Caged

46

Kaiden hesitated, running a hand over his jaw tiredly. "He found out that she didn't go alone."

Caleb didn't need to know more to know about what Elijah was doing right now. His heart dropped. "He's not gonna hurt anyone, is he?"

Kaiden stayed silent and Caleb suddenly felt sick again. Not that the feeling ever really left.

He should've been used to it. Everything he heard of, everything he saw. And yet, it seemed as if no matter how much time passed, it still never got easier.

Even if he wasn't the one actually doing anything, he still always felt guilty. And he knew that Ethan felt the same way. Caleb didn't have any nightmares, but he knew Ethan did.

He'd seen what they'd do to him. And he knew that on days where Ethan was being more of an asshole than he normally was to every single person around him, the memory had been more horrible than usual. His mood told Caleb a lot about which nights were the hardest.

Sometimes, Caleb knew that they were night terrors. After those, Ethan would disappear for nights, refusing to be at the same place where most of his trauma had occurred.

"Did anyone go with him?" Caleb asked, breaking the silence.

"Roman and Alastair. Maybe a few others, I don't know," Kaiden replied distractedly, frowning as he studied Caleb. "Why don't you head up and rest, Caleb? We'll wake you up if we need to."

Caleb relaxed back against the couch, letting his eyes slip shut. "I already tried. It didn't help," he could tell Kaiden was about to argue, so he continued. "Just leave it. I'll be fine. Go back to whatever you were doing."

Kaiden studied him for a few more moments, the concern visible, but he didn't push any more.

Caleb had silently been listening to them talk about something that seemed to have to do with work, when he heard the front door open. He turned just in time to see Elijah and Alastair walk through. The latter paid no attention to any of them as he hurried upstairs. Elijah, on the other hand, caught sight of his brothers.

Kaiden tensed, standing up. Caleb knew that he was scanning Elijah for injuries or any of proof what he'd suspected had happened.

Elijah rolled his eyes as he threw his keys on the coffee table. "Calm down, I didn't hurt anyone. You can stop looking at me like that."

"What happened then?" Kaiden asked, still watching Elijah warily as if he felt like something was off.

Despite how tired Caleb was, he sensed the same thing.

He studied the way Elijah walked around the house, disappearing into the kitchen and then returning with a bottle of vodka. He noticed the way his older brother's demeanor suddenly seemed different. The last two days had been tense, and not a moment had passed in which Elijah hadn't been angry. Everyone had sensed the rage simmering off his brother everywhere he went, but now...

He seemed calm, collected. As if nothing was bothering him anymore. His eyes were light and hazy, from both the alcohol and something else that Caleb couldn't pinpoint.

Caleb slowly glanced at Ethan to see if he was noticing it, too. From the way Ethan was following every movement Elijah took, Caleb knew he was.

Everyone was starting to realize that something was off.

Caleb let his attention drift back over to Elijah who took a seat on the couch across from them. Even his stance was laid back as he threw an arm across the back of the couch, taking his phone out with the other.