Book 0.5 by S. P. Macomber (e novels to read online txt) 📕

Pulling the Hummer into the parking stall furthest from the entrance, I place it in the park position before taking the keys out of the ignition. I hear rap music pound from the upper level as soon as I open my door. Shutting the door, I watch my brothers follow suit, but not surprisingly, Axel waits for no man and immediately races up the stairs, smacking Max on the shoulder along the way, calling back with his hyena laugh, "Last one up is a stink pussy!"

Max and Heath both not able to pass a challenge-up run. Instantly catching up to Axel. I lost sight of them, but I could faintly hear Heath shout back. "You already are a stink pussy!"

 Not bothering to run, I take my time climbing the stairs, eyeing the graffiti lining the stair walls. When I got upstairs, Axel and Max were both on the couch. Neither said anything about me being last.

The interior of the building was completely different from the outside. We had painted the inner walls with more graffiti and had furnished it with secondhand furniture. As soon as you make entrance into the Den, you are met with worn, brownish couches surrounded by a circular wooden table we had found at the dump. Behind the furniture was a room further back that held two old, worn pool tables that I had earned as payment for a favor I had completed, with different types of chairs lining the wall. It was currently surrounded by a couple of our friends playing pool.

As soon as I enter, everyone takes notice making their way to me.

"Ian my man! We thought you were resting tonight?" Nolan shouts in joy, bounding over to me to slap hands.

"That was the original plan."

He jerked his head in a nod and said to me, "well, I'm glad you changed your mind."

Axel pops up from behind him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder, shaking him in excitement. "He did more, then change his mind, my boy! He's allowing us to crash the rich pricks party tonight."

Nolan had been grinning at Axel but now whips my way surprise clearly shown on his face. "Really?!"

I confirm with a nod.

"Hell yeah!" Nolan shouts,wrapping his arm around Axel's shoulder in return. Turning back, he places their faces close together. "You know what that means, right?" He whispers. Axel nods already reading Nolan's mind. They both send each other a shit-eating grin. "FREAKY PUSSY!" Laughing crazily, they run away, down the hall together to create mischief.

Shaking my head in amusement at the two, I head to the couch, taking a seat next to Max, with everyone taking up residence around me. I feel hands slide onto my shoulder from behind the couch, catching them before they could head further south already knowing the culprit. I don't bother turning around to look at her, instead I pull her forward over the couch, causing a yelp to fall from her mouth. I deposit Stella onto the floor in front of me, not at all caring. She sends a heated glare my way when everyone laughs.

"What the fuck Ian?!"

I send an emotionless stare back in response. "I told you before stop fucking touching me. It's not my problem, you don't listen, Stella."

Blowing out a frustrated breath, she tries to stand up, using my knees as leverage. I don't bother letting her touch me, moving my knee away before she can make contact. She falls back down to the ground, slapping the concrete in anger. "Ian!"

Natalie gets up from her position on Austin's lap, moving to help Stella up, sending me an irritated glance. "Really Ian? You don't have to be such an asshole."

"Come on babe, leave him be," Austin chides his girlfriend, who sends a nasty glare his way.

I don't bother responding decided to ignore their hissy fit.

"Nat back off. He already warned her about touching him," Heath says, making his way back into the room, followed by Eli, Axel, and Nolan.

Natalie pulls Stella up by her arm, "doesn't mean he can't help her up, after all, he was the one that threw her down." 

I shrug "no thanks."

The crew laughs in response. Stella flushes in embarrassment, dusting off her top that exposed most of her rack and her high ripped shorts that show-cased the bottom of her ass cheeks. "God," she sighs in exasperation, sending me a vex look "I was just trying to say hi."

After the night I had, I was quickly getting over this conversation. I send an icy glare at both girls "enough of this shit. I don't want to hear your bitching. If your feelings are too hurt for you to handle your more, then welcome to take a fucking hike," both girls flinch, realizing they had pushed me too far. "When I say don't fucking touch me, then don't fucking touch me."

Tension quickly fills the room, sending everyone in the vicinity on alert.

Stella has had a crush on me for as long as I could remember, which was why she constantly found any opportunity she could take to touch me or try and gain my attention. I've told her multiple times I don't touch girls that hang in our inner circle, but she's fucking psycho and wouldn't take no for an answer. Usually, I didn't get bothered by small shit like this, but having to deal with Frank and this on top of it was one headache too much.

Clapping broke the tension in the room. We all turn to see Axel, grinning, standing on the table, "bravo! That was some hard-core shit right there!" Everyone grins except for Stella, who rolls her eyes. As always Axel knew how to work the room in his favor, taking the heat off my back when I started to feel caged in.

"Now are we ready to roll or what?! I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to fucking party!" Axel howls, jumping off the table dramatically running down the stairs to the garage.

Everyone files out after him, laughing and joking around.

I stay seated, needing a small moment of quiet. Rubbing my hand over my face, trying to rid myself of all the dark shit brewing in my mind. Looking up, I spot Eli standing by the entrance, sensing my turmoil. When I take notice of him, he makes his way to the couch across from me taking a seat and pointedly looking at my hand. The same hand I had used to punch Frank. "You good?" he asked. Only that nothing more. Eli was never one to pry and maybe that, what made us such good friends.

"Yeah man, thanks."

If Eli knew I was lying, he didn't let on.

Nodding in acceptance of my answer, he stands up and gestures to the exit. "You sure about this party? I remember you telling me you were staying home tonight."

I shrug, ignoring the empty pit settling in my stomach. I wasn't sure about being social tonight, but I knew this was what my brothers had asked of me and that was more than enough. I wasn't able to provide the perfect life for them, but I could provide one they could enjoy.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Standing up, I walk towards him to slap him on the back as thanks for looking out. "Who knows, maybe we'll both get some company tonight. I heard the girls at this party would be quite freaky." Sending a teasing wink, I stalk past him down to the garage.

"Who the hell said that?" Eli asked, amused, following in my footsteps.

 "Who else?"

Laughter flows from behind me. "More like your crazy ass brother is the freaky one and the girls are dumb enough to fall for his charms, doing whatever he asks."

"Hey!" Axel shouts from the bottom of the stair, trying to appear offended. "I'll have, you know, I'm quite the innocent young boy. This right here," he says, forming a heart by the left side of his chest "is still a virgin."

Reaching the bottom, I watched everyone who had been either waiting in their vehicle or outside it, making conversation burst out with laughter at Axel's idiotic nature. Rolling my eyes in amusement, I softly slap the back of his head in good nature, causing him to laugh like a lunatic. "Hurry up, I thought you wanted to party," I state, striding to the Hummer where Heath, Max, and Nolan were having a conversation.

"Oh yeah!" Axel skips, to my side twirling around to face our friends, and walks backward. "You heard the big boss, amigos, let's roll out!" Before turning around and making a quick dash to the Hummer in enthusiasm.

Following in my brother's wake, I reach the Hummer. Just as I open the driver's door, I take a quick turn back to see the crew filing into their designated vehicles. "Hey," I announce, causing everyone to stop what they were doing, to look at me, "follow behind us." Not one of them disagreed. No one ever truly did when the order came from me.

 Closing my door after taking a seat, I place my keys in the ignition, starting the Hummer and turning up the radio. Reversing out of the parking garage, I make a turn, straightening out our vehicle, and head out of the Den, followed closely by the rest of our friends. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I looked towards my review mirror to see Axel looking back with a serious expression. Arching a brow in question, I lay in wait. Most people knew Axel as the funny, outgoing, lunatic. Who lived for parties and loved the ladies. Even our brothers were easily fooled by the persona he played, but not I. I and only I knew the dark parts of him, the parts he kept so well hidden. It was what made him so unpredictable.

"We love you, bro," he utters just loud enough so that I could hear squeezing my shoulder.

I don't bother questioning his random confession. I was used to them. It was his small way of trying to show me that he appreciated all that I do, for them and that I was never truly alone in this world. Feeling a lump form in my throat, I quickly swallow it back down not allowing my emotions control. Instead, choosing to nod in understanding, "I know. I love you guys too."

He sends me a genuine smile before sitting back in his seat conversing with Max allowing me to focus on my driving. Following the dirt road out to the main road away from our hideout, I quietly let loose a sigh, feeling all the tension from earlier leave my body. Flexing my right hand on the steering wheel, I could feel the cuts and bruises already starting to form and burn, yet I would never regret punching that piece of shit. I honestly would prefer to head home and lay on my bed, but my brothers needed this and so that's what I would do. After all, they always came first.

 5

The house we drove up to was filled with light, loud music, and drunken laughter. Mansion. The mansion actually. This building would be considered a castle compared to the dump we lived in. The driveway leading up to the house was packed with vehicles too expensive