Give Me Courage (Give Me Series #4)

27 | Blueprints

"I- I don't know," I replied on the verge of tears from not being able to help my beta. How was I supposed to help Aiden when I didn't even know how the virus was affecting him?

Aiden suddenly yanked his hand out of my grasp to grab a handful of Isaac's shirt with his attention solely focused on my brother. He gazed up at Isaac with wide, hopeful eyes. "E-Ethan?"

I sucked in a startled breath at the question. My body tensed as I stared at the relieved expression on Aiden's face like he truly believed his brother was in a crouched position next to him instead of Isaac. My emotions billowed over inside of my body as a tear spilled down my cheek at the pure look of hope shining in his watery, dark brown eyes.

"Ethan, I've missed you so much. You've been gone for so long. Where've you been?"

He thought Ethan was still alive.

Isaac paled in the face, too shocked by Aiden's words to respond or even move. He turned to me, half hoping I could say or do anything to make the situation better. My mind was wiped empty. I struggled to speak, mouth quivering with unsaid words. I felt hopeless in the moment. I held his left hand tighter in my own hand, lips pressed to his knuckles.

"Uh, no." Isaac placed his hand on Aiden's shoulder, sadly. "It's Isaac."

Like a flick of a switch, Aiden blinked once and scrunched his face together in a moment of bewilderment, the dazed look escaping his face. He glanced back and forth between the two of us before he noticed the way I held his hand in mine. "What's going on?" He pondered out loud, confused by the situation he found himself in.

I sniffled and breathed out in relief, realizing he returned back to normal. Yet, the sinking sensation filled my entire being as I think of the words he just uttered a few seconds ago about his brother. For a brief moment, Aiden truly believed his brother was still alive.

"You, um--" The lump in my throat prevented any words from leaving my mouth.

"Chloe?" Aiden pressed on the topic, growing more concerned as the seconds ticked by without an answer. He sat up straighter against the lockers once he noticed my distressed look. He slipped his hand out of mine to gently grasp my face like I had done to him a minute ago. "What's wrong? What happened?" His eyes peered over my shoulder at the rest of the group and Mr. Yukimura, taking notice of everyone's parted lips and wide eyes.

"Obviously, the virus is affecting all of you in a way it won't hit any human being," Mr. Yukimura filled the silence.

I leaned my head against his warm hand, pressing my lips together in attempt to stop myself from bursting into tears. The small flicker of hope in Aiden's eyes when he thought his brother was still alive completely shattered my heart. The three of us missed Ethan dearly, but Aiden lost his twin brother and a part of himself when Ethan died. The pain he felt over his brother must be excruciating.

"Chloe?" He whispered once more.

I nervously licked my lips. "Um," I began, scared to meet his gaze, knowing I would start to cry the second I saw the sadness in his eyes. "You- You went into some kind of trance because of the virus and--"

His thumb brushed across my cheek to wipe the tear that slid down.

"You thought-- You thought Ethan was still alive..." I trailed off, hesitantly peering at him through my eyelashes. "You thought Isaac was Ethan."

Aiden's eyes darted to Isaac next to me, shocked with hints of hurt laced in his facial features. He became speechless, shoulders falling slack as the thought of his brother swept through his mind.