THORN POV:
I bit my thumb as I watched the steam from my coffee slowly move up and disappear. I sighed leaning back in the chair listening to the clattering of utensils on plates.
Rydge was able to get all our meetings canceled until next week and the others were off school today. It might be a Friday but it felt so bad. It was lunchtime and everyone looked as bad as I felt about this situation. There were frowns, scowls, eye bags, and crazy hair but no one seemed to care.
Euterpe was asleep and none of us wanted to wake her because it was the longest she's slept yet. She was waking up every hour since last night but it's been three hours so we were a bit content. I wanted to go up there and watch her but Rydge seemed to take the job himself. He never left her all night until now to go eat some food but I knew it was because he felt guilty. All of us did. We were supposed to protect her and she was hurt, badly.
"I'm sorry," someone whispered.
I looked up to see everyone looking at Braxton, "It was my fault she went. I should've watched her at the party, I just thought..." he blinked, "I just thought she would be okay." He looked down at his food.
"I know I yelled at you and I'm sorry. It's not your fault Braxton. It was an unfortunate accident, you couldn't have known." Othello patted his shoulder.
He sighed shakily and nodded before taking a sip of his own coffee. I was about to drink my own when we heard crashing and all of us immediately bolted to her room. I skidded to a stop in her room to see Miles and August trying to calm a crying Euterpe. I felt so useless and turned to see my brothers with a pained face, they felt the same. My eyes went back to the trio and listened to them fire rapid Spanish at Euterpe. She kept shaking her head and started to sob harder than before. I sucked in a large breath and in the corner of my eye, I noticed the others grew tense. I watched a tear roll down Castriel's cheek before he angrily wiped it away.
"Fresa, por favor." (Spanish "Strawberry, please.") August tried to grab her hand that covered her face.
A choked sob escaped her lips, "No te dejaremos. Estamos aquí." (Spanish "We won't leave you. We are here.") Miles soothed gently pulling her other hand down.
She sniffled and looked up at them before looking down with a guilty face. Guilty of what? I have no idea but I don't like that look on her face.
"No." August immediately hissed, "No es culpa tuya. No te atrevas a disculparte. Ahora estas bien." (Spanish "It is not your fault. Don't you dare apologize. You're okay now.") He wiped her face dry.
My mouth went dry, she thought it was her fault? My eyes connected with my brothers and I knew they were thinking the same thing.
"Euterpe?" I called softly.
She sniffled looking up at us and tilted her head, "I think it's time that we talked. We don't want to push you but it seems like there is more to the story than we originally thought. Is it okay if we go down to the living room?" I asked quietly trying not to startle her.
She nodded and they helped her up as we started walking down anxiously. What if something is seriously wrong and this made it worse? What if she doesn't trust us enough still? We made it to the living room and everyone sat down quietly. Euterpe looked around and made herself smaller between her friends and I felt my heart break.
"Euterpe if you can, will you please tell us what happened?" Castriel coughed looking around.
Her black hair whipped as she shook her head extremely fast and backed herself up further into the cushions.
"Okay, that's fine. Don't worry about it. We're not angry." Axton reassured her softly.
I looked over at Rydge waiting for his input but he hasn't said a word, not since last night. He had a blank face on but his eyes were a different story. It was as if those eyes had a whole storm behind them.
Rydge shifted, "Euterpe I made a decision. Nothing will change my mind." He said in a no nonsense voice, "You're not going back to school." He paused waiting for a protest I guess, "After yesterday's events it's clear that there is a bit going on that we don't know about. I'm not going to pressure you but until you trust us and tell us what's going on I don't want you leaving home. You will still be enrolled but you will instead do homeschooling. I don't feel particularly fond of you leaving our sights too soon so you will be with one of us at all times. You will have your alone time but it's just a precaution. I'm very sorry this happened and I'm going to do what I can to stop it from happening again." He finished with a frown.
"What? You can't do that!" Braxton protested.
Everyone looked at him confused, "I-I just mean that... we can't keep her here forever Rydge. Do you really think keeping her locked up will do her any good?" He looked down.
"No, I don't Braxton." He admitted, "I think keeping her here for a break will be good for her. Do you want her to go out now? Do you want her to put herself in a position she doesn't want to be in? Do you want her to go to a place where she's not safe? Do you think I would purposely put her in harm's way?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Of course not!" He shook his head with a panicked face, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that or offend you." He sighed before leaning back.
Rydge nodded, "It's fine. I know." He sighed himself, "Euterpe, how about you try and tell us anything you can. If you don't want to talk about last night maybe you can tell us about Chadwick. Why is he watching you?" He turned to her.
She paled before turning to the two next to her, "Lo siento, pero deberían saberlo. Pueden protegerte." (Spanish "I'm sorry but they should know. They can protect you.") Miles crossed his arms.
Euterpe turned back to us and eyed us warily before jumping up and bolted out of the room. I gasped as August took off after her but the rest of us just gaped at the door.
"How did she- she's running? H-how the hell is she moving without help? Not to mention that f-fast." Othello stammered.
Miles stood up, "You don't know her. She's stronger than you think all because she had to be. The things she has been through are something that no one should have to go through. Give us some time with her. We need to calm her down, as much as I love her I can't stand hearing her screams." He sniffed walking out.
"Screams?" I tested, "Screams." I repeated.
Castriel stood up and ran a hand through his hair as he started pacing around.
"She won't talk, not now. Why don't we pay a visit to you know who?" Castriel tapped his foot.
Rydge nodded, "Of course. Jensen will stay with them. Be ready in 20." He stood up and walked out.
—
I walked behind Rydge and into the small warehouse with the other four following us. The dimly lit room added on to the fear of the man who was tied to a chair.
His mossy green eyes widened as he looked at all six of us and sweat rolled down his forehead. I narrowed my eyes at the filthy scum making a smirk form as his breathing picked up.
Axton ripped the duct tape off his mouth and the said man yelped in pain.
"W-why am I h-here?" He stuttered looking around.
"Tell me Chadwick, do you think it was wise to threaten our family? Our baby sister?" Castriel asked looking at a table of knives.
"Sister?" He paled.
"Euterpe Sage. Although you already knew that. Do tell what game you're trying to play." Braxton snarled.
Chadwick grinned, "I'm surprised she told you." He chuckled.
Axton punched his face and a crack sounded from his jaw, "Told us what?" He growled.
Chadwick just laughed again, "So she hasn't. That's too bad, isn't it? Are big brothers not able to protect little sister?" He mocked earning another punch from Braxton this time.
"Who do you work for?" Rydge asked walking forward.
Chadwick spat blood out, "Nolan Sage." He smirked.
Rydge hummed before kicking him in the gut and Chadwick fell back on the floor. He groaned in pain as Othello practically shoved his chair up again.
"Nolan Sage is dead. I want the truth." Rydge sneered.
Chadwick laughed, "Nolan. Sage." He repeated.
Castriel stepped forward and started cutting his cheek slowly, "You might find this very amusing but so do I. The blood dripping down your face is quite a nice sight to see." He leaned down closer applying more pressure making Chadwick hiss, "Now listen closely Chadwick," Castriel spat, "You and the fucker you're working for hurt my dove. Her tears, her sobs, her sniffles are on your hand and I will take it when we're done here. You're going to answer our questions and answer them correctly or I'll slice you in half. Lie and I'll make sure to cut your body parts off one by one. Very, slowly." He snarled pulling the knife away quickly leaving a large gash.
"Aah!" Chadwick cried out.
"So, who do you work for?" I asked.
He huffed, "Nolan Sage." Castriel moved forward but stopped at a yelp, "Wait! Calm down," he moved his head back, "I am telling the truth, sort of. Only a few people have actually met the big man but he is going by the name of Nolan Sage. I'm not sure why okay! I just know he is doing everything under that name! They might have made a deal before Nolan died but he's still using his name to set everything up. I'm sorry okay!" He rushed out with wide eyes.
"You're lying. You've met him." Othello pointed out.
Chadwick huffed, "I've met Nolan but not the big man. He was always careful about who meets him in person and whatnot. He will make contact over video chats but the screen is always black. He told me what I needed to know and that was it! Now let me go!" He started struggling in the chair.
I offered him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry Chadwick. You're free to go." I nodded walking over to Castriel, "But the route you're taking... leads you straight to hell." I smirked patting Castriel.
He paled as Castriel walked forward, "No I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt her! He said it was just a lullaby!" He yelled shaking his head.
Castriel stopped, "You hurt her? What lullaby?!" Braxton snapped.
Chadwick gulped, "Before we met at the school he called and told me to whistle this lullaby. He said she would understand a certain message. When I whistled it she grabbed her head, she looked like she was in pain." His face grew paler by the second.
Othello chuckled darkly and before any of us knew it he swung a hammer at his face. Chadwick let out a gurgled scream and a few teeth fell out of his mouth.
"ooOoo... did that hurt? Looked like it." Axton smirked leaning against the wall.
I frowned, "Axton don't mock him, hurt him." I chuckled.
"Another question," Braxton twirled a knife in his hand, "When is the next time you're supposed to talk to this 'big man'?" He raised a brow.
Chadwick groaned again, "I- tink 'morrow." He slurred as drool and blood slid down the corner of his mouth and down his chin.
"Thank you Chadwick." Axton smiled sarcastically.
The man coughed, "Ya' know what? F-fuck ou!" He yelled.
"Buddy you can't even pronounce you correctly. I don't think you're someone we need to worry about right now." Castriel rolled his eyes.
"Uck ou!" He shouted and we looked down, "Did another tooth just fly out?" Othello laughed, "I eard her scream is magnifi-fi- cant!" He chocked out.
My body tensed, "Her screams were magnificent you say?" I taunted walking forward, "How about we test a theory. I'm one hundred percent sure that yours will sound much better than what you imagine hers to be." My fist shot out to his throat.
He instantly went into a coughing fit but I took that time to do damage to the rest of his body. It's not like he was going to need it in a few hours.
"Ease! Please!" He gurgled while crying.
"Please? Please? You hurt my butterfly and for what reason? A stupid fucking check! After all that we pay you at the school! You talk and talk then have the audacity to taunt us but when you get a reaction you beg us to stop? If Othello didn't already knock your teeth out then I would've done it myself!" I snarled hitting his throat again.
Someone's phone went off and I sighed turning to Rydge who picked it up.
"Jensen." He kept his eyes on Chadwick, "Wait- what? Jensen slow down. What happened with Euterpe?" He stood up straighter, "Alright just keep her calm. Give her something to drink, it'll distract her from crying for a bit." He paused just listening, "Yes, don't let them out of your sight. We will be home in about fifteen minutes. Did they say anything?" He asked curiously, "Okay, we're leaving now." He said before hanging up, "Five minutes to do what you want before we leave. Hurry up we have a situation." He nodded.
Rydge walked over to Castriel and took the knife out of his hand before passing Chadwick. As he walked by Chadwick screamed in pain and an ear fell on the floor. Rydge kept walking and never once looked back at the screaming man.
"My turn!" Axton bounced excitedly.
Oh, Lucifer.
—
"What happened?" Braxton asked as we got back.
Rydge just ignored him and walked inside with a serious face. We followed him to the living room where Euterpe was drinking a very large cup of what looked like coffee.
"Is that coffee? That's not good for you butterfly. That's way too much!" I panicked.
Miles shook his head, "It's just tea, she likes her tea very dark." He kept playing with her hair.
I sighed in relief.
"Where is it?" Rydge got straight to the point.
August pointed to the large box on the table that surprised me, how did I not see that? Rydge walked over and opened it before closing it and calmly sat down watching Euterpe. The rest of us exchanged confused looks and walked over opening the box. I immediately paled before turning to my little sister.
"Butterfly, please tell me you didn't see what's in that box." I whispered worriedly.
She shrugged still sipping on her drink until August pulled it away. The straw stayed in her mouth as she pouted looking at her drink.
"Euterpe, who sent that?" Rydge asked softly.
Euterpe huffed and rubbed her nose before trying to get her drink back from August. I looked at the box and rubbed my face. The box contained a bunch of dead ravens with a human head in the center. The head was her grandfather's and the word 'soon' was written on his forehead in blood. Othello shut the box before sitting down and all of us shifted uncomfortably. She shouldn't have to be going through this, she shouldn't have to see that, nothing is making sense.
"Did... were you guys close?" Axton spoke up.
Euterpe turned to him and shook her head before crossing her arms.
"Still, he's your family. It's okay to cry." Castriel narrowed his eyes.
"Like she'd cry over that idiot," August grumbled giving her the tea back.
She immediately started drinking it again as her fingers drummed against the glass. Miles nodded in agreement making sure his finger were trailing through her hair.
I turned to him, "What does that mean exactly?" I asked confused.
They looked at her and she nodded, "Euterpe only met her grandfather maybe a handful of times. They were definitely not close but civil. Even then she didn't want a relationship with him. Especially when he was sleeping with Avery." He shrugged nonchalantly making something of us choke.
"Avery was having an affair with her father-in-law after she already had an affair with your father?" I gaped at Euterpe.
She nodded, "Please. That man was not the only one she was sleeping with. I wouldn't doubt that she was with other people as well when she was with your father and Nolan." Miles scoffed making Euterpe nod again.
"I'm sorry. Did you and Avery not have a good relationship? You do know you're calling the woman who raised you a whore, correct?" Braxton asked completely baffled.
Euterpe nodded yet again.
"Yes to what?!" His eyes widened.
"Yes to it all." August rolled his eyes.
I sighed, "Can you tell us something. With no context, everything you're saying is completely confusing to us." I blinked a few times.
Euterpe tilted her head before she softly elbowed August and his face had a quick moment of realization.
"How did you know about our plans for leaving?" He asked curiously.
I shrugged, "I heard you talking about it." I admitted.
He narrowed his eyes, "Fine," he conceded, "But just so that you all know, we aren't going to stay. Those plans are still in the making and you're not going to stop us. If you do, you're just postponing the inevitable. Let us go now and none of us have to wait until next Sunday." He smiled deviously.
"No," Rydge looked up from his phone that he took out a few minutes ago, "You are not going anywhere. You're family and we protect our family. We can't exactly protect you when we're chasing after you know can we?" He asked blandly.
Miles smirked, "That is where you're wrong. Unlike the people you're used to chasing, we know how to stay hidden." His eyes sparkled with amusement.
"People we chase? I'm not sure what you mean Miles. We are just regular businessmen." Rydge deflected innocently.
August nodded, "Of course, and we're just normal teenagers. It's quite the coincidence that regular businessmen who have never had an ounce of violence near them react the way you did. A box full of dead birds and a human head, a threat, didn't make any of you bat a lash. Did you enjoy horror movies when you were younger?" He tapped his chin with an innocent thoughtful look.
"Very much actually." Braxton quickly intervened.
Miles grinned, "Really? Personally, our favorites were Final destination and the Saw movies. What about you guys?" He challenged.
"Wrong turn was pretty good." Axton added on.
Both of them smirked, "If you say so. What was your favorite part?"
By then all of us were glaring at them, they know something that they shouldn't. They're trying to trap us and by the look on Euterpe's face, I can tell that it won't be easy getting out.
Euterpe hit August, "Maybe we can watch them together sometime. However, it's time to get strawberry to bed. She needs a nap." August helped her up.
"Oh," he turned to us, "Do get rid of the gift. We wouldn't want the smell to linger but I'm sure you know exactly how to get rid of it. Never mind me then." He waved us off.
Miles snickered as he followed them and I swear I heard him saying 'mafia men.' Maybe I'm just paranoid.
"They can't know. It's impossible." I shook my head.
Othello hummed, "Seems plausible to me. You guys forget who her father was, she might know." He shrugged.
"Then why wouldn't she bring it up? Why wouldn't she be scared of us? Why would she try leaving when she knows we'll just find her again with our resources. Nothing makes sense!" Braxton threw his hands up.
"We'll get answers soon. For now we just need to keep an eye on her. It doesn't matter how good she can play it off, she's hurting." Rydge stared at the door.
"Is she still going to the gala? There are many things that can go wrong if she goes." Castriel pointed out.
He nodded, "Her plans to leave won't work. Even if she managed to slip away she can't hide from us. I'm sure she will understand by the gala." He spoke surely.
I sure hope she does as well.
~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Hey, cuties! I'm sorry I know I promised daily updates would be back last week but my teachers played me!!! They put all my finals in the same damn week not to mention the last few homework assignments! I was so mad I wanted to fight them all. I'm here now though. Please tell me you're all doing good and okay! I haven't been on Wattpad in maybe a week almost two so I'm concerned. Stay safe and see you soon!