The Insiders by Tijan

NINETEEN

They had a bowling lane.

A pool with a waterfall. A tennis court. I already knew about the basketball court, the nine-hole golf course. I knew about the water fountains, but there was one inside the house as well. A movie theater room. Cyclone had a room where his friends could play air hockey, foosball, a pool table, a basketball hoop that I’d only seen at arcades. Seraphina had her own friend room, too, with a modeling stage, a photo shoot area, a selfie booth, and a rotating closet with clothes for dress-up. There were three makeup tables along the wall.

Matt didn’t take me to Quinn’s section of the house, but he stopped in his old room. Besides having his own entertainment area right outside his room, like the others, complete with a sectional couch that spanned the entire room and a movie screen against one wall and full-length bar against the other, his room was relatively normal. A desk. A large bed. A bathroom. That was it, besides the walk-in closet and his own entrance. The other two didn’t have that.

I was overwhelmed. Seriously and totally overwhelmed.

This wasn’t a life I could’ve had. There was no way I could stand with these people, with everything they were given. That was not what Hayes women did. We worked. We hustled. Hayes women kept going, no matter what happened to us.

Hayes women persevere.

Matt must’ve sensed my anxiety. His eyebrows went up. “Whatever’s going on in that head, don’t worry about it. I know I give Kash a lot of shit, but the guy’s saved my ass almost a dozen times. If he says you’re safe here, you’re safe here. Don’t get scared because I was the dumbass who broke in.”

He was mistaking my silence, but on that matter, he was right.

I took in his room. “You guys have … a lot here.”

The tour took a long time, and to be honest I wasn’t paying much attention to time. I knew it was early morning by now because the sun was starting to show through the windows. If Matt was tired, he never let on. He was patient through the whole tour.

He nodded, leading me out to sit in his entertainment area. Plopping down on one of the couches, he threw his leg up on the table in front of him. Leaning back, his arms spreading over the backs of the corner he was in, he frowned at me.

I followed at a more sedate pace, curling up in the far corner. I was tempted to pull a pillow over my lap, but I just toed off my shoes and pulled my knees up, hugging them to me. I gazed back at him, resting my chin between my knees.

He seemed about to say something, when a soft and feminine cough came from the hallway, just past the doorway that connected Matt’s “wing” with the rest of the house. Quinn stood there, not in a ball gown like the other day, but still looking just as exquisite. She wore a soft cashmere bodysuit. The front crossed over her body, connecting with a tied sash at the waist. There was a lace bodice underneath, but she was very classy. Her hair was swept up in a French side bun, and like the other day, there was no jewelry at all. She had a clean, simple, natural look to her, but I knew her makeup was as good as if a professional had done it for her.

Crap. This is how she looked so early in the morning?

No way could I hang with these people. I’d still be walking blind, trying to find the coffee pot, and probably knocking into everything and everyone in my way.

Before she spoke, I saw two heads pop up from behind her.

Cyclone’s grinning mischievous gaze sparked back at me, right before he pushed forward, shoving his mom aside as he darted ahead. “Heya, Girl!” He ran around the couch, launching over the table to tackle Matt. “Heya, loser asswipe!”

He was wide awake too.

When did these people get up? Was this normal?

Matt’s arms shot up, catching his little brother. “Oh really? I’m the loser asswipe?” He laughed, rolling Cyclone to the cushions beside him and starting to tickle him. “I’m the loser?”

“Loser!” Cyclone laughed as his legs were flailing in the air. He landed a good solid kick to Matt’s face. “Whoa! Sorry. I’m sorry, Matt.”

Matt jerked back, a hand cupping the side of his face, and he turned away.

Silence. Total silence.

“Matt?” Cyclone’s eyes were wide with fear.

A sniffle came from behind Matt’s hand before he jumped back on his little brother, pinning him back down and tickling him with no mercy. “Gotcha, you little punk. That’s what you get for kicking your older brother. Huh? Huh? Am I right?”

Cyclone was trying to wrestle, but he was no match for his older brother.

Quinn wore a fond expression, with a resigned patience there, too, as if this were a common occurrence.

It was then that I noticed that Seraphina had stepped farther out from behind her mother, more to the side. They were holding hands.

Seraphina looked almost exactly like her mother. Same cornflower-blue eyes, same honey-blond hair, but with a touch lighter streak to it. It couldn’t compare to her mother’s, but Seraphina’s hair was wispy, with a bit of natural volume and frizz to it. She had some flyaway strands that couldn’t be contained in the braid her hair had been put in. Similar high cheekbones and a heart-shaped face with a pert little chin. She could be a model. Long arms and legs that she was still growing into, but she didn’t have the teardrop eyes her brother and mother had. She must’ve taken after her father, like the rest of us.

The rest of us.

That was the first time I lumped myself in with them, as if I were one of them.

But I wasn’t. I was the outlier.

“I can see we weren’t the only ones up early this morning. I think we’re all a bit ‘feisty’ from the lack of sleep.” The same fondness, shot through with a frustration, too. Quinn raised her chin up as both her boys paused in their wrestling, which had taken them to the floor by then. “Matthew, perhaps you and…” Her eyes darted to mine. “Kash’s friend could join us for a late lunch later today? Seraphina has her lessons at three, remember?”

Matt scoffed, grabbing Cyclone and lifting him to his feet as he stood. “I did not, dear Mother, realize my being here may upset Seraphina’s precious lessons in how to be a lady.”

Quinn wasn’t amused. Her mouth pinched together.

Seraphina giggled, looking down at the floor.

Matt smirked, still holding his brother captive. Cyclone was trying to kick out of his hold, but not enough to actually be set free. “I’m surprised Victoria is coming today. Does she not realize that Kash isn’t here?” His smirk dropped to a meaner glint. “She’d be wasting her time.”

Cyclone stopped kicking.

I could see from the angle that Seraphina’s eyes had widened, but she kept her face pointed downward.

The only one who moved was Quinn herself, and it was when her eyes narrowed. “Be nice, Matthew, or I won’t be, either.” Her gaze slid my way and her threat was evident.

Cyclone watched her too, and his head popped up. “Why’d you be mean to Kash’s friend? She’s Kash’s friend.” He said it like it made the most perfect sense in the world, as if he had been asked if his name was Cyclone or not. The whole tone was a resounding “Duh.”

“Yes, well…”

Seraphina looked up now, watching her mother with those same big eyes. Her mouth opened, just a centimeter.

Quinn took in both of her children’s gazes and her face clouded over. She cast me a tight closed-mouth smile. “Seraphina’s been asking to meet Kash’s lady friend, and Cyclone has talked about you as well. Both are eager to get to know our mystery guest more. Would you like to sit with us for our lunch later today?”

I gazed at her.

She was really beautiful, and it took a second before I realized she was addressing me. And waiting for a response.

My gaze fell back to Seraphina and I saw the curiosity there. It was banked, hidden behind a few walls of her own, and some shyness, but I saw it. I felt it, too. Her and Cyclone. I wanted to get to know them both—and Matt.

“Yes.” My voice was hoarse for some reason. I cleared it, speaking clearer. “Yes. I’d love that, actually.”

Seraphina shyly grinned. Cyclone snorted.

Quinn said to Matt, “We’ll be in the family room at one then.” Her gaze fell. “Cyclone, let’s go and get you dressed for the day.”

He looked down at his outfit, a yellow polo shirt and khaki shorts. Mumbling, as Matt lowered him to the floor, he followed her out. “I thought I was dressed. This is what Marie put out.” Seraphina trailed behind, and all of them disappeared around the corner. “Do I really have to change? What’s wrong with these clothes?”

I couldn’t hear her response.

Matt walked to stand next to me, both of us watching where they had gone. “You ready for that?”

My response was automatic. “No.”

He looked at me.

“But those are my siblings.”

I wanted to know them. No Quinn, no Victoria (whoever she was) would deter me. “We have to dress for this thing?”

Matt snorted. “God no. That’s just Quinn. You scare her. You’re not like…” He was searching for the right word. “You’re not like the rest of us. You’re not scared of her. Maybe that’s the best way to say it?”

“She terrifies me.”

He laughed, starting ahead. “Don’t let her know that. Come on. We’ve not slept. I doubt Quinn did either, but we’ve a few hours of downtime before lunch. You want breakfast?”

I gave him a look

He laughed. “Right. Let’s watch a movie and see if we can not think, at least, until lunch then.”

We turned down another hallway.

Theresa was coming out of a room, took one look at me, and her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. She made the sign of the cross over her forehead and chest.

I was thinking I’d need more than that sign, but okay then.