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Goosebumps prickled my skin, standing my baby fine hairs on end.
    “Holy Mary Mother of God,” said a male voice behind me.  I whirled on my toes.  Not two feet to away stood three boys measurably younger than Icarus.  They were brothers, judging by their physiognomies and builds.  They looked alike, though each unique and different.
    “Stop staring at her you perverts!” Hailey barked behind me.  Looking over my shoulder, I found another two boys, though they looked uncannily similar.  I blinked twice.  Was I seeing double?  No.  Twins .  Coppery-haired, blue-eyed twins.  They were huge.  Larger than Icarus, and significantly larger than Hailey, who undeterred by their size, was giving them slack.
    “We’re keeping her, Icarus, right?” said one of the first three, pleadingly.  He stood on his toes, peering between the shoulders of his cohabitants, straining to get a better view of my backside.  “Oh God please say yes.  I’ll never ask for anything ever again!”
    Stepping back into the bedroom, I took my chances with Icarus, closing the door behind me.  “Turn around at least so I can fix myself,” I demanded.  He did.  I quickly adjusted the sheet, wrapping it around my torso and tucking one corner under to secure it in place.  “Ok.”
    Turning, Icarus gave me a once over, his eyes sweeping slowly down and up again, then settling on my neck.  I was bleeding.  I could feel where my wounds opened again, weeping fresh blood through the gauze bandages concealing them.
    Behind me, there was a soft rap at the door, and Hailey peeked in, proffering fresh bandages, iodine, and a roll of tape.  “Do you need my help?” she offered, stepping inside and closing the door.  “I can stay.  Maybe she—Thaleia—would feel more comfortable?”
    “I could use the help,” Icarus agreed without waiting for me to answer.  Moving the chair closer to the bureau, he opened the sterile envelopes of gauze then lined them up along the surface, followed by the iodine.  The tape he handed back to Hailey.  “Tear about seven small strips about five inches long each.”
    As Hailey began tearing the strips, Icarus turned to me.  “Sit,” he ordered, tickling the back of my skull.  Short of rational thought, I padded softly to the chair and sat down.  I angled my head carefully, and pulled my hair over my shoulder and out of the way.  Icarus began peeling the tape slowly away from my skin, solicitous of the wounds beneath.  His fingers were warm and gentle.  He worked quietly except for the soft lull of his breathing.
    “What time is it?” I asked.  “How long was I out for?”
    “A little past two AM.”  From his pocket, Icarus pulled my iPhone.  “I took the liberty of texting your parents.  You’re spending the weekend with a friend.  They’re expecting you home Sunday afternoon.”
    “Where did you get that?” I snapped, snatching my phone from his hand.  From Marcus’s truck, obviously.  That’s where I had left it.  “If you already know Marcus, then why all the questions?  What are you playing at?”
    “I know of Marcus,” Icarus clarified.  “But I don’t know him.”
    Letting my back down, I relaxed again into the chair.  “No big loss there.”
    “You don’t get along.”
    “Contrary, we got a long quite well until I found him screwing my best friend last night at Jack’s house.”  Hearing Hailey’s squeak of umbrage, I flushed.  She couldn’t be more than twelve.  But I was used to living with Bennie.  “Language, sorry, I forget myself.”
    “I have six brothers,” Hailey dismissed.  “I’ve heard much worse.”  Tearing the last strip of tape from the roll, she stuck it to the end of her finger, leaving only three free fingers to work with.  “It’s just that you’re so pretty, why would he do something so stupid?”
    Flushing darker, I declined to answer.  Peyton was offering it, I wasn’t.
    “You think so Icarus, don’t you?”