Chapter Thirty Two

Boston

Once we finished playing Twister, we all gathered back around the dining room table, shoving the remaining pieces of pizza in our mouths and playing *Cards against humanity*, and we have been rolling in laughter for the last half hour.
Raleigh, randomly opens her mouth, breaking the awkward silence as we all look at our cards, deciding what we want to play, "So, like, are all of y’all named after cities?"
Ashlynn snorts, then chuckles, her hand covering her mouth, "Sorry, I hadn't even realized that all of the boys' names are cities, even Aspen and Raleigh are," she says with a smile, looking at each one of us around the table before turning her attention to dad with a loving look in her eyes that makes me jealous that Aspen and I have to hide those kinds of looks, our whole damn relationship, from our loved ones.
"Yes, the boys are each named after a city." Dad says, chuckling, "Their mom and I had just gotten back from a summer trip across the states and those were the four cities that she liked the most. When we found out we were having quads, she decided that they were the perfect names for each of the boys."
"It's cute," Raleigh says, setting her card down on the table.
"Okay, guys let's see what we have here," picking up all of the facedown cards next to the black card, Dad, who is the Czar says in a deep commentator voice, "Next from J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of...", he pauses for added effect and then begins reading off the cards stacked behind the black card, "*Being a motherfucking sorcerer*."
"I mean, obviously," Aspen says, chuckling from her spot across from me and next to Raleigh.
"Okay, next from J.K. Rowling: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of... *Silence*."
Ashlynn snort laughs at that one, making me wonder if that was her card.
Again, in a deep voice, he reads off the black card, "Next from J.K. Rowling: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of *Jennifer Lawrence*."
That one causes all of us to crack up laughing.
Reading over the next card, he shakes his head, barely able to contain a smile as he glances up at all of us, and then slips it to the back of the deck.
"What?" Linc shouts, "You can't do that! You have to read them all!"
"I will don't worry," he says with a sardonic smirk, "Now, next from J.K. Rowling is Harry Potter and the Chamber of *Sweet, sweet vengeance.*"
After laying that card down, Dad speaks in his best Christian Bale impersonation, "Next from J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of *Batman*."
"I'm Batman," Linc says into Raleigh's ear, trying to give his own Christian Bale impersonation, which causes her to start giggling as she shoves him away.
"Keep it PG you two," Dad says then glances at the card in his hand, "Next from J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of *All-you-can-eat shrimp for $8.99*." This one gains a few chuckles, but not too much of a reaction.
Then he brings forward the last card, the one that he passed on earlier, already chuckling as he glances at all of us, then down to the card in hand, "and last but definitely not least, and sadly, I must admit is my favorite—even though it is so, *so* wrong," instead of reading it immediately, he hesitates, building up the suspense, "Next from J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of *72 virgins*." And as expected, this one gets the biggest reaction, Ashlynn nearly falling out of her chair from her laughter.
"They wouldn't be for long," Jax mutters, earning himself a smack to the back of the head by Dad.
At the same time as Jax says this, Aspen stands up and takes a bow, "Thank you, thank you," she says, her cheeks turning a beautiful shade of pink as she holds her hand out for the cards so that she can deal out the next hand.
The game goes on until well into the night. Raleigh ends up leaving, needing to head back home around eleven. Around one in the morning, Aspen catches my eye and yawns, "I think I'm going to go to bed, I can barely keep my eyes open.
"I don't think I'm going to make it anoth—" I start to say, being cut off by my own yawn, "—er round, either."
"It's probably best to call it a night," Dad says, glancing down at a sleeping Ashlynn in his lap, "Just leave all of this, we can clean it up in the morning. Goodnight guys."
"Goodnight," and "Night," are heard around the table from the five of us that are left, then we begin making our way to our rooms.
"So, Linc," I say to get his attention, "Raleigh seems like a really nice girl and definitely seems good for you," I tell him, surprised to see him with a girl two nights in a row, and in a totally non-sexual atmosphere no less.
With a shrug and a big smile, he says, "She's amazing."
At that exact moment, Aspen comes up from behind us, stops in front of Lincoln, and jams her index finger into his chest, "Do not, I repeat, Do. Not. Hurt. Her!" She says, completely serious, "or I'll have to have Boston kick your ass and then it's going to end up being this whole big thing and cause drama in the house, and well...I think we," she says, using her finger to indicate she and I, "are going to have enough of that, likely sooner rather than later, to deal with."
"I don't plan to," he says, completely serious, and honestly, I believe him. I've never seen him be towards a girl the way he has been towards Raleigh today. Breaking me from my thoughts, he continues speaking, "but now that you've brought up the subject, what are you guys going to do about Dad and Ashlynn, and you two's relationship?"
"I'd like to hide it for as long as possible, but I honestly don't think that would be wise," Aspen says, finishing with a sigh, "the way I feel about him, and he hopefully feels about me, I don't know that we will be able to hide it very well for very long."
"Not likely," Jax says, confirming Aspen’s assumption as he stops next to the three of us congregating at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm afraid they won't accept it, accept us, though," Aspen says, voicing her thoughts, her fears. "What if they forbid us from seeing one another, or make one of us move out? I mean you guys will be eighteen in what, like a week?" Wrapping my arms around her waist, I try to calm her down. I can see that she's getting worked up, and I hate it. "Or what if *us* being together causes them to break up?"
"Baby, we can play the guessing game all night, but we won't know until we've sat them down and had a talk with them." I tell her, then lean down and place a chaste kiss on her temple, "but selfishly, I just got you to agree to be my girlfriend. I don't want to risk losing you just yet."
"I don't want to lose you either," she says, turning her head to look me in the eyes.
"Then you both need to work on your acting skills because you both suck at hiding your feelings—I'm surprised that they haven't figured it out already," Dal says, joining in on our little powwow.
"Just, can you boys try to help run interference for us, at least for a little bit, while we try to figure out how to tell them?" I ask, turning to my brothers.
"And let me guess, by yourselves more time together just in case things don't go as you hope?" Linc asks, already knowing the answer, "Don't worry guys, we got you. I can tell this isn't some fuck fest for the two of you. It's actually real."
"I'm rooting for you guys," Dal says, surprising the hell out of me.
"You are?" Aspen and I both ask at the same time.
"Aspen, you make my brother happy. I couldn't ask for anything more than that." He tells her honestly. Dal is usually the one who sets back, stays quiet, and observes. The fact that he's speaking up and out for us means more to me than I could ever express, "And you are now my sister, even if this *is* slightly unconventional in society's eyes, you guys aren't blood. As long as you guys make one another happy, I'm on board with it."
Excitedly, Aspen rushes forward and wraps her arms around Dal's neck, "Thank you!" she says, softly. When she pulls back and turns back around to face the rest of us, she has tears in her eyes. She then closes the distance between her and Jax, wraps her arms around his arms, and then quickly pulls away, before shifting towards Linc to do the same, "Thank you," she tells each of them, "I was afraid that you guys wouldn't be supportive of Boston and me, and it was really bothering me. I know how close you guys are, and I would walk away from *this*," she says, turning her attention to me briefly, "before I ever came between you four's relationship."
"Well, thankfully, looks like we don't have to worry about that," I tell her, my heart beyond happy at the moment, "having your support means so fucking much to me. I love y’all."
"Okay, now!" Jackson says, not one for emotional stuff, "do we need to go braid each other's hair and talk about our feelings? Or can we call it a night and go to bed?"
Aspen's back moves with her silent laughing, as she rests against my stomach, and I just shake my head.
*That's most definitely my brother for you.*
"Goodnight guys," I tell them all before turning Aspen and me towards my bedroom door...