Page 6 of Caged Heart
“He’s just going through some stuff right now. I hope it’s nothing big. I’m worried about him; we’re twins, but he’s still my baby brother by 5 minutes.”
Mars answered when I finally reached my room. I shut my door, not wanting to hear more of his lies.
Fucking liar.
Chapter4
Carmen
“Should I just try and stay somewhere else?”
I’m not worried about Ares as much as I’m about myself.
Ares doesn’t seem to want me here, and yes, I have nowhere else to go. Dammit, I will not be his punching bag when he decides Mars isn’t around to be yelled at.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s not going to treat you like he’s treating me; for him, it’s personal with me, so he’s always angry, but if he said you can stay here, he means it.”
Mars doesn’t even realize how amazing he is. Can’t his brother see how much he cares?
“Thank you.”
I’m trying not to blush, but he does this. I know that sleeping with his brother and then blushing over him is the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but I can’t help it. You don’t just stop crushing on someone because you had one night with his brother. I mean, I can barely remember it.
Mars reached out and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. He moved in closer, letting his body caress mine a little. Looking up at him was worth it, even if the height was a little on the we’re not so leveled side. He cupped my face in his hand and smiled at me.
“You’re welcome. When you call Carmi, I’ll always answer. You know that, right?”
My eyes don’t bug out exactly, but it felt like that’s what happened. My heart soared, trying its best to stay inside my chest.
I knew Mars was going to kiss me, I just knew it, and then the moment was broken by Ares’s heavy footfall coming back down the hall. I practically jumped back like I was getting caught doing something bad, and by the time I realized it, Mars was looking at me with a demanding expression written all over his face.
I had nothing for him. No explanation whatsoever. My body just reacted.
Ares didn’t pay us any mind as he trudged his half-naked body throughout the open-concept apartment, getting what he needed. My breath hitched for another reason, and it was clear because I had never seen Ares in this state. His body had bruises and faint scars from his shoulder blades to the middle of his back, where it got uglier, redder, and, more significantly, to it getting smaller as it traveled down the back of his legs.
Ares's back tattoos were of a giant serpent that seemed to have encompassed his entire body. From his left ankle, the serpent’s tale begins as it’s drawn to show how it’s part of his whole body. I’ve only seen some of it, but the complete piece makes me awestruck. The head of the snake isn’t visible as the last of it disappeared at the nape of his neck, meaning he was the serpent, maybe?
“Are you done ogling, my brother?” Mars gets my attention again. My eyes struggle to look away from Ares, but they do, and they land on the darker tone of green compared to his brother’s lighter tone. How the hell do I even know this about Ares?
“I wasn’t ogling. I was looking at the tattoo as a whole. Never seen it like that.”
That could be true; that could be a lie. I don’t remember much about it. We get quiet again like we always do around each other, and he smiles at me, making me feel special.
“Your room is the last one on the right. The bathroom is right across from it. We’ll discuss other shit tomorrow. Sent the code to your phone.” Ares announced as he walked away again. “If you need anything, don’t pound on my door. It won’t end well.”
Ares doesn’t so much as offer a goodnight to either of us. Well, there isn’t a need for a goodnight. It’s still early in the evening.
“How did you live with his temperament all these years?” I teased Mars. “Don’t tell me you two shared a room?”
Mars chuckled. “We didn’t need to. Ares doesn’t like sleeping in beds much. He sleeps in his closet, huddled up in between his linens.”
“What?”
Mars shrugged his shoulders, but I just couldn’t understand how he could say that so calmly. His brother sleeps in his closet? Is that something to seek help for? Is that why he’s always so angry? Doesn’t it hurt his body?
“Don’t make it a thing, please. And I know I told you, but I only did because you’re living with him; it’s better if you pretend you don’t even know. I never said a word.”
I nodded, making a zipping of my mouth gesture.
