OFF-LIMITS

**Robyn POV**

I sat in the front of my mother’s car, with my knees jammed into the dash. The seat had been pulled all the way forward to make room for all of the boxes and suitcases we’d piled into the back seat. I balanced my backpack on my lap and chewed on my bottom lip as we pulled up in front of the big, luxurious house.

“Well,” my mother said, gripping the steering wheel nervously. “Here we are.” She reached out and squeezed my hand. “This is going to be great, Robbi, you’ll see.”

"That's what you said last time,” I mumbled, staring up at the house. And all the times before that. This was my mother’s sixth boyfriend since my father died three years ago. I should be getting used to this by now, but it was always hella awkward being the teenaged daughter that she dragged along to each new relationship.

“Well, don’t just sit there! Let’s go inside and meet everyone!” She pulled out the keys and opened her door, but I continued to stare up at the big house. I had to hand it to my mom, she had a way of landing these older, professional guys that made good money and had nice houses in good neighborhoods. It’s too bad most of them turned out to be assholes in the end.

I huffed a sigh and unwedged my legs from the tight space. I slung my backpack over one shoulder and pulled the hood of my sweater down low over my face.

Professor Williams had been a colleague of my father’s at the University. I had probably met him once or twice when I was younger, but I really had no memory of him. I trudged up the front steps like I was approaching my own execution. I kept my head down as the door swung open, and my mother was swept into the arms of a guy I presumed must be Andrew Williams.

I’d seen his photos. I guess he was kind of a silver fox. His hair was getting a little thin on top, but he wasn’t bad looking, for an old guy. He definitely dressed like a professor though, with his crisp white shirt and his shiny black loafers. He pressed a kiss against my mother’s cheek and then turned to me. “Well, Robyn, it's nice to finally meet you!”

He stuck out his hand. Was that normal? Do you shake the hand of your mother’s new boyfriend when you meet him for the first time? I sighed as I grabbed it, gave it a death squeeze, and then quickly let go. “Likewise,” I mumbled.

“Whoa, quite a grip you got there. Let me introduce you to my sons, Jack and Phoenix. Boys, you’ve met Denise, and this is her lovely daughter, Robyn.”

I lifted my eyes just enough to get a look at the two guys who were leaning against the doorframe behind their father. Mom had told me the professor had two grown sons, but I hadn’t expected them to be there to meet us on moving-in day. Maybe Professor Williams had conscripted them to help carry our boxes.

Given the size of them, they should be more than capable. Jack was the taller of the two, and he had the long, lean lanky body of a swimmer. His blond hair was perfectly cut and styled, his face clean shaven, and he was dressed like a business executive, with a sportcoat and a boring tie. He had a chiseled face that wasn’t quite beautiful, but it was definitely good looking. He nodded his head in our general direction by way of greeting. Phoenix, on the other hand, looked rough around the edges. He wasn’t as tall as his brother, but he had broad, thick shoulders and biceps like bulging hams sticking out of his faded t-shirt. His dark hair was long, and swept back from his forehead in a half ponytail, and his face was scruffy with a not-quite beard. There was a dent in his chin that drew my attention, and his eyes seemed much friendlier than his brother’s. “Hey,” he said with a warm smile. “Welcome to the family.”

I bristled at that. We weren’t family. And we weren’t ever going to be family. My mother would play house with the professor until she grew disillusioned and realized that he was not going to replace my father. Then she would break it off, and we would move out and move on again. It was a pattern. This was only temporary.

Everything in my life was temporary.

“So,” Professor Williams clapped his hands. “Why don’t we start carrying in your things, and then I thought we’d have a nice dinner out to celebrate your arrival! I’ve booked a reservation at La Forge for seven, if that’s alright with you?” He looked to my mother for confirmation. I noticed that Jack stiffened at the mention of the most expensive and exclusive restaurant in the city.

My mother smiled softly and put her hand on his arm, “That sounds absolutely perfect, Andy.”

For one sickening moment, they seemed to get lost in each other's eyes, and the rest of us ceased to exist.

Ugh, young love.

"Boys, why don't you grab some boxes and show Robyn her room?" The professor suggested, without looking away from my mother.

"Yeah, sure," Phoenix pushed away from the wall and strode past me. He pushed out the door and headed toward the car. Jack followed after him, but I could practically smell the resentment wafting from his body as he passed me.

I wish I could tell him that I wasn’t any happier about this situation than they were. I sure as hell didn’t want to be the third wheel in my mother’s love life, but even though I was eighteen, and I could have gotten my own place, the situation was complicated. Someone had to be here for my mother, to pick up the pieces when things went south. Because they would. These things never ended well.

I trailed after the brothers. The car was unlocked, and they had already started pulling out the cardboard boxes and bags and stacking them on the driveway beside the car. It was pretty sad that our whole life fit into a few suitcases and boxes. It seemed like every time we moved, we left a little bit more of our life behind.

"Which ones are yours?" the taller brother asked. I pointed to the two large suitcases. He pulled out the retractable handle and started pulling it back to the house. I reached for the other, but Phoenix brushed my hand aside. He lifted the whole bag, which had to weigh at least fifty pounds, and balanced it on his shoulder. "This way, princess. Your room is right next to mine."

"Wait!" I said, trotting up the stairs after them with nothing but my backpack. "You live here too?"

He kept walking and didn't answer. Maybe he hadn't heard me.

Once inside the house, they led me past the living room to a sweeping staircase. Jack stopped carrying my suitcase and lifted it by the handle with a grunt so he could lug it up the carpeted stairs. "You know, I can carry that myself," I offered. He gave me a sour look and kept climbing.

Phoenix gestured to the first door on the right. "That's Jack's room."

I frowned. Maybe these were just their childhood rooms that they used when they visited. They didn't actually live here, in the same house as their father. I don't know how old they were exactly, but I guessed they were somewhere in their mid to late twenties. Plenty old enough to have their own apartments.

"And this one is mine," he pointed to a door on the left. "And this is the guest room. I mean, I guess it's your room now." Phoenix balanced the bag and pushed open the next door after his own.

He dropped my suitcase on the floor beside a queen bed with a beige bedspread. The carpet was sand-colored, and there were some generic ocean-themed art prints on the wall. "Well, what do you think?" Phoenix asked.