Date = 13 April
Place = San Francisco (UCSF Medical center)
POV Enrique
“Since everybody is here now, let’s get this party going,” Alejandro gestures for us to go inside. Damion puts a protective arm around Logan’s shoulder and I’m genuinely relieved that he’s here for my brother’s sake he might need someone to talk to.
Everybody takes a cup and finds a spot to settle down. I give my sister her hot chocolate, a small smile creeping over my face as I notice her enlightened countenance when Damion takes her in his arms, positioning his body behind her on the bed so she sits between his legs against his chest. He protectively puts his hand over her small bump. I miss a breath when the realization hits me solidly in the stomach – I want that. With Aria.
Aria is sitting on the small bench next to Haley, so I go stand behind her and place a hand on her shoulder. The fact that she stops trembling at my touch doesn’t go unnoticed. Could it be that she’s affected the same way I am? Can it imply that she might actually feel something for me? Something more than just a contracted sex buddy? She unconsciously places her hand over mine and tilts her head so her cheek rests against both our hands … a jolt of electricity shoots straight to my heart, causing it to skip a beat and it takes me a minute to regain my composure.
“… they didn’t want you to know about this,” I realize that I’ve missed some part of Deimos’s explanation. He’s talking something about some secret our parents kept from us. Fuck … I need to concentrate … this is important.
“So before I get to the DNA results, let me explain something first … your father was diagnosed with cancer for the first time shortly after their wedding. And as a precaution, he saved some of his sperm pre-treatment,” Deimos pauses and runs his fingers anxiously through his hair as if thinking about what to say next. The room is quiet except for the soft humming of the air conditioner.
“He recovered and when he was in remission, they decided to start a family. They used a portion of the frozen sperm to conceive invitro and Ilkay was born. And then the twins in the same manner.”
“So we’re all test-tube babies?” Jackson asks and I’m not sure if he’s impressed or shocked.
“Well … eh … sort of … but just let me finish first,” Deimos says scratching his neck, taking another pause before he continues.
“Wanting a big family, your parents decided to use the last little batch for one more try. But a mix-up occurred. One of the resident doctors accidentally mixed the last of your father’s sperm with another man’s. Unfortunately, the fault was only discovered after it was already implanted into your mom. It was their last chance so they just let it be.”
“Oh, so that’s why Logan only shares half their DNA,” this time it’s Haley that interrupts her husband. I don’t think she grasps what she said right now. We did not inform Logan beforehand about any of this.
“Is that right? Do I have a different father?” Logan looks horrified.
“Yes and no, just let me finish … ” Deimos sighs. “During the very first sonar, there were two heartbeats. Twins. But at the next sonar, only one remained. It’s rather common for this to happen.”
“About 36%,” Ilkay comments and Deimos nods his head and continues.
“But in this case, Logan must have absorbed some of the lost twin’s cells, making him a chimera.”
“I’m a what?” my baby brother asks, looking rather pale.
“A chimera, meaning you have two sets of DNA,” Ilkay answers.
“I’m lost … does this mean he’s our half-brother or what?” Jackson is back to being grumpy again.
“Eh … it means that although he’s our full brother a small part of him also carries the other dude’s DNA,” Ilkay says looking at Deimos for help. I’m so confused. How can someone be two people?
“Exactly.” I don’t fully get it. It’s a little unnerving. I look at Jackson and he winks at me. I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing as me – I’m grateful he didn’t eat me in the womb.
“That’s complicated and not important … the main thing is our mom didn’t fuck around and he’s our brother,” Jackson being Jackson closes the matter.
I let out a soft sigh of relief and say “Yep, even if he was a half-brother … it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway … he’s our brother no matter how much DNA we share.” I mean it … Logan would always be my brother no matter what.
“It’s true … you guys are my brothers and we share no DNA,” Damion confesses. And he’s right … we are all brothers here no matter what our genes are. We’re the fucking San Francisco Boys.
“Eh … if they are your brothers that would make me your sister … and this little bean was then created in incest … that’s just creepy,” Mel concludes and we all laugh at the disgusted expression Damion gets on his face.
“Flowers in the attic here we come,” Aria chuckles and Mel snorts out a laugh. I’m lost … not understanding what that means.
“Ug, that’s just plain fucked up,” Logan scorns. Am I the only one that doesn’t get it? What attic? And what have flowers got to do with it?
“Language … you guys better start swearing less … there’s a baby in the room,” Mel scolds and Jackson blows her a kiss.
“What attic?” Alejandro asks. Thanks. See … I’m not the only one.
“Yeah, I would also like to know,” I say.
“Read a book for once,” my sister teases and sticks out her tongue. She knows I don’t read. Alejandro pulls a face at me. Seems he doesn’t read either.
“Trust me, dudes, you don’t want to read that one,” Lee speaks for the first time, “it’s just sick.”
“Yeah, fine … it’s a perverted book and we’re all brothers … but what I don’t understand then is … if they used dad’s last sperm on Logan, where did Mel come from?” Fuck my twin’s fast twisted mind … I didn’t even think about that … I’m still trying to process what the hell a chimera is and what macabre things happened in that attic … and he’s already on a totally different subject. But it is a good question though.
All eyes turn to Deimos … waiting for an answer. What if she was adopted or something? Nope … the DNA test concluded that she’s our full sister.
“Well, Mel is actually a little miracle baby … she was conceived in the normal usual manner,” Deimos smiles at her warmly.
“Ah, so that’s why I’m so cute,” my sister beams.
“I knew you were special,” Damion rubs his thumb over her cheek.
“Ass-kisser!” Ilkay scuffs.
“Ug, enough of all this … I’m gone,” Jackson leisurely strolls through the door.
“Me too,” Logan follows and Axel sighs deeply while getting up. He’s on the first watch of babysitting duty. He gives us one last be-on-standby look before he disappears.
Then Jackson is back. He grabs Lee’s arm and pulls the little guy with him. All we can hope for is that they won’t end up back here in the hospital. I stare at the empty doorway with a worried frown. Maybe I’m just imagining it … but it seems that my brother is getting worse. Could it still be because of the Harry shit? Or is it his new roommate that steams him up? And now Logan is also in a mood. This day just got even longer. I look at Aria and wonder if she would be up for a quickie in the bathroom. If I ever needed to lose myself in someone, it’s right now. To get strength for the bipolar roller coaster ride I know my brothers are going to take me on.
“So, back to Brian … what’s our next move then?” I ask. I don’t like the fact that he’s close to my girlfriend in any way … in fact, I hate the thought of him anywhere near her. Why is this feelings stuff so damn fucking complicated?
“What exactly does he want you to do?” Ilkay asks looking straight at Aria.
“Eh,” I can hear she’s nervous, “he wants me to get Enrique to hand over the leading role to him … and he also expects me to break up with my boyfriend to date him,” her voice is a few octaves higher than normal and it drills painfully into my heart. Just the thought of me losing her to him … to anyone … hurts more than expected.
“I already quit the role,” and judging by the surprised expressions no one in the room expected this. Aria turns her head back and up to gaze at me with an appalled look on her beautiful face.
“But, there’s no way I’m giving Aria to him,” I continue looking into those shocked green eyes. I give her a warm smile to dispel her fears, my hand on her shoulder squeezing her reassuringly.
“He doesn’t know that he can’t blackmail Aria with this anymore … so let’s wait and see what he does next,” Alejandro comments. It makes sense … but I’m not sure my nerves can be that patient … is this jealousy? Or worry? Or disgust?
Aria’s phone pings alerting her that she has a message. She quickly looks at the screen and I’m sure she turned pale. Is it Brian again? What does the bastard want now?
“Is it him?” I ask, feeling pissed off.
Her head shoots up as if she’s been caught out, “Eh, no … just Noah.” She looks guilty, and my stomach twists into a knot. Is she lying? She gets up.
“Um, I’m going to get some more coffee,” and she quickly walks out of the room. What is she up to now? Fucking women … I’ll never understand them. I follow, hoping to convince her of that quickie.