Chapter 68 – Family

I look at Selene's eager face and resign myself to my fate.

"Alright, alright," I say, slowly pushing myself up from my chair. "Let's get this over with."

Selene falls into step beside me the moment I leave my room, practically vibrating with barely contained curiosity. She's like a golden retriever who just heard the word "walk," except instead of a walk, she's anticipating a detailed account about what happened to me during the past week.

I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my head, like she's trying to extract the story through sheer force of curiosity.

We make it about three steps down the hallway before Bianca's door opens. She emerges in her pajamas (the oversized black band tee that's basically a dress on her), with her hair slightly mussed from lying down. Her teal eyes lock onto me with that calculating look she gets when she's trying to figure something out.

We make our way down the creaky stairs, past walls with paint that's actively planning its escape, and into the living room where Mom is just setting her bag down by the door.

"Oh, hey, what's going—" She turns toward us, and her warm smile falters the moment she looks at me. Her green eyes narrow slightly, that maternal radar immediately picking up that something is wrong. "Adam?" Her voice sharpens with concern. "Sweetie, why are you walking like that? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, Mom. But, uh... some stuff happened at school. And I need to tell you guys about it."

The shift in her expression is immediate: from mostly curious to incredibly worried in about half a second. I can see her brain already cycling through worst-case scenarios, each one probably worse than the last.

We all make our way to the sofa, a sagging, creaky piece of furniture that's been with us longer than I can remember. It groans in protest as we settle in, like it's judging us for our collective weight.

Mom sits to my right, immediately turning to face me and taking my right hand in both of hers. Her touch is warm and soft, and her eyes are locked on mine with that intensity that only mothers can pull off. The kind of look that makes you feel like you're six years old again and just broke something expensive.

"How badly are you hurt?" she asks quietly. "Tell me the truth."

"Just bruised, I promise. Nothing's broken."

Her lips press into a thin line. She doesn't look entirely convinced, but she nods. "Alright. Start talking."

Selene claims my left side, settling in so close that our shoulders touch, and Bianca sits beside her, leaning forward slightly with her elbows on her knees.

"Okay!" Selene says, barely containing herself. "We've been waiting forever! What happened? Don't leave anything out!"

I take a breath, looking at each of them in turn. Bianca's eyes are narrowed, her expression ponderous, like she's already trying to piece together a mystery from clues she doesn't have yet. Selene is practically radiating excitement, wide-eyed and curious. And Mom's face is tight with concern, her grip on my hand firm.

"I'll tell you everything," I say. "But let me get through the whole story first, okay? You can yell at me or whatever after."

Mom squeezes my hand. "We're not going to yell at you, honey. Just tell us what happened."

Bianca snorts. "Speak for yourself."

And so I start.

I go through everything, making sure to stick to the version I planned out: the version that conveniently omits certain illegal phone-acquisition activities. I tell them about Jack, about the disgusting things he says about girls when he thinks no one is listening.

"What a piece of shit," Bianca mutters.

"Language, Bianca." Mom says.

I explain how I figured out Jack's PIN by watching him unlock his phone.

"Wait, what was his PIN?" Bianca asks.

"1-1-1-1-1-1."

There's a beat of silence.

"Seriously?" Bianca's voice is flat with disbelief. "Six ones? What kind of dumbass—"

"Language," Mom repeats.

I continue, explaining that Luna is rich enough that her family's response to a potential threat is to fly in a professional bodyguard from another country.

"Holy cow," Selene breathes. "How rich are we talking here?"

"Her family owns multiple companies in Japan. Her apartment is bigger than our entire house."

"Damn," Bianca mutters.

I move on to the main event: seeing Jack and his goons surrounding Luna in an empty classroom. How I pushed Jack, and in the resulting chaos, somehow ended up with his phone in my possession. I'm deliberately vague about the "somehow" part.

"How do you 'somehow' end up with someone's phone?" Bianca's eyebrow is raised.

"It was chaotic. Things happened fast. Look, can I just—can I finish the story?"

"Fine, but I'm calling bull on that part."

Then comes the part that makes Selene let out an actual cheer: me delivering a swift, decisive kick to Jack's balls.

"YES!" Selene pumps her fist in the air. "Oh my god, Adam! Tell me he went down crying!"

"He went down," I confirm, and Bianca reaches over to mess up my hair affectionately.

"Hell yeah, that's my brother."

"Adam," Mom says, significantly less enthusiastic about violence than the sisters. "What happened after that?"

Right. The less fun part.

I tell them about getting beaten up after that.

The mood shifts immediately. Selene's smile vanishes, replaced by wide-eyed horror. Bianca's jaw clenches, and I can practically see the anger radiating off her. Mom's hands tighten on mine, and I watch as her expression transforms from concerned to absolutely furious.

"Those absolute pieces of shit." Bianca hisses.

I try to breeze past that part quickly, and describe how Eva, Luna's bodyguard, showed up and absolutely demolished Jack's two friends like they were nothing.

That distracts them.

"Wait, the bodyguard is a woman?" Bianca asks.

"Yeah, and she's terrifying. In a really cool way."

"Hot," Bianca comments.

"Bianca," Mom sighs.

"What? I'm just saying, strong women who can kick ass are hot. That's just facts."

I push forward before that conversation can go anywhere weird. I talk about how we went to Luna's apartment to look through Jack's phone, and that's when things got really disturbing.

I describe what we found: the texts to Elara, that horrifying picture that made me want to throw his phone into the sun. I watch as my family's expressions shift to absolute disgust.

The silence that follows is heavy. Oppressive.

"That's so gross!" Selene looks genuinely disturbed, her usual bubbliness completely gone. "How could someone even—that's just—ugh!"

"He's a fucking predator." Bianca says flatly.

Mom hasn't said anything, but I can see the fury simmering behind her eyes.

I wrap up the story: Luna's dad flying in personally, how he said he'd "handle the situation", and the final results. Jack's two friends are expelled. Jack himself is gone for a year, getting sent to the military. And most importantly, Jack won't be trying anything with Luna, me, or my family. Ever. We're safe. It's over.

Another beat of silence while everyone processes.

Then Mom pulls me into a hug so suddenly I don't have time to prepare.

And I'm trying my best to be mature. But when your face gets pressed directly into your exceptionally well-endowed mother's chest, certain thoughts just happen automatically.

Boobies.

Ahem, I mean, warmth. Maternal warmth. That's what I'm focusing on. The way she smells like honey and lavender, the way her hand comes up to cradle the back of my head. I can feel Selene's hand in my hair from behind, her fingers running through the strands gently, affectionately. Even Bianca shifts closer, her hand finding my shoulder.

"I'm proud of you," Mom says softly, her voice thick with emotion. "What you did was so brave. I'm so proud of you for helping your friend."

She pulls back, cupping my face in her hands. "But Adam, sweetie, why didn't you tell us any of this was happening? We could have helped."

Ah. There it is.

"I didn't want to drag you guys into it," I admit. "I thought... I don't know. I thought I could handle it on my own. And I didn't want anyone going after you guys because of me."

Mom's expression softens, but before she can speak, Selene jumps in.

"Adam, no!" Selene's voice is uncharacteristically serious. And her pink eyes are actually getting a little watery. "You can't just—we're a family! We're supposed to help each other! What if something worse had happened? What if that Eva person hadn't shown up?!"

"Seriously, dude." Bianca's tone is blunt, but I can hear the emotion underneath. "You don't get to decide to protect us by keeping us in the dark. That's not how this works."

Mom cups my face with both hands, forcing me to meet her eyes. "Adam, listen to me. I understand why you did it, I do. You were trying to protect us, and that shows how much you care. But you're my child, not the other way around. It's my job to protect you, not yours to protect me."

"But—"

"No buts," she says firmly, then her expression softens. "I'm not going to lecture you, because what's done is done. But next time something like this happens, and I pray there won't be a next time, but if there is, you tell us. Even if you think you can handle it, even if you're worried about us. We put our heads together and figure it out as a family. Okay?"

Selene nods frantically. "Yeah! We could've, like, planned something! Or at least known what was going on so we weren't just worried about you for no reason!"

"You don't have to do everything alone, Adam," Bianca adds. "We've got your back. Always. That's what family is for."

The sincerity in all three of their faces makes my chest tight.

"Okay," I say quietly. "I'll try to tell you guys next time. I'll— I'll try to rely on everyone more."

"Good," Mom says, then she pulls me into another hug and kisses the top of my head. "That's all I ask. Just... try."

Selene speaks up. "Yeah! And just to let you know, if you died or something, I'd literally never forgive you! I'd find a way to bring you back just so I could kill you again!"

"Bit dramatic," I mutter, but I'm chuckling.

"Anyways!" Selene bounces back to her usual energy with impressive speed. "You kicked Jack in the nuts! That's amazing! I wish I could have seen it!"

Bianca smirks. "I'm just disappointed you let his friends get hits in. Maybe you should join a self-defense class or something. I didn't love hearing about you getting your ass kicked."

Ugh. I really don't have time to add martial arts classes to my schedule right now. Between school, the café, my workout routine, and my side project, I'm already stretched thin.

"Maybe later," I hedge. "After I'm done working at the café."

"Fair enough." Bianca leans back, seeming satisfied.

"Speaking of work," I say, grateful for the segue, "I can’t work this weekend because of the injuries. Which means..." I look around at all of them. "I'm completely free tomorrow. And I missed family time last week. So what should we do?"

Selene's face lights up like someone just told her Christmas is arriving early. "Oh! Oh! Let’s do something fun! We could spend the whole day together!"

"Yeah, Selene’s right," Bianca says. "Let’s spend more time together, you’ve been so busy lately that we barely see you anymore."

"We'll figure out the details tomorrow," Mom says, standing with a small groan. "Right now, I desperately need a shower. It's been a long day."

We all start dispersing to our respective rooms.

I'm planning to turn in early, but as I'm preparing for sleep, my improved hearing picks up a sound from down the hall.

I hear a gentle thunk on a desk and a small sound of frustration coming from Selene's room.

I walk over and knock. "You okay?"

The door opens a crack, and Selene peeks out, looking embarrassed. "Oh, uh, yeah. Just... math homework. I'm stuck."

"Want help?"

Her eyes widen. "Wait, no, you're injured! Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"

"It's just math. I can do math while injured." And honestly, helping them with homework is barely an effort, it's kind of relaxing, in its own way. "Besides, I like hanging out with you.”

Her expression softens into this beautiful, genuine smile, and she opens the door wider. "Okay! But if you start hurting you have to tell me."

An idea hits me. "Hey Bianca!" I call out. "You want in on this? Adam Gray study session, limited time offer!"

There's a pause, then her door opens. Bianca emerges carrying her math textbook and a notebook, looking amused. "Did you just summon me?"

"The Adam Gray Homework Help Service is now open for business. Come on."

"Wow, so generous," she says sarcastically, but she's already walking past me into Selene's room. She reaches up to mess up my hair as she goes by.

"Hey! Don’t mess with my hair!"

"I fixed it for you. You're welcome."

"I hate you."

"No you don't." She winks at me over her shoulder, and damn, she looks so pretty when she does that, that I really can't even pretend to be mad.

We settle onto Selene's bed, a sister on each side of me. They spread out their homework, and I lean over to see what they're working on.

"Okay, let's see what we've got here..."

For the next two hours, we fall into an easy rhythm. I explain concepts when they're stuck, point out mistakes, and celebrate when they get it right. Bianca picks things up quickly once she understands the logic, her handwriting sharp and precise. Selene needs more explanation but gets so excited when she finally gets it that it's contagious.

Between problems, we joke around. Bianca makes sarcastic comments that make Selene giggle. Selene goes off on tangents about anime that somehow relate back to algebra. I make fun of both of them, and they gang up on me in retaliation. It's easy and comfortable and exactly what I needed after the chaos of yesterday.

Selene's bed is incredibly soft. Combined with the warmth of my sisters on either side of me, the gentle scratch of pencils on paper, and the satisfaction of solving problems together, exhaustion starts creeping in.

I slowly lean backwards, letting myself sink into a pile of pillows.

"Adam?" Selene's voice sounds distant. "You okay?"

"Mmph. Tired."

"Go to sleep then, dumbass," Bianca says, but her voice is fond.

"You guys still have problems..."

"We'll figure it out. You're literally falling asleep as we talk." Bianca continues.

"M'fine..."

But I'm not fine. I'm exhausted. My eyes drift closed.

Ding! You've completed the quest: Spend Time with Your Sisters

Rewards:

The notification is the last thing I register before sleep pulls me under completely, safe and warm between my sisters.