~~Captive~~
"Blair Waters!"
She whirled around after shooting Aaliyah yet another text anxiously to meet the angry glare of Oliver Pearson and Madison wearing dazzling glitter on her eyelids and a generous amount of highlighter on her cheekbones making her seem almost inhuman as she glowed under the fluorescent lighting. "Before you go off again," Blair started in a wary voice, looking around backstage at the hurrying around trying to perfect everything for Madison's pending performance in just over two hours. Right now, Orla was rocking the stage with her incredible riffs and raspy voice, but she was coming to an end of her slot, and up next was Aaliyah, who was still nowhere to be seen, "I still haven't heard from Aaliyah."
Oliver gritted his teeth. "She's on in under thirty minutes. How do you lose track of your client like this? You're responsible for her." He demanded a sneer in his tone.
Blair tried to hide her glare. "Aaliyah's her own person, Oliver, she said she'd be here hours ago," She said running a tired hand through her hair, "And she's not responding to any of my calls or texts—"
"She signed a contract, Blair. You both did," Madison snapped, her long false lashes fluttering against her translucent skin and her silver metallic bodysuit and knee-high silver platform boots that were incredibly distracted, but Blair guessed that that was the point. Madison had been working her voice a bit too hard and was going to have to rely on lip-syncing for her performance. She wasn't too happy about that, understandably, Blair guessed grudgingly, and it didn't help that a third of her lineup was unaccounted for thirty minutes before their curtain call, "If Aaliyah doesn't show up in time for tonight—"
"You're going to what?" Blair demanded, not in the mood for an argument with Madison right now, "Sue her? And me? Your cousin?"
"That's not how the family card works, cousin," Madison sneered in a cold voice, poison dripping from the word 'cousin'. Blair couldn't help but grin at her, though there was no pleasantness in it. And as she opened her mouth to respond, she heard another burst of noise coming from behind her.
"Blair," It was her father, she whirled around tiredly to see him, Uriah and her Aunt and her mother tailing him. Rochelle calling out profanities against Aaliyah. She had to refrain from sighing in exasperation, already knowing what was coming next.
"Where in the hell is Aaliyah?" Rochelle demanded hysterically, "I know that my daughter did not offer her the chance of a lifetime for her to blow it off last minute like some slack-off."
Blair wanted to say that Madison wasn't that big of a deal anyway, but she decided against it. It was important. And she was talking to her Aunt and Madison's mother. She opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted again.
"—This will not look good for Aaliyah's own career, Blair," Uriah said in a grave tone, "Blowing off a huge concert like this will not go over well. Why haven't you been able to account for her? This is why we had insisted that it was a bad idea having a kid manage Aaliyah."
"Seriously Uriah," Blair replied in a cold voice and a sigh, "Like you needed to bring that up. Last time I knew, Aaliyah had been here in the morning to practice for tonight because she had something to do later. She said she'd be here in enough time before she had to be on stage."
"Well, she's clearly not here," Madison snapped with a freezing voice, "How is this happening right now? My first world tour and it's totally a shambles and we haven't even left the City yet."
"Relax, Madison, your career isn't over," She replied in a dry voice, "You're going to have to just go on stage in her place if she doesn't get here."
"But Blair," It was her father, and she looked at him with wide eyes. She was slightly more anxious in acknowledging her father, wondering if he was going to blame her for Aaliyah's stage disappearance, but his gaze was soft and sympathetic, "Where is Aaliyah?"
Blair sighed. "I have no idea," She said exasperatedly, throwing her hands up, "But I know Aaliyah, she knows how important it is to be here. She doesn't slack off of school work let alone her career. She would never just ditch a concert on this scale. I'm actually kind of worried about her. The last person to have seen her was Jacks, he told me that he had met her at Delgato's earlier. She was upset about something—" She cut herself off shooting Madison a look. If Aaliyah was upset about anything, it would be about the pictures on social media of Madison and Xavier, and by the look on Madison's face, she knew that too, but even then. Aaliyah wouldn't let that deter her from getting to perform tonight. Something was wrong, "Something is wrong."
The next thing Aaliyah knew was the sound of a pretty violent punch that jerked her out of her limbo.
Her vision was blurred when her eyes opened like she was tearing open stitches that sewed her eyelids shut. Her eyelids stung with the effort of trying to pull them apart. Her head spun a little making everything disoriented and she spent a moment trying to figure out what that other burning sensation was around her wrists and under her arms.
"Had enough brother?"
The utter emptiness of the voice shook through Aaliyah's ears, even though it had reached her ears beneath a rush of white noise slowly starting to fade away. Her vision clearing so that she was given a sight of her dark mom jeans. The realization of the situation she was in shocked through her system making her jerk up out of the wooden chair she was bound to by her wrists pulled behind the back, and her ankles. "Ah," said the same voice again, and Aaliyah stilled terror freezing the blood in her veins, "So our sleeping beauty is finally awake."
"Xavier," Her voice cracked out, its unuse making his name feel like it was being dragged out of her throat by fish hooks. She would kill for a jug of water, "Xavier?" She called out again, voice raised and turning her head to the side, trying to shake out the crick in her neck, and saw the TV with wide eyes, smashed with spidery cracks spreading from its center. The living room was wrecked. The sofa was torn apart, feathers from the cushions floating around the space, the coffee table was slammed into, its table legs lying on his rug, by their respective corners. She looked away in shock and her gaze found the kitchen. It looked like someone took a hammer to the island, its edges were chipped and scratched. Cupboards almost off their hinges and glasses and plates turned over and even smashed into pieces on the floor, the counter and the island shining under the golden lighting. And both Aaliyah and Xavier's phones sat on the countertop smashed and broken. It was pretty dark out, and in the back of her mind, Aaliyah realized that she was incredibly late for Madison's concert, but that concern was smothered by the worry of whether she would leave Xavier's apartment alive.
And Xavier. "Xavier?"
"Hey, hey," Aaliyah found herself relaxing when she heard his soft voice and the familiar touch of his hand against hers bound behind her. She felt his pinkie finger loop around hers, and squeezed gently, "I'm here. Alright, don't be afraid—"
"Isn't it just adorable that the first person she calls for is Manny?" Said another unfamiliar voice, and watched as a huge man probably in his early twenties, his hair cut low into a fade, and waves in his hair, dark empty eyes that felt like they bored into her eyes and a full beard. He had Xavier's nose, and full pink mouth and eyes. But this man's eyes had a hollowness that she had never seen in Xavier's. A hollowness and mocking that taunted her soul with death as he flipped a black object in his hands. As he prowled around towards her, she felt herself shrink back into herself, her grip around Xavier's pinkie tightening, "That's love right there, don't you think so?"
She felt Xavier jump in his seat, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw him stretch out from his seat before being forced back into his seat. "You stay away from her," He snarled. Aaliyah couldn't help but be shaken by the darkness in his voice, and by the magnitude of everything that was happening in such a small amount of time. She couldn't help but wonder how much had happened before she had even regained consciousness.
Memories started flooding back as the man slinked closer to her, pretty gracefully for someone of his stature and the number of face tats he had. The screaming, the crying the "I love yous." She remembered him, "Manny did like his girls smart." And then nothing but oblivion.
She quickly realized who he was, and her heartbeat quickened making her feel like it was about to rip out from her ribcage. "Relax brother," The man said as he crouched down to Aaliyah, his dark gaze level with hers, and for a moment she was stunned by how much he looked like Xavier, the shape of his head, the shape of his brows, and his eyes. the same hard jawline that gave Xavier a resting bitch face. But this man had a look that screamed danger. It made her want to hide away from him; she never wanted to hide from Xavier.
She wanted to twist away from his horrible stare, but she couldn't move, all she could do was scream internally as he reached out to touch her face with the black metal object, a dictaphone, she realized. He used it to push away her hair in her face, staring at her with intrigue. She flinched away from his cold touch, her jaw set so that it almost hurt, and as his finger grazed over her temple which stung with hot metallic burn. She realized that the crusty feeling against her skin was blood from the cut on her temple. She guessed it was from the man in front of her, which only flooded her body with more fear. The man sucked in a breath, his gaze almost curious, entranced, "You sure know how to pick 'em, Manny."
Xavier's voice shook. "Levi, I swear to God—"
"There's no need to be a pervert, Levi," Said another voice in a condescending tone, "Leave her alone. She's not why we're here."
Levi, the man staring at her like she was some type of art piece, rolled his eyes, taking his hand away standing back up. Aaliyah followed his gaze, hyper-aware of him now. "You're no fun, Dom."
"If for a second you thought with your brain instead of your penis, Levi, you'd understand that none of this is supposed to be fun," Said the first voice, sounding closer to her now. Aaliyah felt her skin crawl with the sound of this man as he appeared with her line of vision. A tall slender man, with a caramel complexion, and a low fade like Levi. He also looked quite like Xavier. He eyed her for a moment unemotionally, and Aaliyah realized with a sense of ice-cold dread settling in the pit of her stomach that this man was a lot worse than Levi. He was much more composed, more calculating, and void of any normal emotion. She could see the way his mind worked as he took her in, "I can tell you're afraid. There's no need to be. So long as Manny plays nice, of course."
Xavier released a cold breath and a chortle. "All of this," He muttered, "Because you want money? You couldn't request a cash app, Sam?"
Sam looked to Xavier behind her. "Would you have accepted brother?" He demanded, his voice bored with a cocked brow, "I know you. We shared the same house for years, and you rejected us the moment you got an inch of clout. Besides," He finished with a pause, "You know there's a certain way we do things."
"Rejected you?" He echoed in an incredulous voice, "Do you hear yourself? You're in a gang, Sam? What do you need my money for? Last time I checked you were running things up in Staten Island. And as for rejecting you, I'm pretty sure you did that all on your own."
"You're not really going to pull that card, are you brother?" Levi asked in a bored voice kicking out at Xavier's leg making him wince, which somehow sent a sharp pain through her like a spear, "The victim. Bullied and tormented by your older brothers? Momma coddled your weak ass too much and pulls out all the stops to defend you painting us as the bad guy."
Xavier sneered in a low voice. "Get your head out of your ass, Levi," He said, before looking to Sam again, "You can do whatever you want with me. I don't really care. Just leave Lia out of it, please. This is between just you and me, she has nothing to do with this."
Sam sniffed looking from Xavier to Aaliyah, who had her gaze on his, unable to look away. He breathed in deeply before looking back to Xavier. "No," Was all he said, "You said it yourself, Manny. You don't care what happens to you. You've always been like that, self-destructive almost zero sense of self-worth. Maybe your daddy did that to you, but you do put your care and value in the lives of others. The beautiful Lia Garcia being at the top of that list. I knew it from the first time I saw you with her. You couldn't fake that type of love, especially someone like you, Manny."
Aaliyah felt frozen in her seat. Sam spoke about Xavier's feelings like they were something detached and meaningless, and Aaliyah remembered when she learned the definition of a psychopath from Lauryn. A person expressing antisocial tendencies and an incapacity for human emotion. Though they can very well understand emotions in others. She had never met one, but just hearing Sam talk, she knew that she was talking to one. And she only grew more afraid. This man was incapable of feeling empathy, there was no appealing to his humanity, there was no reasoning, he wanted what he wanted, and he was going to go about it however he wanted.
Xavier still hadn't let go of Aaliyah's pinkie, and she squeezed it gently, feeling the tension rolling off of his body in waves. Was he afraid too? Was he afraid for her? "Your point?" He demanded through gritted teeth.
"Aaliyah is incentive for you. You may not care what happens to you, but you've already proven that you care what happens to her," He said gesturing to Aaliyah flippantly. He raised his gaze to Sam who was looking slightly amused, "And Levi's basically obsessed with her. He would do monstrous things to her if I let him."
Aaliyah felt a pit in her stomach when she saw the grin on his face almost like his mouth had been sliced open with a pair of scissors. Monstrous, she thought distantly, she felt like she had been dumped in ice-cold water, and she so desperately wished she could get away from his stare. She could feel it burn to her subconscious. She would most definitely meet those eyes in her nightmares later.
Another silence passed, and Aaliyah tried to look at Xavier over her shoulder, but she could just about catch his side profile. It looked like he was cut out of marble. The corner of his mouth was busted, and Aaliyah felt her heart caught in her throat, as she tried to imagine how much abuse he had suffered at the hands of his brothers. "How much do you want?" He asked in a low voice. Coldness echoing through his voice shaking her ribcage.
"Fifty grand." It was the third voice she had heard, Dom she remembered Levi calling him.
Xavier choked. "Fifty grand?" He spat, horror coloring his voice. Aaliyah shut her eyes tight, "What the fuck do you want fifty for?"
"Not your business littlest brother," Levi taunted in a cool voice, his smirk pure evil, "Didn't the fifty black roses we sent cross your mind? The notes in the bouquets? The algebra equations? That was my touch, I knew how much you hated math."
Aaliyah felt Xavier's tension and anxiety roll off his shoulders, in more waves, and Aaliyah couldn't help but wonder if any of this would be happening if it wasn't for her. If she wasn't a part of Xavier's life. If he never loved her. Would they even try? Knowing nothing they would do could make him do what they wanted if he didn't love her. She found it crazy that whilst Aaliyah had only just learned that he did love her, his brothers had known for what seemed like months and had planned to weaponize it. Tears started to pool in her eyes, her throat feeling clogged.
"I have things to do," Sam said in a cool voice straightening up. Aaliyah looked up to meet his gaze. A look crossed his face, almost spasmed, and Aaliyah wondered what it was, it was too quick for her to notice. He quickly turned his gaze from his to Levi's, "I want you to come with me. Dom, you stay and keep guard, if anyone comes here looking for them, I want you to do as we did to the pair of them."
"Sure thing," Dom said in a tight voice, just as Levi interrupted him, in outrage.
"Why do I need to come?" He demanded, "I'd make a better bodyguard than Dom for sure."
Sam made a noise rolling his eyes. "I don't trust you to leave Lia alone," He said, "Dom has self-control. You go wherever your dick tells you to. Now come on, you're the muscle, and I need you to take care of things for me."
And with that he turned towards the door ahead of her, his footsteps silent and Levi, putting down his dictaphone on the kitchen counter, before shooting Aaliyah, Xavier and Dom a glare trailed after him like a kicked puppy.
The silence that followed after the door slammed behind Sam and Levi was deafening to Xavier's ears.
It was deathly silent. Except for Aaliyah's sniffles. He knew that she was crying, and if he knew Aaliyah at all, he knew it had nothing to do with her fear, of which there was a lot, but Aaliyah would never cry because she's afraid. No. He knew it was guilt wracking his Lia. And he hated it.
He hated that she for whatever reason managed to blame herself for what was happening now. He hated that this was happening at all. That she was terrified, that she was tied up to a chair in his own apartment because of the people he grew up with. He seethed with his own self-loathing that for even a moment he thought that allowing himself to love someone else as he did Aaliyah would result in anything else but suffering. People like Xavier couldn't love, the world didn't give them that simple pleasure. Madison's words echoed in his head, you're damaged, Xavier, irrevocably so... somehow you will hurt Aaliyah. And it'll suck more because you actually had yourself fooled that this time would be different.
He guessed that he didn't even have to try to get her hurt. He just had to be him. He hated it so much. Even as he held onto Aaliyah's pinkie for dear life trying to let him know that he was here for her, he hated himself.
He had to try and get her out of here. He owed her at least that. He looked to the kitchen where he noticed their phones smashed to pieces on their counter. That wasn't going to be much help. Maybe appealing to Sam or Levi wasn't the answer. Perhaps it was Dominic. "Dom," He breathed out in a soft voice, trying not to wince at the throbbing pain in his jaw, and his stomach as he breathed in. He wondered if he had any bruised ribs. Levi's hands were registered from his Freshman year. After he almost killed a kid for pushing past him in the hallway. All the damage Levi had inflicted on him growing up, was him showing restraint, though it required him going to his Aunt who was a doctor for a fractured arm once. Now, was him not caring, and Xavier felt like his head was spinning when he spun his jaw, jerking him back to consciousness, "Dominic."
No answer. "Dom," Xavier called out to his brother again. Much more desperately this time. Out of the three of them, Dominic was the kindest. Growing up he was always the one to help him clean up the mess their other brothers made in the house. He was always the one to protect him from Sam and Levi. And though he and Dom were estranged like he was from his other brothers, he hoped that instinctive protectiveness he always had was still there. "Dom, please listen to me. Before they get back."
"What Manny?" Dominic hissed from where he stood by the door standing guard.
Xavier tightened the grip his pinkie had on Aaliyah's pinkie gently when he noticed that her sobs had stopped. His heart was in his throat, hoping that maybe Dom would help her, all he wanted was for Aaliyah to be safe. It was his fault she was here, to begin with. "Dom please," He whispered back pleadingly, "Lia shouldn't be here and you know it. Your beef is with me. Let her go."
"She'd go snitch to save your ass," He snorted, rolling his eyes, "I'm not an idiot."
He had a point, Xavier had to admit. Aaliyah was stubborn. She would go straight to the police if they let her go for him, even if he made her promise not to and who knows how many people would have her head by then. Xavier swore beneath his breath, "Then at least take off her ropes. You don't have to let her leave, but there's no reason for her to be tied up like this. Please, Dom, she has nothing to do with this, us."
Dom merely glanced in their direction, and Xavier met his glare with a desperate one of his own. His stomach churned with nausea, but he didn't care. He would go on his knees if it met Aaliyah would be safe. "She's involved with you Manny, that gives you incentive."
Xavier scoffed. "And you think that if you hurt her like Sam said that will make me want to give you money?" He demanded, "I'm telling you this because you're the only one I know that would hear sense, but Dom, I will make it my personal mission to kill you if you hurt another hair on her head. You don't need money from your grave."
He felt Aaliyah still at his words, and he wondered what she thought. Did she appreciate his truth? Was she scared of what he was at his core? Was she finally seeing what he was convinced was in him? Did she care?
Dom sniffed. Ice ran down Xavier's back, a bead of sweat slowly following. Aaliyah was whimpering again. "You love this girl so much, you'd become like one of us for her?" Dominic declared, still not looking at him, watching outside the small window on the for.
The corner of Xavier's mouth quirked upwards. He hadn't ever admitted out loud before today when he said it to Aaliyah stroking her cheek, and wiping her tears adoringly before his brothers came rampaging through his home. He hadn't realized how much of a relief it would be to be able to say it without being terrified of what it would mean for once. The only person in his life that made him feel like maybe he wasn't so broken after all. "You always said I love too hard."
"And dangerously. You love too dangerously." Dom added, his voice tight. He looked over to Xavier, and he thought he could see him soften slightly, before he straightened, clearing his throat, he left his post, stalking up towards him. His footsteps were soft, yet taunting him. Aaliyah's sharp gasp reached his ears when Dom crouched down beside her and took out a knife. Xavier looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing. A quick slice tore through the room and then Dom's voice. "It's a weakness brother."
Aaliyah let out a soft cry and scrambled around so that she was back in his line of sight and Xavier finally allowed himself to breathe. She looked fine, except for the gash at the top of her temple, though it had long stopped bleeding. It had gone a startling shade of reddish-brown. He wondered if she was going to need stitches. Her wig starting to fray from its sleekness and falling into her panicked honey amber eyes. Her bottom lip was bleeding though, but that was probably her constantly gnawing at it. He supposed the real damage was internal, not physical. This whole experience was going to scar her. And it was his fault.
"Xavier!" She cried in a strained voice. She was trembling all over. Her hands shaking as she ran them across his arms up to his face, ghosting over the bruise at his cheekbone and he slightly winced. "Are you okay? Of course, you're not okay! They hurt you so bad—"
"Forget me, Lia." Xavier said in a soft but urgent voice, "I would touch you if I could move my hands, love."
Aaliyah sucked in a breath and looked over her shoulder at Dom, who didn't seem moved by this display. She looked back to Xavier with wide glassy eyes, brimming with what looked like more tears and his heart broke at the sight. He never wanted to be the reason she cried, she was always so strong. So brave and stubborn and proud. She would never allow herself to cry, let alone in front of strangers, but here they were. "Lia, I'm so sorry I brought you into this. I never should have gotten involved with you. You're here because they know who you are to me. This is my fault."
Aaliyah gnawed at her bottom lip, as she searched his face. Xavier wondered what for when she let out a shaky breath. "I'm not the one strapped to a chair, or beaten." She whispered touching his face as though trying to recommit his face to memory like she was never going to see him again. "They hurt you so bad."
Xavier tried to smile, but the muscles in his face only allowed for so many movements like this. "This is nothing." He said, his voice cracked and he blinked rapidly trying to focus his vision, "I joined a glee club in my high school in Harlem. I've suffered way more abuse than this."
She made a sound halfway between a laugh and scoff low in her throat when the rushed heavy footsteps returned. "Well brother, I hope you're ready to cooperate—" Sam trailed off when he saw the scene between them. Xavier's heart was trapped in his throat, as he watched in fascination as his mind worked around his confusion and strategized around the new situation. That was what Xavier had once admired about his older brother, his ability to think things through and plan and iron out all the little details on the spot. With that in mind, he could have been something great.
"I knew leaving them with Dom was a dumb idea." Levi hissed dropping the two cans of what looked like gasoline. Xavier's mouth dried up at the sight, but Levi didn't even acknowledge him, turning on Dom, who glared back at him. "He's too soft. I'm surprised he didn't just let them both go."
Dom's look was fierce. "It makes no fucking difference whether she's strapped to a chair or not Levi. She's irrelevant." He snapped. Xavier felt her grip on his thigh tighten apprehensively and he longed to reach for her, to hold her hand, and to make her feel safe.
"Not to Manny, you dumbass." He hissed. Levi turned savagely from Dom and his eyes laid on Aaliyah. A predatory grin sliced across his mouth and Xavier could almost read his mind as he stormed towards them both grabbing Aaliyah by her arm and yanking her up. She cried out in surprise and pain and Xavier jerked in his seat violently. "I swear to God, Levi if you lay another fucking finger on her I'll—"
"You'll what? Stare me to death?" He accused staring at him tauntingly, a twisted smile of glee shining in his black eyes, "You're tied down, brother. You can't do anything except watch me play with your skinny little toy." He shook her by the arm, but Aaliyah didn't make a sound. Glaring up at him, her bottom lip jutted out defiantly. "She's a pretty little spitfire, Manny, no wonder you love her so much." He sneered, tilting his head towards her bringing his mouth to her neck. Aaliyah could only struggle in his grip, a look of horror and fear painted across her face, trying to avoid his advances.
Xavier jerked up from his chair again, struggling as he fought to break free from the ropes, as Levi laughed mockingly as he watched. Xavier felt as though he was only a push away from completely breaking down.
"Enough," Sam demanded, and with that Dom and Levi looked to him. Aaliyah still trying to wriggle out of Levi's death grip, her soft whimpers taunting his soul, and it was almost as though he could hear words. He wanted to scream.
But something about Sam's demanding voice made him still like the rest of his brothers and he looked at him. Sam met his gaze easily. "We're not animals." He started and he merely glanced at Levi with a disinterested look laced with what Xavier thought was disdain, "Let her go." He instructed and Levi with a low annoyed grumble did as asked harshly so she fell unto the wooden floors. She didn't wait another second before she scrambled back over to Xavier, holding onto his thigh as she pulled herself up to her knees like he was a lifeline. He didn't look at her though, kept his gaze fixated on his brother, trying to figure out what his game was. "You know what we want, Manny, and I believe that after today you will come through, especially now that you're invested," He said the curve of his bottom lip turning upwards, as he gestured to Aaliyah, "In fact, as a sign of good faith, I will let her go now."
"Sam!?" Urged Levi.
Sam ignored him and gestured towards the front door looking at Aaliyah, his expression sincere, but Aaliyah remained suspicious and still, as she raised her chin defiantly. "What if she goes to the pigs?" Dom demanded.
"We will know," Sam said simply, his eyes never leaving Aaliyah's, "And we will act accordingly." Meaning he'll kill her. No, Xavier thought sharply, there was no way he was letting Aaliyah out of his sight. "You can leave at any time." He said.
Aaliyah pursed her lips as she stood up slowly to her feet looking at him. Her expression like Sam's, unchanging. She was defiant and stubborn and absolutely insane. "I will never turn my back on the people I love." She spat viciously, her gaze briefly moving from Sam's to Levi and Dom's with a scowl before moving back to Sam's, "I am not leaving here without Xavier."
A silence passed before Xavier couldn't help but chuckle. "And to think?" And everyone looked at him as though he was crazy. The one guy in the room beaten and strapped to a chair was the only one who found the situation laughable. He met Aaliyah's bewildered expression with a smile, "You were coming over here to tell me to fuck myself."
Aaliyah softened as she stared back at him, and the smallest of smiles twitched at the corner of her mouth.
Sam made a soft noise and Xavier looked back at him, his smile disappeared. He was staring at Aaliyah for a long time. Xavier wondered what he was thinking, he had always been difficult to read, his mind worked too complex for anyone to really decipher, but he supposed that was just another reason why he was always alienated from everyone else. His mind worked differently. "I see why you are so interested in Lia," Sam said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, "She has fire. And you used to always love playing with momma's matches."
Xavier stared back at him for a long moment, the thought of his mother causing a pang in his heart and the idea of Sam feeling even indirect nostalgia from their childhood nauseating. "Look, Sam," He started, trying to sit up straighter in his seat, despite the throbbing pain in his side. Sam looked to him patiently, "I don't have the money right now, but I will get it to—"
"Bullshit." Levi spat violently glaring at Xavier. Aaliyah jumped slightly at his voice before looking at him. Xavier clenched his jaw tightly when he slowly turned his gaze to Levi's, who was glaring holes into his side. "We are standing on a load of your cash, brother. You make money from every stream some stupid teenage girl makes on your albums, every video online, all your merch and endorsements, every single time your face is shown on TV— don't tell us that you don't have the money."
Xavier blinked, feeling soccer punched by the force Levi packed into his words. "I get a percentage profit for my music, airtime, and merchandise. I bought the apartment when I got my first decent paycheck a year ago and my savings from the last few years. And I'm only starting to get into more with all the producing and songwriting—" He looked to his brother incredulously, "I don't know what gave you the idea that a nineteen-year-old boy would be some millionaire, but the money you're asking for now, I don't have it."
The sneer that twisted Levi's otherwise gentle features turned him into something evil and Xavier stared widely as he stepped towards him. Aaliyah sucked in a sharp breath, and even Dom looked a little afraid. He wondered who he was for when Sam held a hand up to stop him. "I would rather you didn't try to punch yourself through every roadblock, Levi," He snapped giving him a sharp look. Levi scowled in return but said nothing and stepped back, "That's how you get the cops' attention."
Xavier looked to Sam. "Sam, I swear I will get the money to you, but I can't now."
Sam seemed mildly amused. "I've seen your bank statements brother, I know you can—"
Xavier couldn't even be surprised. "And you don't think that if I withdraw almost fifty thousand dollars that, that won't raise some flags? I need time."
Sam scoffed. "I can handle the flags." He dismissed, "I'm on the wanted list, Manny. I know how to cover my tracks."
Xavier sniffed, desperately grasping for straws. "Sam, I can't."
"Why the fuck not?"
"Because your mother is dying." Aaliyah blurted, and Xavier felt his stomach bottom out with her words. She stood up straighter glaring at each of them. Xavier couldn't help but worry at his bottom lip, suddenly fear for her life gnawing at his stomach.
Sam's gaze whirled to Aaliyah and then back to Xavier, a look passing his face for only a moment. Levi looked stupefied and Dom was completely horrified. "Is that true?"
It was the first time anyone had said it out loud. Even the doctors who diagnosed her hadn't explicitly said the words. Because how did you tell a nineteen-year-old boy with absolutely nothing else in this world that his mother was going to die and there wasn't much they could do about it? He lifted his gaze to Aaliyah's eyes which shone with grief and worry, and then back to his brother who was staring at him hard. All he could do was nod numbly.
Levi was the one to break the silence. "How can we tell if he's not just bullshitting us and hasn't roped the little bitch into his lies—"
"Hey!" Xavier snapped. "Say whatever the fuck you want about me, but leave Lia out of it."
A low grumble erupted from Levi and he stalked over to him ignoring Sam's warnings and suddenly he had his hand wrapped tightly around his throat and he was crushing his windpipe. "I ought to kill you, brother. You broke your promises thousands of times before. Why should we believe you now—?"
"Why would he lie about this?" Aaliyah yelled cutting into Levi's voice. He stilled, a look of sick glee replacing his anger making Xavier's stomach turn. He let go of Xavier's throat and the return of fresh air in his lungs almost burned his throat as he gasped deeply for air. Levi, not paying him a second thought, turned to look at Aaliyah as did his other brothers who had only just come back into focus. Her eyes glimmered with fresh tears. "This is his mother, your mother. I'm sure that even a monster would understand how ridiculous that sounds."
"I don't need you to tell me what sounds ridiculous." Levi spat, and Xavier felt it as lashes of venom across his face. He ground his teeth together trying to keep himself from saying anything. "What's ridiculous is you believing that you could change my dear brother. Thinking that if you gave him a chance, loved him enough that he would want to be a better man. Well news flash princess, you can't change someone like Manny. Someone like us. We're irrevocably damaged and broken."
The tension in the air was thick, almost choking Xavier and burning his eyes as he laid his eyes on Aaliyah who was staring back at Levi. He wanted to charge towards his brother, reach out and strangle him as he did to him. The look on Aaliyah's face was enough to arrest him where he stood though. Tears started to run down her face. "You are so wrong." Her voice wavered shaking her head with a small smile spreading across her lips. All the boys looked at her like she had just burst through the room like a maniac. "I never had to change Xavier. I never wanted to change him, I love him because of who he always was. Someone who loved with everything he had. That's all he needed. Maybe he isn't a better man. And maybe he is a little damaged, but no one is truly beyond repair. Not if they don't want to be. And that is something you'd never understand," She said through her tears and every word pierced through his heart like a needle.
Xavier knew that she was the only one to have known his scars. He loved few people, his mother, Blair and Jenny, and Malcolm, maybe even his brothers, but none of them had known his brokenness like Aaliyah, none had known how afraid he was to love because the world had taught him that people weren't forever. It had been what made him want to hold onto her tightly because he didn't want to lose his only lifeline. Aaliyah was what kept him connected to himself and to his music. And he was afraid to lose her. Hearing her words only made that fact so much more real. "Xavier is nothing like you. He may be at times rude and obnoxious and distant, and maybe a little on the self-destructive side, but his love keeps his soul alive, and if you ever bothered to listen to his music you would hear it. You should feel grateful to have been loved by someone like Xavier because that's something rare in itself."
Another long silence had passed before Dom cleared his throat. "A real sentiment, really." Levi looked at Dom dumbfounded, but he didn't get the chance to speak when Sam continued after him. "It seems like you know our brother a lot more than we do," He said in a low voice. He looked to Aaliyah with a bland expression that felt like a slap in the face, as though the moment had just passed was nothing. "And maybe our mom is sick. But that woman hadn't done anything for me for the last ten years. Why should I care?"
Xavier swallowed hard at that, but Aaliyah didn't flinch. "Maybe you shouldn't," She said with a shrug, "That's your business whether you do or don't, but Xavier does. And I do. And I've been recording this conversation the minute you stepped in here, so I don't think it's really about what you want anymore."
A roar of silence tore through his ears after that. It had ripped through everyone in the room. Except for Aaliyah, who stood firm and still completely unafraid in front of Sam's grey penetrating stare.
Xavier was dumbfounded. When his gaze slowly moved from Aaliyah to Sam and Levi equally bewildered, he looked to Dom, who only looked on unsurprised. He squinted at him, and when Dom caught his gaze he only dropped a wink.
"You're lying." Sam insisted, narrowing his eyes, peering at Aaliyah. "I destroyed your phones, how would you have recorded anything?"
Aaliyah reached into her back pocket, pulling out Levi's dictaphone that he had been playing with earlier, and showed it to his older brother. "With a dictaphone," She answered tilting her head as she watched Sam slowly piece everything together, "Very useful."
"How did you get that?" Levi bellowed, his thunderous voice ringing in Xavier's ears and made Aaliyah jump. She looked at him blankly. "That's my dictaphone!"
Aaliyah blinked at him pressing the button to turn off the recording. "That doesn't matter," She snapped back, "What matters is that this recording will turn a lot of ears at the nearest police station once I get it to them."
Sam sniffed. "And how exactly do you plan on giving it to them," He asked in a flat voice. A chill ran down Xavier's spine at his voice. Xavier knew that voice. It meant that Sam has lost his patience, and when he lost his patience with Xavier when they were kids, he ripped the heads of his stuffed toys off. "When you are trapped here with us."
"You made a mistake opening your mouth, you bitch," Levi sneered as he stormed over to her.
Xavier's heart bottomed out of his chest and suddenly everything happened quickly. Aaliyah let out a yelp and she tossed the dictaphone in the air over Levi's head. He followed it in the air and watched it land into Dom's hands, who looked from the dictaphone to his brothers than to Xavier, and he stared with his breath caught in his throat.
Sam watched him with squinted eyes. "Dominic." He said, his voice almost questioning and mildly irritated. Xavier watched everything unfold in bewilderment unsure of what was about to happen. "Think carefully about what you're about to do."
Everyone looked to Dom, who had his stare on the oldest out of the four of them. His face was a blank canvas, but Xavier could see the tension in his arms and his twitching jaw. He was anxious, he was thinking, but Dom wasn't like Sam. His mind didn't work a thousand miles a minute. And Sam only had patience for a few things in life, his brothers weren't one of them. "Levi, get the dictaphone."
Levi started towards Dom with a dark look and between one moment and the next Xavier watched as Aaliyah kicked her foot out slamming it against the back of Levi's right knee hard taking him out quickly with a loud groan. Xavier swore out loud as Aaliyah dashed around Levi's crumpled body for the kitchen counter where Sam had left their phones, but Levi was quicker and grabbed her ankle making her topple over with a cry. She landed on the ground with a thump and a groan.
"Lia!" Xavier cried out fighting against the ropes that bound him, but he could only hiss from the rope burns as he struggled, but that pain dulled as he felt Aaliyah's in his chest like a drill through his ribs.
Aaliyah pulled herself up slowly, and her gaze instantly went over to the counter. "Dom!" She croaked out. Xavier's gaze swung round to the kitchen counter and found Dom, who had his phone out from his back pocket in the chaos, both Sam and Levi distracted in the moment.
"Dom, I swear, you will put down the phone and the fucking dictaphone right now, and I'll forget this happened." Sam snapped out harshly like a slap across Xavier's face. He flinched at the depthless tone to his voice, and when he glanced at Dom, he knew he felt the same fear they all had been instilled with early in their childhood. Sam was brilliant, but he was also terrifyingly soulless. He didn't feel things the way normal people did. Doctors would probably call him psychopathic, but Xavier thought that was being gracious. Xavier and Dom both knew what Sam was capable of when properly motivated. They both knew what Dom was risking for him. Their eyes locked.
From his periphery, Aaliyah had started to stand up to her feet, but Levi had beaten her to it. "Oh no, you don't." He growled gathering her in his arms by her waist behind her making Aaliyah scream. "You've been a pain in my fucking ass, someone's got to teach you some manners."
"Get rid of her, Levi." Sam breathed out, and Xavier swore he felt the ice in his words in his blood. His gaze was now transfixed on Xavier's. "Take her to our brother's room. I know how long you've been wanting to have your fun with her."
The grin on Levi's face was the personification of evil and it made Xavier's stomach lurch with nausea and his blood boil. "No. No. NO!" He roared as he watched from the seat he was trapped in fighting for dear life trying to get out of the ropes. Levi with a struggling and screaming Aaliyah in his arms moving towards the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Words were spilling out of his mouth as he fought, words he could barely hear over the screeching in his ears. Aaliyah's cries. His name in her mouth. Levi's laughing. And Sam's distasteful grimace. Hot salty tears spilling from his burning eyes. He could only see red at that point. His skin was burning against the ropes he fought against, but it was like they were made of steel. They wouldn't budge. Sam would probably be grateful. He would have torn his face off if he wasn't tied down.
This was a nightmare, Xavier realized, the worst one he could ever have. But this was all so real. This was real and Xavier had never felt terror like this. Had never felt pain like this. He never wanted to feel like this ever.
"Sam, I will call the fucking cops if you don't let them go," Dom said cutting into the raucous. Sam looked to Dom incredulously holding up one of the phones, the number already dialed. All he needed to do was press call. "And I will tell them everything." He said emphasizing his words carefully so Sam understood whatever code they spoke in.
Levi had stopped at the staircase, Aaliyah still sobbing as she struggled in his iron grip. Xavier's gaze wouldn't leave her, not in a million years. Not until she was back in his arms, and safe. The silence in the room was heavy and weighed on his bones and the dismay on Sam's face was terrible. "Everything?" He demanded. "Are you a complete fool?"
Dom scoffed. "I should have never covered your ass, Sam." He said, "Neither of us should have. We're here right now because of you. People died, Sam. That's not what I signed up for. That's not what we signed up for when we started this."
"Sam, he's bluffing." Levi snapped looking between Dom and Sam anxiously. "He knows we'd all go down if he exposes everything we did."
Sam didn't seem to hear Levi and had his stare on Dom. "You would risk the rest of your life in prison for what?" He demanded with a jerk of his head to Xavier, "Our bastard brother that hasn't done a fucking thing for you in years."
"We had never been there for him as we should have since he was born, Sam. We owe him this. And you murdered someone's family Sam. Because he crossed you one time! A wife, a sister, daughters! And we helped cover it up and that makes us all accountable. You may have not been bothered by it. Levi may have made his peace with it, but I could never be okay with what happened. And if turning you in atones for my past sins I'll do it." He said, his thumb hovering over the call button. Xavier felt the need to throw up. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, didn't understand what he was hearing. Sam murdered people? "I will tell the feds everything, Sam. I'll tell them how you murdered an entire family because Oscar had threatened you. I'll tell them why we need the fifty grand. I'll tell them that to get it you threatened and tortured your own brother to get it. And if you believe Levi that I'm bluffing, fucking try me, brother. I won't stop talking until they throw us all into a fucking cell at Riker's Island."
Sam stared back in silence. Quiet rage simmering below the surface of his skin, his grey eyes burning with twin flames of fury. Fury that burned like hot coals against Xavier's skin. The silence stretched out thin over his patience and he was ready to scream again. His cells were turning inwards on themselves with the need to snatch Aaliyah away from Levi's arms and with the horror of what he had just learned. Sam didn't just seem like a monster. He was one.
Dom sniffed. And then he pressed the call button and put the phone on speaker. Levi hissed in fear. Even Aaliyah, who had stopped sobbing sucked in a small anticipating breath. "Dom, I swear to God—"
"What?" He retorted, and after three painstakingly long dial tones the phone clicked and then the automated voice sounded into the silence.
"Good evening, caller. What is the nature of your emergency—?"
Dom answered. "I would like the police, please. Direct me to the police." He interrupted and after another moment the call clicked off and a male voice echoed into the room.
"Evening, what's the emergency?"
Dom opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted. "Levi, let her go," Sam said through gritted teeth. And with a sound of protest, Sam did as he asked, letting her fall where he stood, and then he left her where she was collapsed and terrified like an injured deer. "End the call, Dom."
Dom did so without a second thought and then he put the phone down and stalked around the counter, flipping out his pocket knife, before crouching down to one knee by Xavier's seat.
Sam with his heavy boots stalked past them on the way to the front door, Levi slinking behind them with a deeply dissatisfied scowl. Xavier looked away not being able to stomach the sight. Sam crouched to Dom's level. "You're on your own, brother." And with that they left the apartment, Levi slamming the door hard enough for Xavier to feel the reverberations in his chair.
Dom stilled for a moment before he tore through the ropes with his knife, freeing him. Xavier barely felt the relief his arms and wrists felt upon release. He couldn't feel anything until he was at Aaliyah's side. She scrambled upwards to grab unto him, he gathered her in his arms remembering the warmth of her skin as she curled into his chest, her soft sobs racking her body, remembering the soft whisper of her hair under his chin. The air smelled of citrus fruits and cocoa butter around her, a smell he had fallen in love with. He cradled Aaliyah in his arms like she was a child rocking her to comfort her. Holding her close so he could comfort himself too.