"I know you're somewhere..."
"Come on, Brynn... you know I'll find you..."
I whimpered quietly from under my bed. An obvious hiding spot, for sure, but the only one I managed to get to in such a short amount of time.
"I'm getting warmer..." I could feel my heart hammering in my chest.
His footsteps came to a stop right outside my door, his shadow just noticeable in the crack at the bottom.
"Warmer..." I could practically hear the amusement in his voice.
The doorknob was turned at an excruciatingly slow pace. I sucked in a harsh breath once I'd heard the door creak open, tears of pure terror gathering in my eyes.
"Getting hot now..."
I brought my two hands up to cover my mouth in attempt to stop the heavy breaths coming out, his footsteps came closer and closer.
Not being able to stop myself anymore, I sobbed pathetically in my hands whilst my entire body shook with every painful inhale I took. Tears were now pouring down my face as I impaled my cheeks with my nails, trying to stay silent.
This was torture.
And then, suddenly, the footsteps came to a halt. All that could be heard were my shuddering breaths. Maybe he'd left. I shuffled forward slightly on my tummy, trying to sneak a glance to see if he truly had given up and left.
I leaned forward steadily, as slow as I possibly could. He was gone. My room was empty.
Sighing in relief, I felt my entire body relax and my head droop down to my arms, which were now crossed in front of me. I was so exhausted.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my legs, tugging me out from my hiding spot as I let out a blood curdling scream.
"Found you."
---
I shot up into an upright position on my bed. My quilt and blankets underneath me stuck to my skin uncomfortably, sweat dripping off my forehead, trickling down the side of my face.
Bile rose up my throat. I quickly shoved my covers off, cupped my hand over my mouth and made a beeline to my bathroom. I didn't even get a chance to turn the light on because I was already hunched over the toilet throwing up everything I had in me.
Whimpering, I felt my entire body tremble with an unbearable pain in my lower abdomen. My lungs felt like they were on fire, unable to receive the oxygen they so desperately needed.
That was probably the worst nightmare I'd ever had here. And it wasn't even half as scary as the rest.
It took a good twenty minutes for me to get everything out. Now, I was just gagging, my body unable to make anything else come out. What is happening?
I kept my mouth closed, trying to muffle my gags because I did not need one of my brothers to hear me, it was probably a ridiculous hour. Silent tears were rolling down my face, this is not what I needed tonight. I was tired, cold, slightly agitated and I didn't even get to see Callan to say goodnight to him.
I eventually found the strength to slowly stand up, having to take a moment when a huge wave of dizziness engulfed me. I scrunched my eyes closed as my face contorted into a grimace.
Once I'd felt the slightest bit better, I scrambled to the light switch to turn it on. It was far too dark to see anything and who knows, Annabelle could be in here.
The bright light stung my eyes, momentarily blinding me and I cringed at the vomit smell. Walking over to the cupboards under the sink, I pulled out some air freshener and sprayed it everywhere so any evidence of my vomiting was erased. I put the can back in its rightful place on the cupboard shelf and brushed my teeth for what I could only assume was a good two songs length.
After thoroughly brushing and gargling two capfuls of mouthwash, I trudged back out the bathroom, making sure to shut the door the second the lights were off because I did not want something in the shadows to pounce on me- no thank you.
I was half way to my bed when I promptly stopped walking. I could feel the soft, white carpet around my bed, tickling the tips of my toes, but my body showed no signs of actually moving to my desired destination. My whole body felt stiff.
I could only stare tiredly at my dimly lit bed with heavy eyes, swaying a bit. My surroundings soon became blurry and all I could see was a warm orange colour from the fairy lights.
Am I falling asleep standing up?
Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. I honestly didn't mind at this point and it was obvious I wouldn't be finding any motivation to go those extra few steps to bed. I'm okay with that. Sleeping standing up would be pretty cool.
Just when I was drifting further off, the muffled sound of a door creaking open sounded. I was also able to detect a bit more light coming into my vision; the small slit of light getting larger as the door opened further. Did I wake one of my brothers up? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Brynn?" It was like the person was speaking through their shirt, it was so muffled.
The person came closer, me only knowing this because I could feel some body heat radiating off them from infront of me.
"Why aren't you in-"
They paused. "You sleep walking?"
I couldn't hear the person do anything else so I assumed they left me be and went back to bed. Apparently not, since not even ten seconds later, I heard the person rise to their feet and the ghost of their fingers were on my arm.
They seemed almost hesitant to do whatever they wanted to do, however, their hesitance ended when I felt two big hands lift me from under my arms, so delicately. They wrapped my two legs around their waist and kept an arm under me to steady me and another around my back to hold my head.
I felt like a baby. My arms hung loosely by my sides as my legs did around the person's hips; my head was dropping all its weight on the persons hand, not that they seemed to be impacted at all, I wondered if they even felt me in their arms- they were able to lift me so easily.
It was definitely one of my brothers. Probably Callan. Maybe I'd get to say goodnight to him.
Maybe not, seeing as though I was now being lowered into bed.
Despite this, I still tried to say goodnight. I obviously didn't make any sense because the person chuckled dryly. I hadn't heard that chuckle before. Who was this?
"Shhh. Go back to sleep."
I did as they said, far too exhausted.
Before I could fully drift off, a rough hand reached up to swipe the hair on my face. They did it so softly, I questioned if it was just a breeze or not.
---
"I heard someone wanted to say goodnight to me last night?"
I jumped from my spot on the floor. I was leaning against the storage box at the end of my bed with my legs tucked to my chest, reading 'Demon Dentist'.
It was now eight am and I had been up since six, doing anything and everything to keep quiet to prevent disturbing my brothers.
I blushed at Callan's statement. He was leaning against my closed bedroom door with his arms folded, one leg held up on the door and he had a smug, smirking face. He was also dressed in a dark navy suit, his hair neatly styled, looking expensive as ever.
"No..." I denied sheepishly, ducking my head whilst standing up. I rounded my bed to put my book under my pillow, then turned around to find Callan now directly before me, bent down, smirking an insane amount.
"No?"
I scrunched my face in embarrassment, making his smirk soften slightly.
"Maybe," I mumbled looking at my shuffling my feet. He just chuckled and lifting my face by my chin. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," he told me sincerely. I wasn't sure why he was apologising, it wasn't a big deal, I was just being childish and it wasn't like he was obligated to do so.
"'S fine," I assured. Callan only shook his head and smiled softly not only with his mouth, but with his eyes as well, "you are far too forgiving,sweetheart, it's an adorable quality." My face turned blood red and I looked at him like he was crazy.
He laughed once again and gave my left cheek a kiss, then stood up. "Let's go downstairs for breakfast," he placed a hand on my back and maneuvered me infront of him so that I was taking the lead.
Of course, I had no choice in the matter, so I allowed myself to be guided by Callan downstairs and into the kitchen.
Upon entering, I saw Ezra sat at the table on his phone, a white coffee mug on the table infront of him. He was in grey sweatpants with a loose white t-shirt.
On the table, in the middle, there were three massive plates. One contained a mountain of bagels, the middle, croissants and the final one had all sorts of fruits. There was also two jugs on either side. Orange and apple juice.
I took the seat opposite Ezra and Callan sat on my right. When I sat, Ezra, began filling up his plate as did Callan. I decided to just eat an apple which, as expected, wasn't enough for my brothers.
Callan, reached over, buttered and jammed a bagel and placed it on my plate with a raised eyebrow. "Nice try, bambina," he said, giving me a sympathetic kiss to my forehead. I frowned, but didn't say anything. He was only trying to get me to eat more.
We ate in comfortable silence, me occasionally giggling at the funny faces Callan made at me when I glanced over at him.
I ate half of my bagel and a few bites of the apple. I was let off as long as I promised to eat all of my lunch. I didn't know if it was a promise I could keep, especially with my sore tummy.
"Are we still going?" Ezra's voice paused my thoughts. He was looking at Callan with a bored expression.
Callan stopped sipping his coffee and responded, "we'll have to, the shop's not open on Sundays." Ezra scoffed, "we own the shop." Callan scoffed right back, "yes, but that doesn't mean we can keep it open just for us on a Sunday. No one would be working there, unless, of course, you know how to fit a uniform?"
He said it with so much sass, I couldn't stop giggling into my apple juice. Callan gave me a sideways look and smirked into his drink whilst Ezra glared, "okay, smartass."
"Language," Callan sing-songed. Ezra turned to me with the same glare, making my face fall, any evidence of laughter immediately gone. Probably a trick of my mind, but I swore I saw his face soften slightly before it became concrete again.
"You didn't hear that," he muttered. I just clamped my mouth shut and nodded obediently. I didn't hear a word.
I became more curious about what they were talking about. Shop? I turned in my seat to face Callan and asked, "where are you guys going?"
Callan turned as well and responded, "we, are going to get your school uniform fitted." That made me nervous as did the millions of questions swarming my head. I did my best not to show it though, I wanted to be brave for my brothers.
"When are we leaving?" I asked. Callan checked his watch but before he could tell me himself, Ezra cut in. "In about ten minutes," he said nonchalantly, still on his phone. I gasped quietly, eyes widened as I turned to Callan. He had an amused face which quickly changed when he pretended to have a shocked face, exactly mirroring mine.
I didn't have time to glare at him as I was already scrambling to get of my seat. I succeeded, until Callan stopped me by wrapping his left arm around my waist and chuckling at my confused expression.
"You have jam on your face, sorellina," he informed as he reached up and swiped my cheek with his thumb. His face held pure adoration, it couldn't be for me though.
He chuckled when I blushed furiously and started to squirm in his hold. I had to get ready, I only had about nine minutes now! When he finally let me go, I sped out the kitchen as fast as I could, hearing not one but two chuckles behind me. I was probably hearing things though, Ezra was on his phone.
Running up the stairs and down the bedroom hallway, I rushed into my room and into my wardrobe. Finding some black jeans and a pretty, light grey knitted sweater, I completed my outfit off with some plain white trainers, also pulling the sweater of my hands to keep me warm.
Then I rushed to the bathroom, only to stop when a sudden rush of memories from last night came back. It reminded me of my sore tummy. Maybe I should tell one of my brothers?
Later. I have to get ready now.
I brushed my teeth and grabbed the hairbrush from the side. I stared at my reflection with a conflicted face. My hair looked really knotty which meant it was going to be one painful brushing experience.
I was right, it took a good while to brush out all the knots, but I managed and with just enough time.
Retrieving my phone from my bed, I slipped it into my right pocket and exited my room.
As I was walking down the hallway, Zayne came around the corner, looking crisp and clean in his black suit with his stern as ever face.
He stopped infront of me, as I did him, and looked me up and down whilst I shifted self consciously. "I trust today will go swimmingly?" he questioned, his face never once deterring from its hardness.
I gulped and gave my best assurance look, "promise." He raised an eyebrow for approximately four seconds then nodded for me to go. I gave him a small wave and smile, moving past him to the staircase.
Just as I got to the top of the stairs and reached out to hold the marble banister, Zayne spoke again, startling me. "Brynn." I pivoted around to him with my eyebrows raised and bottom lip in my mouth.
He looked me up and down again before looking at me straight in the eyes and I could have sworn he had the tiniest look of sadness in his eyes.
"You look beautiful."
Even though his face was emotionless, his words hit me right in the heart.
He thought I was beautiful? I don't think anyone's called me that before.
I was lost for words, blushing madly and barely managed a small, "thank you, Zayne."
Zayne gave me another nod and with that, left, probably to his office.
For the rest of the way down the stairs, I couldn't stop smiling. Granted, I didn't believe the words he spoke, but that didn't mean they didn't make me happy.
Callan was already waiting by the door, glancing at his watch. I walked up to him and he smiled. "Ready?" I nodded which he gave me a look for. "Yes."
I heard movement from behind me and spun around to see Ezra stalking his way over to us, slipping his phone into his back pocket. He was wearing some slim fit, dark denim jeans, the same white t-shirt and a pair of combat boots. His outfit was topped off with an expensive looking belt and a black leather jacket.
I forgot Ezra was coming and him being there was going to make me ten times more nervous. Hopefully, he wouldn't speak to me though.
That'll be easy, he doesn't want to speak to you anyway.
I gulped as he came closer, ruffling his own hair and looking at Callan. "My car?" he questioned. Callan rubbed his chin, running his tongue over his bottom teeth. He narrowed his eyes in thought, "as long as you don't endanger us."
Ezra let out a huff, followed by an amused smirk. He turned around and walked towards the garage door, placing his hand on the scanner thingy, "I'm not Zach."
The garage door opened and as Ezra walked in, I felt Callan sneak up behind me and delicately rest his hand on my upper back. "Thank the heavens for that," he murmured. I looked up at him while holding back a giggle and he looked back with his eyebrows raised and an over-dramatic frown which made me let it out.
We both walked into the garage, where we saw Ezra by the metal key box, selecting some car keys. Callan seemed to know which car Ezra was choosing, so led us over to an elegant black Mercedes. We heard a click and saw that Ezra had unlocked it whilst simultaneously walking over.
Callan opened the backdoor for me and I thanked him bashfully. "Anything for you, sweetheart," he winked, smiling and closed the car door behind me. Thank goodness, he didn't have to see my fiftieth blush today.
The drive lasted about eight songs. Ezra drove whilst Callan sat in the passenger, leaning his right arm on the arm rest. I just sat peacefully in the back left seat, playing games on my phone.
When we'd finally arrived, I saw we were at a huge shopping centre. Ezra parked right by the entrance. He swiftly exited the car but not before reaching into the car door side pocket and pulling out some black shades. Callan turned in his seat with a stern look I wasn't really familiar with.
"Don't leave our sides okay, Brynn? Either stay by me or Ezra and no wondering," he ordered strictly. It would not be a problem. I am, in no way, good in social spaces.
"Okay," I responded truthfully. He stared at my face for about five seconds more. I imagined he was deducing me like Sherlock.
After he was done "deducing", he gave me a small grin, "let's go then." I opened the car door and exited. Looking up, I was amazed. This place was huge.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take in my surrounding as Ezra had now stepped infront of me, completely blocking anyone's view at me. I was between him and the car with him looking at Callan as said man came out the car, putting on the same pair of shades as Ezra.
Both now had the looks they had before totally wiped off. Ezra's look of boredom and Callan's look of smiling could no longer be seen. Not one emotion was present on either of their faces.
They looked so intimidating and I would've taken a step back if the car wasn't behind me.
Callan nodded his head towards the entrance where people were coming in and out of. It appeared he gave Ezra a silent order because the next thing I knew, Ezra was stalking towards said entrance with me closely behind him and Callan behind me, with right placed firmly on my back.
I moved my sweater sleeves further down my hands subconsciously, gripping the material harshly. This was nerve-wracking.
What was even more nerve-wracking was entering. Inside, there were floors upon floors of shops all connected with pillars and escalators. The shops ranged from clothing stores to food courts.
It was as if the world had stopped. Almost everyone looked our way, some with respect and heads down, others with sheer terror. Some people even cowered behind shop walls and anyone infront of them immediately moved out of their way. Just like they did when Callan and I went to chip shop.
Were my brothers famous or something?
A few girls were even giving my brothers flirty looks, looking them up and down and biting their lips or twirling their hair. Even some guys did too. They didn't even bat an eyelash in their direction, nor did they in anyone else's. They just continued their walk, not paying any mind to anyone.
We walked past a group of teenagers, three boys and two girls. They were staring right at me. Not at my brothers. At me.
They all had disgusted and curious looks on their faces. Did I look bad? Was my hair messed up? Was I dressed funny? Was it something on my face?
One girl with auburn hair pointed at me with a look of distaste which did nothing to calm my nerves.
We walked into a fancy looking shop. It was painted all black on the outside with gold, cursive writing at the top spelling out, 'Finest Tailored Suits'.
Inside was a very Victorian layout, suits and uniforms on display and a huge, varnished checkout counter in the middle. Behind the counter was a middle-aged looking man with dark brown, partly grey, head do along with friendly green eyes. He was dressed in a dark navy suit, similar to Callan's except his had a matching waistcoat.
When he saw my brothers, he broke into a grin and rounded the counter with his arms held out. Callan gave a tight smile and came forward to give the man a hug that contained a lot of pats of the back.
"If it isn't the Verlice brothers," the man had a raspy, yet friendly voice. "Jonas," Callan greeted.
He turned to give Ezra a curt nod and his eyes turned to me, looking momentarily shocked. "And sister," he laughed lightly still rather shocked. I gave him a small smile to which he returned with his own and refocused his attention on Callan.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.
"We came to get a uniform for our sorellina here," Callan brought me into his left side, gently stroking my arm with his hand, calming my nerves and tense muscles.
"Ah," the man- Jonas- nodded. He turned back to me, "if you would follow me to the back room, Miss Verlice," he motioned his hand towards a door at the back and started walking to it.
Did I have to go in alone with him? I didn't know this man.
I looked up at Callan and he leaned down to hold my hand and guided me.
I gulped nervously, I've never had a uniform fitted before. I held Callan's hand a little tighter and he gave me a reassuring squeeze.
---
The fitting wasn't so bad, all it took was a few measurements and I got handed a uniform to get changed into in one of the changing rooms.
When I walked out, straight away Callan was watching me and observing the outfit. It consisted of a white button-up long sleeved shirt, a dark navy blazer with a matching logo to Zach', a dark navy skirt coming down to my knees, a black tie and dark navy tights.
"A perfect fit," he grinned.
Jonas came back in and quickly checked over the uniform. Once he'd found no flaws, he had the clothing wrapped up and we left the shop.
Next up was a shoe store. 'The Right Size' was the name and inside was a very modern, light yellow and white interior.
Callan and Ezra brought me over to the school shoes section where there were so many well-polished shoes, from all different shapes and sizes.
They were both currently looking at the shelves, whereas I was preoccupied with something that caught my eye around the corner. I could've sworn I saw someone-
Just as I went to investigate, I let out a yelp as a hand grasped the back of my sweater and carefully brought me back to my original spot. I looked back to see Ezra still holding my sweater, at the same time looking at an expensive looking school shoe with a blank stare.
"Was just looking round the corner," I mumbled. He put the shoe back in its place and bent down to make eye contact with me. Twenty full seconds later and he clicked his tongue and pointed to the seat next to us. "Sit."
Not a dog.
I did as told and he knelt down on one knee, lifting my right foot onto it. He untied my lace and removed my current trainer, replacing it with the school shoe he found; he pressed on the sides and the top, making sure it wasn't too big or small.
"What do you think?" he asked looking at me once he'd finished. I was probably a tomato at this point. Gulping, I weakly nodded, "they're fine."
Ezra snorted, "just fine?"
"Perfect."
He looked at me to see if I was lying, I wasn't. They looked really good and from what I saw, they were probably the cheapest thing I've seen in this store so far, not that Ezra noticed, he didn't even look at the price tag. I didn't want a lot spent on me anyway.
Ezra stood and grabbed the only shoe box in size one. "I'll be right back. Do not move," he commanded with no nonsense whatsoever. "Okay," I agreed. With that, he left to go to the checkout tills.
I sat for about exactly 187 seconds until I eventually got bored and I thought about what I wanted to see around the corner.
Should I?
No.
Well.
I'll just have a sneaky look and then I'll go straight back to my seat.
Looking around to make sure Ezra or Callan weren't by, I took careful, quiet steps to the corner and peeked around only to be met with nothing.
My body deflated in relief, no one was there.
Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder and flinched around to be met with thin air. Did I just imagine that?
There was another tap on the same shoulder and I whipped around much faster this time. This time, I was met with an actual person. A worker here, from the looks of the light blue shirt, beige pants and workers card around his neck.
He looked in his early twenties with a buzz cut and dark grey eyes.
"Sorry kid, you're not allowed in here without a parent or guardian. Store policy," he gave me a fake smile, telling me he most definitely was not sorry.
Still, I smiled back, "n-no that's fine, I'm actually with-"
I flinched when he brought his hand up to my face to silence me, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"But I'm here with my-"
"Kid, are you not listening to me?" his voice was raising, he was beginning to scare me.
"I am but I swear I'm not-"
"Stop being fucking difficult!" I hissed when he gripped my upper arm and began dragging me out.
I wished I'd just stayed in the stupid seat. Now, not only was this guy yelling at me, but I'd also be reprimanded by Ezra.
I fought his hold, making him grip me much harder.
He, soon, got tired of me fighting and turned around. I thought he was going to just let go and storm off, however I thought wrong when I saw his hand raise. My eyes widened and brought my loose arm to protect my face.
I scrunched my face, waiting for the blow. Only it never came.
Instead, the guy's hand was removed and he was frozen in his place, pure horror laced all over his face. His arm was mid slap, being held in a bone breaking grip by another hand that belonged to the person that was now standing infront of me almost protectively.
That person was Ezra.
He looked mad- no, raging.
It was the exact same face he had when he found out about Milo. I felt sympathy for the guy, if I was him, I'd be shaking in fear just like he was right now.
I swear the guy peed himself.
Before I could see anymore, Callan pulled me into him and walked us out to front of the shop where he knelt down and checked me over. I was still staring into the store in shock. What just happened?
"Brynn!" Callan's concerned face came into view when he grasped my chin, making me look at him. "Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?" he must've really been out of it to swear with me present. I couldn't form words and subconsciously held my sore arm which he zoned in on and rolled up my sleeve.
"Cazzo!" he muttered, his eyes going pitch black looking at the nasty purple bruise forming. "Does it hurt?" he asked worried. "No, 's fine," I lied.
"Don't lie to me, Brynn," he warned and I bit my lip, mad at myself for breaking yet another rule.
"A little," I admitted and Callan shook his head and rubbed his forehead as he inhaled a mad breath, if that made sense.
"Do you think you'll be alright until we get home?" I nodded, "yes." It wasn't even that bad, I've had much worse. Somehow, I didn't believe that telling Callan this would benefit me in any way, shape or form.
He breathed a shaky, angry breath and stood up, "this is why we have rules, Brynn Marie."
I looked down ashamed. Callan sighed and raised his right hand to my chin to lift my head up. Once he looked at my guilty expression, his face softened and he pulled me into his chest, holding me close.
I wrapped my arms around his waist tightly. "I'm sorry," I whispered to him. I truly hated disappointing my brothers. He shushed me, holding me tighter to him. Stroking my hair, he whispered back, "I know, sweetheart. It's okay."
We pulled back and he forced a sweet smile at me, but his eyes looked mad. That spark of rage of them only intensifying when he looked down at my bruised arm.
Ezra soon came out, only sparing me one glance before giving Callan a look. I don't know what kind of look it was but Callan seemed to know if his sadistic looking smirk was anything to go by.
The looks were wiped as soon as they came and Ezra clapped his hands together, "food court?"
Callan smiled and held my hand in this, leading us towards said destination, "sounds good."
---
At the food court, Callan made me eat a plate of fries and half a ham sandwich whilst they enjoyed their own cheeseburgers and chips.
Now we were driving home, Ezra driving and Callan in the passenger seat, on call to who I can only assume was Zayne. Dammit.
By the time we pulled up to the driveway, it was already four pm and the sun was beginning to set. Callan unlocked the door for us and the second we stepped in, we saw Zayne stood in the middle of the entryway, his arms clasped behind him and face still cold.
Callan and Ezra don't seem fazed whatsoever by his appearance. They probably knew he was waiting.
Zayne turned around and made his way up the right handside staircase. Wordlessly, I followed picking at my hangnails and trying to steady my breathing. I could hear Callan and Ezra's footsteps trailing closely behind me.
Zayne walked us towards his office and he walked in, soundlessly. I stopped by the entrance and took a breath.
Here I go.
---
<3