Aria Graice - 46. Chapter 46

The news broke on the same day as Johnathan’s visit and the craziness started straight away. The press turned up en masse and set up camp outside. No one could move in or out of the house without being harassed and yelled at.

The rumours started shortly afterwards and some of the things cropping up on social media were downright sick.

Worst of all, despite Johnathan’s promise to keep as many secrets as he could, the full story about the books was leaked, along with some actual excerpts. Somehow, the press was able to obtain photographs of the dungeon, and there was rampant speculation about the identities of some of the murdered boys. Even though David hadn’t named any of the boys, he had described them, sometimes in great detail. How the press managed to get hold of those descriptions no one could say, but they used them to produce photographs of David with various young men who could fit the bill.

This was absolutely devastating, especially to Amara, who had spent time with some of the boys at David’s parties, although he didn’t know any of them as more than passing acquaintances or one-time bed mates.

At the bottom of the barrel, though, were the things that really hurt, that ate away at the twins and everyone who knew and loved them, were the rumours and speculation about them personally, sometimes including Jay. There were numerous stories about what David might have, or could have done to one, both or all three. High up on the list was the old chestnut of twins’ relationship with each other, and with Jay. Sometimes graphic stories and comments popped up all over social media and although the general consensus was still overwhelmingly supportive and sympathetic, it was the sick minority that really drove knives into the boys’ hearts and thereby into Drew’s.

Both Aria and Amara stopped looking at social media. Aria never set foot in his studio and Amara wouldn’t speak to Alexis or show any interest in making plans for his future. Alexis was forced to cancel all prior engagements for the foreseeable future. He wasn’t happy, but he understood. Everyone understood, but it was frustrating and heartbreaking. Of them all, Jay was the only one who really bounced back. As soon as they realised their fan base remained loyal and supportive they stopped caring about any of the rest and was actually able to laugh at the more outrageous comments, no matter how dark they were. Without Jay’s renewed optimism and enthusiasm Drew didn’t know how he would have managed.

Then Alicia got a call from Lady Jane that had them all running around like headless chickens. The instructions had been simple. Pack light, but enough for two weeks, and be ready at five when the limo arrives to pick you up. Even when Aria called his grandmother, he could get no further information. For the first time since their birthday party, the twins were truly excited, rushing around, throwing things into suitcases and chattering non-stop with Jay about where they might be going. Amara ran out of energy quickly and fell asleep on the sofa, but Aria and Jay were like hamsters on steroids, exhausting Drew, but in such a good way he almost felt drunk from the sheer joy of watching them.

Although Drew’s mother had been included in the instructions, as had Ceriann and Jay, she decided it was a good opportunity for her to return home, so when the limo arrived they all said a tearful goodbye.

“But why won’t you come?” Aria asked, pouting. “You’re our mother now, so why won’t you come take care of us?”

She laughed and hugged him.

“I’ll always be your mother no matter where I am or where you go, but you’re big boys now, all four of you.” She flashed her brilliant smile at Jay over Aria’s head. “You have your life to live and I have mine. I have things to do. Christmas is coming up fast and I’ve a lot to get sorted before then.”

“Will you come for Christmas?” Amara asked immediately. “Grandmother asked us to go to the Hall but it’s too soon. We want to have it here, so please come.”

She shook her head firmly. “I love you all to death, but I have other family to depend on me too, and we have standing plans.”

“Bring them all,” Aria said, his eyes shining. “We can have a big family Christmas. I’ve always wanted one of those.”

“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you all come to me. You can meet Sioned and the kids and you can start learning some of our little family traditions. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but Ceriann can sleep in the van and I’ll go next door. It’s only to sleep, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” both Aria and Amara said together.

“I…” Amara took a shaky breath, biting his lip. “I’d really like that.”

“We can tell the press were going to Grandmother’s,” Aria said. “They’ll believe it and besides there’ll be lots of exciting things going on then and they won’t care about us anymore because we won’t be going to boring parties but hanging Christmas trimmings on sheep.”

Everyone cracked up at that. “Come on, you idiot,” Jay said and tugged Aria away. They planted a quick kiss to Drew’s mother’s cheek. “Thank you,” they whispered.

“Nothing to thank me for, cariad. Remember all those talks we had, now.” She reached up and brushed rainbow hair behind Jay’s ear. “Don’t be letting what ignorant people have to say bring you down. You are not your past, you are your present and your future. You’re my…” She paused for a moment. “You’re my Jay, and you’re amazing. I’ll see you Christmas, yes?”

“Nothing could stop me,” Jay choked and turned away quickly, dragging Aria to the limo.

Amara kissed Mrs. Chance too. She didn’t hug him but stood quietly for him to hug her. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, bach. It won’t be for long. I’ll see you Christmas.”

“You will. We’ll be there, I promise.”

She drew back and gazed into his face. “You’re tired, bach, and not well. Things are hard when you’re ill. Life don’t make sense and everything is blown out of proportion. Give it time. Everything will turn our right in the end, see if it don’t. And no matter what happens, we’re here for you. All of us. And you haven’t even met our Sioned and her kids yet. You’ll like them, and they’ll love you. You’ve got a new family now, and there’s aunts and uncles and cousins, and even a grandparent or two to look forward to.”

Amara blinked. “That sounds like a lot.”

“Wait till you come a proper family gathering. That’s usually a wedding or a funeral, mind you. But don’t worry, we won’t throw them all at you at once. One little bit at a time. Alright?”

Amara smiled. “Alright.”

“You take care of my Drew now. Make sure he doesn’t get himself into any mischief.”

Amara snorted. “I can’t promise that.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oh well, I’ll just have to be hoping then.”

Drew hugged his mother and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll keep you informed,” he said and melted under the smile she gave him. Then he hurried to help Amara into the car. There was a police block at the end of the road, but even so, press had escaped and were running at them. Drew had barely closed the door before the first reporters were banging on it. It wasn’t like it had been in Wales, though. This driver knew what he was doing and there were police on hand to help them get through. The press would follow them, Drew knew that, but he didn’t care because here in the safe body of the beast of a limo it was only him and some of the people he cared most about in the world.

“What’s the smile for,” Jay asked.

“What?”

“You look like the cat that got the cream,” Jay said, grinning at him. A lock of hair had fallen over their face and was the brightest thing in the car.

“Well, aren’t I?” he said, stretching his arms across the back of the seat and dropping them over the shoulders of the twins, who leaned in to him with contented sighs.

Jay laughed. “Now isn’t that a picture I could sell for thousands.”

“Really?” Ceriann piped up. “Thousands? Where’s my phone?”

“Thought you said I’d crack the lens if you took one of me?” Drew said lazily, sinking back into the soft leather.

“That was when I couldn’t make money out of it,” she said, grinning at him. “Hey, don’t judge. The Painted Lady needs new wheels and a proper overhaul before we head off into the setting sun.”

“The Painted Lady?” Jay asked.

“The tin shed she euphemistically refers to as a “van”.”

“I like that,” Jay said. “The Painted Lady. Yes, it suits her. Hm.” They thought for a moment, a crease between their brows. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll help you get the repairs done, if you’ll take me somewhere before you go abroad.”

Ceriann grinned. “I knew you were after my body.”

Jay snorted. “In your dreams. I told you, you’re not my type.”

“Yeah, yeah, type-shmipe, but I can see the twinkle in your eye.” She winked. Thankfully, Jay was getting used to her now and they laughed out loud.

“Whatever. So, will you?”

“Will I let you have your wicked way with me? Sure, but I might need some time to get it all going again. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”

Jay snorted. “Right. Right. No, will you take me somewhere in The Painted Lady?”

“Sure. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care. Just somewhere. Away. To the sea, maybe. Or Scotland. Somewhere away from the press and all the…” They waved a vague hand. “This.”

“For sure, love. I’m not going until February. Plenty of time. Not sure how you’re going to find the seaside in winter, though. And Scotland will be bloody freezing.”

“I don’t care. I can put on lots of clothes. Those big sweaters with necks up to your ears and woolly hats.”

“You’ll have to wear a kilt in Scotland,” Aria piped up. “It’s the law.”

“Only at weddings and funerals,” Ceriann said smoothly.

“Just as well.” Jay grinned and stretched out long legs encased in the tightest black jeans Drew had ever seen. “I don’t think Scotland’s ready for my legs.”

Everyone laughed and for a moment the oppressive silence that seemed to have seeped into everyone over the last few days, lifted.

The twins fell asleep quickly, snuggled in to Drew’s side, and while Jay and Ceriann rifled the fridge it didn’t take them long to follow. Drew, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard he tried, his mind kept going over and over the past few weeks, all the things he’d done wrong, all the ways in which the twins could have and had been hurt by his lack of focus. The trouble was, he couldn’t see that getting much better anytime soon. The twins were distracting—there was no other word for it—in so many ways. He sighed, wondering if he’d ever sleep again.

They drove for a good two hours. Sometimes, the car rocked and swerved, and Drew knew it was because of the press following them. He’d seen and heard enough to know that accidents happened, far more often than they should. The paparazzi were not averse to running cars off the road if they were chasing a particularly important story, and he had a feeling this one was. The frenzy that started when the story broke had not abated one bit and it was slowly wearing his boys down. He prayed that wherever they were going it would give them all an opportunity to relax.

At first, he’d thought they were going to Lady Jane’s but it was obvious they weren’t. When the road began to get really rough, and the car literally bounced, everyone woke, Amara with a whimper and groan. Drew cradled him gently as he came awake in pain.

“What’s happening?” Aria demanded. “Where are we?”

“I have no idea. I haven’t looked out of the window for quite a while. You were all asleep so I darkened them.”

“We were asleep? Didn’t you sleep too?” Aria frowned. “You haven’t slept properly in ages. You twist around all night, I know you do, because I listen. That’s why you won’t sleep with us.”

“I don’t sleep with you because Amara couldn’t stand having both of us in bed with him. Not while he’s healing.”

“It’s true,” Amara agreed, “but only because you move around so much.”

The words struck Drew right where it hurt and the twins must have seen it, because, as if as one, they hugged him.

“I won’t mind when I’m better,” Amara assured him.

“And we’re going to get a bigger bed.”

“We don’t fit in any of ours.”

“Not the three of us.”

“We want a big round one.”

“Just because we liked it when we were looking.”

“You’ve been looking for a new bed?” Drew asked in surprise.

“Of course we have.” Aria looked at him as if he’d gone mad. “Do you think we were going to all sleep in one of the ones we have. There’s barely room for the two of us, let alone you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re bigger than the both of us together.”

“I am not.” Even while he defended himself, Drew felt the warmth begin deep inside. It was true that he’d kept away, and it was mostly because of Amara’s injuries, but it was also a deep-seated insecurity. Would the twins want him to sleep with them, or only join Amara when they were doing things Aria wasn’t comfortable with? They still hadn’t had “the talk”. The boys kept putting it off and anyone he spoke to about it told him it wasn’t necessary and things would work themselves out. He’d never really believed that.

“We’re going to keep the old beds,” Amara said seriously, “because there will be times when one of us, or all of us will want space.”

“Especially me,” Aria piped in. “I don’t want to sleep in the same bed when you’re having sex, even after you’ve finished, because it will smell bad, and besides Mara liked to cuddle and go to sleep and I don’t want to disturb him. It’s okay, Drew.” He hurried on when Drew was about to interrupt. “You don’t have to stress over that because I am really okay about not sleeping with you some…most of the time. Sometimes we can all sleep together though, just to cuddle. Then, we need a big bed.”

Drew tightened his arm around Aria. “It won’t be most of the time. Don’t forget, Amara will be on tour a lot and when he’s away we’ll sleep together every night.”

Aria perked up at that, but Amara didn’t and his eyes were shadowed even when he smiled. Drew wondered what that was about, but didn’t say anything. He knew Amara well enough to know that when he was ready to talk about what was on his mind, he would.

The car came to a halt and they heard the driver’s door open and close. Voices called back and forth for a few moments, then the driver opened the door, grinning.

“Your chariot awaits,” he said cryptically.

Ceriann, Jay and Aria bounced out of the car and Drew heard exclamations of excitement as he helped Amara more slowly out onto what he was surprised to find was grass, newly mown by the smell of it. Drew inhaled deeply feeling nostalgic for a moment. Well, that explained the bouncing car.

Coming from the dim interior of the limo, it was almost painfully bright. Drew shaded his eyes and looked around. He was shocked to find himself in a field, apparently in the middle of nowhere. There was no sign of press anywhere. In fact, there were very few people at all. Few buildings too. In fact, there was what appeared to be a fancy shed, a small cabin and—

“A plane,” Aria cried excitedly, bouncing up and down. “We’re going on a plane.”

Two men hurried over to the car and loaded the luggage on a trolley while they all made their way across the field to where a smiling man and woman in uniform stood next to a brilliant white plane that sparked and sparkled in the sunshine. Drew’s stomach flipped.

Of course, he’d flown in private planes before—military ones, and he’d never liked it or got used to it. He hated flying, especially in planes as small as this. It seemed barely bigger than a bus. Oh God, a bus with wings. Amara tightened his arm around him, and it was only then he realized he’d stopped. His face or body language must have been betraying his inner turmoil.

“It’s alright, Drew,” Amara said. “I’ve flown all over the world in all kinds of planes, and I’m still here. It won’t be as bumpy as Ceriann’s bus.”

“Ceriann’s bus doesn’t usually bump around above the clouds.”

Amara snorted. “Neither will we. We probably won’t go high enough at all. It depends where we’re going though.”

“Great.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll look after you. It’s a shame we weren’t alone so I could give you something to take your mind off it.”

Drew’s eyes widened and he stared at Amara, who grinned and shrugged. “With all that talk of sex and snuggling I’m feeling quite…” He chuckled. “Randy.”

Drew almost choked. “Um…yeah…maybe not today.”

“One day, though. Alexis has his own plane and pilot. We use them a lot when we’re working or touring. He’ll let us use them. We can go away. Just the two of us. Only for a few days, or Aria will feel left out. Maybe he can join us after a couple of days. He’ll know why and he’ll tease us, but he won’t mind.”

“Oh God, Mara, you’re killing me.”

“Not yet.”

Amara’s grin widened and Drew realized he wasn’t stressing out so much anymore. He bent his head to kiss Amara gently. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“Will you two please come on?” Aria came running across the field. “You can kiss later. If you want to have sex on the plane you’ll have to wait longer and fly around on your own. Right now I want to get on and see what it’s like inside. It looks even fancier than Alexis’ and the crew are all dressed up and smiley.”

“Aria has spoken,” Amara said, beaming up at Drew. “Best not keep him waiting. He’s so annoying when you do that.”

“Hey, I am not annoying. Well maybe I can be a bit annoying, but I’m excited, so humour me.”

Aria grabbed Drew’s hand and began to tow him across the field. Somehow Amara managed to keep up.