Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

36

Caleb

Milla swayed on her feet. Under the bright kitchen lights, I could see how pale she’d gone. Tear tracks stained her colorless cheeks and her dark auburn strands were a mess.

My hands balled into tight fists.

Those idiotic jocks from the hockey team nearly tore her apart. The image of her being forced down on her knees rose in my mind. At first, Corey and I weren’t even aware it was Milla.

We simply heard the cries of a girl and decided to check it out. Thank fuck, I thought silently. If we didn’t interrupt at that exact point, they’d have taken full advantage of having her all to themselves.

My heart pounded from fear. No one knew how easy it was to force Milla into submission other than me. For the first time, I realized how much she needed us to protect her.

“Do you want some coffee?” Corey’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.

“No,” said Milla, looking strangely distracted. “I need a shower.”

“Why don’t you sit first?” Corey suggested.

She shook her head, staring at the wall behind Corey. Without another word, she took off his jacket and let it drop to the floor. Turning away, she headed toward the bathroom in the far corner of the room.

Corey glanced at me. “She’s not okay.”

“I know.”

He sank into a chair and closed his eyes. “It was a close call,” he said in a low voice. “Can you imagine what would have happened if he just ignored them?”

“It was fucking luck,” I said. “We rarely hang out with the frats from Kappa D. If we didn’t step out to get more beer, we’d never have come across Milla and those fucktards.”

Corey opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t like what’s happening,” he said slowly. “Noah’s turned Milla into a piece of meat for all the shitheads on campus. They all think they’ve got a right to her now.”

“We’ve got to protect her.”

Corey sat straighter and fixed me with a strange look.

“What?” I mouthed.

“Noah. How do you think he’ll react? He’s always been touchy about us brothers sticking together.”

“He believed hurting Milla would get Eva out of our lives,” I said. “That hasn’t happened and I doubt it will. You’ve seen the way Dad is with her. He loves her.”

Corey made a disgusted face. “Eva’s not too bad, really. Wish she could’ve found a better man than our dad to marry. Then, Milla wouldn’t be our stepsister and our lives wouldn’t be so fucked up.”

“Maybe that’s the reason Milla’s stayed quiet all this time,” I said, finally understanding why Milla put up with everything we put her through without saying a word. “She doesn’t want to ruin her mom’s happiness.”

“Noah doesn’t understand any of this,” said Corey. “He’s intent on destroying her. Our brother thinks he’s so smart, that he’s figured everything out. He’s a fucking moron.”

“We need to find a way to get her away from here,” I said in a grim tone. “Once she’s gone, we can do some damage control around campus.”

“Noah’s got exams in the upcoming weeks,” Corey said thoughtfully. “He’s going to be busy.”

I gave a nod. “Milla’s the same. She wouldn’t have classes to run to.”

“How about we kidnap her to the cabin by the lake?” His green eyes shone. “It’s quiet out there. She can do her revisions and one of us will always be around to keep an eye on her.”

“Let’s not tell Noah,” I said, grinning.

Corey’s lips stretched into an evil grin. “He’ll go crazy without knowing where she’s gone. Out of all of us, he’s the one who’s obsessed with Milla the most.”

“He deserves it,” I said.

Corey made a humming sound and leaned back against his chair. After a while, he checked his watch and glanced toward the bathroom door.

“What’s taking her so long?” Corey asked. “It’s been over twenty minutes.”

“Maybe she’s soaking in the bath,” I said.

“I doubt the bathroom’s big enough for a tub.” Getting to his feet, he walked toward the bathroom door. “The water’s running and she’s mumbling something,” he whispered, pressing his ear against the door.

“She’s freaked out enough,” I said. “Get back here.”

He pressed a finger to his lips, silencing me.

A moment later, his expression changed. Turning around, he pounded on the door. “Milla! Hey, open the door.”

I was on my feet at once. “What are you doing?” I hissed at my brother.

“She’s crying.”

“What? Why?”

Reaching the door, I listened closely. A strange keening noise reached my ears. It was only a moment before I realized she was sobbing.

Corey turned the knob of the door. To our surprise, the door swung forward.

“She left it open?” Corey muttered.

“Let’s take a peek and leave,” I said. “I don’t want to freak her out anymore. She needs a break after what nearly happened to her tonight.”

Corey entered the bathroom slowly, doing his best to stay quiet. A second later, my curiosity got the better of me and I followed him inside.

Milla stood inside a tiny shower stall and rubbed her neck with a loofah, sobbing all the while. At first, it didn’t look odd. She was simply bathing and having a cry.

A few seconds later though, I noticed the way her skin was reddened. She was obsessively rubbing the loofah all over her face, neck, and shoulders, hurting herself without care.

“Milla,” Corey called out. Before I could stop him, he’d marched forward and gotten into the shower with her.

“Get out!” Milla screamed, hitting him with her tiny fists.

“I will, but you’ve got to stop hurting yourself first,” Corey shouted back.

My brother was getting soaked by the running shower. A pained look came over his face that sent an ache through my chest. Corey rarely let anything bother him so much.

I hurried forward to help him. “You’ve had a long shower already. Come out now, Milla.”

She glared at us. Milla was gloriously wet and naked, making it a struggle for me to keep a straight mind. She’s not fine, I reminded myself as my cock hardened at the sight of her beautiful breasts and her flat stomach that dipped into a triangle between those luscious thighs.

The shower stall was so small, I couldn’t wedge myself in there with Corey and Milla standing inside. Instead, I grabbed a bathrobe and threw it over to my brother.

Corey switched off the water and threw the robe around. It was like trying to get a cat to wear it because Milla put up a good fight, hitting and scratching him everywhere she could.

Unable to take it any longer, he bent down and threw her over his shoulder. Milla screamed murder but he walked right past me and out of the bathroom.

A heavy sigh escaped me. Both I and my brother were going to be used as punching bags tonight. As long as it helped tame her frustration, I didn’t mind.

I walked out of the bathroom and found the kitchen-cum-living room empty. Voices came from Milla’s bedroom, so I headed that way.

Entering Milla’s room, I found Corey wrestling her so he could dry her hair.

The scene was both comical and tragic. I wished Noah could see what was happening to Milla.

For the first time, I wondered why Milla was bottling everything up. We’d all hurt her terribly, yet she didn’t say a word to her mom or our dad.

Was this all about protecting her mom?

A new kind of respect bubbled inside me. I couldn’t believe how deeply she loved her mom. But how long could she keep going this way? Sooner or later, Noah was going to push her too far and there would be nothing Corey and I could do to protect her.

My hands tightened into fists. Corey and I had to figure out a way to protect her.

“Hey, asshole,” my twin called out. “Help me.”

Milla glared at me, daring me to go near her.

“You’re practically naked right now,” I said, forcing a creepy grin at her.

As if she’d just realized it, she quickly grabbed the corners of her robe and pulled them tight.

Good girl, I thought silently.

My gaze fell on a long maroon t-shirt lying on a chair. Grabbing it, I flung it at her. “Get dressed,” I said in a grim tone.

Milla panted hard, watching me from behind the curtain of her dark, auburn strands. She clutched the t-shirt to her chest.

“What do you guys want?” she finally asked in a barely controlled voice.

“We want you to be okay,” said Corey. “Please, just get dressed and let us take care of you.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked in a low, suspicious tone.

“Because we want to,” I said.

“I don’t want anything from you guys,” she mumbled.

“We know that,” said Corey, shifting closer to her. He wound his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a one-arm hug. “Caleb beat the shit out of those guys. Don’t tell me you didn’t like that.”

Milla stayed quiet.

“We’re ordering pizza,” I said loudly. “Any special requests?”

She shook her head.

“Where do you keep the booze?” Corey asked. “I think we all need something to chill us out. Or weed. Do you have any weed?”

She glowered at him. “There’s no drugs here.”

Corey rolled his eyes and looked over at me. “Get some beers and shit too.”

“I’ll do that,” I said. “You’re all wet, Cor. How about you borrow a shirt from her or something? You catch colds easily.”

“Shucks,” Corey muttered, noticing the wet vest sticking to his chest. “You got anything for me, Milla?”

Milla stared between us with a doubtful expression. “You guys are staying here?”

“Yep,” I said. “From now on, we’ll make sure you’re protected.”

“I don’t believe you guys.”

“You don’t have to,” said Corey. “Just let us do our thing.”

A suspicious look came over her pretty face as she climbed off the bed and walked to the closet. After rummaging for a minute, she came back with a navy t-shirt with a creepily grinning Easter Bunny.

“This is the biggest shirt I’ve got,” she said. “See if it fits.”

Corey held the shirt up. It was bigger than whatever she owned but it’d still be a very tight fit for my brother.

“Cal, let me have your shirt,” said Corey, staring at me with hopeful eyes.

“Nope.”

“Come on!” he whined. “This won’t fit me. What if it tears? I’m done getting beat up by Milla.”

A soft giggle sounded in the room.

Corey and I stared at Milla. She finally had a small smile on her luscious lips. A kind of lightness spread through my chest at once.

“You deserve it for walking in on me in the shower,” said Milla.

“I was trying to stop you from ripping your skin off,” Corey protested.

“Whatever, man,” I said with a shrug and laughed. “You’re spending the night in that. It’s actually kinda cute, so just embrace your inner bunny.”