Chapter 3

Rhys was going to kill him. It was his turn to cook, and he always made tacos. They were a family favorite, and if you were late to dinner, you usually didn't eat. Except their mother. They always saved some for her.

He fumbled with his keys as he got out of his car. He'd been a little scatterbrained today. He still had a headache, his stomach was tender, and he thought he had a fever. It wasn't a high fever, but it was enough to make him clammy.

He made it in the house, smelling dinner already going. He wanted to shower and change clothes before he ate. He was very uncomfortable. He'd trekked across campus for classes then to his kickboxing class before going to swim. He shouldn't have done both of those activities, but he didn't want to mess up his schedule.

Rhyd was in his room across the hall with both computers firing on all cylinders. Out of the three of them, he was the smartest. He was studying engineering and was second in his class. He had a good-natured rivalry with the number one student, and they always tried to one up each other. He was in the process of designing a stronger material to build bridges and buildings.

He glanced back as Rhyn walked by. Usually, Rhyn greeted his younger brother, but he went straight to his room. He forgot to shut the door so he turned around to see Rhyd standing there. His grey eyes were frowning along with his mouth.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Rhyn sighed and turned his back to him. Rhyd wasn't having it, so he crossed the room and turned him around. "Rhyn, what is it? You don't look well."

"I don't feel well," Rhyn admitted. "I have a migraine."

"Are you nauseated?" His brother nodded. Rhyd's frown deepened. Rhyn was the healthiest of the three. "I'll go tell Rhys to make you some soup or something instead of tacos."

"Thanks."

Rhyd left him, and Rhyn stripped out of his clothes. He ran a warm shower and stood silently under the spray. He felt the tension leave his neck, easing his migraine a bit. His body still ached, but the clamminess was slowly disappearing.

He washed everything then got out of the shower. He really just wanted to go to bed, but dinner was a non-negotiable event. Even if their parents were working late, the triplets had to eat together. It had been set in place when their father had gotten an extravagant promotion when they'd been ten. A babysitter had helped them cook but they'd always eaten together. Except when someone was very sick.

Rhyn dried off and pulled on some shorts and a tattered t-shirt. He would take it off before going to bed, but until then he would wear it to hide his skin. There were several deep hickies all over his chest and shoulders. He didn't want his brothers to make fun of him. Worse yet, he didn't want to answer their neverending questions.

He lay on his bed for a few minutes. Despite the shower, he still felt feverish. All the pain relievers were downstairs. He'd have to go into the kitchen anyway. He'd eat something, take some medicine, then go to bed. He usually studied until the wee hours of the morning, but he knew he couldn't do it.

He heard Rhys call him for dinner. Dragging himself from his comfortable bed, Rhyn trudged downstairs. He stumbled a couple of times, but he somehow made it. Rhyd was already delving into the food.

He made eye contact with Rhys. His older brother had the same look as his younger brother. Neither one had seen him sick except they'd all had chicken pox when they were five and the flu at fifteen. He usually only had headaches, but he rarely ran a fever.

Rhys slid him a bowl of tomato soup and some butter crackers. Rhyn smiled slightly then picked up the bowl. He sat down at his spot and sighed heavily.

"There's hard shell, soft shell, and nachos. Fix whatever you like," Rhys said.

Rhyn didn't pay attention. He tried to eat, but after only a few bites, he was full. He accepted a ginger ale and sipped it slowly. His mind was elsewhere so he didn't see who sat across from him. He assumed it was his dad coming home earlier than usual.

"Rhyn?" He looked over at his brother. "Have you taken anything?"

He shook his head. "No. I showered when I came home. I figured I'd try to eat before I took anything." He stirred his spoon in the soup, but his stomach turned. "I can't eat anymore."

"Don't force yourself. Drink the rest of that then go to bed. Maybe you need some sleep."

Rhyn didn't tell him he hadn't really been sleeping. The last couple of nights he'd tossed and turned, unable to get that face out of his dreams. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw and felt things he'd like to forget. It would take a long while before that happened though.

Rhyn listened to his brothers' banter. They were talking about their plans and assignments. Rhys had a couple of preseason games this week so he was going to work on his assignments on the bus. Rhyd was trying to work out the kinks in his programming so he could 3D print his vision of his new material.

A third voice brought him back to the present. Rhyn looked up and into the face that plagued his drea,s. Even those blue eyes haunted him.

Why was Myles Dane at his dinner table? Was it not enough that he couldn't let him sleep so he now had to invade his home?

Rhyn's hands began to shake. He set his glass down and tucked his hands in his lap. He dropped his head to quell the panic attack that was bubbling up. Unlike his brothers, he couldn't take stress that well. It was why English was his degree of choice. He was good at it and it didn't stress him out. He could work at an easy pace.

Rhyd spun around in his chair and wrapped his legs around his waist. He squeezed gently but continued eating. He had done this ever since they were kids. When one of them reacted differently, Rhyd was there with words or touches of comfort. He was a spoiled brat but he had a good heart.

"Rhys, who the hell is this and why are you bringing random people home?" Rhyd asked.

Rhys scoffed around his spoon. "Says the brat who brings Dixon home all the time?"

"We've been friends since high school. That doesn't count."

"He's a strange kid." Rhyd glared at him.

"This is Myles Dane. He's the captain of the basketball team."

Myles looked between the three brothers. Rhyn could see out of the corner of his how shocked he was. Rhys had never told him he was a triplet. Myles had no idea there were three of them.

Rhyn's mind began to go through every scenario. If Myles didn't know Rhys was a triplet, could everything have been a mistake? Was Myles after his brother instead of him? Was it a misunderstanding?

"Myles, these are my brothers Rhyn and Rhyd. Rhyn is younger than me by three minutes, and Rhyd is six. We're identical triplets," Rhys continued.

"How did your parents tell you apart?" Myles asked. His voice was thick with some unknown emotion.

"It's easy," Rhyd said. "Rhys was the fat baby, I cried all the time, and Rhyn was the good baby. Now, I'm the shortest and Rhyn had a mole by his mouth."

Rhyn saw Myles mutter the last part to himself. Then he looked at Rhys. The two shared a long look. Rhyn wasn't sure what was going on, but he felt as if he was a dummy to it all. If Myles didn't know about Rhys's brothers, then… is it an honest mistake?

Rhyn could feel his face turn red with embarrassment. It was a mistake. Myles hadn't meant any of it. Not the words he'd mumbled or the gentle touches that had made Rhyn's skin prickle. Even now he remembered them, but they meant nothing. He should have known, but he had deluded himself into thinking his brother's friend had cared about him. In reality, he'd never known he'd existed.

Humiliated tears stung his eyes. Rhyn gently pried Rhyd's legs from around him and stood. He kept his head down as he took his bowl to the sink and rinsed it out. If they saw him cry, it would be all over. He wouldn't be able to breathe. His lungs were already struggling.

Rhys caught his hand as he passed by. Rhyn made a strained noise in the back of his throat and looked away. Luckily, his brother had compassion because he let him go. Rhyn thanked him for dinner then headed for the stairs.

"He said he wasn't feeling well," he heard Rhyd say. It was like he was answering an unspoken question.

Rhyn didn't stop long enough to listen. He went straight to his room and closed the door. He sank to the floor with his back pressed against it. He let his head fall to his knees as he let his emotions sweep him away.

He should have known he wasn't anything to Myles Dane. It was a simple mistake that had brought them together. It happened all the time. Unless someone knew them, it was easy to mistake the three brothers. The main differences were their personalities. Rhys and Rhyd were extroverted while Rhyn wasan introvert, but only the people closest to them knew that.

Some time passed before Rhyn crawled to the bed. He climbed under his covers and tried to hide from everything. He just wanted to disappear, but all he could manage was to hide for the time.

With the room dark and only his breathing for comfort, Rhyn fell into a fitful sleep. Partly because he was getting hungry, but mostly because he was scared senseless. Of what, he didn't know.