Chapter Three: A Ride with my new mates.

  

   The car was huge.

   A black Rolls-Royce, shiny and expensive-looking, the kind of car you only see in movies. The seats were soft black leather, and the air smelled like expensive cologne. It was the kind of car that made people stop and stare.

   And somehow, I was inside it.

   Damon was driving, his hands gripping the wheel tightly. Dominic sat beside him, quiet as always, tapping his fingers on the door. Darius and Dante sat next to me, their presence filling the space like they owned it.

   The silence was cold.

   They thought I wasn’t okay.

   I could feel it in the way they kept looking at me, in the way the car ride felt so tense.

   I bit my lip, as I giggled out loudly.

   Darius frowned. “What’s funny?”

   I shook my head. “Nothing.”

   Dante raised an eyebrow. “You were just in a hospital bed, and now you’re laughing. That doesn’t seem like nothing.”

   I covered my mouth, but the laughter slipped out again.

   Jason. My ex-boyfriend. The one they probably thought broke my heart.

   They had no idea he didn’t leave me for another girl. Nope. He left me for Noah—my best friend.

   And right now, that felt like the funniest thing in the world.

   Damon’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Ava.”

   The way he said my name calmly almost made me stop laughing. Almost.

   Dominic looked at me through the rearview mirror, his silver eyes sharp. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

   That just made it worse.

   I laughed harder, my whole body shaking. Darius and Dante looked at each other, confused. Even Damon, who always acted so serious, frowned a little.

   “What’s so funny?” Dante asked, annoyed now.

   I wiped my eyes. “You guys think Jason broke my heart, don’t you?”

   Darius folded his arms. “Didn’t he?”

   That sent me into another fit of giggles. “Oh, no. Not even close.”

   They all looked more confused.

   Dante leaned in. “Then why were you crying at the hospital?”

   I sighed. “Because it was embarrassing, not heartbreaking.”

   Dominic’s fingers stopped tapping. “Explain.”

   I smirked. “Jason dumped me for Noah.”

   Silence.

   Complete, heavy silence.

   Then—

   “What?” Damon’s voice was so flat, I almost choked on my laughter.

   “You heard me.” I grinned. “Jason left me for my best friend. Who is, by the way, a guy.”

   Darius blinked. “Wait… Noah? The Noah we’ve seen you with?”

   “The very one.”

   Dante’s eyebrows shot up. “Noah’s…gay?”

   I shrugged. “Bisexual, I guess.”

   Dominic exhaled slowly, his hands flexing slightly. “And he chose him over you?”

   I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Dom. That’s how breakups work.”

   Darius let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

   Dante chuckled. “Didn’t see that coming.”

   Darius smirked. “Guess he wasn’t that into you after all.”

   I groaned. “Thanks for the reminder.”

   Dominic, though, kept watching me in the mirror, his face unreadable. “And you’re really fine with that?”

   I shrugged. “Yeah. It sucked, but honestly? It’s funny now.”

   Damon said nothing.

   But his grip on the wheel tightened.

   And for some reason, that sent a shiver down my spine.

   Darius tapped his fingers on his thigh. “You mean to tell me, we nearly went to that guy’s house to handle him for you, and it turns out he didn’t even leave you for a girl?”

   I raised an eyebrow. “Wait…what?”

   Dante smirked. “Darius wanted to break his legs.”

   I turned to Darius, who gave me an unapologetic shrug.

   “What? He made you cry,” Darius said. “Seemed like a good enough reason to pay him a visit.”

   I groaned, rubbing my temples. “You guys are so dramatic.”

   Damon’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

   “We could still pay him a visit,” he muttered.

   I snapped my head toward him. “What? No! I just told you, I’m fine.”

   Damon didn’t reply, but I didn’t like the way his jaw clenched.

   Darius leaned back against the seat. “Still can’t believe he picked Noah over you. I mean, what does Noah have that you don’t?”

   Dante smirked. “Apparently, whatever Jason was looking for.”

   I sighed. “Can we not do this?”

   Dominic, ever the serious one, spoke up. “If he was into Noah, why did he date you in the first place?”

   I hesitated. That part still stung.

   “Well he said he never loved me, it sucks...” I admitted. “...and when Noah came into the picture, they both decided to just play with my feelings I guess. They  never loved me.”

   I didn't understand why I was telling the quadruplets all these. I just had to talk to someone about it, bottling it up seemed to hurt more.

   Darius muttered something under his breath.

   Dante leaned back. “So basically, he used you as an experiment.”

   I sighed. “I guess you could say that.”

   Damon’s fingers flexed on the wheel.

   Dominic exhaled. “That’s messed up.”

   I forced a smile. “It’s not that deep.”

   Darius gave me a long look. “You’re acting like it’s funny.”

   I tilted my head. “Because it is funny.”

   Dominic’s gaze was sharp. “Or maybe you just want it to be.”

   I opened my mouth but had nothing to say to that.

   The car went quiet again.

   I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “Just drop me off a few blocks from my house.”

   Darius raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

   “Because my mom’s probably at the window, and I don’t feel like explaining why I’m in a Rolls-Royce with four guys she’s never met.”

   Dante chuckled. “Fair enough.”

   Damon made a sharp turn, driving smoothly through the streets, and a few minutes later, the car slowed down.

   I reached for the door handle, ready to leave.

   But before I could step out, Damon finally spoke.

   “Like I said earlier, you’re not getting rid of us that easily, Ava.”

   I froze.

   His voice was calm, but there was something in it. A warning. A promise.

   I turned to look at him, and for the first time since this whole mess started, I realized—

   They weren’t going to let me go.

   Not now.

   Not ever.

   And suddenly, nothing was funny anymore.