You Were Never Honest (Never 2)

Prologue

The summer will be one of the best ones I have ever had in my teenage life, but everything has to end sometime.

Letting people in, scared the ever-living life right out of me and at least two people will prove to me that sometimes, being alone is the lesser of two evils. Elijah will surprise me every day and no matter how hard I try to push him away, he’ll just keep on coming back. My very own real-life boomerang.

Noah will break my heart in a different way, but I can’t imagine there is a single thing he could do that would make me not love him or want to be around him.

As for Amias, I said he wouldn’t be able to get rid of me that easily, that I would always be there for him and now. Well, he may well make a liar out of me. The bullying last year was bad, and it would only get worse, but Amias hurt me more than any of them ever could. I didn’t think it could get any harder, but they always say bad things come in three and the next one will shake my very foundation. First impressions will always stay with you and when Her dishonesty is brought into the light, I’ll wish I had stuck with my guns and refused to open myself up to hurt again.

Lies, pain and a world of hurt and that’s all before I discover more and more clues regarding the brother I thought I knew. I said nothing could change the way I saw him; I guess it isn’t only Amias that will make a liar out of me this time.

Devon was right, I know that now. Sometimes it’s better to leave ghosts buried, instead of revealing things you never thought possible. I will always love him, but my snooping will do worse than revealing a side I never saw. I’m set to put my life on the line, and I haven’t even finished school yet. The hardest thing about being a teenager should be who I want to date, as if I could choose. Where I want to go when I leave school, college, university or straight into work. But no, for me the hardest decision I will make is who I can trust and whether I will make it to my eighteenth birthday. One year to go until school is over for good, hopefully I’ll survive, I miss my brother but I’m not ready to be reunited with him just yet.

The bullies won’t beat me, the deceit won’t keep me down and the danger lurking in the shadows, well, everything must come into the light, eventually.

I may not be ready yet but give me just a little more time and I will be.

One

It’s like a whole other world here, how can a family be this happy and comfortable within their own skin. I might not have had a chat with Elisa yet, but I’ve only been here a day and Eli’s Dads are so different, yet they complement each other perfectly.

“Are you hiding in your room for any particular reason?” Elijah asks as he ducks inside my room.

“That door better stay open Jah, I’m much too handsome to be a grandad,” shouts Benjamin from the kitchen, he is so loud.

“Forget my question, I’d hide in here too,” he says, wagging his brows at me and it’s impossible to not laugh at his antics.

“I’m not hiding, it’s just been crazy. Plus, I don’t really know how to handle your family, they are all so nice and supportive. What is up with that?” I ask, as my door opens wider and Dimitri pokes his head in.

“It’s because they’re all insane, honestly I’m the only normal one here.”

“In your dreams honey pie, now go and set the table and leave the girl to breathe for a moment or two. That includes you as well Jah,” says Elisa and I really do appreciate it. He doesn’t look too happy about being booted out of my room, but he does as he’s told and throws in an exaggerated eye roll.

“I know it can be an unusual situation but hopefully we won’t be too crazy for you, take your time dinner will be ready in twenty minutes,” she gives me a soft smile before closing the door behind her.

How can I make them understand that I don’t have any issues with the way they are? It’s strange to me but not in a bad way. It’s more that I have yet to process anything that Devon said. Is it possible that Elijah and Noah know about Amias and Devon or are they as much in the dark as I was? What about Ivy? Is Amias the reason she had that change of heart and what about the girls? The way they approached me all of a sudden when I was alone?

For crying out loud Devy, you have got me questioning everyone who is in my life now. It isn’t fair, I was starting to enjoy my newfound friends and the companionship that came with it. Now though, I can’t be sure that they are around me because they want to be or due to following someone’s orders. It’s so messed up, but it seems Elijah is my safest bet, he has to be. I can’t imagine he would introduce me to his family if I was just a task, no I know he’s genuine. Maybe he’s the only genuine person in my life right now and of course I have to include myself in this one. How can I see myself as genuine when I keep so many secrets from everyone around me?

No, I need to get out of my head, get changed and then I am going downstairs to spend time with a family that genuinely seems to enjoy each other’s company. It’s going to be fun and I can finally start to understand how a relationship like this could work. It may very well not be a harem for me, which is a really depressing thought but I’m guessing the rules will be the same for a ménage. Damn it Amias, you and Devy have ruined everything, from my warrior to my deceiver well done you!

Okay, I need to make sure I’ve got this right, otherwise it’s going to be not only confusing but also embarrassing if I call his Dads by the wrong names. Devlin is Elijah’s biological father, and he comes from Californi

a, and he’s a vet. He’s the most laid back parent I have ever met in my life.

Dimitri is British but his parents came from Russia and he went to university with Elisa and her third husband Benjamin. Dimitri teaches foreign languages at a college and is the joker of the group. Benjamin is an architect, and he always seems to be thinking about something. He’s definitely the quiet one of the family.

And then there’s Oscar, the serious one. It isn’t a bad thing but he’s extremely organised and seems to keep everyone on their toes.

Or an easier way, blonde and blue eyed is Devlin, brown hair with green eyes is Dimitri, redhead with brown eyes is Benjamin and Oscar has jet black hair with pale blue eyes.

Come on Henleigh you can remember that, don’t make a complete arse of yourself this early on.