"Dude, you gave my room away? I was only gone for like three months!"

"Bro, you were gone for three months yes, but you didn't say a word to either of us for three months either!"

I awoke to yelling out in the living room which answered my question of if sound traveled through the walls, and it did...a little too well.

I shoved the pillow over my head to try and muffle the argument Emmett was having with my brother but to no avail, the sound still punctured the fluffy material so I decided to get ready to face the wolves.

I didn't have an ensuite bathroom so I grabbed my overnight bag in the corner with a few of my toiletries and steadied my racing heart when the weight of three pairs of eyes landed directly on me as soon as I stepped out of the sanctuary of my room, the one Emmett was desperately trying to take back.

I ran a hand absentmindedly through my hair as I got an eye full of the man who'd invaded my personal space the night before.

I bit down hard on my lip under the scrutiny of his gaze.

He'd gotten way more muscular since I had met him two years prior. Deep brown hair swept across tanned skin and icy blue eyes seemingly even more blue than I remembered awaited me upon first glance.

He was well over six feet tall as he towered over my brother who had a smaller stature like me.

I had slept in the same bed as that last night?!

Something about the way he looked at me in the harsh morning light struck a chord through my aching senses and forced me to feel something other than self-loathing and intense morose pain.

A slicing image of my best friend with her draped all over my fiancé flashed through my head and I had to look away from the three guys staring at me like I was a wounded animal to catch my breath.

Ex-best friend...ex-fiancé...

"Lydia, hey, how are you?"

My brother's concerned voice cut through the pain.

"Fine. I'm just going to the bathroom."

The harsh whispers from their mouths hit my ears before I even had a chance to shut the door.

"What is she even doing here? What, did your parents kick her out of the house or something?"

Oh poor Emmett, if only it were that simple...

I turned my phone to my favorite music and blasted it through the speakers so I could cry under the spray of the shower water in peace.

I was ashamed to admit that I had become a pro at crying discreetly but these circumstances were a bit different.

The saddest song in my entire musical catalogue began playing but still no tears fell from my eyes, it was almost as if I was a zombie.

Nate's words flooded into my ears and I found myself transported into a memory that I hadn't thought of in so long...

"You really shouldn't wear that color out tonight, I love you in the blue."

I always thought it was cute that he tried to pick out my outfits for me but in that moment he was dissing my favorite outfit.

"But I bought this for tonight especially, and-"

"Okay, okay. Wear it if you want but I'm going to be sitting with Jacks and Marshall if you go out looking like that."

His words stung, but I knew he was just trying to be helpful.

"Okay babe, the blue it is."

The smile that lit up his face was enough to make me forget all the negative comments and I was so glad that I could make him happy. He always said that I was the only one who could make him happy and vice versus. I'd never leave him.

I cursed myself looking back on those moments, wishing that I had stood up for myself even just a little, but the fight was buried somewhere deep inside and it apparently wouldn't even rear its ugly head after I found out Nate was cheating on me.

I wished I had done something, anything other than the pathetic display I'd put on for Layla and Nate when I'd caught them together.

Crying and running away from them and then escaping to live in my brother's rent house was definitely a weak move, but I had to run away somewhere to tend to my wounds.

I wished I had tapped into some of that buried strength inside of me that I knew was there but Nate has trampled it down for so long that sometimes I wondered if it was ever even there to begin with.

My mother kept telling me over and over what was happening the entire time but I wouldn't believe her. I accused her of being jealous that Nate was taking me away from her and that she didn't know what she was talking about...now the joke was on me.

That was yet another bridge that I'd burned during my four year long relationship with a lying, cheating piece of shit who probably never loved me anyway...

Ah, there's the tears.

The salty liquid spilled down my cheeks and melted together in with the shower water and it wasn't long before the water turned frigid, my cue that it was time to get out.

I washed my face once more in the ice water to try and alleviate some of the redness in my eyes but one look in the mirror told me they were bloodshot and it was obvious how hard I'd been crying.

I threw my dark brown almost black hair into a towel and took inventory of my appearance.

My usually deep tanned skin lacked its usual glow.

Glancing back out at myself through blue eyes courtesy of my father's Irish heritage, my Native American Cherokee blood gave me the darker skin, hair and sharp, high cheekbones.

There were bags underneath my eyes and I was in desperate need of coffee but other than my dull skin and sagging eyes I looked almost normal. Sad, but tired.

I brushed my teeth and donned some lounge clothes before finally making my way into the kitchen for breakfast.

The guys were all sitting at the breakfast nook pretending that they weren't just talking about me.

"Well then if she's taking my room the least she can do is contribute to the water bill. You guys would have killed me if I used up all the hot water like that."

I rolled my eyes at Emmett's comment and walked over to the steaming coffee pot in the corner, my emotions fluctuating between angry, annoyed, depressed, on the verge of tears and then just numb.

I liked the numb emotion, because then I could look at everything from a level-headed perspective.

"Consider it done. I like my long showers. I'll even buy a bigger water heater if you need it?" I pointed the question to my brother who seemed surprised that I was so put together.

"Uh, yeah I guess if you want to."

"Okay then it's settled. Anymore arguments?" I asked Emmett and it was hard to peel my eyes off of his face once his eyes locked onto mine.

"Not unless you're moving out?"

I laughed without emotion.

"Not happening."

"Then we're still going to have arguments, I'm afraid. Where am I supposed to sleep-"

"You can take the office. I'll put some french doors on it to close it off and then you'll have a room."

Reed's suggestion was out of the blue but it seemed to appease Lucas who sat watching the events unfurling before him with a keen interest.

Emmett's gorgeous blue eyes met mine again and I wished I could have met him differently...and that he had a different attitude completely, as his arrogant and narcissistic behavior was a major turn off.

"Fine. I'll sleep in the office, for now. But I'm going to get my room back."

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my glorious coffee, no cream and sugar.

I was suddenly reminded of the reason I drank it without cream and sugar. Nate had always liked his coffee black and said that anyone who drank it with artificial sweeteners was weak.

I had wanted to please him so I drank it black too...

My mouth slid up on the side into a cold smirk.

"Hey Lucas, you got any creamer?"