Bonds of Another Kind

Chapter 3 Pt 1

Anya

It had been a really long day at work. They didn’t normally take on political interest groups, but her boss wanted to expand the business. Research and political networking didn’t sit well with her. She just hated politics and politicians. Though Anya had always loved her job and worked hard to get to where she was, she always hated the part where she wasn’t fully in charge of her life. 

To top off her long day, her sister-in-law called to say that her blind date, well, was married. At least she didn’t find out after the date, she thought to herself. It’s just as well. Carissa meant well, but had a tendency to find scumbags—except for Cam. Cam loved her. Carissa just…wasn’t a matchmaker.

Home was up the road, but she needed gas in her car, and kind of wanted something bad to eat. She pulled in to the gas station. It was already dark out, and the sky had a light sprinkling on stars that were visible between the tall redwood trees.

Exhausted, annoyed, and emotionally spent, she sighed and pulled out the gas pump. 

The place was otherwise empty, save for the bird picking at the full garbage can between the pumps.

A car pulled in to the pump behind hers, and the driver got out. She didn’t pay much attention, but something about the way the driver was especially quiet made her nervous. She skillfully glanced over her shoulder to see the man was doing something on his phone before he pulled his wallet out. He didn’t look at her, so she went back to pumping her gas.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” he said. The familiar sounds of the pump going into a car followed his deep voice.

Anya turned quickly to see him. He easily towered over her and could hurt her like a toothpick with those giant hands. She wasn’t tiny, he was just that large. A freaking giant. He had to be close to seven feet tall. Tracings of tattoos on his wrists snuck up his arms, covered by sleeves of his black jacket.

“Yep,” she squeaked. Had it been daylight out, or she had her adopted bodyguards on her, this wouldn’t be as frightening as it is. 

She chanced another look over at him, realizing keeping her back to him probably wasn’t smart. Her small town rarely had a lot of crime or anything, but predators were everywhere, and she wasn’t about to show up on a milk carton or billboard.

Besides, Brandon would probably commit murder looking for her.

“Long day?” his voice was somehow deep, and scary, but comforting.

“Huh?” she turned back to him. She chanced a look at his face. He looked so different from the men she had in her life. He looked like he had seen hell itself. He had a small scar on his forehead under his short, black hair. 

It was too dark to make out a lot of details, but the man did have an otherwise gorgeous face.

Do not ever hit on a stranger at a gas station, she thought to herself. He looks like one of those mercenary guys and you need someone responsible. 

“I asked if you had a long day.” He flashed one of those stupid pretty perfect smiles. He pointed to the pump in her car. “Looks like it stopped.”

“What?”

He nodded again to where the pump was in her tank. “Looks like the tank’s full.”

“Oh!” She pulled it out and set it in the holder. “Thanks,” she turned to get in her car, but had to stop. “Have we met before?”

As much as she didn’t associate with men she mentally referred to as “suits,” this tall, scary stranger looked familiar. It was a small town, so she regularly saw familiar faces. His may have been a dream or something.

He smiled again, pulling the pump out of his own car. “Yeah, I think I saw you once. Here, actually.”

She frowned, “here, as in this station?”

He chuckled, “yeah, you had some kids with you.”

Her stomach dropped and her pulse picked up. Line drawn. He had to be a stalker. He knew she had kids and had seen her here before. It was late and dark and he knew she was alone.

“Okay,” she backed away from the dark and pretty giant. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” She jiggled with the handle of her door until it opened. She could feel herself shaking. 

“Wait!” He didn’t move closer to her, so she knew she could get away fast enough. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just saying I have seen you here before. I mean…” he grabbed the back of his neck. A sign of stress, she assumed. “I just meant I recognized you with two kids before. That’s all. I didn’t mean anything by it. I can’t say that I would know everyone I’ve ever seen, but someone like you is hard to forget.”

“Hard to forget…?”

“I mean, you’re gorgeous and you live in my small town. There aren’t a lot of single women here that are as attractive as you.”

“How do you know where I live?” she asked curiously. She couldn’t consider the other things he said before determining whether or not he was a stalker.

“I mean, I’m guessing you live here.” His eyes darted to the side for a second while he said it. He was lying. 

Possibly.

“You’re guessing.”

“I’ve seen you here twice now, and it’s a small town. You probably frequent here.”

Not anymore.

“Why would you assume I’m single?”

It looked like his eyes flashed a fully different color before he shut them. But it was dark, she couldn’t be sure.

“You’re not wearing a wedding ring, but unless that’s not your thing, I was taking a wild guess.”

“Okay, well, as fun as this,” she gestured between them, “has been, I’ve got to go.” She would dial her brother right away and drive around the opposite direction of home until Cam could send someone to follow her home safely.

“I’m sorry if I freaked you out, I didn’t…” he took a deep breath, “I don’t really know how to talk to women I don’t work with or work for. I don’t mean to come off strange, I just wanted to say I’ve seen you before and say you’re gorgeous. I mean, if I was better at this, I’d ask for your number or something.”

She bit back a smile, maybe he wasn’t weird. Either way, even if he was a freak, her unnaturally strong boys could take this giant. They were getting close to his size anyways and though he did look capable, she had seen the damage Brandon was capable of. 

But if things got dangerous, they were definitely moving to the city.

This right here is exactly why she limits herself to men in suits and not men who look like they could fight an army by themselves.

“I’m Jack,” he filled the awkward silence. “I grew up here, have been around the world the last fifteen years, just got home a few months ago. I just…” he sighed again.

Watching him struggle to say something, as tough and scary as he looked, was becoming endearing. He looked kind of cute for someone who looked more like the demanding, alpha-male type.

Maybe she and Toby needed to stop watching serial killer documentaries. She might start idolizing them and end up as one of the victims.

Then again…

“Anya,” she decided to say. 

Jack smiled, “Anya.”

And there it was. The way he said it, she was done for. 

Something about his eyes, the way they almost shone brighter suddenly looked familiar. More familiar than having seen him for a moment, apparently, a few months ago. She couldn’t recall the interaction, probably distracted with the boys, but those eyes…

“Anya, it’s probably not normal for a stranger to ask another stranger out at a place like this at night, but, are you free?”

She did have to get home. She felt the buzzing of her phone in her pocket and she knew Brandon was blowing up their group chat already. Whenever she was more than ten minutes behind when she said she was home, Brandon was up her metaphorical butt hole.

Who was the parent in the relationship, anyway?

“Actually, I do have to get home right now.”

Jack bit his lip, “I could give you my number, you can call me whenever you want, Anya.”

She swooned hearing her name. “Um,” she felt a blush creep up her cheeks and the second she looked at him again, she knew he saw it by that arrogant smirk on his face. “Sure,” she finally said. 

Jack walked cautiously toward her as though she would run off at any second. “You want to hand me your phone?”

She shook her head. “Are you always this afraid of women?”

“You looked at me like a murderer,” he shrugged, “I’m approaching this carefully.”

Touché.

She handed him her phone, watching him type in the number. He left it up when he handed it back to her, watching her scoff at the name. “If you feel comfortable you can call me. If not,” his jaw ticked and she thought she saw his eyes change color again. Like, full-on black. “I guess I’ll just have this moment where I talked to you and actually tried to be part of your life.”

It sounded so…serious. 

“You always so resolute when you’re nervous, Jack?”

Jack chuckled, “how about you call me and find out?”

She got in her car and watched him drive off first. Somewhere between her fear of him actually being dangerous, and promising herself she would wait to call him, she realized something.

He kept a safe distance, asked her if she was willing, and wasn’t forceful at all.

He wasn’t dangerous. Sure, it’s okay for a guy so clearly covered in tattoos to be nice. Also, being so tall and strong didn’t mean anything, either. If anything, she felt more safe thinking about it. He could be trusted. Her gut was telling her so.

She could take a chance.

Once his headlights disappeared, she sent him a text, with her name, so he had her number too.

***

It was about 9:30 when she finally made it to her driveway and pulled in for the weekend. Brandon was always good about making sure the lights were on outside for her and Toby usually kept a plate of dinner for her in the fridge. Yes, the boys spoiled her, especially on the late nights.

As it was, Brandon had texted her upward of ten times and called about four times before she told him she stopped for gas.

She gathered her purse and messenger bag and walked into the house. When she walked in the door, she was immediately greeted by both boys with a plate of food and Brandon taking her bags from her. 

“What’s all this?” Taking the plate of an extra hamburger with a small bowl of chili and corn. “Thank you, this looks great.”

“Mom,” Brandon started, “how was work today?” 

Eyeing Brandon cautiously, “what is it you want?” Brandon and Toby both looked at one another. “Okay, somebody tell me what it is right now.” 

“Nothing!” they both exclaimed at the same time. 

“Brandon, you started the conversation so tell me what it is you both apparently want.” 

Brandon gave in easily. Sure, he was tough and overprotective of her, but it was clear who was the parent when she used her ‘mom voice.’ “Well, today at school there were these two new girls….”

“And?” she asked. “What about these new girls has you acting strange?” 

“Well,” Toby started before Brandon could respond, “their names are Ayanne and Zuriah, and well their birthdays are next Friday, too.” 

“Oh,” she said, pulling her brows together, “are they twins?” 

“Well, no. They are sisters but they are a year apart. Like us.” 

She narrowed her eyes, glancing between either boy, and started walking toward the kitchen. “Hmmm….” She paused while sitting herself down at the table. “So are you asking that we cancel the party so you can go somewhere with these girls? I am not quite sure what it is you are wanting from me.”

Thoughts of the stranger—not stranger, Jack—all gone after the first mention of girls. Brandon had his occasional fling or whatever that he never shared with Anya, but Toby was never really one to talk about girls at all. He hadn’t been interested in anything outside of school, football, and their little family.

“No!” Brandon shook his head. “We were actually going to ask if they could come to our party. Well, I actually already invited them. But we still wanted to make sure you were okay with it and maybe see if we could add their names to the cake or something. They don’t have any friends here just yet and their mom is going to be working that night so they don’t have anything planned.”

“Oh,” she said, surprised at what her sons were asking. Brandon was the opposite of a planner, and he never really showed care for people outside of his family. This was…sweet. “Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place? I think that is perfectly fine. Interesting how the three of you have the same birthday.” 

“Right?” Toby responded. 

She watched Brandon’s jaw clench. It was always tough on him not knowing truly when he was born. As though he had no identity at all. She always did her best to make the day they chose for him special so it really did feel like his day, but every year she saw the withdrawn looks he tried to hide. 

“So you’re cool with them coming over and adding them to the cake and stuff?” 

“Of course! I think it’s sweet of you to invite them over. It’s no fun having a birthday without some sort of celebration.” She would never deny them something like this. Especially around the boys’ birthdays.

The boys each looked pleased, somehow. Anya watched them, happy on the inside, but still wondering... 

“I am also curious,” she paused to take a drink of a glass of wine they had on the table waiting for her, “neither of you have even mentioned girls before and I assumed maybe you had your own things going, but how are these girls so special that they get invited to come over the day you met them? And to think you will be introducing them to your mother so quickly.” She looked between them. “Doesn’t that stuff generally make you nervous as teenage boys?”

Toby, usually one who can respond to awkward questions, was suddenly unable to come up with an answer. His mouth parted, but nothing came out. 

Brandon, not looking for his younger brother to answer, turned to his mom and said “well, we aren’t sure but we do know that we want to get to know them better.” He leaned on the chair beside Anya’s. “I think you will like them, they are really nice and absolutely nothing like the other girls at our school.” 

“What exactly is that supposed to mean? The other girls are…something I wouldn’t approve of?”

“No-well, yeah some of them, but- I-jus-you’ll see what I mean when you meet them.”

Anya snorted at this, and took another sip of her wine. “Hey, I am fine with it. Can’t wait.” She turned to Toby, “Toby, would you mind giving Brandon and me a moment?” 

“Sure, I’ll be in the garage lifting some weights.” 

“Thank you, my love, I appreciate it.”

Brandon sat down at the table next to Anya. “I already know what you’re going to say. I’m sorry for the way I acted this morning. I know it’s not my business who you go out with and what you do—" 

“Well,” she cut him off,” I wanted to say that I know you took it pretty hard after everything with Roger and the couple of guys I saw after him, but I just wanted to say that your feelings are not something I take lightly. I love you,” she placed her hand on his, “and I want you to know that I would never want someone in our lives that doesn’t love you boys as well. That’s the most important part for me. I’m worried though, that I could miss my chance before you guys go out into the world and leave me here alone. I don’t mean to put that on you, but you are almost 16 and I want you to start having some perspective.”

Brandon rarely reacted well to the usual guys she went out with, how would he react to a seven-foot, tattooed, probably-military guy she met at a gas station…at night…alone?

Brandon kept his eyes on the table. “I also want you to know that no matter what happens, I am in no way trying to replace you or Toby. You guys have always been the most important people in my life. It’s just that once you guys graduate, and go off to college, I will be here all by myself and I don’t really want to be alone anymore. I’m not trying to be desperate, but I do feel like I owe it to myself to give all of that a chance.”

“I know mom, I just have a hard time thinking any guy is ever gonna be good enough for you.” 

“And you probably never will, truthfully.” 

Brandon scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You’re probably right.”

“So,” she started, “I am looking forward to these girls coming over and I think it is great that you were kind enough to start to get to know them. I just want to make sure that you understand that this is still my house, I have rules, and expect that you will not be going into any rooms alone?” 

“I don’t really think they are those kinds of girls.” 

“Well, I can’t wait to meet these girls that both you and Toby are so giddy about.” 

“Really, mom? Who the f**k says giddy?”

She playfully tossed a piece of corn at him.

“So tell me,” she took her other hand from his and relaxed back in her chair, “what do you want to do for your birthday? I already made your appointment for your driver’s test. What else do you want to do?” 

He paused for a moment thinking about it. “I’m not really sure, I haven’t thought about it.” 

“Well, if you don’t want a big party, do you want to invite Jackson over to stay the ni—”

“NO! Absolutely not!” 

Anya’s eyes widened, “why not?” 

“Just because. He doesn’t need to stay the night when he has his own house he can sleep at.” 

“Well, okay but if you want him to at least come over for a while and you can play your warcraft league or whatever it is.” 

“Mom you know what it is, and no, he doesn’t need to come here. He usually spends his Friday nights partying with Jessica.” 

“So that’s still going on, huh?” Even if Brandon never talked about the few girls she was sure he had been seeing, Toby would openly talk about Brandon’s best friend and his…relationships with the cheerleaders. She thought Brandon was sweet, but needed to learn something about respecting the girls he was seeing. 

“It’s so gross. She has slept with half the football team just this year. It’s just nasty.”

“Well, I’m really glad that you are not one of them. Girls like that end up pregnant with a child they can’t raise and miss out on other opportunities. For you and your brother, I am forever grateful that you both make good decisions, especially when it comes to—well, girls, I guess. But I’ll be more clear on that next week.”

Brandon paused for a moment and looked down at the table again. “Mom,” he paused for a moment as she looked at him, “have you ever wondered where I came from? Like, my heritage?” 

She looked down and back up at Brandon and sighed. “Well, I have always been curious. I mean you both are exceptionally healthy, big strong boys. You both have the strongest hearing I have ever known to be humanly possible, and many other things I have always wondered about.” 

She paused for a moment. “But at the end of the day, you are what makes you special. You are more significant than some ethnicity or whatever. Now, I’m not saying that it isn’t important, because it does define how people treat you and does explain a lot about culture. But what I’m saying is that we are all the same on the inside. Our blood runs red. We all look the same on the inside. The only difference is the person that lives inside that body. You and your brother are exceptionally gifted and are growing up to be amazing men, even without having a father most of your lives. For that, I am grateful but sad that we didn’t have someone better to teach you things that a father could have done better.”

“Please don’t be down on yourself about that. Toby and I never needed a father because you did everything for us.” He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “But you’re right about the background.” 

“There are DNA tests we can do to find out what is in your blood. I’m not sure how accurate they are, but maybe that would give you some clarity. Would you want me to order one for you?” 

He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t really matter.”

Just then, his phone beeped alerting him of a text message. He pulled it from his pocket.

Hey, this is Zuri. Just wanted to share my number with you. :)

Brandon couldn’t hide his excitement, especially not from his mother. “Oh I know that look. I’m going to go upstairs for the night, okay? You have a good night.” 

His eyes were glued to the screen, thinking of what to say back, “yeah okay, mom. See you in the morning.”

Anya got up, put her plate in the sink, and grabbed the open wine bottle she kept in the fridge, and headed to the garage to say goodnight to Toby. Meanwhile, she already knew Brandon made his way upstairs to his room to stare at his phone and think of something to say to this girl.

“Mom, wanna watch a movie tonight?” Toby yelled from the garage. 

“Sure, go shower and I’ll get the ice cream!” she called back. Friday night movies in bed were something Toby and Anya had done occasionally when he wasn’t staying the night at a friend’s house or playing video games with Brandon. 

Fifteen minutes later, Toby was walking in and settling in with his mom to spoon some cookie dough ice cream. She put on a comedy that they had seen a few times, which gave them opportunity to talk a little more throughout the movie.

“So, you want to talk about anything?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the screen. 

“Umm…when’s your date with this guy Aunt Carissa set you up with?” 

“Ugh,” she looked up at the ceiling laughing. “Turns out he’s married.” 

“At least you found out now, rather than after you went out with the guy.”

She nodded, “yep.” She took another spoon from the carton, “I did meet someone else tonight, though.”

“At work?” He asked, watching the screen and then turning to her.

“Don’t judge me for this, I’m your mother, okay?”

Toby’s brows furrowed, “oh…kay?”

“I met him at the gas station tonight.”

Toby snorted, “you know what? Good for you. I hope it’s better than any of the blind dates Aunt Carissa set you up on and the other guys that you meet through work. Maybe that’s the secret.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “How are you and your brother so different? I raised you both exactly the same.”

Toby shook his head, “whatever shitty gene pool we come from, I guess I got all the good stuff and Brandon got the rest.”

Toby, like Brandon, didn’t hold anything toward their past. It was more like a “thing” that just was. It bothered him sometimes, but otherwise, he made up for the unknown with his dark sense of humor.

“So, are you going to see this guy anytime soon?”

“I’m not sure,” she thought about how strange the meeting was. She was afraid, but something about him made her realize he wasn’t as scary as he looked.

“What’s holding you back?” 

She sighed, “nothing, I just don’t know if I should really do this now. I can wait until you’re both out of the house.” 

Toby turned to face her fully, “don’t hold off on this because your asshole son wants to flex in front of these guys. Yeah, Brandon is annoying, but he’s just looking out for you. If you found a guy worth your time, it’ll all work itself out.”

“Okay, who is the real parent here? I’ve got my scary dad-son fighting off all the boys with a shotgun and then my other dad-son giving me advice.”

Toby rolled his eyes. “Mom, just call him. If you’re too nervous, text him. I guarantee he’s still awake, and probably not doing anything.” With that, he grabbed the tub of ice cream, hugged his mom goodnight, and left for the evening.