Page 3 of Obsessions of the Heart

Looking up, I noticed that there was a tree that had a long, sturdy-looking branch reaching toward the tree the three princes were beneath, and I had an idea. I backed up, going over to the tree next to theirs, shoving the bat into the side of my pants, and climbing up the tree.

“The hard way it is. That's what I like to hear.” Lennon motioned for the other boys to circle up, so I climbed faster, making it to the branch and hoisting myself up. “We’re gonna leave you all in a world of pain, but that can't be helped. You need to learn how it works ‘round here, and pain is the first stop on this hell train.”

I shimmied my way down the branch and carefully landed on the one above the boys. Seeing my opportunity, I took my bat out of my pants and went down, hopping from branch to branch. All of them looked up at the shaking leaves before I jumped to the ground, bat in hand, and faced Lennon with a sneer.

“Now, I don’t think this seems like a fair fight.” My legs were throbbing from all the work I’d just put them through, but I steeled my resolve and lifted my bat.

Lennon’s wide eyes turned into slits. “Stay out of this, Layrin. I don’t wanna fight you. You know this is how it goes.”

The angry ball behind me growled, “Hey, girl, leave. We don’t need your help.”

Licking my lips, I pointed the bat at Lennon. “Yeah, and I don’t like it. In fact, I decided to take these boys under my wing.”

Lennon’s hands fisted at his sides. “Layrin! Get out of the way!”

I turned halfway, looking back at the princes I’d just laid claim to. “I got this. Don’t worry your pretty little heads about it.”

“Get her!” Lennon motioned to the others, and I took a second to map it out.

Jason was the first to come at me, but instead of swinging the bat, like he thought, I shoved the head of it into his chest and knocked him down. Calvin was the second, trying to come at my back, but I swung around and clipped his shoulder. He cried out as he hit the ground.

Despite my legs feeling tired, my soul was on fire. I was scanning for my next victim when the angry prince jumped out, his fist landing a hard punch into Trevor’s face before he turned to me with his fiery eyes. “Stay out of this!”

We looked at each other for a second then went back to back. He could try to hide it all he wanted, but beneath that fire was a shred of respect, and that fueled me even more. The lazy prince slid up next to me, looking me up and down before he cooed, “I think I like you. I’ll let you save me.”

Over his head, one of the boys lifted and swung a baseball bat, giving only enough time for my eyes to fly open and a gasp to puff out. The lazy prince ducked just in time, and I smacked Bert’s ribs like they were a baseball. Hearing another one drop behind me, I knew we only had one more. The three of us were looking around for Lennon when I heard his cry by the creek.

The stoic prince had him in a headlock, a pocket knife held to his throat, as he whispered in Lennon’s ear. Lennon’s face paled, his body shaking, and the prince dug the knife in enough to make him bleed then threw Lennon to the ground. The boy scrambled up, tears in his eyes as he cried, “I’ll leave you alone! Just… don’t. I promise. I won’t bother you again.”

The stoic prince carefully closed his knife, walked over to me, and put his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Layrin.”

I immediately stuck out my own hand, meaning to shake his, but he turned my hand around and kissed it. “We are forever in your debt for helping us.”

My cheeks grew hot as I looked away from him and giggled. “Oh, that's fine. Don’t worry about it.” I shrugged. “Just didn’t want him to mess up your pretty faces.” That was the best you could come up with, Layrin? Damn it!

The lazy prince chuckled next to me. “Well, now we’re in double debt with you. For last night too. You got in trouble, right?”

Again, I looked away, not wanting to admit anything, and that was when my legs gave out. Before I hit the ground, the angry one's arms wrapped around me, whispering harshly in my ear, “You're going to be a pain in my ass, aren't you?”

My embarrassment went up two-fold when I asked him to lean me up against a tree, and he did, surprising me with how gentle he was.

That was the day the Ambros triplets and I became the best of friends. The lazy one was Ravi, the angry one was Roux, and the stoic one was Rion. Lennon didn’t bother the boys again. In fact, if we were walking one way, he would turn around and go the other.

From that day forward, we spent every single day together. I showed them around the woods, explained how to do chores the fastest, and taught them all the tricks and tips for living here. They told me that their parents had died on a trip and they were immediately taken from their home in New York and brought here.

They didn't like talking about what their life was like before they got here, and since I had finally made some friends, I didn't want to rock our friendship by pressing about it. Maybe it was sad or heartbreaking? I wasn't going to try to force them to reveal that to me, so I let it go and always laughed it off.

We spent the next year together, and I learned that Ravi loved chocolates and sweets, his favorite color was red, and he didn't like going to sleep alone. Roux was the simple one, who loved to fight about anything. His favorite foods were meat and potatoes, and he always had a sourpuss attitude, but deep down, that was because he cared. Rion was the difficult one. He always talked to me in a polite, calm tone, and although he never took my hand, he always liked to be right next to me, watching me. He was very intelligent; I would categorize him as the mastermind of the group if he didn't always default to whatever I wanted.

The best yet was that we were all the same age and born in the same month. They were born on October first, while I was born on October thirty-first. Some had said my birthday was the mark of a cursed child, but the three of them told me how perfect of a birthday it was. They thought it meant I was magical. I laughed it off, telling them to quit, but secretly elated that they thought that way.

It was the best year of my life. I finally felt like I had someone, or someones. I wouldn't be left alone anymore.

We made plans for the future, all of us dreaming of living together or working together or traveling together. The three of them made it seem like it was a done deal, that our future was set in stone. It was going to be a “we” from then on and forever… until another stormy night came in and a rich man stole them away.

It was just like the night they’d arrived, with thunder crashing and rain smacking into the house. I was restlessly staring out the window, trying to think up what the boys and I should do the following day, when a fancy car pulled up in front of the house. Backpacks on, my three princes walked in its direction, their heads down.

I wanted to scream, to thrash, to call them back and tell them not to leave, but all I did was stay still and watch my salvation leave me behind.

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