Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I strode outside … and immediately ran over to where my brother stood. Because Callie had fainted, her head slumped over, her body limp and dangling in my twin’s arms.
“Oh shit,” I breathed. “Oh shit, oh shit.”
“Oh shit is right,” my brother agreed. “We’ve got to get her to the hospital.”
And we rushed off to the ER because our little girl was sick … and in trouble.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Callie
I woke groggily, unsure of where I was. Blinking hazily, the lights were a blinding white, everything antiseptic and sterile.
Slowly, a face took shape before me, a handsome mien with penetrating blue eyes, dark hair and a concerned expression.
“Callie?” asked Blake. “You okay? You’ve been out for a while.”
Suddenly it all came rushing back. The biology make-up session, the aborted dissection, all gone horribly wrong. I hadn’t even been able to look really, the sight of the poor dead animal making me shake with revulsion. So Bryan had done the honors.
But when he’d announced that we had the wrong cat, that the animal was in fact pregnant and filled with kitten embryos, I’d lost it. I just couldn’t go on and had passed out outside, collapsing into the arms of my lovers.
Because Blake, Bryan and I are lovers now. Sure, we’re a little young, eighteen, but Blake and Bryan are practically grown men. They live by themselves in a trailer on the outskirts of St. Francis Wood, the ritzy neighborhood where we go to school. Their uncle is allegedly their guardian, but I’ve never seen this guy and he seems to care little about his nephews, not giving a crap so long as they don’t bother him.
So I’d moved in, and we’d begun a lovefest, doing each other morning, noon, and night, enjoying each other’s bodies, exploring, fucking, fighting, loving.
And right now, they were showing me what the real meaning of family was. Both men hovered about my hospital bed, Blake holding my hand as Bryan traced a finger down my cheek softly.
“You okay girlie?” he murmured. “You had us scared there for a sec.”
I sighed. No, I wasn’t okay, the thought of dead kitten embryos still made my stomach turn, but I’d survive.
“I dunno,” I sighed, stretching slightly, trying to make myself comfortable. “It was just so wrong in every way, you know what I mean? We shouldn’t have to re-do the lab, twice is enough,” I said emphatically.
“Of course not,” agreed Blake, squeezing my hand. “We’ll do another assignment or just take a zero, it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged.
I frowned. Taking a zero wasn’t exactly ideal – after all, I hadn’t received a college acceptance letter yet. But Blake and Bryan had a curiously relaxed attitude towards school. On the one hand, they seemed to know everything already, had already covered all the books in our literature class, and were frighteningly well-read when it came to American history. On the other, grades themselves seemed to matter little despite the boys’ obvious intelligence and aptitude.
I’d quizzed them about their plans after college, and they’d answered in a straightforward manner.
“We’re going to apply to the Police Academy,” said Bryan, smiling. “And the Academy doesn’t require a 4.0 GPA. They just require an IQ test, a personality assessment, and some fitness minimums. Trust me, Blake and I have it under control.”#p#分页标题#e#
“But have you signed up for the exams yet?” I asked worriedly. “I mean, maybe there’s a cut-off deadline. Plus, graduation’s only a few months away, have you stopped by the local precinct to talk to some officers, get their perspective on what it’s like to walk a beat?”
Bryan had been about to answer when Blake interrupted.
“You know, I think that’s a great idea,” he said smoothly. And was I imagining things or had he just shot his brother a warning glance? “We’ll drop by the precinct after school tomorrow and see if we can chat with some of the boys in blue, see if someone’s off duty and willing to give us the low-down on the lifestyle.”
And I’d smiled happily because I wanted what was best for them. I’d never expected to marry rich, and was perfectly content with two handsome men dressed in police uniforms.
But my mom had other ideas. Mary had laughed when I mentioned I was dating a guy who wanted to be a cop.
“Honey, you can’t be serious,” she said. “Now that I’m engaged to Harold Sterling and Tina’s married Jake Sterling, you have so many opportunities before you! The Sterlings can provide you with an entrée into the most elite crowds, you can meet bankers, lawyers, young tech entrepreneurs. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be taken care of?” she’d asked.