LOGINZuriI found Maya waiting in my room when I finally made it upstairs, curled up on the bed like she'd been sitting there for a while already, patient in a way that wasn't usually her style."Come here." She patted the mattress beside her.I sank down next to her, exhaustion finally catching up with everything from the last twenty-four hours, and let my head drop onto her shoulder."Okay, I have to say something." Maya's voice held that particular tone she got right before she said something wildly inappropriate. "I think it's genuinely so cool that you're dating three insanely hot guys. All three of them. Meanwhile I've been out here manifesting one halfway decent guy who texts back, and you just casually collected an entire matching set."A laugh escaped me, cracked and wet, tangled up with the tears still threatening to spill over again. "It's not that simple, Maya.""I know, I know, big feelings, complicated family drama, I'm getting there." She bumped her shoulder against mine. "B
ZuriBreakfast was quiet in the worst possible way, forks scraping plates, nobody quite meeting anyone else's eyes across the table."We've booked our flight for this evening." My mum set her coffee down, voice steady but final. "We won't be staying until Monday after all.""If this is about what happened," Alexander said carefully, "we're sorry. We didn't raise these boys to behave this way. We don't know what came over any of them last night. You were meant to stay until Monday. Why rush off over one little altercation? This family has come a long way, Rhea. We've shared dinners, celebrations, years of friendship. One night shouldn't be enough to break that.""One little altercation." My mum's voice sharpened instantly. "You're calling what your sons did to my daughter a little thing?""It was consensual. My sons didn't force themselves on her.” Diane's voice cut in, clipped. "Don't put all of this on my sons, Rhea. Your daughter is equally responsible for whatever this arrangement
ZuriI found the three of them in Ethan's room, still dressed down from the party, the tension of the night still hanging heavy in the air between them. The second I walked in and shut the door behind me, all three went quiet, like they already knew this wasn't going to be a good conversation."I need to talk to you. All of you."Chris sat up straighter on the edge of the bed. "That doesn't sound good.""It's not." I forced myself to keep going before I lost my nerve entirely. "I think we need to end this. Whatever this is, between the four of us."Nobody said anything for a long moment."Because of your mum." Audric said it quietly, not a question."Because of my mum." My voice cracked despite everything I'd rehearsed on the walk over. "She's pregnant, and she's terrified for me, and tonight already nearly tore this entire family apart. I can't keep hurting her over this. I won't.""Zuri—""Let me finish." I pressed my hands together to stop them shaking. "I love all three of you. Th
AudricMy mother didn't raise her voice often. When she did, the whole house seemed to hold its breath."You Jezebel." She had Gabriela by the front hall, coat already shoved into her arms, voice cracking through the foyer loud enough that I heard it from the stairs. "Get out of my house. Trying to destroy my son's life with a lie you cooked up because you couldn't stand losing him.""Mrs. Cole, please—""I should call the police and have you charged for what you just tried to pull in there." My mother's finger jabbed toward the living room behind her. "Accusations like that ruin lives, Gabriela. I could throw you in a cell tonight for it. I'm letting you walk out of here instead, because despite everything, I am still someone's mother, and I imagine yours would be devastated to see how you've turned out."Gabriela's composure finally cracked completely, tears streaming as she clutched the coat to her chest. "Audric, I'm sorry. I love you. I love you so much. I only did it because I w
ZuriI found my mum sitting on the edge of the guest bed, hands folded in her lap, staring at nothing when I knocked and let myself in. She'd changed out of her party dress, hair still half pinned from earlier, and the quiet, controlled stillness of her was somehow worse than if she'd been crying.She didn't look up.I knelt in front of her instead of taking the chair across the room, needing to be at her level, needing her to actually look at me. The floor was hard against my knees, but it felt right somehow, smaller than her, deserving of it after everything I'd let unfold tonight without warning her once."Mum. I'm sorry."Nothing. She kept her eyes fixed somewhere past my shoulder, jaw set, the silence stretching long enough that I felt it settle heavy in my chest."Are you still not talking to me?" My voice cracked. "I can't get through this without you. I need you.""You don't need me, Zuri." Her voice finally came, quiet and precise, each word landing like something she'd been
ZuriMy dads led me into the small study off the main hallway and shut the door behind us, and the second it clicked shut, Jackson started pacing, one hand dragging through his hair over and over. Brandon stood by the window with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, quiet in a way that felt worse than shouting.I sat on the edge of the couch, staring at my own hands, shame burning hot enough that I couldn't bring myself to look at either of them."You are in a lot of trouble, Zuri Sterling." Jackson stopped pacing long enough to face me directly. "Starting right now, you're going to explain yourself.""Dad, I'm sorry.""Don't apologize." Brandon's voice stayed level, though I could hear the effort it took to keep it that way. "What was that? Sneaking around with Audric?""I love him."Neither of them said anything right away, both of them just looking at me like they genuinely didn't know what to do with that sentence."He had a girlfriend, Zuri." Brandon finally said. "You c
RHEAThe discharge nurse handed me a stack of papers I barely glanced at before shoving them in my bag. Instructions about monitoring symptoms, when to seek emergency care again, and medications to pick up. None of it mattered. All I wanted was to get out of this sterile white prison.Brandon’s han
RheaI slide into Elora’s car and slumped against the seat, my whole body feeling like it had been wrung out and left to dry.“Okay, spill,” Elora said, pulling out of the parking lot. “You’ve been weird all day and I want to know why.”I stared out the window, watching the school disappear behind
BRANDONPractice was shit.I couldn’t focus worth a damn, kept missing passes that should’ve been automatic. Coach was riding my ass, Anthony kept running his fucking mouth, and all I could think about was this morning.That smile. That fucking smile she gave us when she walked out of the kitchen.
BRANDONBreaking Rhea is fun.Tying her up and watching her beg to be fucked while I smack her clit with my belt was the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Better than any high, better than any win on the field, better than anything I’d ever experienced.My cock has been hard as a rock for hours,







