Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

5

Corey

I flicked through the channels on the TV in my ward but nothing caught my interest. Boredom gnawed at me. On top of that, I kept suffering from splitting headaches and dizziness every few hours.

Noah stayed with me until early this morning, so I didn’t expect him to come back before noon. Caleb was MIA since last night. I knew he could take care of himself but I wish he’d at least reply to my texts.

Heh, I sound like a clingy girlfriend, I thought with a wry grin.

Just as I was about to give up hope on finding something good to watch, the door to my ward opened.

“Where the fuck have you been?” I snarled, throwing my pillow at Caleb as soon as he appeared at the threshold.

He easily ducked the pillow and strode in. My gaze raked him from head to foot. Other than slightly bruised knuckles, he seemed fine.

Relief spread through me at once. We messed around a lot but being away from Caleb left me feeling anxious. I was glad he didn’t get in trouble when I was stuck in this stupid hospital ward.

“You’re in good spirits,” Caleb drawled as he bent down to pick up the pillow.

“My head hurts,” I moaned, letting my brother see the pathetic state I was in. “Hold me.” Extending my arms, I made big puppy eyes at him.

Walking close to the bed, he hit me in the face with the pillow. “Quit it, you big baby.”

I pretended to look hurt.

An uncertain look came over Caleb at once. I enjoyed the flash of guilt appearing on my twin’s face.

“Here,” he said, dropping a big warm parcel on my lap. “Got you your favorite from Sylvia’s.”

My annoyance at being left alone disappeared as soon as I opened the brown paper bag to reveal boxes from my favorite fried chicken shop. A grin came over my lips despite the headache pounding against my forehead.

Even though the hospital gave me breakfast, I was hungry for some real food. Digging into the paper tub, I pulled out a drumstick and tore into it.

Caleb watched me with a cheesy smile. It was a look exclusively reserved for me and Noah. No one else got him to look that way at them, not even the girls who sucked his cock dry.

“Been so bored on my own,” I muttered, pulling off the entire chunk of meat from the drumstick. “They don’t even have Hulu or Netflix here.”

“Spoiled brat,” he mocked. “Scoot!” He forced me to shift to the side as he settled himself on my bed without taking his boots off. Placing his backpack on his lap, he unzipped the bag and took out an i-pad.

“Yes!” I cheered, grabbing the gadget with greasy fingers.

He snatched it away from me. “Just eat. I’ll find something for us to watch.”

I grinned and picked up another drumstick.

Soon, we were settled on the bed, watching our favorite show and eating through the burgers and fried chicken. With Caleb on my side, it was easy to ignore the stupid headaches.

“Did you find out anything about yesterday’s incident?” I asked after a while.

“Yeah, but we need some time to check out our suspect,” Caleb answered in a grim tone. “He’s an Elite too.”

“What?! Who?” I demanded at once.

“Luke Beckett.”

“Who’s that?”

Caleb chuckled. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that now.” He suddenly ruffled my hair.

Annoyed, I grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled.

“Oi!” he cried out.

Within seconds, we were both locked in a spar with our hands.

“Stop!” Caleb shouted.

“You stop first!”

“Errr...” a third voice sounded in the room.

We both paused, looking toward the doorway.

Milla stood there, staring at us with a stricken look. I could tell she wanted to say something, especially to Caleb but was hesitating.

“Milla,” I moaned her name at once. “Please save me. He’s trying to kill me!”

I enjoyed the dismayed look on her face as she considered standing up to Caleb for me.

“You shouldn’t hurt him when he’s sick,” Milla tried in a brave voice. “What if you hurt his head again? He needs to rest to get better faster.”

“What are you smiling at?” Caleb suddenly wound his arm around my neck, pulling me into a headlock.

“No!” Milla cried out. She ran toward us, putting herself between us to stop Caleb from hurting me.

Both I and my brother were shaking with laughter. Milla was so cute, bravely trying to get a hulk like Caleb off me. The scent of green apples wafted into my nostrils, making me inhale deeply.

Mmm...she smells nice, I thought, enjoying the way her soft body was brushing against mine as she tried to make Caleb stop.

No wonder Noah’s obsessed with her, I realized as she sincerely tried to help me.

“Enough,” I whispered in Caleb’s ear.

He stopped at once, releasing me.

Milla looked as though she’d been in an actual fight. The long, auburn strands of her hair were badly ruffled and she was panting heavily.

“You okay?” Caleb asked gently.

She smoothed her jacket and desperately tried to neaten her hair. Both Caleb and I were almost bursting from trying to hold back our laughter. She was so easy to mess with.

Clearing my throat, I tried. “How come you’re here now? Don’t you have classes?”

“Not this morning,” she said with a smile. “Here, I brought you something.”

She brandished a big gift bag and laid it on my lap.

“What’s this?” Caleb asked, snatching the bag from me.

I frowned as he dug in, bringing out what looked like a homely round tin box.

“I wasn’t sure how the food is, so I baked you some chocolate-chip cookies,” said Milla, looking suddenly nervous. “I hope you like them.”

Caleb pried the tin open to reveal big, fat cookies. The smell of freshly baked cookies made my mouth water at once. I grabbed one immediately and bit into it.

“So good,” I crooned, enjoying the buttery, rich cookie crumbling in my mouth. The pieces of chocolate melted on my tongue, urging me to take more bites.

“Did you bring milk?” I asked jokingly as Caleb grabbed a cookie.

“Yeah.” She bent down and picked up a large bag that she’d dropped on the floor. “There’s milk, bananas, and apples.”

Caleb glanced at me and we both sniggered. Milla was so cute and funny. None of the girls we dated so far brought us homemade cookies and apples.

I noticed Caleb staring at her with a familiar look. His interest in her was peaking. Noah was already obsessed with her. Now, she was unknowingly getting us to like her too.

Caleb bit into an apple and grinned cheekily at her.

His smile seemed to relax her. She grinned back and took off her jacket, displaying a maroon t-shirt with the Hogwarts logo. Such a cute nerd, I thought as she down on a nearby chair.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked, turning her attention to me.

“Yeah,” I said. “The doc said I could leave tomorrow but I’m not allowed on a bike for the next two weeks.”

She gave a grim nod. “You must take care of that concussion.” She looked around the room, like she was searching for something.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

She hesitated. “I don’t know...I was expecting lots of presents and flowers from your friends.” She chuckled nervously and looked down at her knees. “You’re one of the most popular guys at school.”

“We haven’t told anyone,” said Caleb.

She glanced up at him. “Not even your parents?”

Caleb shrugged.

“All that our lousy dad can do is lecture us,” I said. “What’s the point of telling him? You guys brought me here and I’m receiving the care and treatment I need. We don’t want him here.”

Milla’s face looked like she wanted to say something but stayed quiet.

Smart girl, I thought. She knows not to pry.

Her body suddenly jerked. Reaching inside her jeans pocket, she took out her phone. A smile lit up her pretty face as soon as she glanced at the screen.

“I need to take this call,” she said and hopped off the chair.

Caleb and I looked at each other.

“Check who she’s talking to,” I said.

Caleb gave a nod and stealthily walked near the doorway to spy on her.

I waited impatiently for about five minutes while Caleb focused on her.

He ran back and jumped beside me right before Milla stepped inside the room again.

“My mom called,” she said, smiling radiantly. “She just got engaged! Can you believe it?”

“Are you happy about the guy she’s marrying?” I asked in a grim tone.

She gave an enthusiastic nod. “Yeah! Brian’s a great guy.”

My brother and I glanced at each other, wearing the same expression on our faces. Coincidentally, our dad was a Brian too.

“I’m going to meet them right now,” she said, grabbing her tote bag that came with the quote “Mischief Managed”. “All the best, Corey. I’ll see you at school soon.”

I smiled at her, despite the slight pinch of jealousy I felt. Milla could’ve stayed with me and Caleb and entertained us with her funny cuteness, but now she was running to her mom and some guy who’d decided this was the best time to propose.

“Do you think the guy’s into her mom? Caleb said with a frown. “What if he’s just looking for a chance to get closer to her?”

“I won’t be surprised.”

Our faces darkened.

“Let’s ask Noah to keep a watch over her,” I said. “He sees her in classes, so he’ll know if there’s a change in her.”

“Yeah,” Caleb agreed. “I’ll break the old geezer’s face if he tries anything with her.”

I glanced sideways at my brother. He was rarely so protective over a girl.

“What’s got into you?” I asked lightly. “You’re not interested in her.”

“What if I am?”

“Well, then we’re going to have to share.”

Our faces split into identical devilish grins. This wouldn’t be the first time we shared a girl between us.

“Do you think Noah’s going to want to share?” I asked with a choked laugh.

“Well, he’s going to have to,” Caleb said bracingly. “That’s the only way he’ll get to lay a hand on her.”

“Camilla Brown...heh!”

“I know,” Caleb said with a chuckle.

“I didn’t know we could be interested in a chick like her,” I said thoughtfully. “She’s too different from the girls we hang out with.”

“We’re not teens anymore,” said Caleb. “Fake boobs aren’t that great to play with and there’s a limit to tolerating the bullshit some of them threw at us.  Milla’s a real woman. There won’t be eyelashes or boob cups falling out. She’ll look the same after the night’s over.”

I chuckled. “I know, right? A few girls legit scared the shit out of me when I woke up the next day. Ugh! And one time, a girl took her sweet time to remove her butt pad.”

“Did you still fuck her?” Caleb asked with a smug smirk.

“I was bored, so...” I shrugged.

He barked a laugh and slapped my back hard. “Dawg!”

“Shut up!”

“Well, let’s hope her new stepdad treats her right,” Caleb said, his expression turning grim again.

“He better,” I said through clenched teeth.

Milla had no idea but she had three avenging devils watching over her now.