"Alright, I think we got everything," Ethan murmured the words distractedly as he slammed the trunk of the car shut.
"One more," Caleb pointed out as he came out of the house, holding a black suitcase in his right hand. I watched silently from the porch as they threw the last bag into the car, and shut it for good this time.
A hand gently pressed against my back and moved me to the side. My head snapped over to see Elijah pass me to walk over to where Alastair was on the phone, his back facing all of us. I zoned in on the file Elijah held in his hand and watched him stroll over to Alastair to hand it to him. They began talking about something that I couldn't hear from where I was standing. Moments later, Ethan walked over to them to listen in.
"You okay?" Caleb's concerned voice made my attention shift over to him, and I realized he'd moved to stand right next to me.
"Yeah, I just..." I trailed off, my eyes finding Elijah and Ethan again. Alastair had slid into the driver's seat by now, so it was only my brothers talking. He turned the car on; the headlights lighting up the dark path ahead of them.
My throat closed up when Elijah placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder, speaking in hushed tones. Ethan listened intently, nodding once in a while. I didn't realize my eyes had welled with tears until Elijah pulled Ethan in for a hug.
Even in the dark, I could see how Ethan tensed at first at the action that seemed so foreign to him. Then, he visibly relaxed and wrapped his arms around Elijah in return, his head on his left shoulder as he gave in.
"Hey," Caleb's hand came to grab my arm and he gently tugged me towards him. "Izzy, tell me what's wrong. You're crying."
Instead of responding, I dove into his arms. It clearly took him off guard from the way he stumbled back a step, but he eventually wrapped his arms around me. I squeezed my eyes shut against his neck. "I'm scared, Caleb," I whispered.
I was terrified.
Waking up everyday and not knowing what to expect was a scary feeling and the fear was becoming permanent. Knowing that I could lose someone else at any moment was ripping me apart, and I couldn't do anything but watch as everything slowly fell apart once again. Not that it ever really stopped.
"Of what?" He asked quietly, running one hand through my hair.
"Everything," I mumbled, gripping the back of his jacket as tight as I could before he left me. "I'm scared for all of us. I'm scared for Kaiden and that something's gonna go wrong again before he comes home. I'm scared that Elijah's gonna disappear again or get hurt one night while he's out there somewhere. I'm scared that you and Ethan aren't going to come back and..." I hesitated. "I'm scared for me."
I was scared of what would happen when I left. I was scared of stepping out of the dark when I finally found out the truth. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to handle it.
I was always scared, no matter how hard I tried not to show it.
He stayed quiet for moments, his hand paused in my hair. "I'm scared too, Izzy," he admitted against the side of my head and my eyes flew open. I pulled back a bit and Caleb cupped the sides of my face in his hands. "For the exact same reasons, but I promise you that we'll be back. I can't say anything about the rest, but Ethan and I will be back, okay?"
I bit the corner of my lip, searching his eyes for reassurance. "You'll be safe? And you'll call?"
Caleb grinned and used his thumb to brush away some stray tears. "We'll be safe, I promise. And I'll call everyday. I'll force Ethan to talk too," he added lightly at the end, and my lips twitched into a small smile that only lasted a few seconds.
Caleb's own smile dropped when my face crumpled and he yanked me into another tight embrace. "I don't want you to go," I cried against his shoulder, my voice breaking. "I want us all to stay together."
"I know, Izzy. We don't wanna leave either," he said softly, rocking us side to side. "We'll be back before you know it, alright?" When I didn't make any move to answer or pull away, Caleb pried my arms off of him and stepped back a little. I stared back at him through watery eyes until I saw Elijah approaching us from the corner of my eye. Ethan stayed back, talking to Alastair through the window.
"Hey," Caleb said, grabbing my hands in his and squeezing until I met his gaze again. "I love you."
I smiled, but it was a weak effort. "I love you, too," I mumbled, letting my eyes drop down to our hands.
I was about to step back, but something peeking out from his sleeves caught my eye. Caleb didn't have time to react as I yanked his sleeves up, revealing the skin.
I gasped when I saw the bruises covering his arms.
Dark, purple marks; some were fading, yet some looked new and they were scattered up and down his arms. The skin was unusually pale too, so they were more visible than ever, even in the dark.
He yanked his hands away and I looked up at him in disbelief. "Caleb, what's this?"
He averted his gaze and shook his head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
My mouth opened and closed as I studied his reaction, not knowing what to say. "That is not nothing. What happened? Did someone hurt you?" I croaked and he briefly closed his eyes, before he turned to look at me again.
"No, Izzy, leave it alone," he gritted out and I did a double take at his tone. He never used that one with me. He saw the look on my face and sighed. "No one hurt me. I promise, it's just...I don't know. Sometimes, I wake up or notice them somewhere and I don't know how I even get them."
I frowned, my eyes traveling back down to the marks. "You mean you just randomly wake up with bruises sometimes? What?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I don't know. They don't hurt so it's probably not a big deal."
I reached for his hands. "Caleb, that's not normal. Have you seen a doctor? Did you tell Elijah?"
He shook his head and squeezed my hands in comfort. "No. Don't worry about it, okay? If it gets worse, I'll see someone."
I was about to argue, but he didn't give me the chance.
He let go of my hands and Elijah's voice caught our attention. "Ready?" He asked Caleb, gesturing to the driveway where the car was. "Flight's at midnight, you three should leave now."
Caleb nodded and I stayed behind as he said a goodbye to Elijah, before he walked down the front steps. I swallowed hard as he went up to Ethan and said something to him, causing Ethan to glance in my direction.
"They'll be back, baby," Elijah said quietly, placing a hand on my back and I nodded halfheartedly, even though it didn't help. Nothing would help until they came back home. "You're not gonna talk to Ethan before he goes?"
I glanced up at Elijah before my attention shifted over to Ethan who was still leaning against the car next to Caleb. I watched as he pulled out a cigarette and lit one, letting his gaze wander off into the distance as he stayed quiet, listening to Alastair and Caleb talk.
I wanted to say goodbye to him too, but I was afraid. Up until these past few weeks, Ethan and I had never been affectionate or genuinely civil with one another. I'd only started seeing this new side of him recently, and that too only happened to be when he needed comfort or I did.
Right now, it wouldn't be about that, so I wasn't sure if he'd want me to approach him.
"He will," Elijah commented gently and I startled. He smiled. "I know what you're thinking. Just go try, you never know."
I swallowed hard and treaded down the steps to the driveway, hugging myself with one arm. Caleb had his back to me, but Ethan watched me approach him, his eyes unreadable as he took a drag. I momentarily focused on the smoke traveling through the darkness, before I came to a stop right in front of him.
"Hi," I began.
Ethan raised his eyebrows. "Hey."
I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. "I just, um – I was just..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say or where to even begin. I just knew that I would've regretted it if I never said anything to him before he left.
Ethan watched me impassively, letting his cigarette rest carelessly between his lips.
I let out an exasperated breath and opened my mouth to try again, but I was caught off guard when Ethan moved forward and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into his arms.
"If you wanted a hug," he murmured against my hair, his voice laced with amusement. "All you had to do was ask."
I recovered instantly, and brought my arms up around his waist. Ethan's chin rested on top of my head as I hugged him back, and neither of us said anything for what seemed like minutes. I shivered as a cool breeze traveled through the quiet night, and Ethan tightened his arms around me.
"You and Caleb will stay together, right?" I asked when he pulled away.
Ethan smirked and I watched as he grabbed the back of Caleb's neck, yanking him towards us. I laughed quietly when Caleb startled slightly, stumbling into Ethan and almost losing his balance from not seeing it coming.
"Of course we will," Ethan scoffed flatly, his eyes glinting with amusement as forced Caleb into a headlock. "He's my baby brother, we always stick together. Isn't that right, Callie?"
I bit my tongue to keep from smiling at the nickname we all knew Caleb hated. Ethan had come up with it one day just to piss off Caleb, and he hated it from day one.
Caleb grunted with annoyance and brought his elbow back into Ethan's chest, slipping away from the headlock he had been trapped in. Ethan cursed and bent over slightly from the force, his smirk turning into a glare as he rubbed his chest.
"Call me Callie again, you fucker, and see what happens," Caleb snapped and I found myself smiling again.
Ethan's lips twitched as he recovered. "Whatever you say, Callie."
I laughed when Caleb started for Ethan, who instantly shot away from the car and started running. Despite everything, I felt light as I watched Caleb tackle Ethan, shoving him down to the grass as they wrestled. I was reminded of when they used to do this as children constantly, and how mom would yell at them every time they broke something new.
Mom could never stay mad at any of us for long, so all it took was a quick apology and a hug, and everything would be back to normal. The next day, another vase or object would end up broken as a result of all my brothers messing around and the cycle would repeat. Sophia and I would join in sometimes, but me and her usually stuck together as kids to play by ourselves.
About ten minutes later, Alastair, Ethan and Caleb were in the car, and ready to go. I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I watched Elijah say something to all of them through the window, before he started walking back over to where I was standing near the front door.
Elijah took one look at the expression on my face before he slung an arm around my shoulder and tucked me into his side, squeezing once as we watched Alastair slowly begin to pull out of the driveway.
"You're staying home tonight, right?" I questioned, my voice hoarse as my eyes followed the car backing out. I glanced up at him to see him nod. "Can we watch a movie?"
It was Tuesday night, and Julian and I were leaving Friday night. I could use one night of something normal before everything went to hell.
Elijah looked over at me. "Aren't you tired?"
I shook my head.
He studied me for a few seconds before he nodded, his gaze shifting back over to the car. Alastair had stopped on the street and I figured they were putting in directions.
"Why don't you go in and pick, huh?" Elijah told me, gesturing towards the door as he stepped away from me. "I have to make a quick phone call."
I agreed, but didn't make any move to go in until Ethan and Caleb were gone. Seconds later, the car started cruising down the street and I watched it go with my heart in my throat.
I let myself follow its path in the dark until it disappeared at the end of the road as they turned, and only then, did I allow myself to breathe as I stepped inside.
I would see them again. This wasn't the end.
***
The next morning, Elijah and I were finally allowed to see Kaiden.
I waited in one of the empty chairs as Elijah talked to one of the surgeons before he came back over to me. I instantly shot out of my seat, and followed him and the nurse to the room Kaiden had been transferred into.
"He's awake?" I asked Elijah, quickening my pace to keep up with him.
"For a while, yeah. We can stay for a bit," he replied as we reached the room.
I swallowed hard and braced myself as best as I could, taking deep breaths. After what I'd learned, it had taken me all morning to prepare myself to act normal.
At the end of the day, my theories were just theories. They were insane, and until I knew for sure, I didn't need to act different around Kaiden. Elijah was going to be there too, so I'd act like everything was normal.
The first thing I saw when we entered the hospital room was the nurse standing by the bed Kaiden was on.
To say that she looked pissed off would have been an understatement.
Her face was flushed with frustration and she had her hands on her hips as she spoke to him, a slight frown present between her eyebrows. My focus drifted over to Kaiden who was sitting up, and he looked just as annoyed as her.
Both of their heads whipped over when Elijah and I came into sight, and I'd barely taken in everything else before the nurse started rambling.
"There," she snapped, her sharp eyes narrowing as she turned her focus back to Kaiden. "Maybe Elijah can knock some goddamn sense into you."
My lips parted in shock at her tone and words, but to my surprise, Elijah reacted in an unexpected way.
He chuckled and my head snapped over to him. "You think he listens to me?"
The nurse huffed and shook her head. "I should've known he'd be worse than you when he came in."
Elijah took a seat on one of the chairs, but I stayed standing, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion at the exchange.
Kaiden scoffed and my eyes shot over to him. "You act like I wanted to get shot in the fucking heart, Lila."
He said her name so casually, I realized that my brothers already knew her.
Lila rolled her eyes as she grabbed a cup of water and shoved it into Kaiden's hand. He winced, but took it. "It wasn't the heart, don't be dramatic," she retorted.
I tapped Elijah on the arm and he glanced over at me. "Who is she?" I asked, watching Lila start to argue with Kaiden once again. I realized she also looked young, around Elijah's age.
"Sean's girlfriend," he told me. "They met when he was a resident."
I nodded and shifted my focus back to my brother and the nurse. It made sense now. Sean was like a family friend to us; he worked with Elijah too, always had. He was a doctor, so as long as I could remember, he'd be the one who always came over to fix Elijah and Kaiden up if they'd been injured from a night out. I never knew what the injuries came from, but now I did.
"How is he?" Elijah asked Lila.
Kaiden spoke up instead. "Fine. I should be able to go home now."
Lila ignored him and addressed Elijah. "Not fine. He needs to stay here another week." She suddenly shot a pointed look at Kaiden. "Longer if he doesn't start listening to what the doctors say."
I had to hold in a smile because it did sound like Kaiden. Life or death, he only listened to himself.
"Izzy." Kaiden's voice caught my attention and I glanced back at him. He raised his eyebrows at me. "I almost died and I still don't get a hug?" He asked, holding one arm out.
After a moment of hesitation, I shuffled forward, coming up to stop right next to his bed.
"I don't wanna hurt you," I said quietly, studying the bandage that I could see wrapped over his chest.
Kaiden ignored me as he reached out to grab me and pull me down on top of him. I winced as I landed right where I thought he'd been shot, but he didn't seem to be bothered as he held me to him.
"I missed you," he mumbled against my hair, and I frowned as I pulled away.
"You weren't even awake."
"It's true," Lila spoke up from where she was standing next to Elijah, talking to him. She smiled at me, and it was genuine.
I looked back at Kaiden. "Does it hurt?" I questioned, perching on the edge of the bed, next to him.
"No, I can barely feel it," he replied, relaxing back against his bed and I was surprised by how laidback he was acting. As if he hadn't almost died, but I figured that my brother had gotten over it.
Lila snorted. "He's lying. Everyday I have to deal with him practically begging me for pain medicine. Asshole almost got me fired," she muttered under her breath.
Kaiden grumbled a curse at her, but all Lila did was laugh, before she turned back to Elijah to continue with whatever she was saying about Kaiden's recovery.
"Ethan and Caleb are gone," I told him.
Kaiden nodded and grabbed my hand, mindlessly running a thumb over my knuckles. "I know. I talked to them on the phone this morning."
"They've landed?" I asked because I hadn't had a chance to talk to any of them since they'd left.
"A while ago," he replied, letting go of my hand. "They're at the penthouse already."
I blinked. "Wait, what? They're staying at a penthouse?" I didn't know that.
Kaiden cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't know? It's Elijah's."
My jaw dropped. "What? I didn't know that?" I turned my attention to Elijah, who paused in the middle of whatever he had been saying to Lila.
"You have a penthouse?" I questioned, and Elijah shot an annoyed look at Kaiden, before he nodded. "You're telling me that Caleb and Ethan get to go and have the time of their lives in a place like that, and I'm stuck here? With you two?"
At least, for a short while. I didn't say that out loud though.
Elijah raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. "I thought you liked spending time with me," he scoffed.
I huffed. "I'd rather be in Miami."
Elijah rolled his eyes and ignored me, turning back to Lila who handed him a clipboard.
"You'll see it someday," Kaiden offered behind me, rubbing my back in comfort, and I faced him again. "After everything's settled down. We can all go."
I offered him a small smile as I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. I didn't think we would because it all depended on what happened when I left. It would change the course of everything and I knew nothing would ever be the same after.
I asked Kaiden about his recovery process for a while until the door opened, catching everyone's attention.
Amina walked in with Olivia trailing in behind her.
My eyes immediately shot over to Elijah who tensed as he saw Olivia, and I immediately felt the atmosphere in the room shift to something more rigid.
Kaiden chuckled lowly from behind me. "This should be good," he scoffed.
"Hey," I jumped off the bed and walked over to greet Amina, giving her a quick hug. "We didn't know you were visiting," I added as I moved to Olivia to acknowledge her too. She squeezed my arm gently as I let go of her.
Instead of moving back near Kaiden, I decided to go sit in one of the chairs to make room for Amina.
Amina smiled and put her wallet and phone down on one of the chairs next to me. "I was gonna stop by earlier, but I got busy," she told me as she spun around and treaded over to Kaiden.
I only watched them for a moment and I couldn't help the grin that took over my face as I realized how close they really were. Amina took a seat next to Kaiden, and he instantly grabbed her hand to stop her as she launched into asking questions about how he was feeling.
When it seemed to get more intimate and uncomfortable for me to watch, I shifted my attention over to Olivia, who hesitated before she moved towards Elijah. He watched her approach him, his eyes unreadable.
To this day, their relationship continued to confuse me. She'd been his girlfriend a while ago, if you could call it that, and even when he broke things off with her, it never really seemed to end.
It seemed complicated. Just like Amina and Kaiden seemed complicated.
Everything in our lives was complicated.
Olivia reached him and said something I didn't catch because it was too quiet. Elijah listened in silence before he stood up, and I did a double take when he pulled her into him. Olivia responded instantly and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.
That also seemed like a moment that I wasn't supposed to watch, so I looked away.
"Well, I'll be damned, maybe he does have a heart."
Lila's voice made me jump in my seat. She looked down at me and grinned.
"Weird to see, isn't it?" She asked and I quickly recovered, nodding. "I was the one who set Olivia and Elijah up in high school. We all used to be friends."
It was strange to hear because those days seemed like they were lifetimes ago, and I'd been a little kid, but I still vaguely remembered a lot of it. I missed it all.
"Um, yeah, a little bit," I replied hesitantly because it was honestly strange to see.
Lila squeezed my shoulder as she watched Olivia and Elijah. "Just imagine him with kids."
My head whipped over to her to see if she was being serious, before I burst out laughing.
"I can't," I said, shaking my head, and Lila grinned down at me.
"Sounds like a nightmare, doesn't it? He wouldn't know what to do," she clicked her tongue and the images flashed through my mind. I could picture it so vividly, but I didn't think Elijah ever wanted any of that in the future. Especially not with his lifestyle.
"Lila, fuck off," Elijah glared at her as he approached with Olivia following him, a hint of a smile on her features. "Izzy, don't listen to anything she says."
Lila rolled her eyes and walked off, claiming she had some paperwork to file.
"Where are you going?" I asked Elijah, noticing the set of keys he had in his hand.
"I forgot something in the car, I'll be back," he replied, already moving towards the door. I frowned in confusion, but before I could question him further, the door shut behind him and Olivia.
"Izzy," Amina stood up from the bed and I glanced over at her as she came to stand right in front of me. "Wanna walk with me to my car?"
My forehead creased and I was about to ask why she needed me to come with, but she faintly nodded her head and I realized that she wanted to talk to me.
I quickly told Kaiden I'd be back, before I followed Amina out the room.
"What's going on?" I asked as we started walking through the hallways.
She slowed her pace and glanced behind us once before answering. "It's nothing really. I just – I've been thinking of something and I just needed to tell you."
"What is it?"
Amina took a deep breath as we reached the doors and faltered in her path, forcing us both to a stop.
"I think we should stop looking into what happened."
I blinked a couple times, waiting. Amina held my gaze, but she seemed to be struggling to not look away.
"What?" I whispered. "Why?"
She moved to the side to let someone pass, and brought her attention back to me. "Don't take this the wrong way, Izzy. It's just – I've thought about it a lot and it's just becoming too...risky." My jaw dropped, and she winced. "I know it sounds awful, but if you think about it, we haven't succeeded in anything. All we've been getting is hurt and I just...I just don't think it's worth it anymore. It's been three years anyways."
"You're the one who approached me," I began, my rage starting to spike. "You do realize that, right? I was perfectly fine until you dropped that stupid file off at my house. Now you wanna back off?" I snapped.
Amina briefly closed her eyes. "Izzy, I know I started this, but don't you see it? We're not getting anywhere. I just don't see what the point is – "
I cut her off. "The point is finding out who fucking murdered my sister. That's the point, Amina, how can you...how can you even be saying this? She was your best friend," I hissed.
Amina tried reaching out for me, but I instantly stepped out of her reach. "Don't touch me."
"Izzy – "
"No," I growled and her face fell. "You can't just do that – this. My whole life has basically fallen apart because of this and now you're trying to back out? Are you kidding me?"
Amina frowned. "I'm sorry, Izzy, but the file and what we've started is not the reason why everything happened. I'm not at fault. If you think that, then – "
I laughed bitterly. "Actually, Amina, yes it has. Don't you get it? Ever since I ran into you that day in town, everything's gone downhill." Her eyes flashed with hurt, but I didn't care. Another person was letting me down, and I didn't care what I said at this point. I was sick and tired. "Now that I really think about it, everything bad that's happened to me and my family started after you came back. Kaiden got shot because of you and – "
She cut me off. "Don't blame me for that," Amina snapped and I glared at her. "If you'd gone with Lucas, your brother would've been fine. He almost died protecting you, Izzy. Not me."
My blood was boiling at this point. "Fuck you, Amina. If you wanna back out, go ahead. I'll find out what happened without you." I started turning around, but hesitated at the last second.
I said my next words without really thinking about what I was saying, and I knew that I'd regret them later.
All I knew was that I wanted to start hurting people the way they hurt me.
I'd been a good person in the past, and bad things still happened. I had nothing to lose anymore.
"And while you're at it, why don't you stay the fuck away from all of us. Sophia's dead, you have no reason to be around anymore."
I barely saw her flinch because I was already spinning around to walk off. I heard her call my name and her footsteps start behind me, but I sped up.
I flew past the people I passed through the hallways because I was fuming. Everything was a blur. I'd just turned the corner to turn into the hallway where Kaiden's room was, but I crashed into someone in the process.
Julian grabbed both of my upper arms to steady me before I fell, his eyebrows raising as he saw the look on my face.
"Would a cigarette help?" He asked flatly, letting go of me and I stayed quiet, rolling my eyes at how he instantly knew that something was wrong.
He was about to speak again, but I beat him to it, making a possibly stupid decision in the process.
I had nothing to lose.
"Actually, yes it would," I stated, ignoring the surprise on his face as I grabbed his wrist. "Let's go outside."
***
"Open," Julian ordered firmly.
I cocked an eyebrow, leaning back against the wall. "Why can't I do it?"
Julian rolled his eyes. "Wanna try it or not?"
He placed the cigarette between my lips and I almost considered taking my decision back, but I forced myself to continue on.
Once again, I reminded myself that I had nothing to lose.
"Are you sure?" He asked, his gaze running over my face once. I nodded and motioned for him to hurry it up. Julian smiled, shaking his head but obeyed.
My heart was racing as he lit the cigarette. "Now inhale," he murmured, and I braced myself as I followed his directions. "Fuck, just a little, Isa – "
My coughing fit cut him off.
The burning sensation was almost painful and my eyes started stinging from the awful feeling. My hand went up to grab my throat and I vaguely heard Julian speaking to me, but I barely heard him over the coughing.
Bile rose to the back of my throat as I doubled over the nearest bush, stumbling to my knees as my muscles constricted with nausea.
Julian rubbed my back, holding the hair out of my face as I sucked in as much fresh air as I could, anything to get rid of the burning in my throat and chest.
"Too much, huh?" He asked, rubbing circles on my back as I steadied myself back against the wall, letting my eyes slip closed.
"I never wanna do that again," I croaked, a broken laugh slipping from my lips as I opened my eyes to meet Julian's gaze. He smiled in amusement as he crouched down in front of me. I groaned. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up again."
"You might," he answered honestly, brushing some hair out of my face as I rested my head back against the wall, reveling in the cool, outside air. "It's normal, don't stress."
"It doesn't feel good," I mumbled, closing my eyes again.
Julian chuckled. "Yeah, well, that's normal too."
"Sorry you had to see that again," I muttered, peeking over at him. He cocked his head to the side in question. "Me throwing up. Again. Sorry."
He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me."
I nodded, but didn't respond. Talking made me feel sicker, so I stayed silent, letting myself focus on his fingers running through my hair soothingly instead.
"Izzy?"
My eyes flew open at Elijah's voice and the blood drained from my face as he approached me.
I had forgotten that he'd gone to get something from his car. Olivia was with him, her eyebrows furrowing in concern as she took in my condition
Elijah frowned worriedly as he came up to me, his eyes lingering on Julian only for a few moments.
He crouched down in front of me and tilted my chin up. "You look sick. What happened?" His voice hardened as he glanced over at Julian who'd stood up, unfazed by Elijah's presence.
My head spun as I pushed myself off the ground, using the wall to support myself. "Nothing," I croaked, shaking my head. "I'm fine, I just got a little sick from breakfast, I think. I'm fine now."
Elijah studied me for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. "You didn't even eat breakfast."
Fuck.
I resisted the urge to cringe, and scrambled for what to say. My eyes shot towards Olivia who stood behind Elijah, watching me and she understood the look I sent her immediately.
She nodded briefly and placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder. He didn't look at her, keeping all his attention solely on me and I swallowed hard.
"Elijah, I have to go. Walk me to my car," she said quietly, trailing her hand down his arm to his wrist. "Come on," she tugged on his hand.
Elijah turned his attention towards Julian, and I braced myself as they stared each other down. I would've crumbled under the intimidation of Elijah's hard stare, but Julian didn't seem to care.
Elijah's jaw clenched. "Izzy, go back inside. I'll be there soon."
When I didn't make any move to go, his eyes shifted back over to me with a silent warning, and I instantly pushed myself off the wall.
I wasn't stupid enough to say goodbye to Julian, but I could feel him watching me as I walked away. I would see him soon enough.
We'd made all the plans over the phone a day ago.
Everything was ready. The only difficult part that remained would be the escape itself. Especially because of what had happened with Lucas. After that incident, Elijah had changed the entire security system of the house.
Getting in was almost impossible, but so was getting out.
He had people come over to make all the changes a while ago, and they included motion detectors, cameras inside and outside, a new alarm system and sometimes, when he wasn't home and one of us was, he had men watching the house from their cars.
When I looked back over my shoulder, expecting to see only Julian standing there, I was taken back to see both my brother and him.
I quickly turned my head forward and rushed to get inside the hospital, my heart pounding against my chest.
I realized my hands were clammy with nerves, but it wasn't because of what had just happened.
No, it was because what had just happened was nothing compared to what would happen when in exactly two days, they all realized I had left.
It wouldn't take him long to find out that I hadn't gone alone because I knew he had eyes everywhere. Even if he didn't, I had to be prepared for the worst.
A part of me was scared for myself, but more than anything, I was scared for Julian.
Elijah wasn't the monster I thought he was, but I knew better than anyone how far he could go when he set his mind to something. Just because he wasn't a bad person, didn't mean that he wouldn't do bad things when he needed to. It didn't mean that his morals were what they should have been.
And when I finally got to New York, I was going to find out exactly how much of a monster he could become when it came to protecting the people he loved.
***