Chasing Shadows | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"HEY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

I looked up to see Natalia peering down at me, worry shining through her eyes. Quickly, I turned my head and tried to discreetly wipe at my eyes before she could see them. Her eyes showed the kind of gentle concern Mom used to have. She laid a soft hand on my shoulder, and instead of flinching like I thought I would, I was soothed by it. I shifted on the floor, moving over to make space for her and she plopped down beside me.

"I guess not," I replied with a small shrug and cleared my throat, "But I'm doing okay."

"So, I've never seen him around," She commented casually after a moment of thinking, "Has he always been here, or have I just been oblivious? I feel like I would have noticed an ass like him."

Despite everything, I cracked a minuscule smile, "No, he used to live here but moved away when he was younger. He's only in town for a few short weeks."

"Oh," She nodded in understanding, "So were you two were friends before then?"

"Friends?" I scoffed and shook my head. "No, we were like brothers. I mean, he looked out for me, Nat. He was like my older brother, you know? Always there for me whenever I needed him."

Lifting a bloody hand, I rapped on his window, my teeth chattering from the cold. I shivered when a gust of wind blows by, knocking my hood from my head. The lights inside flickered on and Nicholas pulled back his curtains, only to see me standing there, in a thin shirt, drenched in the rain. His eyes widened at my battered face and body, and rushed away from the window to come outside.

Nicholas threw the door open, almost tripping over his own feet as he rushed out. I stood on his porch, my head bowed, but it did nothing to hide the red welts on my face. A deep wound was sliced into the flesh of my upper right arm. Blood was heavily oozing out, and a bluish-purple bruise was beginning to form around it. I lightly pressed my finger against the center of the cut, and sucked in a sharp breath as the pain shot all across my body. Colorful spots contoured the sides of my eyes and I bit down on my lip from the pain.

"Hi," I whispered, my bottom lip trembling. "I didn't think you'd be awake."

"Jesus Trevor," Nicholas' eyes trailed over me. "What the hell happened this time?"

My body was still trembling, and no matter what I did or said to comfort myself, it wouldn't stop.

"I. . . I don't know. He just flipped out," I whimpered, "I was just in the kitchen and he came in shouting and screaming, throwing things at me. . ."

Nicholas stepped closer, peeking at me from under my the dark shadows of the night. His eyes trailed over the red gashes on my cheek, blood still flowing out.

"Come on," He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Let's get you inside, okay? I'm sure Dad has some first aid stuff somewhere."

"No, no," I raised my hands and backed away, "It's late and I don't want to disturb your family -"

Nicholas arched a brow, "Are you serious? Trevor, how many times do I have to tell you? You are family. Now come in, let's get you fixed up. You can stay here for a while until your Dad calms down."

 Natalia let out an awkward laugh, breaking me from my memories, "I don't know how much I'm supposed to know, so I don't want to keep talking if it's going to make you uncomfortable." She spoke with such a soft voice, I felt her words calming me more by the way they were said than the actual words.

"Don't worry about it," I sighed, and waved her off, "Ask away."

"Okay. . . " She shot me a cautious look, before asking, "Well, how did you two go from being brothers to this?"