I stared at the box, my hands clamped over my mouth to stifle the oncoming scream. I couldn't tell them, no. I didn't know who these people were and why they were watching me. I sucked in a breath, forcing myself to breathe.
My brothers couldn't find out about this, not until I figured out what was going on. This was something that I needed to figure out without their help.
I needed somewhere to hide it, but there was nowhere good... unless.... My hands worked at the floor in front of the dresser, pulling at a floorboard until it loosened with a resounding pop. Smiling to myself, I made sure that there was a cavity large enough for the box, before fitting it inside and pushing the floorboard back into its place. This would work, I knew it would. They just couldn't find out, and I would do anything to ensure that this plan worked.
***
I skipped down the hall and to the living room, where I heard the multitude of voices that I called my brothers.
"What's got you in such a happy mood belle?" Armel was propping his chin upon his hand, leaning onto the arm of one of the couches. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled, swinging my arms back and forth like a little kid.
"Just the fact that she knows that her favorite brother, me, is actually related to her!" Alexandre stood up and flexed his arm, showing off a large muscle. All of the boys rolled their eyes and I giggled and walked over to him. I patted his arm gently and continued to sit next to Valentin on the farthest couch.
Alexandre's jaw dropped as he realized what had just happened. "Why you little-!"
"Alexandre, language, we have a child in the room." Hercule's voice sounded from nowhere before he appeared at the entrance to the room, a glass of something that looked like water held in his hand.
"What I was gonna say was monster. Yep, monster, Valentin is a little monster!" He shrugged his shoulders and once again, everyone rolled their eyes.
"In my twenty-seven years of being with you, I have never heard you call anyone such a cute name." Armel crossed his arms over his chest, sending a wink my way before turning back to his twin.
"What do you mean twenty-seven years of being with me! We're not even twenty-seven yet!"
"Fine, then what do you count the eight months in mom's womb as then?" Alexandre was flabbergasted. His mind seemed to have short-circuited as he kept opening and closing his mouth, perfectly mimicking a fish-out-of-water.
"Well, then I want to-!"
"You want to what Alex, lick my-"
"Alright, you two enough! Our younger sister is present!" Both boys turned to look at me, apologetic masks covering their faces.
"Sorry, Naida..." I nodded at them both. They didn't take long to resume their bickering, this time sending each other stupid faces.
"Hey Herc, can we order pizza for dinner?" The silence was quickly broken and all of us looked to Alexandre, who was swinging his legs back and forth like a toddler.
"Alexandre, Maman likes to prepare us food, besides Nadia needs to try more French cuisine."
"B-but, I'm hungry!" He really was a toddler if you asked me. I don't know how he was my second oldest brother, yet here we are.
"Then use your own money and buy one." He grinned like a Cheshire and pulled out his phone before typing an order in.
"Can we watch a movie?" Once again, the momentary silence was broken by Alexandre.
"Really Alex?" Matthieu quirked an eyebrow at his brother.
"What! I just want to spend some quality time with my family, is that so wrong?" He crossed his arms.
"No, but your mind is something really messed up." Léon huffed, he wasn't wrong. His brother's mind was an interesting place, but so was mine. No one knew what went on inside of it. No one was allowed inside of it. A gentle poke to my stomach tore me from my thoughts.
"You ok?" I nodded my head. Valentin's forehead was creased and I raised my hands to it, smoothing out the creases before they became permanent.
"No fair! Why does she prefer him over me!" Alexandre had yet to keep his great mouth shut for more than ten seconds.
"Maybe because he is quiet and doesn't act like a toddler?" Léon's jab was low but once again, he wasn't wrong. Valentin was the quietest out of all my siblings, besides Hercule that is. That man was a silent assassin waiting to strike.
"You know what, maybe a movie night isn't the worst idea..." Hercule tapped his chin and I watched as Alexandre's face lit up.
"Yes! I knew you would agree!" Alexandre pumped his fist in the air.
"On one condition," he stopped short, turning to face Hercule completely.
"Name it."
"Nadia chooses the movie." The boys all smirked and I watched as Alexandre's face crumbled.
"Why???"
"Because it is her first true night here as our sister, and because you love her."
"But she's stealing my movie choice!"
"What Hercule meant to say was that no one likes your movie options. We need someone else to choose for a change." Gabriel had entered the room at some point and just like Hercule, he was a silent shadow.
"What's wrong with my picks?"
"Maybe the fact that we watch the same thing every single week?"
"Or how about how he has to voice every character!" Everyone piled on and I watched Alexandre's face crumble. I got up and made my way to him, tapping his arm to get his attention. He looked down at me and grumbled under his breath. Everything in me was telling me to turn away, to hide in my room forever, but I stayed here. I pointed at him and then at the tv.
"You want me to choose?" I nodded my head, a bright smile immediately on his face. He didn't make it far before I raised my hand. Shaking my head, I tried not to smile at his ridiculous face. "Fine, but only because you so courteously chose me." He smiled at me softly before facing everyone. "Now, I demand we all go up and get into our jammies!" I stifled a laugh. Seriously, for a twenty-six-year-old, he was really immature.
Everyone shook their heads and begrudgingly left the room. I slowly walked after them, afraid to enter my room alone.
***
I was back in my room before realizing that I didn't have any pajamas. So what did I decide to do? I snuck into the room two doors down from mine and scurried into the closet, choosing a fuzzy sweatshirt to wear. The sweatshirt was purple and went down to my mid-thighs. Curse those brothers of mine for being so tall.
"What are you doing?" I froze. My breathing faltered as I heard soft footsteps reach me. A hand touched my shoulder and I jerked away. I tapped my fingers on my legs as I turned towards the intruder. Léon stood two steps away from me, shock clear on his face. "Did you just flinch when I touched you?" I shrugged and took his hand, spelling out scared me on it. He didn't need to know that I was terrified of his proximity. I know that I told myself I would get better, but geez, this was going to be harder than I thought, especially if I wanted to trust them enough to talk. Then there was the fact that I did eventually want to tell them about the abuse, but I couldn't do that if I didn't trust them first.
This process wasn't going to be a quick one. I just needed to take it a day at a time, and eventually, it would all work itself out. "Oh, sorry about that... I was just going to ask, why are you in my closet?" I motioned to my sweatshirt and realization dawned on his face. "You can wear it this time, next time just ask though, okay?" Nodding my head, I smiled at him and left the room as casually as I could.
In the hallway, I let out a breath. I couldn't let them that close to me again, especially with my guard down. Especially now that I was hiding letters from them. Fudge, I had forgotten that I hid the letter in my room.
Sneaking back to my room, I inspected everything top to bottom before removing the floorboard and ensuring that the box and its terrifying contents were still where I had left them. When I saw that they were, a breath of relief left my chest. I hadn't even realized that I was holding my breath, I guess it was just a natural reaction to a worry being relieved.
***
I had gotten sidetracked in my room when I heard the doorbell ring and the sound of someone running.
"Pizza's here!" I heard a bang and made my way to the landing, peering over the rail to see Alexandre balancing numerous boxes in his arms.
"Geez Alexandre, how many pizzas did you order!" Armel walked into the entryway sporting a pair of black joggers and a pink sweatshirt.
"Uhhhh," Alexandre struggled to count off the amount on his fingers while still maintaining his grip on all the boxes. "Eight, I think?"
"Why did you order so many?"
He shrugged. "Dunno, just thought you would all want some."
Armel shook his head before shouting down a hall. "Matthieu, tell Annette to not worry about dinner! Alex bought more pizza than he can eat again!"
"Already ahead of you!" Matthieu's voice came from somewhere deep within the halls, presumably from the kitchen.
"Hey! Who said I was sharing this! I used my own money this time!" Alexandre tried to move to the living room but Armel blocked his way.
"I said so. Yeah, I just got a charge of two hundred dollars to my account, I don't think you used your account." Armel crossed his arms.
"I spent the money yesterday, I will pay you back I promise, just let me and my pizzas go and watch the movie in peace."
"Alexandre, you know how it works, you use someone else's money, you share the food." Hercule walked in from the living room wearing plaid pants and a tank top.
"Fine." Alexandre reluctantly gave the boxes to Armel who disappeared into the living room. Shaking my head, I turned back to my bedroom. It seemed to me like I still had a bit of time before the movie started.
***
I was laying on my bed staring at the ceiling with Fleur when Gabriel entered.
"My lady, your movie is ready." I looked over at him and threw a pillow, hitting him in the face. "Now what was that for!" I shrugged and rolled over before crawling to the edge of my bed and standing. "Fine, don't tell me then, I'll get you back for it later. Hey, what's this?" Gabriel walked over to the dresser and my mind fogged. Did I not clean something correctly? Was something left from the bird? He pointed to a thin stain, one that had been caused ages ago. My body relaxed and I quickly shrugged.
"It doesn't matter anyway, now, we have a movie to watch." Gabriel offered me his arm like a true gentleman and together we walked down the stairs.
The smell of cookies, pizza, and popcorn wafted in from the living room and I sighed. Food was something that was heavenly, but it was also something that I had a difficult relationship with.
Before I could see into the living room, all my brothers came out and blocked my view.
"My lady, let me please guide you into your private movie viewing." Hands covered my eyes and I panicked before remembering that it was only my brothers. They wouldn't hurt me, not intentionally. I was safe with them. I forced myself to breathe as I was guided into the room.
When the hands were removed, I gasped. I hadn't expected anything other than blankets for the movie, but this, this was something else entirely. This was magical.