"Aideen?" Gavin repeated.
"Hmmm?"
"What's the difference between a girlfriend and a girl friend?" he randomly asked me.
I gave him my full attention.
"Why?" I asked.
Gavin shrugged his shoulders. "I text this girl I've been hangin' around with and asked her what she was to me and she said me girl friend with a gap between the words. I don't get the difference."
I looked at the text when he showed it to me then shrugged my shoulders and said, "The difference, little brother, is the space between girl and friend that everyone calls the friend zone."
My older brothers burst out laughing while Gavin glared at me and said, "Pregnancy has made you evil."
I evilly smirked. "So I've heard."
Gavin grunted, "I feel sorry for Kane, he has to put up with you twenty-four-seven."
I rolled my eyes at him.
Kane and I had been dating, without putting a title on it, for just over a week and things had been great with us. We were getting on better than ever. The only thing I had done with him so far was kissing though. Intense kissing. He wanted to have sex, bad, but I was nervous about it because it was different now that we were together.
Gavin leaned over to me then and got my attention when he put his hand on my stomach. He grinned when the baby moved under his touch. "He loves me already."
I grunted, "She... and you're just lucky."
Gavin snorted and pulled his hand away. "He always moves when I talk, or when I touch your stomach. He can sense me."
"The poor kid is probably sick of hearin' your voice and turns over to get away from you... did you ever think of that?"
Gavin gave our oldest brother the finger and it caused me to snicker.
"He loves me," Gavin repeated, firmly.
I smiled. "Of course she does."
Gavin laughed, "No more girls are allowed in this family, only boys."
I snickered to myself, "Whatever you say."
Gavin grinned at me then looked at his phone when it beeped. He got a text message and whatever it read caused him to stand up. "I'll call you later, sis."
My stomach churned.
"Where are you goin'?" I questioned.
Gavin gave me a stern look. "Out."
"Don't be a smartarse, Gavin," James grunted as he glanced at our little brother.
Gavin raised an eyebrow. "I'm twenty-two; I don't need to check in when I go someplace."
"Why?" Harley questioned. "Is it too cool to let your family know where you'll be at?"
"No, it's just none of your business."
I narrowed my eyes. "Gavin."
He looked at me and widened his eyes. "Don't you dare."
He knew what I was about to do.
"Are you goin' where I think you're goin'?"
He shrugged and it made my blood boil.
"Tell our big brothers about your new friends."
Dante walked over to my front door and leaned against it with his arms folded over his chest when Gavin turned and walked towards it with the intent of leaving.
"Move."
Dante grinned. "Make me."
Gavin's hands balled into fists, and his entire body tensed, but he didn't attempt to make Dante do anything, which I knew he wouldn't.
"Thought so," Dante smirked.
Gavin growled, "Dante, just move."
"No," Dante responded. "Who are these ‘friends' Aideen is talkin' about?"
Gavin looked at me. "You're a nosey fuckin' bitch. Why can't you just keep it to yourself?!"
He hissed as Dante forcefully smacked him across the head. "Don't you ever talk to her like that, you disrespectful little shite. Do you hear me?"
Gavin rubbed his head. "Tell her to mind her business then!"
I shook my head. "Forgive me for fuckin' carin' about you!"
"I'm fine!" Gavin bellowed. "I don't need lookin' after."
James looked at me. "Tell us who these people are he is hangin' around with. I don't have the patience to wait for him to grow a pair and tell us."
"Oh, my fuckin' God!" Gavin shouted and walked over to my lounge chair, falling onto it. "I can't believe you all treat me like a little kid!"
Because you act like one.
I ignored him and looked at James. "Brandon Daley's crowd."
James stared at me for a second then turned his attention to Gavin. Dante and Harley did the same thing and Gavin yelped when the three of them rushed at him. Dante reached him first and pushed him back onto the lounge chair, holding him there.
"Don't hit me!" Gavin shouted at our brothers.
He wasn't scared of them, he just knew how hard they could hit, and he didn't want to feel any pain.
"You're goin' to explain what you have gotten yourself into. Now!"
I blinked.
James. Was. Pissed.
"I don't need to do a fuckin' thing- Harley!" Gavin roared when Harley reached down and grabbed hold of what looked to be Gavin's dick and his balls.
Ouch.
I pulled a face and tried to cross my own legs as if I could feel Gavin's pain, but my ever-growing belly got in the way.
"So help me God," Harley growled. "I'll rip your pride and joy off in ten seconds if you don't answer the question."
"Wait- just give me a SECOND!"
Harley pulled or twisted something, and it definitely hurt because Gavin's voice rose an octave or two.
Harley evilly chuckled, "Talk, little brother. Now."
"Okay!" Gavin bellowed.
Harley released his privates and stood up straight. He stared down at Gavin, who pressed his hands between his legs and groaned in pain.
"Gav," James pressed.
Gavin looked up at my brothers through hard eyes. "You don't need me to say it; you know I'm jumped in."
Dante reached down, and for the second time, he whacked Gavin across the head. "You just up and made a decision to join a fuckin' gang? Brandon Daley's gang? You stupid little eejit!"
Gavin growled, "It's was my fuckin' choice. I didn't need permission from you or anyone else."
James was lightening fast when he hit Gavin. He landed a punch directly across his jaw and it caused me to jump up to my feet.
"James!" I screeched.
Without turning around my brother said, "Sit back down, Aideen."
How did he know I was standing?
"Don't hurt him!" I snapped. "He is stupid beyond measure, but he is our brother. Our little brother!"
"Which is exactly why I'm goin' to knock some fuckin' sense into him. Now, sit back down. Please."
Bossy bastard.
I grunted, but did as he asked and sat back down on my settee.
"Hit me all you want, nothin' will change."
All three of my brothers glared down at Gavin.
"Why?" Dante asked.
"Why what?"
"Don't play stupid, boy," James growled.
"Why join a gang? Why do somethin' so out of character for you? Why do somethin' plain fuckin' stupid?"
Gavin set his jaw. "Because I wanted to, okay?"
"That's your answer?" Harley asked, his voice firm. "Because you wanted to? Are you fuckin' jokin' me?"
"Just leave me alone. I don't do anythin'. Brandon just has me hang around, and that's it. I don't do anythin' wrong."
Bullshit.
"Not yet," I muttered.
Gavin switched his gaze to me and glared. "Shut up, Aideen."
Yeah, like that would happen.
"You shut up and listen to sense," I countered. "Being in a gang is dangerous, it's run by scumbags and you aren't a scumbag. You're tryin' hard to be somethin' you're not."
Gavin pushed himself to his feet and shouldered past Dante and Harley.
"Where are you goin'?" I snapped.
"Away from you four. I don't fuckin' need this bullshit," he snarled then slammed my apartment door.
"I'll go get him," James growled.
I began to tear up. "Leave him. The more we force him to do somethin' he doesn't want to, the more it'll push him away."
"So we're just supposed to accept he is in a gang now?" Harley asked me.
I shook my head as tears slipped down my cheeks. "No, I'm handlin' it."
"You're pregnant," Dante frowned. "You shouldn't be handlin' anythin'."
I sighed. "Just trust me. Keela can convince her uncle to do almost anythin'. She said she will get Gavin out without a scratch on his head."
"When?" James questioned.
"Soon," I replied.
He nodded.
Harley frowned at me when I wiped under my eyes. "Don't cry, sis. It'll be okay."
I nodded my head and sniffled.
Damn, Gavin.
My brothers continued to frown at me, and then we all looked at sitting room door as the sound of the front door opened and closed.
"Hello?"
"Sittin' room," Harley called out without looking away from me.
Kane, Nico, and Alec walked into my sitting room and each of them raised their eyebrows.
"Everything okay?" Nico asked when he saw me wipe my eyes.
I nodded my head. "Everythin' is fine."
I walked by them, out of the sitting room and directly towards the bathroom. I heard the lads murmur some things as I walked down the hallway, then just as I entered the bathroom, I heard footsteps.