Laying in bed, I stared up at the ceiling, letting my brain zone out for a bit. Issues by Escape The Fate played through the AirPods sitting in my ears, draining out the howls and whimpers coming from Creed downstairs. They were so loud the whole house shook. And I had the volume up almost all the way but I could still faintly hear what was happening.
Somehow, where he was sliced, there was a broken piece of blade stuck inside him-whoever tortured him had stabbed him and snapped the knife while it was still plunged into his abdomen-and the boys had been trying to get it out for the past hour. And I ran upstairs to block out Creed because I couldn't stomach his painful cries. They were brutal.
It scared me when he stopped breathing, but this, this terrified me. I wanted to run far from the house so I didn't have to listen, but music was my greatest option to drown out the horrid sounds. But my thoughts, well, not so much; that was until I put all of my focus onto two nights before.
When Axel was going to tell me the truth, I was hesitant at first, I thought that whatever he'd say would scare me away, that the previous bubble I had felt between us would grow more and more until we were separated.
But then the second I learnt about how Julio was a manipulative liar and he killed Killian-despite Axel being the one who pulled the trigger-the thought disappeared. The push I felt between us had stopped, and I felt so relieved, to know the truth and to know that he wasn't responsible.
But there was still some weight on my shoulders still present, I had yet to tell him about why I was so triggered the night of Julio's ball. Once I found the courage to speak up about what Gabriel did the heaviness slowly started to become light, the more I let out the more the weight of the world lifted off me.
And when Axel comforted me I realised I was no longer alone, I had him. I had no one back then. I was glad, really, really fucking glad that I finally had somebody by my side.
Pulling my bottom lip into my mouth, I elevated myself up onto my elbows, taking Creed's phone into my hand. I couldn't believe I had lived two months without a phone, but I guessed when you were living with criminals the last thing on your mind was a phone. I paused the next song before it could start playing, removing the earphones and placing them back into the case.
Silence drowned my ears, and I sighed in relief only to then groan when I heard Creed howl again. My stomach twisted with a knot, making bile slide up the back of my throat. Swallowing, I hopped off the bed and threw the phone down onto it before I disappeared from the bedroom, making my way downstairs.
I slowly paced toward the kitchen, putting my thumb into my mouth and biting on my nail as nerves crawled up my back. Stopping under the archway, I found it difficult to pull myself together, tears began to sting the back of my eyes and my hands shook, making me drop them by my side. Tilting my head up, in front of me I watched the boys handle Creed.
He sat on a chair, almost slipping off the edge, and Axel and Damon were on each side of him, holding him down whilst Roman worked on taking the blade out.
"Drink this," Axel said, shoving a bottle of vodka into his brother's hand. He took it without a second thought, chugging it down like it was nothing. I kept my gaze on him, watching how fast his chest heaved up and down, and sweat coated him from head to toe. It looked as though a bucket of water had been poured over him entirely.
"Keep still," Roman growled.
More cries escaped past his lips, and nausea crawled up my throat faster, making the sting behind my eyes grow stronger. I tried speaking to get somebody's attention but nothing wanted to come out of my mouth, but when a single tear fell that was when Axel snapped his head in my direction.
I saw his lips move as he cursed under his breath. Clenching his jaw, he set Creed free, handing all the trouble of keeping him still and calm over to Damon. "Axel, please," I begged, almost choking on my words. "I can't listen to him anymore."
"I told you to drown him out with music." He cocked his head to the side, running his fingers through his black hair, looking at me curiously.
"It's not working," I cried, wiping my cheeks that were now soaked.
He swallowed, guiltily, shifting out his arms and moving closer. Pulling me into his embrace, he locked one arm around me, trapping my arms by my side, and his other hand rested against the back of my head. He tangled his fingers through my hair, holding me close, and I cried into his chest.
"Get her- get her out of here." Creed groaned.
Axel pulled back, taking a glance over his shoulder before looking down at me. I sobbed and lifted my arms, circling them around his neck, and he lifted me off the ground. My legs wrapped themselves around his waist.
Walking passed the kitchen, he then quickly slid us through the back door, making sure to close it all the way behind us. I could still make out the cries but once I heard the crickets outside I tried using them as a distraction, hoping they would make me forget. Setting me down on the table-facing toward the backyard, Axel stood between my legs, removing the hair that had fallen in my face.
"Are you okay?" he asked, bending his knees a little so that he was level with me.
"Are you sure you should be asking me that?"
"You're crying," he stated matter of fact, placing each hand on either side of me on the table.
I sniffled. "Because those sounds are heartbreaking," I told him, my voice cracking in the midst. Wiping my fingers under my right eye, I bowed my head and stared at the ground, catching a scream from inside. God. Why couldn't they just go to a hospital.
A huff passed Axel's lips, and I lifted my head. "You care about him?"
I swallowed. "Yes." I didn't even know why, all I knew was that I just cared.
Waiting for something-anything, he chuckled, and my brows furrowed at the unexpected reaction. Chuckles continued to spill from his mouth until he laughed out loud. He fucking laughed. I didn't expect him to laugh at me. "Why are you laughing?"
Straightening his stance, he bit his bottom lip to keep his laugh at bay. I rolled my eyes. "You care about my brother," he said, licking his lips. "No one cares about Creed." He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. I stared at him for a beat before moving my eyes elsewhere. I knew it was a joke but I didn't find it funny. "You look pale. I'll get you a glass of water."
A cool breeze brushed my arm as he walked past me, and I folded my arms over my chest, rubbing my hand up my arm, trying to get some warmth.
I sat there for a couple of minutes, keeping my head dipped down and my eyes closed, and again I tried to block out the painful cries I could hear again. I couldn't believe it had been taking them this long to take out a piece of blade. If I wasn't so squirmy about it I would've helped.
Taking a deep breath in, I released it slowly, licking my lips to wet them. Soon I heard the back door slide open, and footsteps sounded from behind me. Axel cleared his throat, but I kept my head down.
Opening my eyes, I moved my arm out to the side, and as I clasped the top of the glass with my hand we met skin to skin. For some reason, my cheeks heated, and I bit my bottom lip. I tried pulling my arm back but he wouldn't let me, and when my lips parted his other hand forced them shut. I only realised it wasn't Axel when he took my chin between his thumb and index finger.
Forcing my head to the side, I held my breath once my eyes met Roman's curious ones. He blinked and tipped his chin down, now taking his thumb under my left eye; wiping away a tear. "Why are you crying?" he asked. His voice was low but soft, he sounded like he cared. Hm?
I kept quiet, glancing between him and the glass cup. He breathed out, finally dropping his hand. "Why do you care?" my voice was sour but I didn't care.
"I don't." I frowned, he smiled. "Scoot over," he said, going to sit down, and I slid over a little. He sat beside me, leaving just an inch between our bodies, but his knee still touched mine.
I wanted to move over just a little more but I knew if I did he'd think I was trying to get away, or he'd pull me back and we'd be even closer than we were at this very moment. "He'll be okay, you know," he spoke again, and I only side eyed him. "Creed is strong, stronger than all of us, actually." he went on, "if you knocked him down ten times he'd get back up but he'd get up stronger each time."
Pressing my lips together, he went quiet, and I finally took a sip of the water in my hand. I then set the glass onto the table and hopped off, moving past him to go inside. "You're a horrible distraction," I said, gripping the door handle only to be pulled backward.
"How long will you stay mad at me for?" he questioned, annoyance rolling off his tongue.
"How long will you continue to be a self centred prick for?" anger quickly morphed onto my face and I crossed my arms.
He scoffed, stuffing his hands into his pants pocket. "I'm sorry," he apologised, dragging out the letter S. "I treated you like fucking shit and I'm sorry." he stopped, swallowed, dipped his head and then looked back up. Roman stared at me, a sorry expression spread across his face; a genuine expression.
"Why?" my voice came out firm, and he looked at me with confusion now written on his face. "Why are you apologizing?" I raised my eyebrows, waiting.
It didn't take him a moment to respond. "Because if anything like that happens, again-to any of us, I can't let there be bad blood in the house..." he paused, gulping like he was preparing for the next part, "and you didn't deserve anything I did to you."
I choked on my spit, staring at him blankly. Again, I had no clue what to say. It was like some part of me wanted to accept his apology, that I should just get rid of the unwanted tension between us, but the other part refused to do so. The other part of me wanted to get even.
"If you pull some shit like that again, I'll use you in my porno." That's all I said. His face twisted with a lot of confusion, and I smirked just before I turned on my heels and left him outside.
I wouldn't stand here and forgive Roman just like that, I'd make him work for it. I wanted to see what lengths he'd go to just to be forgiven and I wanted to watch him look like a fool before the words I forgive you came out of my mouth. I wouldn't give him that kind of satisfaction, not yet.
...
a/n - Sunday update! I'm proud of myself.
Next chapter is smut *screams* I've been planning this for months and I'm excited for you guys to see. It's gonna be HAWT.