My Bros & I

breathe

Aiden POV:

I felt gross.

I'm not sure exactly how long I've been here but I think it's been at least 3 days. I'm kept underground so I never really know what time it is.

I'm afraid.

Afraid of never seeing my family again.

Afraid of what is going to happen to me.

Afraid of my uncle.

I spent what I think was a day hating my father. Now I realize how wrong that was of me. Dad never told us about Marcus because he wanted to protect us from him, and I understood that now. Marcus is a vile, disgusting, and unwell man. I'd give anything to be back with my family, bickering with my brothers and cuddling close with my parents.

"What's with the face, sweetie?" Greg spoke from the corner of the room.

In the time I've been here I've only met and seen 4 people. Marcus, 2 of his guards, and a maid. One of the guards is super creepy. I have yet to learn his name but he always stares at me and if no one is watching he sometimes makes weird faces. The maid is the one who brings me food and water. She always glares at me and sometimes I'm scared to eat the food in case it's been poisoned.

Then there's Greg. He's the nicer of the guards.

Actually he's just nice in general.

From the moment I met him he's been nothing but kind and caring towards me. When Marcus had stabbed me on the first day of me being here, he had sent Greg down to help me patch my wound so I wouldn't bleed out or get an infection.

Greg introduced himself and kept telling me stupid jokes to lighten my mood. When no one is looking he'll send me pitiful glances. I just don't understand why he's working with Marcus.

Greg can only talk to me when no is around because if they see the way he's treating me they'll kill him. Yesterday he almost got shot in front of my eyes and it was terrifying.

Turning to Greg I tried to keep a hold on my emotions but my guard fell when I saw his concerned face. The tears came rushing out of my eyes and my eyebrows scrunched together. He reminded me of my dad. My face formed an ugly cry and I so badly wanted to reach my hands up and hide myself. Unfortunately I was tied to this stupid chair.

"Oh honey..." He spoke softly, looking around before rushing over to me. He kneeled down in front of my chair and lifted my chin with his hand.

"I- I, I-" I tried to get my words out but I was too overwhelmed. I felt my throat closing in on me and the air stopped filling my lungs.

"Aiden, breathe. It's okay. Just breathe." He said. His hand was rubbing my back but it wasn't in a creepy way like I imagined the other guard would be like. It was more in a fatherly way. Out of comfort.

I sucked in a few breaths and he praised me, whispering soothing things to me whilst I composed myself.

"I know you're scared, honey. I'll try my best to protect you from Marcus and Jay but I can't promise your safety." He said, his face contorted in sadness and guilt. I guess the other guards name is Jay. I smiled through my tears.

"I-it's okay, Greg. I don't w-want you to get hurt." I said. He was the only one here showing me an ounce of kindness and I would never forgive myself if he were to get hurt or even die because of me.

"You remind me of my daughter." He says.

"You have a daughter?" I ask.

"Had." He said sadly. My heart broke.

"I'm sorry." I said sadly. I didn't mean to make him sad.

"It's quite alright, I brought her up first. She was just like you though. A kind heart, big beautiful eyes that only saw light in the darkest of places. Her name was Penelope." He said, reminiscing in the memory of his deceased daughter.

"She sounded like a beautiful person." I said with a smile. Greg's smiled too.

"She was."

"What happened?" I found myself asking. I instantly regretted it and felt horrible for asking such an insensitive question.

"A few years ago Marcus' gang got caught up in a war with the Russian Mafia. There was an attack and Marcus had called me out to help defend his territory. I told my wife to take the kids to our safe house. I was so stupid. They were cornered by members of the mafia and when one of the men tried shooting my wife, Penelope jumped in front of her and took the bullet. She died instantly." Marcus said, a tears slipping down his face. I was shocked but more than anything I wanted to hug him.

"She was so brave." I stated. Marcus nodded in agreement. "My Penny was an amazing little girl, and she deserved a longer life than the one she was given." He said.

"Why do you still work for Marcus?" I asked after we sat in silence for a minute. I tried to leave the gang after what happened to Penelope but Marcus threatened me. Told me if I left the gang he would kill my wife and son."

I didn't know what to say. Greg has suffered so much because of my uncle and he can't even move on because Marcus will kill the rest his family.

I was about to speak when a loud bang came from beside us and I looked over to see Jay, the other guard.

"What are you doing with the girl, Greg?" He asked suspiciously.

"Toughening her up. Bitch was crying nonstop so I decided to put an end to it." Greg said. I tried not to cry because I knew that he was just saying this so Jay wouldn't suspect anything. It was still hard.

"Next time just call me down. I know how to shut her up." Jay said, looking at me with a creepy smile. I shivered uncomfortably and a silent star escaped my eye.

"Marcus wants your help upstairs." He said to Greg. Please no. Please don't leave me alone with him.

"Are you sure? I think the girl could use another lesson." Greg said. Jay smiled.

"Best not keep the boss waiting. I can teach her a lesson just fine." He said.

Greg had no choice. Without turning back, he marched up the stairs.

When the door slammed it signalled my doom.

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Hope you liked this chapter! Also, ITS DECEMBER 6TH! I'm so excited for this month!

Do you guys celebrate Christmas? If not is there something else you do during this time?