Her Secrets

18. Familia

Ben smiled at the bloodied man in front of him. He was tied to a chair in a fairly lit basement, his head moved to either side as if he struggled to hold his own weight. He was out of it, unable to move well. He whimpered here and there.

Ben found it funny. Here this guy was, thinking he was so tough as he went around hurting people without consequences. Now, now, he was defenseless. He was nothing. Just for shits and giggles, Ben punched his face for what seemed to be the millionth time. He'd never get enough of this.

He wished Asher was here. He wished Asher could be the one to do the honor of inflicting pain on this idiotic, worthless man. But he could never find out about this. Chris made it crystal clear. It was too dangerous for him and Mia to get involved in this. As long as Chris had a say in the matter, they'd never find out. It was bad enough to him that Ben knew. The others couldn't, they just couldn't. They were the youngest in the bunch and he needed to keep them safe and protected.

Slap. A hiss of pain. Chris snapped out of his thoughts as he looked over at Ben who was still enjoying the violence.

Benjamin was just like him. He smiled at that before stepping closer towards Ben and the man - no, not man, the monster - who had damaged his youngest brother. He was going to make him suffer slowly.

He stood next to Ben and stared the sad excuse of a person down before turning away and opening the door to the hallway. Before he left he heard him snicker at the fact he was leaving so soon.

Chris found it funny because he was coming back. He wasn't giving up so soon.

Ha what an idiot. He thought. He had him right where he wanted him.

He walked through the long dim lit hallway before he made it to the room he was looking for. The room was dark as he felt around the wall of the room to find the light switch.

The second the lights flickered on, Chris smiled to himself, a rush of adrenaline running through his veins. The room was stocked with shelves full of different kinds of weapons, meant for exactly what he was doing now. Protecting those he loved because he'd be damned if it happened again. He wouldn't let it. He wouldn't lose anyone else. He just couldn't.

He grabbed some weapons off the shelf before leaving down the hallway - this time he was armed with a knife that was inside the tool belt looped around his denim jeans, and a gun on the opposite side.

He was surely going to feel it and he wouldn't be laughing this time. No, he'd be screaming, begging for mercy. He didn't show that to his youngest brother, so naturally he would give no mercy to the man who went from having empty eyes to eyes with fair. He wished others could see what Chris and Ben had done to the ones who hurt their siblings. That would teach them never to mess with their familia - especially the younger two.

He continued down the hall before he reached the door where he'd kill the man on the other side. He stopped at the door and rested his hand on the knob as a smile crept onto his face.

This is justice. He thought. Justice. It really had a nice ring to it.

He turned the knob slowly before flinging the door open causing a loud bang as it hit the wall. The commotion caused the severely injured man to flinch and wince at the movement he made. Thinking about how such a seemingly helpless man could scar his younger brother for life was a foreign thought. Something so strange, he didn't understand it. It just didn't make any sense to him.

For a second, only a second, Chris wished his brother knew about their tactics. About the place he'd take people to when their time on earth was coming to an end due to their crimes. But no, this wasn't a place to seek revenge, it was a place that would forever allow their last name to stay and be protected. It had helped. Until of course, it failed. But it would not fail again as long as Chris was still here. Nothing bad would ever happen to their family name like it did in the past. Never. It couldn't. Chris would make sure of it.

He was going to kill him but it wouldn't be fast. No, it'd be slow. As bad of a death he could manage to give him, he would do.

"You aren't going to kill me. We all know you only know how to torture people." He said, as by some miracle, his blood stained lips tugged into a smile. "That's probably why your sister killed herself. Or plot twist, you are a literal psycho and you killed her."

Just as he was about to do some damage to the coward, his phone rang. He put the weapon down and took his phone out. The caller ID showed it was their local sheriffs office.

Shit. Shit. Shit. He thought.

"Take the weapons out of here, lock up, and meet me upstairs." Chris said firmly.

The second the phone stopped ringing, it rang again showing the same number.

"Hello?" He said as he made his way upstairs.

"Is this Christian Torres?" The man on the other line asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"I'm calling to inform you that your siblings Asher Torres and Mia Torres were in a car accident." He said.

"What?" He replied as his heart pounded against his chest.

"Mia and Asher Torres were in a car accident."

"No. There's gotta be a mistake." He said.

"I was an officer on the scene and we've identified them as your siblings. Mia and Asher Torres. I advise you to come down to the hospital right away."

"Are they okay?" He asked.

He felt dizzy as flashbacks of the day his parents died in a car accident were at the forefront of his mind. 

"Mr. Torres looks to be doing okay but Ms. Torres is for the time being in bad shape." He replied. "She'll be okay with time."

"I'll be there right away." He said as he hurried to the car.

"What's going on?" Ben asked once they were both settled in the car.

"Mia and Asher were in a car accident."

"What?" He asked.

Chris already knew what he was thinking without him having to say it. They both had the same thought. Their mother and father. It was bringing back too many bad memories.

"They're okay. They're alive." He said.

Ben visibly relaxed when he heard that although the stress of the situation never really left either of them.

No matter how fast he drove he couldn't make it to the hospital fast enough. As bad as he wanted to speed through the lights he refrained from it as all he could think of were his parents.

His parents for a while hadn't crossed his mind this much since it first happened. Since they died.

Not being by their side in this moment, was killing Chris from the inside out. He needed to see them for himself. He needed to see that they were fine. That they would be okay. That the sheriff on the phone wasn't lying, wasn't sugar coating anything.

"Call Asher." Chris said firmly as he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

"He's not picking up." Ben said a few minutes later.

"Try again. I don't care keep trying."

The caller ID rang and rang and rang until the voicemail went off. This happened a few more times until they finally made it to the emergency room.

Chris parked and without bothering to close the driver side door, ran inside the building.

He'd finally see his two youngest siblings.

"Who are you looking f-" the receptionist was cut off by the eagerness of Chris.

"I'm looking for Mia Torres and Asher Torres. I'm their brother and legal guardian. Christian Torres." He said.