Silent Love

Everyones a mess.

Liam

I never thought I'd say this but my brother is a mess.

After Ava went upstairs and left us all in silence we decided to let the Bakers be and head home, Ben was having a war with himself the entire car ride. His hair is messy by the amount of times he pulled on it with his hands, eyes are bloodshot, I never thought I'd see the day my brother like this but at that moment when I saw him drop to his knees after Allie got in the cab I realized just how everyone can break. When Lucas died we all waited for Ben to break but he didn't, he stayed strong, never shed a single tear, he didn't talk about him, he put all his focus towards the gym and stood his ground. I remember admiring that about him thinking how nothing can break my big brother but the way he is now scares me shitless.

"What's her real name?" Even his voice is broken. He hasn't said a word since we left. I clear my throat glancing towards him but he's just staring out the window with no emotion on his face.

"Allie Stevens. She's been living with Joe." Ben's head snaps towards me.

"Martinez?" I nod my head and glance at him again, I can see the wheels turning in his head. I take a deep breath and exhale calmly.

"Do you know all those evening sessions Aiden's been doing? The client Joe put Aiden over? It's Allie."

Ben let out a chuckle and shakes his head. "I can't believe she's been under my nose this entire time. We've spent months looking for her. Do you know how long she's been staying with Joe?"

I shake my head, "A little over a year maybe I'm not entirely sure. She doesn't talk much about her life. Lately she's been opening up more but after this I don't know I think we've lost her again."

I park the car in front of our house and we both stay seated just staring out the window, "Is there something going on between her and Aiden?"

I let out a long breath, "Yeah they've been getting closer. He's been calm ever since they've been together and she...she has a little light around her face again, she was so dull when I first saw her it's really amazing how much they've helped each other."

I look down at my hands remembering her face when he yelled at her. "She...something happened with her ex, I don't know what exactly but I think Aiden has an idea. He uh...he's been there for her you know, so many things scare her especially when someone gets violent or yells. I might have an idea about what happened but she hasn't told me anything so I'm not sure."

Ben's hands turn into fists and I can see his jaw clenching, something tells me he knows what I'm talking about. "Aiden was being very careful around her but you know how much a sensitive subject Lucas is to him. I know he's angry because he wants answers but I also know that right now he hates himself with how he reacted. I just don't know how to help them."

He doesn't say anything, he just sits there in silence furrowing his brows and thinking to himself. I can't take the silence anymore and I need answers so that maybe I could help her or my best friend. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, "How do you know her Ben?"

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, "It's obvious you care about her but I'm sure you never mentioned her to me. How did you and Lucas meet her?"

He turns his body facing me, keeping his eyes on mine contemplating if he should trust me or not. I'm his fucking brother though, I'm about to tell him he can but his eyes go to his hands and he starts speaking.