Be My Brayshaw (Brayshaw High 4)

Am I a liar?

The simple answer is yes, but who runs around sharing secrets so easily?

I might have grown up in a different world with different rules than they did, understood trust in an entirely singular way, but I know better than to share my soul with others. I saw firsthand what happened when you did, and it was never good.

Even the strongest are rendered weak against their greatest enemy, and the smart know exactly where this lethal threat lies—deep within your own mind.

Nothing is more dangerous to a single person than what’s hidden inside them.

They steal your humanity, rob you of your riches, hold you back from living your life, yet still, secrets are what make worlds like these, Brayshaw and the other families out there just like theirs, go round.

Every so often those hidden truths leak, and down goes the weakest link.

Not that there is one of those living inside these walls.

These boys, these brothers, they’re equally strong, but oh so different in so many ways.

Maddoc, the oldest, is the most intimidating, both visually and mentally. The green glass of his eyes and dark hair make for a menacing allure. Neither would matter, he’s even more dangerous than he looks. A simple stare from him gets in your head, forcing you to question everything you’re thinking.

Royce is the tatted, teasing party boy who never calms enough to pause, moves without thought yet still somehow every move holds purpose. He’s a hardened heart and harder fists, smiling through each hit. The dark in his eyes never brightens, though he grins as much as he glares.

And then there’s Captain.

As if built from the deepest desires of my own mind, ones I didn’t know existed until I laid my brown eyes on his Caribbean ones, a perfect mix of green and blue and ever-shifting. Tall and broad, wide shoulders and sculpted arms, his strength needs no added flare. Combine those things with his sandy blond hair, and he’s a perfect Ken Doll.

If his body wasn’t enough, his person radiates a deeper pull, one I tried to run from the moment it was felt but couldn’t escape.

He’s inquisitive, like me. Sees with his mind, processes with reason, and commands without further force. But as much as he’s all these things, he’s just as threatening and untouchable as his brothers. His ability to think before acting makes him the most dangerous, at least for me.

Maybell has been with them since the beginning, helped guide them along the way, watched as they grew into who they are now, strong and unpredictable.

Brayshaw.

They may have a few months left as high school boys, but they’ve never been summed up so simply.

They’re much, much more.

Boys of power they both inherited and earned, showered with respect for the good they do for their people, and feared for the bad they eliminate.

They’ve brightened nightmares.

And they’ve just taken official reign on this town. Their town.

My lungs expand with a deep breath as I drop my head against the plush patio pillows behind me.

I couldn’t sleep for shit, have been staring out at these monstrous trees surrounding the property for hours now, thinking, but it’s been a complete waste of my time. I haven’t come up with a single way to keep things smooth and simple that won’t bring a whole new set of issues with it.

If it was the four of them, and no one else, it wouldn’t be a problem. They’d push and I’d take it in stride while working toward fixing what I—sort of accidentally—broke.

It’s intimidating, sure, knowing it’s not one person I have to prove myself to, but four, but I knew this from the get-go. There is no other option, no one or the other.

The Brayshaws are a package deal, and I’m the current stray.

Those simple facts I could handle with ease, but Zoey being home changes everything.

There is no way I would even consider forcing myself on them when she’s around. Not only would it be fucked up, but they’d never allow it, and they shouldn’t. I understand that fully, so I’ll need to find another way, or use the time we’ll have once we go back to school to show them I belong, that this isn’t some power kick of a random girl wanting into the family that leads this town.

It’s fated, I can feel it in my bones.

I’m not sure if they realize it or not, but the next few months are going to be tough in some ways.

I have no doubt Zoey found instant comfort here with her family, in the home she was always meant to be in, but there will still be some sort of adjustment or learning period for all of them. Especially since they function as a unit. Not only is Captain going to be faced with new trials as a dad, but the others will as well. They’ll grow in ways most eighteen-year-olds don’t, and quickly. Not that they’ve ever really been teenagers.