I didn't see any of my other brothers for the rest of the day. It was just Logan and I. He helped me into the bathroom when I had to vomit, but that urge was getting less and less frequent. He kept encouraging me to drink and went downstairs to refill my glass and get himself something to eat.
He stayed with me all night long, watching Disney movies and at one stage he even went and got his Xbox and challenged me to a game.
I didn't feel up to eating, and there was no family dinner - my oldest brothers were all busy. Logan ate something downstairs quickly, then came back and sat with me. We both fell asleep in my bed with a movie still playing and when I woke up in the morning, feeling somewhat better, he was cuddling my teddy. Secretly, I snapped a photo on my phone - blackmail for later - then snatched it back. The ferocity with which I reclaimed my ragged teddy woke him up and he stretched, then glanced at his phone.
"The boys will be back in a couple of hours," he told me. "We've both got the day off school. You to recover, and me to look after you."
"I don't need to be looked after," I insisted, indignant. But I knew that was a lie. Alex, and then Logan, had taken excellent care of me yesterday and I knew I would have been lost without them. I had lapped up their attention and enjoyed the time spent with them.
Logan just shrugged. "Whatever," he said casually, as though my opinion was completely unimportant. "I'm not about to disobey Damon, and I don't want to go to school anyway."
He sat up properly and scrolled through his phone some more. "Do you want some yogurt or something for breakfast? Damon said it might help."
At first I shook my head, but then I thought about it, and breakfast actually did sound pretty good. It had been hours since I last vomited and my stomach felt empty. I was still slightly nauseous and dizzy, but I wanted some food. Just a little bit.
"Do you feel up to walking down the stairs or do you want me to bring you something up?"
I looked around my room. As nice as it was, I'd had enough of being in here and I wanted out.
"I want to go downstairs," I said. "But I don't know if I can walk. My legs are like jelly and I'm dizzy. Can you carry me?" I didn't know if Logan would be strong enough to carry me or not, but I figured it was worth a shot. After all, I'd ridden on his shoulders in the pool and he had carried me effortlessly, then.
Logan grinned. "Sure, little sister."
He threw off the blankets and got out of bed, still wearing a hoodie and sweats he'd put on yesterday after school, and helped me to my feet.
"I just need the bathroom first. Can you go into yours by yourself or do you want me to help you?"
"Help me please," I ground out, as my room spun.
Logan wrapped his arms around me to steady me and helped me into my bathroom, then he left, shutting the door on the way out.
When he returned I was ready and waiting for him and he scooped me up into his arms and carried me down the stairs, depositing me on a stool in the kitchen.
A lady I'd never seen before brought out my bowl of yogurt and some more diluted sprite and placed a huge stack of pancakes drowning in syrup in front of Logan. He thanked her and smiled. It was nice, the way my brothers all thanked the household staff. I was pretty sure that some people were rude to their staff, but my brothers all spoke respectfully to them, in front of me at least.
I had a few mouthfuls of yogurt and it helped at first, but then my stomach started churning and I pushed my plate away. Immediately, the same lady was by my side. "Are you finished, miss?" she asked, before removing my plate. "If you're unwell it's not wise to eat too much. Just a few bites."
"Thank you," I replied, indicating that she should take it away.
I stayed on the stool while Logan ate, watching in amusement as he devoured the massive plate of food. Where on earth did he put it all? Did he have hollow legs?
I sipped on my diluted sprite, waiting for him, wondering exactly what it was that my brothers were doing that had kept them out all night. And how did they know that Logan and I were safe, if we were the only ones here? My brothers were so over-protective, it seemed odd to me that they would leave Logan and I completely alone.
Once again, Logan appeared to read my mind. "They were in the left wing most of the night," he said. "I think that's where Nick still is. And Paul was here, watching us. We weren't alone. Another doctor was on stand-by for you, if you got worse."
I smiled and shook my head. "I will never understand how you can do that," I said.
"What?"
"Read my mind."
Logan chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not reading your mind. I've told you before, I'm reading your body language. It's an important skill in our line of work."
"You mean the killing people line of work?"
Logan froze, his whole body tense. Oops. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that.
"There's quite a bit more to it than that, Carrie," he growled at me, before storming out of the room.
I wanted to follow him, but I wasn't quite certain of my ability to walk, just yet. I was still really weak and dizzy, and I didn't want to topple over out here, on the hard floor. That would be embarrassing as well as painful.
"Logan!" I called out, and instantly, he was beside me, his face a picture of concern. "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean any offense. I'm still just trying to get my head around all this. You've known this all your life, but it's still new to me. It's hard for me to accept that my brothers have just spent all night exterminating someone, because of me."
"They've been doing a bit more than that, I think," Logan told me. "It doesn't take very long to exterminate someone, to use your words. Only a matter of seconds. If that."
"So what else have they been doing?" I asked, thoroughly confused now.
Logan shrugged. "You'll have to ask them. I've been here with you." He looked me up and down then, as if debating whether or not to tell me more. He must have decided against it because he stuck out his hand towards me, helping me down off the stool. "Come on, let's go play some more Xbox while we wait for the boys."
I was losing by quite a lot when there were footsteps just outside the games room, and the door swung open, revealing all five of my brothers. They were all still dressed in their tailored suits, but they didn't look as impeccable as they normally did. Alex's hair was even more disheveled than usual, all of them looked tired, Jack's shirt was untucked, Damon's tie was askew, and Rocco's shirt was ripped. Only Nick still looked tidy.
I smiled widely at my brothers, relieved to see them all, and Jack hurried over to me, scooping me up in his arms.
"It's so good to see you looking better, sweetheart. Did Logan take good care of you?"
I nodded. "Yes he did."
"Good," Jack said, still holding me tightly. "Everything has all been taken care of, darling girl. Nobody will ever hurt you again."
"What did you do to Dominic?" I asked, curious.
Damon stepped forward. "You don't have to worry about any of that, Carrie. All you need to know is you are safe. You will never see Dominic, or anyone else who hurt you, ever again."
"But-" I opened my mouth to argue but Jack cut me off.
"No buts," he said, pressing a finger to my lips. "It's taken care of. You don't need to worry."
"So did you kill him?" I couldn't help myself, I just had to know.
"Shush," Jack said. "No more. You're safe, we're all back here with you, and you're looking like you're on the mend. Nothing else matters."
"But I want to know!" I whined. "Don't I have a right to know?"
"No," Damon said simply, but sternly. "Some things are not meant to be discussed. Now I don't want to hear another word about it. You know what will happen if I do."
I pouted, but nodded in agreement.
"Verbal answer, Carrie," Damon reminded me firmly.
"Okay," I said, showing that I understood. But I kept my pout. I deserved to pout, after being sick and deserted for so long.
One by one, my brothers drifted off to freshen up and eat, but it wasn't long and they were all back in the movie room with me, stretched out on beanbags and couches in front of the big screen that took up the entire wall. We spent the whole day like that, just relaxing, all together, with me snuggling up to each of them in turn.
Deep in my heart, I knew that Dominic was dead, along with everyone else from my past that they had been able to find. I knew I should feel slightly guilty for calling Dominic out like that, but I didn't. All I felt was a profound sense of relief. And safety. And surrounding it all, was love. Right here, in this room, I knew how much I was loved.