Trying Temptations

chapter 2

Smoke fills my lungs and when I open my eyes I'm met with our old kitchen and dining room. Empty beer bottles litter the floor and my mom's motionless body is propped up in the corner. I'm laying there on the floor unable to move without pain tearing through me. " Mom...it..hurts..." I choke out knowing she isn't there. The door to our apartment opens up and he walks in. He is wearing an old stained white tank top that shows part of his beer belly and his worn out jeans had holes around his knees.

He stumbles to the bathroom after sneering at me. I try to move from my spot but my body is unwilling to move. As I try to prop myself up I hear the bathroom door open. I already know what's going to happen." No...get away from...me." I yell. Every time he touches me, I feel pain and disgust. As I try to escape the door flies open and the police come in. Two of them call out to me. "Eric, wake up! It's only a nightmare!" James called out to me.

I start awake and start hitting and kicking the air. All I hear is " watch his legs." And "ouch that's my arm!" They call out again. "Eric it's us, Edward and James you're in the dorm rooms!" I finally snap out of it and everything seems to refocus. I see Edward and James standing by my bed, looking at me with confusion and concern.

I sigh and apologize to them." I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to wake you." " What was that about and don't say it was just a nightmare. That didn't sound like just a nightmare." James remarks sitting on the floor in front of their bunk. I lay there quietly for a few minutes debating on if I should tell them or not. What was the worst thing that could happen? They tell mom and dad and they disown me? I drop out of college and have to get a job? I'm grown now, what more could hurt me.

After making up my mind I decided to tell them. "Fine I'll tell you what the deal is but it's a bit of a long story." I say. They nod their heads and sit down on the bed waiting for me to tell them. I tell them the basics of what happened, leaving out the graphic details. I tell them about my parents, about the situation,me staying in the hospital and about the orphanage.

After I was done talking they sat there for a few minutes. Their faces dance between shock, pain and disgust. I waited to hear the disappointment and disgust they had towards me. "Dude, that is so wrong! He should have never done that to you." James remarks his face is mixed between rage and disgust. "It's better that you came to us. You didn't deserve any of that!" Edward exclaimed, pure rage showing on his face.

I didn't expect this from the twins. Edward and James hardly talked to me when we were at school or the house so why they would act this way completely shocked me. "You don't find me disgusting?" I ask absentmindedly. "No Eric, what he did was disgusting. You were the victim." Edward states. James just nods his head in agreement.

We sat in silence for a while until James asked. "So that's what your nightmares are about? You're reliving your past?" I nod my head unsure of what I should say. " How about we pop in a movie? We need to get our minds off of things." James remarks. He jumps up and gets his laptop out and starts digging in his bag for some movies. Edward nods his head, grabs some drinks from the mini fridge and starts some popcorn. The idea of a movie didn't sound too bad.

We grab our pillows and blankets so we can get a bit comfy. We get nestled in and start the movie. I was sitting in the middle of Edwards and James. I wasn't comfortable with them being so close at first but I soon didn't mind. They were the first ones I told about my situation and my nightmares. During the movie I would feel their legs bump into me or their hair would tickle my neck when they moved. Their cologne was faint but it had a calming effect. I never noticed little things like that before. I try to focus on the movie but it's hard as I keep noticing these small aspects.

It was one I never heard before and needless to say it was funny. The movie was called Land of the lost and wow it was crazy. We enjoyed the movie so much that we decided to watch another one. As James looked through his movies, me and Edward took this time to stretch. We all took turns going to the bathroom, restocking our drinks and settled back in place. James started the movie called Daddy day care. It was another funny movie. As I was watching the movie I started to get tired again. Before I knew it I passed out. I don't remember having any more nightmares that night.

I wake up feeling two boulders being pressed against me. I open my eyes and see Edwards back against me. I see how toned his back is and the little birthmark he has on his left shoulder. I turn and see James face turned towards me. I get to take a real close look at his face. Edward has a small mole under his left eye and James has a small mole under his right eye. They look so calm when they sleep. They start to move around so I decided to move away from them and go use the restroom.

I grab my clothes for the day and head inside. I lay my clothes on the counter and I start to change. I'm about to get my boxers off when I feel a hand touch my back. The air leaves my body and I turn around. When I did I almost fell backwards into the shower but James caught me by my hand. He pulls me up a bit while I rebalance myself. " Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." He remarks. He glances at me and states " It's messed up that he put all these scars on you." He gently touches one of them again causing shivers to run down my body.

My body heats up where his hand is touching and I'm not sure of how I feel. "There's not much I can do about it sadly." I mumble as I turn to set the water temperature. James nods his head and leaves. I take a quick shower to wake up and try to clear my mind. I finish up and get dressed. I step out of the bathroom and grab my things. I go to the food court and grab some breakfast. As I'm eating, Edward and James come in and order their food.

They decided to sit across from me and started talking among themselves. I'm in the middle of taking a bite when a young man stops beside me. I looked up at him wondering what he wanted. " Can I ask you a question?" He asked. He seemed flustered and shy. I nod my head, get up and we walk over to the other side of the room. It takes him a second to start talking. " I remembered you from high school and I have always had a crush on you. Would you mind going out with me?" He asks, avoiding my eyes. I remember him from highschool. He was quiet and always stayed towards the back. He was slightly taller than me and he was toned. He had short curly hair and light brown eyes.

I think it over for a minute before I say " would you mind giving me some time to think about it?" He nods his head and says " ok I'll give you a couple days to think about it. I'm Josh by the way." He leaves the food court after that. I never thought about dating or relationships but maybe that is one way to move past this trauma I'm facing. I headed back to the table and noticed that Edward and James were watching me.I sit down and as I'm about to take a bite Edward asks " so who was that?" I replied, "That was Josh from highschool." I take a bite of my now cold food and begin to eat again. A few minutes in James asks " what did he want to ask you?" I look between Edward and James and think for a minute.

(I did want to try to be more open and better myself. I guess opening up about myself is the best place to start. What could they do?) I say " he asked if I would go out with him." They both look at me like I'm crazy. " Did you tell him no?" Edward asks. "I told him I would think about it." I state, already getting defensive. I'm bisexual and I am not going to hide the fact anymore.They give me a confused look which causes me to smirk. " I'm bisexual." I state. I finish my plate and return it to the dirty tray cubby. I walk out of the food court and head back to the dorm. I didn't hear Edward or James behind me until they pushed the door back open in our dorm room. " You're bisexual? Even after what you experienced?" James replied.

I sigh and state "I had a lot of soul searching time throughout the years I was living at the house. It wouldn't bother me if I found a partner, male or female, that could just treat me right." I say as I pack up for my afternoon classes. " I'm sorry if you or Edward are uncomfortable with that knowledge." I state and head to my class in a daze.

I never meant to tell anyone from the house about what happened or that I am bisexual so I can't believe what's gotten in me. If they decide to say anything or disown me then I guess I'll have to deal with it when it gets here. All my classes go by in a blur and I wasn't able to fully focus on any of it. I would see Edward or James from time to time. They would glance at me or try to say something but stop before they did.

I could help but think of how silly they looked but I dreaded when it was time to head in for the night. I grabbed a quick bite from the food court and sat outside in hopes to avoid them a little while longer. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear them walk up. They set their trays in front of me and sat down.

We sat in awkward silence for a while before Edward spoke." So what's your type?" I almost choked on my bite of lasagna. That's the question they want to ask? After I catch my breath I say " I don't really have a type. I go basically on how they treat me." They share a look and then James asks " Have you ever had a crush on someone?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Are they really asking me about this stuff? "Not really, I wanted to wait on that stuff but I'm wondering if it won't help me." I state.

The rest of the time we ate we hardly spoke. It reminded me of the times we were eating at the house. I decided to head to the library after I was done eating. I needed a few books and I had some time to kill. I checked in and went to the section I was needing. I grab business management and business introduction. I need to write an essay about how I would handle certain situations if I were in them.

I grab the books and head to a nearby table. I was able to read a few chapters before I was told I needed to leave. I quickly grab my things, check out the books and head back to the dorm rooms. On the way back I noticed James talking to a cute young lady in the hallway. As I'm about to pass him I over hear some of their conversation. " I would love to have some alone time." James remarks.

I hear her sigh and say " I am not interested. I have a boyfriend." James keeps trying until she slaps him and walks away. James stands there for a minute before he slowly walks over to me like a zombie. " Why is it so hard to have a fun night?" He asks while he drops his head on my shoulder. I sigh and look away. " I suppose it's how you approach people." I remark. He looks up at me a bit and I can see his handsome face up close. His light blue eyes staring back at me.

I don't know what came over me but for a second I found him attractive. I feel my face heat up and I look away. " I'm sorry I can't help you with your fun tonight. If I could give you advice I would but I need to study a bit." I say trying to shake him off my shoulder. I finally get him off of me enough to try to move past him when he cages me in between his arms. I look back up at him to see a smirk on his face.

My face heats up again at the thought of those cheesy anime romance novels. I felt like a deer in headlights. I stutter out a quick " w-what are y-you doing?" He just smirks again watching my reaction. " You said you would help me. So how will you keep your word?" My brain bounces around trying to figure out what he means.

JAMES P.O.V

When Eric turned away with his face beat red I smirked. I actually found his reaction funny so I decided to try to mess with him. I backed off a bit to let him move past me. When he gets past me a little bit I come back with both my arms caging him in between me and the wall. I smirk at his shocked reaction and have to hold back a laugh.

"w-what are y-you doing?" He stuttered and I found that a bit cute. I had to pick on him a bit so I said "You said you would help me. So how will you keep your word?" His face is priceless. I can see his mind working to figure out how to respond. I find it funny watching him squirm with his face beat red. It makes me want to tease him more. Before I can he snaps back to reality and pushes past me. I chuckle at his actions.

Eric's P.O.V.

I finally snap out of my daze and push past him. I have to remember he is the playboy type. Nothing he says is serious. His words and actions are to be ignored because he doesn't mean it. He will play around and lose interest shortly afterwards. I got inside our dorm room and set up my study material. I pop in my head phones and start my assignment. I always found studying as a way to get away from the reality I was in. I'm so deep into studying I didn't realize that Edward had come up behind me and was bent over the back of my chair until he poked my cheek.

I jumped about a foot out of my chair, threw out my ear buds and spun around a bit to face him. " Dude you scared me!" I nearly yelled. Both Edward and James burst out laughing. " I tried calling out to you but you were so into your studying you didn't hear me." Edward said after he was done laughing. I get a bit irritated and ask " ok well what's up?" " We were thinking about joining this party and were wondering if you would join us?" James states. I think about it for a minute and say “ No thank you. I'm actually about to head to sleep.“ They shrug their shoulders and head out.

I finish up my work, clean up and head to bed. I finally dozed off around ten thirty. The rundown apartment and the raunchy beer bottles come in to focus. I know this is only a nightmare but I have not been able to wake myself up from it. So I have to see and feel everything over and over again. Just as he was about to start his assault on me Edward and James voice rings out.

The apartment fades away and turns into a solid white room. Edward and James stand there just watching me before they slowly walk over to me. I watch them closely as they approach but I don't feel any negativity come from them. “ We can help you forget about that.“ James says. “ We do care about you.“ Edward remarks. James moves his hand gently up my arm sending goosebumps along my skin.

Edward places a gentle kiss on my neck. My skin is set on fire where they touch. (What the heck is going on with these two!?) I think to myself. They are touching me and kissing me. I'm feeling hot all over the place. “ All you have to do is say the word and we will stop.“ Edward says. The sudden shock of what was happening jolted me awake. I looked around and noticed that no one was in the room. (Why on earth would I dream about Edward and James like that!!?) I think to myself.

I toss and turn as I try to go back to sleep. My mind still wanders to the dream I had and my body starts to heat up again. Every time I think about Edward or James, I remember what they had done in my dream. (Why did I dream about them like that?) I ask myself again. I still can't answer the question and I don't know how I could face them tomorrow.