47 - Scars

"We're dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light."

- Taylor Swift

. . .

OLIVIA WOODS

I looked at the pool. "How deep is it?"

"Pretty deep," Xerxes said. "Ashton likes to act like a deepwater fish sometimes."

I laughed. He smiled. "You wanna go in?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. We were standing near the indoor pool they had. It was right beside the gym. I was yet to have a tour of the place but I had seen most of the places. "I'm not a very good swimmer." That was an understatement. My mother had to save me from dying the last time I was in a pool, that was at a pool party at my Uncle's when I was ten.

"I won't let you drown." He smiled at me and pulled me close to him. "Yes or no?"

I bit my lip. "Yes."

"Good girl." My face heated up. He kissed my lips. "Go get into a swimsuit."

I nodded. He slowly removed his arms from around me. I walked out of the large room and climbed the staircase.

I walked inside my room and then my closet and then I realized what kind of swimsuits I had.

The Creeds had picked the swimsuits and I had barely paid attention because I didn't think I'd be swimming in the last week of January.

But the pool could be heated and the temperature of the room could be maintained.

But these swimsuits...one had thin black and white vertical stripes. I knew it'd show off my butt too much because the bottoms were...barely there. It'd show the little stretch marks I had on the top of my thighs, too. The second one was red, deep red but it'd show my breasts too much, more like lack of them.

I took my phone out of my pocket and went to Georgia's number because I could stop myself. She was not picking up my class or replying anymore. What she had said on the day Zavier got poisoned...I couldn't lie, I had been avoiding thinking about it.

I couldn't tell the Creeds, they'd probably tell their Capo. I didn't want Georgia to get hurt and...she couldn't have done anything to harm Zavier, not when I had ranted about the Creeds to her like a million times.

She couldn't. She must have been talking about something else. She had to be.

I wore my first swimsuit. He had seen everything already.

I wore a shirt over it, buttoning it down, and walked out of the room.

I decided on the staircase and walked inside the room which had the pool again.

All three of them were there, half-dressed, talking amongst themselves while sitting at the edge of the pool, casually looking like the next supermodels.

This was the first time I was seeing them like this. I had seen Ashton half- naked before but my eyes had been more on his ripped shoulder to put my mind on...other parts. I had seen Zavier half-naked, too. But I had taken one single glance.

Creeds in suits looked ready to take over the world, like the finest businessmen.

Creeds half-naked looked....alpha males, primal, ruggedly handsome, and...feral. Like, they could hurt you or...touch you and you'd be incapable of stopping them.

I knew I would never stop them. They looked at me.

Zavier had tattoos. A lot of tattoos but all of them shared one tattoo, it was on the right side of their chest. A hollowed triangle. It could mean just that, three brothers. Or it could mean fire if I was to think of alchemy symbols.

"Fire?" I asked.

They were looking at me. Ashton nodded but didn't elaborate. I didn't ask him to, my eyes were stuck on the scars they had on their bodies. Deep scars, some small scars. Xerxes had a scar on the side of his waist which looked too deep. Zavier's scars could be faintly seen but I could still see a thick one on his shoulder. Ashton had a large scar on the right side of his waist amongst many others he had.

Scarred. So much scarred, yet I could barely take my eyes off them.

"I don't like that shirt," Xerxes said to me, walking closer. He pulled at the collar of the shirt and kissed me. "Take it off."

I bit my lip. I wanted to ask about the scars but I didn't want to be nosy. I tried to undo the buttons of my shirts but my hands were shaking too much. Them being almost naked was almost act up.

Ashton kissed me. "Want me to take it off?" I nodded.

"Words."

"Yes," I whispered. He undid the buttons of the shirt quickly, pulling it off me.

Their eyes traveled anybody, lingering at all the wrong places. Their eyes were heating up. They looked like they wanted to devour me. I knew I looked like I wanted to be devoured.

"These..." Xerxes stepped toward me, his one hand moving over my first and then two fingers tugging at bottoms. "Are a joke, little love."

"You are not on your period anymore, are you?" Zavier asked, pressing kisses to my neck. Ashton fisted hair, tilting my head up. He laid his lips on mine, kissing me thoroughly.

"Tonight," Xerxes murmured. "We are going to worship you, little girl. So that every time you see this little body of yours, you'll think of us."

Zavier picked me up and threw me into the pool. I screamed while they chuckled. Ashton instantly entered the pool, wrapping his arms safely around me.

"I've got you, little one." His glasses were gone. His eyes were clear, looking at me with gentleness that never failed to warm my heart.

The other two entered the pool, surrounding me. The room in which they had pool was beautiful. The ceiling was painted black with little white dots made on it, showing the stars, and lines connecting them - showing some of the constellations. There were luxurious pool chairs around the large pool.

. . .