Ephemeral

Chapter 4 | Private Jet

Turning the corner, I saw two pairs of shiny, jet black leather shoes a couple feet away from me. I inched back slightly behind Mr. Smith as the room was blanketed in uncomfortable silence.

A throat clearing cut through the room and I tensed a little.

"It'd be best if you were to step forward now, Aurora," a dominating and deep voice instructed. Mr. Smith, who stood in front of me, became rigid and placed his hand on my upper arm at the sound of his command.

"We just want to see you, Aurora, no need to hide yourself," another masculine voice spoke up. That one sounded slightly less threatening, but it was clear neither of them were asking.

Mr. Smith obliged to their orders and guided me out from behind him, delivering me softly in front of the two men that were now my brothers, handing my backpack to the figure standing on the right.

Traitor.

I stood there, keeping eye contact with their shoes until another throat cleared. "Look up, Aurora; our eyes are up here," the cold, crushing voice sounded again, successfully commanding my body to move.

I looked up, straining my neck, to see the two scary giants in front of me. They towered over my 5'0 frame. The terrifying one on the right was more than a foot and a half taller than me at 6'7. And the slightly friendlier-looking one on the left was about an inch or two shorter, standing at 6'5.

They were huge.

The men's muscles were pushing against their freshly ironed suits, almost bulging at the seams. I could see tattoos peeking out of the fitted fabric on both of them. Their hands and necks were decorated with black ink, leaving their carved faces as the only blank space.

Both 'brothers' were total opposites of me. Their tan, glowy skin, and dark hair made us look totally unrelated. If I didn't have albinism, I would probably look like that too. 

I wish I did.

The one on the right had raven black hair, and the one on the left had a dark chocolate brown shade. They both had thick, dark lashes and deep brown eyes that were scanning me up and down. I felt myself wanting to squirm under their intimidating stare. While their stare was intimidating, there was also something else hidden in their eyes—a look I was not used to, therefore I could not name. One thing I could label was that there was a stark contrast in their powerful, cold appearance versus mine.

The kinder-looking one on the left stepped forward and softly guided me by the shoulder beside him; I became rigid under the foreign touch. The scarier one spoke some final words to the officers I couldn't seem to understand. Both workers looked terrified to be close to him, slightly inching backwards and hoping no one would notice. I was so overwhelmed I seemed to be zoning in and out. Everything around me sounded as if I were underwater.

"Sorellina?" The man beside me asked, running his hand along my upper back. I tried not to wince as he was tracing his fingers near some nasty lashes. I tensed when his long finger came to my chin and pulled my head to look up into his dark eyes.

"Are you ready to go? We have a plane to catch," he cleared his throat and I stiffened as the stranger pulled me closer to his side, almost like a half hug of sorts. I was unable to form any words, so instead I nodded slowly. He took it as an opportunity to examine my face, a softer look in his eyes. 

I waved goodbye to Officer Richards, making sure to give Mr. Smith a small but grateful smile. The hand on my shoulders turned me around and ushered me out the door before I could see if the social worker smiled back. The cold morning air bit at my cheeks and made me shudder. If I didn't have Danny's sweatshirt on right now, I am sure I'd be a popsicle.