Free The Academy - Friends vs. Family by C. L. Stone

throat
to get all that dry air.”
    “God damn it, Luke, why did you let her come back here?” Gabriel
shifted, pushing me off of his lap and onto Luke’s.
    Luke wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me as we knelt
together on the platform. Being passed around like that was making my stomach
flip again.
    Gabriel had to angle strangely around the beam to weave his way
out. He let go of the beam too soon, and fell on his back. He grunted, picked
himself up and turned around, reaching back for me. I took his hand, stepping
out next to him, crouching again under the short part of the attic space.
Gabriel crept ahead of me toward the door. I shadowed him on my hands and
knees. Luke angled himself around the beam to follow.
    “Oy, Trouble,” Gabriel called from ahead of me. “Like my butt?” He
stopped and wriggled at me.
    “I like Sang’s butt,” Luke said.
    “Hey now,” Nathan said. “Stop talking about her butt.”
    I stopped and crouched low, laughing against the floor. It was a
mistake as I sucked in a lung full of super dry dust and I started coughing
again.
    Luke’s arms grabbed me around the waist and Gabriel gripped my
arms. They pushed and pulled at the same time to get me out of the attic. I
spilled out against the carpet next to Nathan and Gabriel. I coughed a few
times. Nathan put a hand on my back, massaging.
    I sucked in the cooler air. “I’m okay,” I whispered.
    “You keep coughing like that,” Gabriel said, “your voice will
never heal and we’ll never get to sing together.”
    “That’s probably a good thing,” I choked out. “I can’t sing.”
    I escaped the boys for a moment to find water from the bathroom
across the hallway. Silas was still working in the bathroom. He was cursing at
the pipes in the wall, smacking a wrench against one. I stood quietly to watch
him work, lost in the smoothness of his strong muscles in his arms and the
curve of his firm jaw. He sensed me and turned, his dark eyes focusing on my
face. “Need something?”
    I picked up a tiny paper cup from the counter, taking a sip of
water from the sink. I held the cup to him. “Did you want some?” I knew I was
whispering and he probably couldn’t hear me but he seemed to understand.
    His smile returned. He reached out from the tub and I stepped in
to hand the cup to him. Our fingers touched. A spark ignited in my stomach. His
eyes held mine. “Thank you,” he said.
    The moment was too intense for me and I turned from him, walking
slowly back to my room. Why were my feelings so confusing? I felt the same
flicker of excitement and fear whenever I touched any of them or any of them
touched me. I couldn’t understand how anyone got used to those feelings. Part
of me was afraid Silas would freak out on me again. Part of me wanted him to. I
missed his arms. I missed Kota who was only downstairs. I wanted to crawl into
their laps and remain forever. I didn’t want to be here in this house any more.
I didn’t want them to leave me. How incredibly lonely I felt in that moment and
they were all right there in front of me. I didn’t have the guts to ask for
what I wanted.
    I sucked in a breath, giving myself some control before I
reentered my bedroom. Gabriel was on my bed, spread out on his back. Luke and
Nathan were spilled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. I sank onto
the foot of my bed next to Gabriel’s legs. He shifted slightly to give me more
room, bending his knees until his feet were hanging off of the bed. I sat cross
legged near him. I wanted to hide in the attic with him again and sit in his
lap. I couldn’t find the words or the right way to touch him. I couldn’t reach
out to him.
    “What’s going on?” I asked. They were quiet enough that I thought
someone could hear.
     Gabriel turned his crystal eyes to me. He heard. “Hm?”
    “What are they talking about downstairs?”
    “We’re trying to listen,” Luke said. He put a finger to his lips
as he gazed up at me from the floor.