cast no shadow. (the lost boys).

08. filling the void.

"WHO IS? What are you talking about?" Dwayne apprehensively inquired while holding onto me tighter. I couldn't find it in myself to speak anymore so I buried my head in the crook of his neck and held onto him for dear life.

"Alright, alright, it's okay. I've got you." he soothed me and stroked my hair.

My tears just kept coming and coming, it felt like they weren't going to stop spilling from my eyes anytime soon but I still tried to focus on Dwayne's attempts soothe me. There is static in my head once more, the side effect of this constant fear, constant stress I live with. I hear my own sounds, like a distressed child, raw from the inside. It takes something out of me I didn't know I had left to give. That's the way it is when people are hard. It's like a theft of the spirit, an injury no other person can see.

It took awhile but Dwayne managed to calm me down. He silently took me onto the beach with my hand in his the entire time. It's like he could read my mind, like he knew the beach was my safe haven.

We sat down on the sand, it was secluded like usual. I looked over to Dwayne and his eyes were clouded over just like Paul's a few days ago.

"Why are your eyes clouded over?" I shakily asked him, my voice trembling due to my little moment a few minutes ago.

"The boys and I have a mind link, we can communicate with each other in our minds. It's just something our eyes do while we're communicating." Dwayne explained to me.

"What did you tell them?" I inquired.

"I told them what happened when you came out of the store, and told them to meet us here." he admitted.

"Oh, okay." I murmured.

"Do you wanna tell me anything before they get here? It could make things easier, plus David can get impatient and demanding. I wouldn't want you to feel even more upset." Dwayne persuaded. I looked back at the sea and actually thought carefully about what I was going to say to him.

"I did something bad, and now my brother is going to come find me and kill me." I told him.

"We won't let him, nothing's going to happen to you. I promise." he reassured while holding my hand.

"You don't understand, he really will." I shook my head.

"What did you do that's so bad?" Dwayne questioned.

"The whole reason I got sent here was because I was going on killing sprees almost every night and nearly exposing my family and I. My brother sent me here to stay with Max to calm myself down and sort out my apparent 'anger'." I rolled my eyes. "He told me if I did it again while in Santa Carla, he'd kill me. He didn't say those words exactly but I know that's what he'd do. I did it again Dwayne, he's going to kill me."

"He's not coming anywhere near you, I'll make sure of it." Dwayne told me as his eyes flashed with indignation and anger, almost like lightning on a pitch black night much like tonight. I watched as the whites in his eyes turned a pure black, and as his iris glowered a darker brown than his usual chocolate brown orbs. "I won't let him, I swear."

Dwayne wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, gently rubbing my arm. Despite the heaviness in my stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of my body pressed against his. I sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. I felt safe, as I did with all the boys. They way I felt towards them is indescribable and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just as I thought of the other three of my mates, they came strolling towards us. Marko instantly sat down on the other side of me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest.

"What's going on, angel?" Marko mumbled into my ear.

"I don't wanna talk about it. Ask Dwayne." I replied as I hugged him back. I looked up to see David looking at Dwayne with an arched brow.

"She thinks her brother is going to kill her." Dwayne answered.

"Why?" David questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Because she killed quite a few people." Dwayne told him.

"But she's a vampire, that's what we do." Marko pointed out.

"Damn right it is. No offence doll, but your brother sounds like a dumbass." Paul added.

"What am I gonna do?" I groaned into Marko's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, you have four lethal vampires in front of you. I think its pretty clear what we're going to do." David asserted.

"You can't hurt him, he's my brother." I reasoned as Marko started rubbing my back.

"What kind of brother would want to kill their sister without even thinking twice about it?" David argued. "I know I wouldn't even think about hurting one of the boys."

I knew he had a point but I hated the way he was speaking about my brother. Yes, he would hurt me without mercy. But at the end of the day he's family, he's my bothersome older brother and I loved him.

"He did it before..." I mumbled.

"What?" David inquired with a raised brow.

"He killed me before. Remember when I said only a white oak stake could kill an original? Well, he got one and killed me. I was gone for forty-seven years. It was only when he pulled the stake out, I came to to 'life'." I explained and put air quotes around life.

"So, you can come back if it get's pulled out of you?" Dwayne questioned and I nodded.

"We're not gonna let him, or anyone, come near you with one of those things." Paul told me and they all agreed.

"Wait, does he know there are other vampires in Santa Carla?" Marko then inquired.

"Well, yeah, obviously. He's knows Max." I replied while removing myself from Marko's grasp and deciding to sit properly on the sand. "Why?"

"So if he does somehow find out, we can just say it was all us and you had nothing to do with it." Marko shrugged.

"Yeah, we can just say we were really fucking hungry or something." Paul interjected.

"Plus, there's four of us so obviously our meals are going to be pretty big." Dwayne spoke up.

"And its not as if he can say or do anything about it, we're basically nothing to him and therefore not his problem." Marko added.

"Nice Marko." Paul praised him. "Who knew you could be smart."

"Shut up pothead." Marko sneered.

"What the fuck? I was complimenting you!" Paul replied in disbelief.

"Dumbasses." David mumbled and rolled his eyes. "How about we go get something to eat, head back to the cave and talk more about this?" he directed to me.

"Yeah, sure." I sighed. Then we went off searching for our meal of the night.