Life would change as I got older, and things would refuse to stay the same. My life would be full of terrifying things, new experiences and mistakes, and that was something I couldn’t change. That came hand in hand with living.
This, them, us—I didn’t know whether we’d last forever. I didn’t know if this could be a forever thing, or if we would crash and burn, but you know what? Surrounded by the two men I cared about, faced with their feelings laid bare and mine wanting to explode from my chest, there was only one thing I could say to them.
“Yes,” I said, nodding along with the word.
The atmosphere in the room changed drastically once I spoke, and I could feel the tension leave both men’s bodies. Mason all but leaped for joy, pulling me against his chest as he hugged me, thereby pulling me from Calum.
“Thank God,” Mason murmured. With my head against his chest, he added, “Can you feel my heart? I thought it was about to burst from my chest.” Just as he said, his heart beat loudly, the steady thumping of it a low melody I could get used to.
Alas, that wasn’t in the cards for me, for Calum grabbed me, wrapping me up in his arms as he stole me from Mason.
“Hey,” Mason spoke with a frown, “not fair—”
“Not fair? We’re supposed to share her, you know—”
As the two men bickered—albeit playfully—I couldn’t help myself. A smile formed on my face, and I actually felt a laugh bubble its way up my throat and escape. The laugh caused both men to cease their arguing and look at me.
The way they stared at me, like I was their whole world, made my smile grow.
This…if this was what my life would hold, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
A few months later…
Chapter Nineteen – Bree
I sat in my psychology of abnormal behavior class, taking notes that were much more diligent than the ones I used to. Granted, I was pretty sure I owed my newfound note-taking skills to Calum, who’d given me pointers when I’d complained to him months ago when I was trying to study that I didn’t have enough material to go on.
Yeah. Months.
Strange how time passed so quickly when you were actually enjoying your life.
Granted, it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies, but I was better than I was before. I had my guys, and I was constantly working on a better outlook of life with my therapist. The antidepressants helped too.
It’d been Calum’s suggestion, seeing a therapist, and Mason suggested I go to the doctor and see if they could do anything for me. My family had been supportive, although they didn’t quite understand it, still. To them, I had no reason ever to be sad, so why in the world wasn’t I happy?
I’d stopped trying to explain it to them, and they’d stopped asking, thank God. Some people, though they meant well, just didn’t get it. Neurotypicals, people who were born lucky because their brain was able to work right with all the chemicals and stuff going on inside their bodies. I had always been jealous of them, but honestly, if I hadn’t been me, I never would’ve met Mason or Calum.
Probably not, anyway, but I guessed that was something we’d never know.
Mason and I had gotten an A on our psychology project. That whole thing seemed so far in the past, it was unreal. Fall had given way to winter, and winter had then fallen to spring. Time never ceased to keep going. What was strange was that I wanted to slow it down. It felt like time moved way too fast these days.
No, wait. I wasn’t going to complain. It was a good thing that time went on, because I’d only gotten closer to both Mason and Calum. I was still a virgin, but I was opening up to the idea of sex with them.
One hundred and ten percent nervous about it, of course, but that was me about anything new. My therapist told me everyone gets nervous about some things; it was simply a part of being alive.
A new semester and new classes, Mason wasn’t in any of them anymore, but that was okay. We still met for lunch every day at the union. Calum still lived in the city, but I heard once his lease was up in a few months, he’d be moving back to town and telecommuting. After all, most of his work was online, so there was no reason he couldn’t work from home.
When my class let out, I quickly packed up, one of the first out of the room. I checked my phone, finding that Mason had already texted me. His class must’ve let out early, for he’d sent me a picture of him waiting for me in the union.
I smiled. He was ridiculous, but in the best way.
Calum didn’t text often during the day, but at night, it was another story. That man was nonstop, to the point where, if I was hanging out with Mason, Mason would try to steal my phone and text him back that I was busy. The two got along, regardless of whether they admitted it to themselves. Occasionally they got jealous of the other, but they never let it get in the way of what was important.
Crazily enough, what was important to them was still me.
And, you know, in return, they were everything to me.
I wore a new pair of jeans, along with a long-sleeved shirt. Today was an oddly warm day for spring, but with the breeze, it was cooled down quite a few degrees. I left the psych building, heading to the busy sidewalk as I texted Mason back. Call me the stereotypical college student, glued to her phone, I didn’t care. I was too smitten—yes, smitten—with Mason to put it down.
I accidentally rammed my shoulder into another girl’s, and I stopped, glancing at her, hurriedly putting my phone down. No beanie sat on my head, so my pink hair flew free in the wind. I’d let my roots grow out, so now there were about two inches of brown up top. I’d gone with a softer pink last time I dyed it, about a week ago.
The girl I’d bumped into had also stopped, and I saw she was walking with a rather tall and impressive-looking guy.
“Sorry,” I said, not wanting to start anything.
The girl had long, kinky brown hair, eyes that were almost black, along with an easy smile that took over her face in the blink of an eye. The guy she was with, whether he was her boyfriend or not, was wide, muscled and strong, with brown hair that was spiked on top and eyes as crisp and clear as the blue sky above us.
If they were together, they made a cute couple. I wondered if people thought Mason and I made a cute couple, or me and Calum.
“Don’t be,” she said. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, either.”
I didn’t know what to say; she seemed like an easygoing girl, but talking to other people was still not something I was too good at. Because of that, I didn’t say anything.
“God,” she went on, reaching for me. I was too stunned to move, hardly blinking as she touched my hair. “I love your hair. My best friend used to have pink hair, too. It’s blue now. Whatever. She said she’s trying something new out, but I think she should go back to pink.”
The guy she was with spoke her name, trying to nudge her away, “Kelsey—”
She plowed on, acting oblivious to the grumpy guy behind her, “I always wished I could pull off a color. I hear bleach kills your hair, though.”
I managed to nod. That much was true.
“It looks good on you,” she said, giving me a smile. The guy grabbed her hand, tugging her away from me. “I’ll see you around!” Her words made me stand there, eyebrows furrowing as I wondered if I really would see her around. She seemed nice enough, but that guy she was with? Jury was out on him.