At five in the morning, my body jolted awake from another nightmare. I felt my heart pumping blood and fear throughout my body at a dangerous speed. I was covered in a blanket of cold sweat and my mouth had a gross taste to it. My stomach twisted and cramped, and uncomfortable tension started to rise up my throat.
Realizing what was about to happen, I flung myself out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, promptly kneeling in front of the toilet. I expelled acidic vomit into the bowl, and my stomach continued to constrict and heave painfully. I looked into the toilet. Blood.
I had never thrown up blood before. I had coughed it up. But vomited it up? Never. I groaned as the tight coiling and churning of my stomach made my ribs burn in flaring pain.
I should be okay, I just needed a minute.
After a couple minutes of coughing, I flushed the toilet and slowly rose up. My throat burned, making my eyes water. I held myself upright using the sink counter as my legs shook beneath me. Everything was spinning and whirling around me at a speed I could not comprehend.
Whose bathroom was this? Was this mine... How did I get here?
For some reason, I seemed to be catching a slight virus. My body was freezing to the point I was shivering, but my skin was scalding hot to the touch. My mind seemed to be in a haze, and my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. An aching and burning sensation buzzed all around me.
I stood there for what seemed like hours but was probably a couple minutes, trying to make the dizzy feeling go away. The entirety of my mind and body was disoriented. Where was I? Oh, the bathroom, that's right. I must be tired. I continued lingering in a blurred haze, slightly swaying from side to side. What was going on?
I shut my eyes, trying to regain my scattered senses. I attempted to clear my mind by remembering where I was and what day it was.
Today was... Wednesday?
Yeah... right... right...
I started school today... I should be nervous about that, but right now I don't feel anything... hmm...
I should thank Mr. Valen for the stuff he got me... yeah... why didn't I thank him? I don't remember. I'll go do that now... yeah...
I let go of the counter and swayed forward. Suddenly, my body appeared to be falling downwards.
Not a good idea...
I blinked, and I was somehow lying on the hard tile floor. The confusion worsened. How did I get here? Was this Mr. Valen's room? It looked an awful lot like my bathroom...
My eyelids were heavy, and it was clear I had no control over my body. The world around me kept spinning, and my body kept humming. But I needed to thank him for the stuff. Bad girls didn't say thank you. I wasn't a bad girl, right? I softly grumbled and fought to get control of my body, but my limbs had other plans.
My eyelids shut closed against my will, and my consciousness faded completely.
Third Person POV:
It was the early hours of seven, and the Morosini residence was alive and awake. Valen was standing in the kitchen in a freshly ironed suit tailored to perfection.
Perfection.
The definition of a Morosini.
A mug of freshly brewed, steaming black coffee was held in his left hand and his busy phone in the other. He was supposed to be in a meeting currently, but decided he would wish his sister well on her first day of school. He'd missed so many others.
Atticus was standing in front of the stove, flipping pancakes and scrambling eggs. He was donning a pristine and luxurious suit, somehow untouched by the large amount of food he was preparing. He was happy about waking his sorellina and taking her to school. However, a hint of concern and worry lingered in him. Being albino would certainly be hard in middle school. Some of the brothers advocated for her to be homeschooled, while others deemed such social seclusion as cruel.
Eventually, it was agreed upon to allow her to continue a somewhat normal childhood, one where she could attend school and make friends. They would ensure everything and everyone was sorted. Knowing Val, everything already was.
There was nothing Valen Morosini was not prepared for.
Damien, who was sitting at the kitchen counter, was watching Atticus hastily cook enough breakfast for all of the siblings. It was a rare occasion that they were all together for breakfast, but of course the little princess required an audience. He scrunched his face in distaste at the sour thought. His attire slightly more casual than that of his elder siblings, but still rather formal. A clean white dress shirt hugged his muscular frame and black slacks held by a heavy, gleaming black and gold belt. His tattooed fingers tapped on the marble countertop impatiently.
A fussy Kieran entered the kitchen and plopped down next to Damien, messing with the tie to his school uniform. One would assume after years of wearing a school uniform consisting of a blazer and tie he would have the art of tying ties mastered. This was not the case for Kieran Morosini. He huffed as he finally had his tie on, only to be humbled by his older brother.
"It's crooked," Damien snided with an evil grin. Kieran ignored him as a plate of food was being slid in front of him by Atticus.
"Where is her highness?" Kieran snarked at a now very annoyed Atticus.
"Atticus will be waking her now. Need I remind you how to behave towards your sister, Kieran?" Valen cut in sternly.
This certainly straightened Kieran out as he went back to focusing on eating the plate in front of him, silently hoping Aurora wouldn't finish hers so he could eat it too. Atticus was a good cook.
꩜
Atticus walked up the stairs towards the youngest's bedroom. He could hear commotion inside of each of the twins' bedrooms, confirming they were actually awake and getting ready. In contrast, no noise was heard in the direction of Aurora's bedroom.
Atticus sighed.
Boys were always so much louder.
He knocked on the bedroom door, wanting to respect her privacy. "Aurora," he hummed out. "Cara, it's me, Atticus. You have to wake up for school," he spoke to her door gently.
Silence.
Atticus knocked again. "Aurora? Are you sleeping?" A small smile graced his face. Her sleepiness reminded him of Kieran. He opened the door slightly, and his smile fell. The room was dark, and the bed was empty. The silence was almost deafening. The door to the bathroom was open, and the light was on.
He walked further into the room. "Aurora? Are you in there, honey?" he asked, not wanting to intrude on her but growing slightly concerned. No response. An unsettling feeling flooded his senses.
He looked over at the bed. The sheets were all wrinkled and messed up. A pillow was lying on the floor, and so was one of her blankets. Atticus's brows furrowed, and he walked towards the open bathroom. Peaking in, he saw nothing until his eyes fell down and his heart went with them.
"Oh my god, Aurora!" he shouted as he rushed towards her small unconscious frame. Her skin was burning to the touch and there was blood on the sides of her mouth. Panicking, he placed two firm fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse.
A small amount of relief flooded his veins as a faint heartbeat could be felt. The bathroom smelt strongly of blood and vomit. He scanned her pajama-covered body for any obvious bleeding injuries but could only see the outline at her mouth.
He quickly collected her limp body in his arms and came to a stand. Carrying her out of the room in a rush, he didn't fail to notice how impossibly light her body was. As he jogged out of her room, he almost ran directly into Calix and Cassian. They looked up at him with looks of surprise, but their faces morphed into shock and concern at the sight of their sister being cradled in his arms.
"What's wrong with her?" Cassian shot out in a panic.
"Go grab Val. Now!" Atticus ordered the two.
Calix snapped out of shock first and bolted down the stairs, while Atticus followed carefully with Cassian trailing behind. As soon as they reached the end of the stairs, they were greeted with all of their brothers.
"Quello che è successo?" Valen demanded.
"Non lo so. Sono andato a svegliarla e lei era priva di sensi con sangue sulla bocca." Atticus rushed out, looking down at Aurora in fear.
"Porta Aurora alla mia macchina. Il resto di voi con Damien." Valen ordered.
"No, voglio stare con lei." Cassian spouted out, his eyes pinning Valen. The eldest brother looked at Cassian's adamant expression and nodded.
All of the siblings made their way to the garage in a hurry with Atticus in front. Cassian got into the back of Valen's black SUV, and Atticus carefully set a fully slack Aurora into his awaiting arms.
The two eldest brothers entered the front of the vehicle, while Damien, Kieran, and Calix entered Damien's dark red porsche. Damien and Kieran's usual hard expressions were mixed with ones of deep concern.
The black SUV sped down the mile-long driveway, and security struggled to open the gates in time for it to burst through. With Valen leading the way and Damien's car following, they made their way to the hospital.
"Make sure she's breathing, Cas." Atticus looked back into the rearview mirror at his youngest brother holding their baby sister firmly against his chest.
"She is," Cassian panted out, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "She'll be okay, right?" he asked in desperation.
"We'll make sure of it," Valen solemnly confirmed.
Both cars arrived at the hospital and didn't bother to park, but instead pulled straight up to the front door. It's not like anyone could call the hospital's owners and complain.
They were too busy carrying their sister in.
As soon as they got into the emergency room, the staff immediately rushed forward with a stretcher. Atticus quickly explained what happened as Cassian set his sister down carefully on the stretcher; her body looked so small and frail in comparison to the bed. It was obvious the girl was sick.
Before the other brothers could even reach the stretcher, it was being rushed by doctors and nurses into large doors leading towards an unknown hallway.
Kieran jogged to follow his sister but was stopped by a shaking doctor. "I'm sorry, Mr. Morosini, but you can't go back there," the man anxiously voiced. Kieran removed the doctor's hand from his shoulder but was stopped by yet another, much heavier hand from behind.
Valen turned the heaving Kieran towards him. "Go sit down, Kieran; we will go back there when she's ready."
Kieran, knowing better than to protest his eldest brother, decided to follow his instructions, but not before sending a glare at the doctor who stopped him. The latter looked pale as a ghost and gulped.
꩜
All of the brothers were seated in the unusually cool waiting room. It had been six hours since they arrived at the hospital, and not one of them had moved.
Not a word had been spoken to them.
They had no idea how their sister was doing.
Valen had his trademark stone cold stare on his face as he glared into the windows of the doors his sister was rushed into. His posture was straight and rigid, his body entirely still.
Atticus was sitting beside Damien on a cramped couch, swirling the coffee a nurse gave him in his hand. Suddenly, the black liquid became very interesting to his worried mind. Maybe if he went to wake up Aurora sooner, she would have been okay.
Damien was slouched back on the couch, rudely taking up all of Atticus's personal space. He was staring at the plain white ceiling tiles of the waiting room. 1,683. That was the amount of ceiling tiles he had counted in this cold gray waiting room. He almost lost count at 721 when a man started violently throwing up behind him.
But he didn't.
Kieran was sitting in a chair with both arms planted to each arm rest. His fingers steadily tapped the cheap and hollow plastic. His eyes were glued to the nursing station to see if any nurses were discussing anything about his sister. Instead, it was just an old man playing solitaire in between checking in patients.
He kept losing.
Calix was on a couch next to his younger twin. Bouncing his leg up and down anxiously whilst staring at the tattered gray carpet beneath him. Its geometric pattern looked like an eyesore to him. Diamonds and triangles covered the floor in an ugly configuration.
Who had made that choice?
Cassian was leaning on the armrest of the couch he shared with Calix, staring at the TV displaying the news. He didn't care about the weather at all. He just didn't want anyone to see the redness in his eyes or the slight moisture that threatened to leave his tear ducts. Of course everyone saw, but decided not to embarrass the poor boy. Cassian had always been the most emotional out of the brothers, not that they ever minded.
He always got the job done when needed.
A gray-haired man in blue scrubs and a white coat entered through the doors Aurora was rushed into. All Morosini eyes were suddenly fixed on this man. It was clear he was a doctor.
"Family of Aurora Morosini?" the doctor asked into the waiting room, oblivious to all the eyes boring into the side of his head.
Valen stood immediately, and all others followed. "That would be us," he informed the older man, who now looked absolutely petrified. It had just dawned on the doctor who he was really dealing with.
Her last name was no coincidence.
The Morosini family had never shown their little sister to the public. In the entire three years of her living with them, she stayed safe inside their extravagant estate, tucked far away from the public eye.
All doctors and other necessary professionals would come to her, sworn to absolute secrecy. The public and other businesses knew of her existence; after all, she was the only true heiress to be born into the family after four generations. But with her striking white appearance, they decided it was best to keep her hidden. Rivals could find her easily just from description, so they had never shown her to anyone.
This ended up working out for Aurora in the long run; otherwise, she would have been completely vulnerable in Chicago with her mother. Not that she was in safe hands with her mother, but no opposing businesses had ever touched her.
By now, the media had speculated Aurora was their sister; their sighting at the mall was their main confirmation. Soon it would be undeniable, and the Morosini's would have to keep a closer eye on their sister. Not like they weren't already watching her every move.
She had more surveillance than the queen herself.
"Y-yes, well, I have news regarding your... sister? I am Doctor Richards. If you follow me, I will explain it to you before you may see her," he stammered heavily.
"Start walking then," Damien gritted out.
The doctor broke out of his frozen trance and immediately started walking towards his office. It was easy to become anxious when you had the six scariest men in the country directly on your heels behind you.
Many could argue scariest in the world, but some foreign egos would be bruised.
The short, old doctor led them into his office and gestured for them to take a seat. Valen and Atticus sat down in the two leather chairs placed in front of the doctors desk while the youngest three were squished on a couch to the side of the room along the wall. Damien chose to remain standing in front of the door with his arms crossed, staring down the older man.
"I-If I understand correctly, you are not her parents?" The poor man stuttered out.
"Indeed we are not. I am her eldest brother and guardian," Valen stated coolly.
"And we saw the custody change of your sister was a recent change, correct?" the doctor inquired.
The hospital staff had looked into custodial records, if the injuries looked any newer, child protective services would have been undoubtedly involved.
"It was a very recent change. What relevance does this carry to my sister's health?" Valen asked, getting irritated at the doctor's seemingly pointless prodding.
"Well, when you brought Miss Morosini in today, she had severe injuries. Two broken ribs, three bruised ribs, lacerations along her back, a burn, and other severe bruising along her entire body," the doctors took a shaky breath in between talking. "These injuries all appeared to be over a week old, some much older. The bone in her right arm showed an older break that we had to fix and cast so it heals properly. These are all signs of abu—" the doctor informed before getting cut off.
"If you're suggesting we would ever harm our sister, you are severely mistaken," Valen growled.
"Well it's clear someone has," the doctor replied shortly.
This was the one thing Valen Morosini could have never been prepared for.
The room was silent. The tension was palpable. All jaws and fists were tightly clenched. Pure shock and rage radiated off of the bodies of each Morosini. Every brother's darkened eyes were focused on the doctor before them.
"We gained custody of her around a week ago from her mother and stepfather," Atticus interjected with a slight break in his voice.
The doctor nodded, their claim aligned with her records. "Well, then it's very likely they are the ones responsible. I suspect the only reason she was able to stay upright was from the small amount of painkillers we found in her bloodstream." The brothers paused for a split-second.
Their little sister had been taking painkillers?
The doctor continued with Aurora's treatment plan. "She will need to stop those immediately and use the ones we prescribe to her. Along with some antibiotics for the infection she has sustained from having open wounds on her back." Their sister had open wounds? "She will also need to clean the wounds on her back, but it's more than likely one of you will need to assist her with that." Doctor Richards instructed all in one breath.
"Were there any signs of—" Atticus asked, unable to even finish the question without his voice wavering.
"We had a female doctor provide an exam and there were no signs of sexual abuse or trauma. But it is still possible and without her confirmation there is no way to know," Doctor Richards gravely confirmed.
The unbearable tension in the room rose. The air became painfully suffocating, as if someone had cut off all air supply entirely. The thought of someone abusing their little sister made rage consume them. The thought of someone touching her? The rage overflowed. As soon as they confirmed who, that person was as good as dead.
"Take us to her now," Valen strictly ordered.
The doctor, valuing his life, immediately obliged and led them to her private room. The only sound heard as they approached their little sister's room was leather shoes hitting the floors and echoing off the walls. The hallway was filled with fury and hostility.
Someone was going to die very soon. And if it was their own mother? So be it. Her new husband would be joining her as well.
It was going to be a little family get-together. Everyone loves a reunion.
The doctor stopped in front of the door and turned towards the six seething figures behind him. "She is most likely still asleep, but I will be back to check on her later, sirs." Without waiting for a reply, the old man hurried down the hall and out of sight from the Morosini's.
Valen entered her room first, and the others quickly followed. Aurora's small and frail figure was lying on the bed. Now, without all the baggy clothes she constantly wore, they could see how truly malnourished this girl was. Her legs and arms were pure bones. Her sharp collarbones also peeked out of the thin hospital gown. Her long, wavy white hair laid out on the pillow lacked that healthy shine. Her skin was dull and colored with bruises.
Anger and sorrow filled the room.
They really should have been able to tell sooner. Her skittish behavior and refusal to eat proper meals were all telltale signs.
Atticus moved to sit in the seat directly next to Aurora. The others trailed behind and sat all across the room. Atticus ran his fingers through her long hair in an attempt to comfort the unconscious girl. In reality, he was just comforting himself.
Cassian was tracing patterns on her small, non-casted hand lightly. A heart, a flower, a bow—anything to keep him distracted and her comfortable. Calix was busy messing with the thin hospital blanket. Ensuring her entire body from the neck down was fully covered with it. He didn't want his sister to be cold.
Valen sat and watched as his siblings cared for their youngest, simultaneously thinking about the next course of action. If her mother and stepfather were truly responsible, he would have them dragged out of that jail and put into his warehouse the moment he got the confirmation he needed. Damien and Kieran were on almost the same wavelength.
They were purely thinking about the blood they would splatter of those responsible. Cruel, sick, and twisted torture filled their minds as a fiery boil burned and consumed them. They were going to get revenge for their sorellina.
That was for sure.
Aurora's POV:
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
I heard a faint, steady, rhythmic beeping noise. My alarm didn't sound like that... What was that aggravating noise?
My eyes didn't want to open, and my body felt light. I felt something running through my hair and something else rubbing my hand. If I were able to move my body, I would tense at the unknown contact. However, something about the touch was almost familiar.
Unlike all the other physical contact I've had in my life which came in the form of beatings, this was gentle and soothing. I could feel my mind relaxing at the feeling of comfort and care. Was I dreaming?
My hearing sounded like I was submerged underwater. But among the beeping, I could distinguish a deep voice murmuring incoherent whispers to me. "Svegliati, tesoro. Apri quei tuoi bellissimi occhi azzurri. Siamo qui in attesa." What were they saying? I don't understand.
I tried to make out what was going on around me. I need to wake up. I finally got my eyelids to open, and I was greeted by a scary, blurry sight.
I was in a hospital bed, and all my brothers were staring deep into my soul. Oh shit. I blinked.
The beeping noise picked up pace and my heart dropped in my stomach. Am I in the hospital? What happened? If I'm in the hospital that means—
"Calm down, Aurora, take a deep breath." I jumped at the deep voice beside me. I obeyed and took a breath that was painfully trapped within the depths of my chest. Atticus was sitting right next to my head with his fingers in my hair.
Cassian was holding my hand, and Calix was at the end of the bed with his hands on my blanket. Both were dressed in their now wrinkled school uniforms and looked at me with grief. Were they mad at me?
My eyes moved to the left side of the room and met with the murderous glares of both Damien and Kieran. I immediately looked away. Definitely mad at me.
My heart monitor picked up again and started beeping loudly. The mixture of piercing stares made my brain start terrorizing me with rapid thoughts. Did they find out about the sir and ma'am? Were they sending me back? I don't want to go back.
"Everyone but Atticus, out. Now." A deep voice sounded from the right corner of the room. Breaking me out of my thoughts, my eyes met with a very cold looking Valen. This couldn't be good.
"But Val-" Cassian countered.
"Out," is all Valen had to say for all of them to leave. Cassian sent me one last glance filled with longing before getting shoved into the hall. The door closed, and Valen and Atticus both stood up and positioned themselves on either side of me.
I was trapped in between them.
My eyes were glued to my new cast as I refused to make eye contact with either brother. Why was there a cast on my left arm? My arm didn't hurt that badly. The cast was a pretty light purple. Since it wasn't on my right hand, I would still be able to write down notes in school.
School. I was supposed to be there now. Anxiety swam in my stomach, and my lungs started to buckle every time I took a breath.
"Aurora, how did you get these injuries? We want nothing but the truth from you so we can hold those responsible accountable," Valen interrogated. Atticus looked down at me in silence, no longer playing with my hair.
It felt nice when Atticus played with my hair.
Trying to come up with a believable excuse, my mind came up short. "I-I fell off my bike," I lied. I had never ridden a bike before.
I couldn't bear to see their disappointed faces, so I kept my eyes on my fingers, playing with the hem of the scratchy blankets. The thin sky blue blanket was tucked around me neatly. No doubt courtesy of Calix. My fingers were luckily still able to move under the heavy cast.
"I believe I said no lying, Aurora. I assure you, we are no fools," Valen said firmly. My stomach continued to twist and coil with nerves.
"How about we ask you questions and you just nod or shake your head, hm? Does that sound like something you can do for us?" Atticus suggested while running his hand up and down my upper arm in efforts to soothe me.
I was completely trapped between Valen and Atticus, almost cowering under their imposing frames. My eyes watered at the thought of telling anyone the truth about sir or ma'am. Realizing they were not going to let this go, I inhaled shakily and nodded.
"Did someone give you these injuries, Aurora?" Valen asked. The room was still for fifteen seconds before I finally nodded.
Beside me, Atticus sharply inhaled.
"Did your mother and stepfather give you these injuries?" Valen interrogated. I paused for a moment.
I nodded.
He was my stepfather? Where was my real father? I didn't have time to ponder my screwed family tree at the moment.
Atticus had stopped rubbing my upper arm and was instead seen in my peripheral clenching his hands. His knuckles were white, and his fingers were buried into a fist. Valen was still. His jaw firmly shut and his dark eyes blazing in flames.
"Has this been a recent thing, Aurora?" Valen furthered. For the first time, I shook my head. Embarrassment and shame lingered around me in a cloud. My heart monitor picked up speed, and my throat closed narrowly.
"When did this happen, Aurora? Use your words." Valen instructed, staring into my soul; his brown eyes now darkened and his brows deeply furrowed. I took a moment to compose myself and clear my throat.
"W-whenever I was being a bad girl...sir and ma'am punished me," I stuttered out, my voice cracking and my lips trembling.
"They made you call them 'sir' and 'ma'am,' Aurora?" Valen furthered, almost spitting out their names.
I nodded.
"The doctors said they found painkillers in your bloodstream. Have you been taking improper prescriptions?" Valen asked. I nodded hesitantly.
"Since they are not prescribed to you, I will be taking them and disposing of them. It is not safe for you to be misusing medication. Do you understand?" He asked me. I nodded again, extremely embarrassed.
There was a pause. As much as I wanted the questioning to be over, something told me there was more.
Valen took an extremely deep breath. "One more question, Aurora, then you need to rest, okay?" I looked up at him expectantly; his eyes were almost squinted and his shoulders were rigid. "Did they ever touch you inappropriately?" He clenched his jaw at the end of the question, the vein in his forehead visible.
I didn't nod or shake my head, I just looked down.
"Aurora," Valen gritted out.
.
.
.
"T-they– tried to go further... a c-couple... I-I didn't let them. They wanted–" I stuttered out. Small tears finally ran down my face, and my lips quivered at the memories. The heart monitor was really speeding now; my brothers outside must have been preventing any medical personnel from entering.
Atticus choked out a breath and immediately brought me into his arms. "I'm so sorry, baby. I am so– so sorry, cara. This never should have happened." He cradled me into his chest and rubbed my back, careful to avoid any of my multiple bandages.
As Atticus held me to his chest in a warm embrace, Valen spoke up. "Aurora, if we had known what was occurring in their household, you would have been immediately placed with us. I know my apology will not do you any good now, but I find it important that you know that." I remained silent and wrestled to reel my tears in. I was going to ruin Atticus's fancy suit if I kept crying all over it.
"I need to handle something," was the last thing Valen said before he swiftly walked out.
I heard commotion outside of the room and then sudden silence. It sounded like my other brothers were being dismissed from their position outside my door. Atticus continued holding me as I shook and tremored. My eyes were all cried out, and my body was exhausted.
They must have had me on heavy medications. "It's okay, Aurora; just rest. I'm sorry I wasn't there then. But I'm here now, and I'm never leaving. We're never leaving," his deep voice whispered above me, his fingers running through my hair and lulling me to sleep.
My brief sleep was peaceful and void of any nightmares or memories. When I woke up, my mouth was dry and my head was painfully pounding. The slight movement of my body seemed to alert the figure next to me as they quickly came to a stand and reached over to me. By instinct, I flinched back, only to be greeted by a familiar voice.
"Relax, Aurora. It's only me. Drink. You need it." Atticus said as he handed me a white plastic cup filled with ice-cold water. I graciously took it and gulped down the contents entirely, quenching my thirst and soothing my now very sore and dry throat.
"Slow down, cara. I don't want you throwing that up," Atticus scolded lightly. However, it was too late for me to slow down since the entire cup was empty. Atticus sighed at my hurried drinking and took the cup out of my hands.
"The doctor says it's okay for you to come home now, but you will be strictly resting and focused on healing. They gave us pain medication for you, and Damien already removed the old bottle from your room." Atticus instructed gently, but I couldn't help but go red at the fact that Damien went fishing through my room for pills. He must think I'm some druggy like sir and ma'am. I shuddered.
Shuffling outside of my room interrupted my harmful thoughts, and the door handle twisted open, revealing Calix and Cassian. My chest fell a little at the fact Damien and Kieran didn't bother coming. Not like they were good company anyway. Both twins were now dressed more casually in sweatpants and hoodies instead of their scratchy school uniforms.
Cassian immediately rushed towards me and hugged me into his big arms. I groaned at the contact of his arms and my tender ribs. "Shit! Sorry," he immediately let go and looked me over with his eyes. "Gentle, Cas," Atticus scolded. Cassian looked over at Atticus with an eyeroll.
Calix walked up behind Cassian with a pair of my sweatpants I recently bought and a big dark blue sweatshirt I didn't recognize from my closet. He set them down on the bed and looked at me blankly. "It's one of my old sweatshirts. You need to keep tight fabrics off your back," he explained, looking from me to the sweatshirt.
"Thank you." I sent a small smile his way and he nodded in response. I grew embarrassed at the fact they all knew, ashamed even.
"Go change, Aurora. We'll be waiting to take you home after you're done," Atticus pointed towards a door at the end of my bed.
I nodded and made a move to get up, but grimaced at the pain in both my legs and back. Fortunately, the hospital gown I was wearing slid over my head instead of tying in the back. So none of my body was indecently exposed. I had already had enough of that today.
I frowned at the fact someone changed me. Ew.
"Let me help you, angelo." Cassian was quick to step in and take my hand, guiding me up and towards the bathroom. He carried the clothes Calix brought to the hospital for me. "Call for help if you need it. We're right here," he added, handing me the clothes and then shutting the bathroom door behind me.
I struggled to lift the dress above my head. My bulky casted arm had become a useless nuisance. All I could feel was a slight stinging from my bandaged back and pressure in my ribs. It was obvious they gave me some sort of painkiller, ones much stronger than I was using before. I managed to get the flimsy dress off me and left it hanging on the sink. I looked into the mirror at my bandage-covered body.
My eyes found a scar on my stomach from when ma'am stabbed me with a glass vodka bottle shard when I didn't buy more; the cashier said 10 was too young. A slice looking scar on my upper thigh from when sir took a kitchen knife to my leg because a 12 year old me burnt their cheap dinner. A brown bandage covered a healing burn mark on my other upper thigh. The skin around the area was red and angry. That one must also be infected. And my black and blue jutting ribs were now a dark purple with splotches of blue.
I dragged on the sweatpants with some difficulty. My casted hand made the drawstring hard to tie. The hardest part being the sweatshirt. Calix's broad muscular frame made his sweatshirt much bigger than what I'd usually wear, but lifting my arms over my head and pulling the fabric over my bandaged back proved to be a struggle.
I refused to ask for help dressing even when Cassian knocked and asked. I finished dressing and exited the door; all eyes shot to me, and a smile graced Cassian's face.
"We brought you slippers since we figured bending over and tying your shoes would be hard with your ribs and hand," he exclaimed and revealed the slippers. I raised my brow slightly. They were unicorns. Pink fluffy unicorn slippers with sparkly glitter horns.
"Calix thought they looked cute," Cassian grinned. Calix picked these? My eyes trailed over to Calix, but he refused to meet my glance. A slight pink blush dusted his tan face, and he glared at an oblivious, stupidly smiling Cassian.
Cassian bent down and placed them in front of me. I slid my feet into the fluffy unicorn slippers and smiled internally at the silly-looking horses on my feet. "Thank you," I told the twins. "You have good taste, Calix," I added with a shy grin.
The latter just huffed and opened the room door. I started to follow him but was stopped by a hand holding my upper arm, careful not to touch my shoulder or back. "Do you need a wheelchair, cara? " Atticus asked me. I immediately shook my head, extremely embarrassed. "Hm, very well then." Atticus looked uncertain but allowed me to make this decision.
Atticus stepped in front of me, and through the door Calix was holding open. Ladies first. Cassian followed and pulled me beside him by the sleeve of my sweatshirt. Calix glued himself to my other side as we followed Atticus.
Cassian's smile had vanished and so had Calix's blush. They both looked serious and straight ahead as they flanked either side of me. We gathered stares as we walked through the halls. Three scary men walking a ghostly white looking little girl dressed in unicorn slippers wearing a sweatshirt way too big for her body.
What a lovely sight.
As we stepped outside, the cool autumn air nipped at my body and made me shiver. Calix wordlessly covered my head with the sweatshirt's large hood, almost incapacitating my ability to see properly. We reached a black SUV I had never seen before. Atticus and Calix sat up front while Cassian slid into the back with me.
Before I could even reach for it, Cassian slid the seat belt over my body and buckled me in. "Thank you," I bit my lip slightly. They were all doing so much for me. As we drove, I leaned up against my window and looked out. A mixture of the cozy clothes and leftover sedatives in my system had me dozing off. I tried to fight the sleep, but my body fought back even harder. I fell asleep curled into myself, covered from head to toe in warm clothes, the unicorn slippers elevating my comfort.
Eventually, I felt myself being lifted into warm, strong arms. The firm but gentle hold made me want to curl further into the chest I was being held against. Wait. Lifted? Arms? Chest I'm being held against? I realized I was being carried, and my eyes immediately shot open and my sore body stiffened. Before I could wiggle out of their hold, I was pressed tighter against their body.
"Shhh go back to sleep, Aurora." Cassian whispered, continuing to walk with my body held up in his arms.
"Mmm. I can walk," I mumbled in sleepiness.
"Yeah, I'm sure you can," he chuckled softly. "Besides, you need to rest those ribs of yours. We can't have you walking up and down these stairs now, can we? Maybe you can convince Valen to finally get an elevator." Cassian teased with a wink.
I gave up protesting and laid my head against Cassian's hard chest. If it were anyone else doing this, I definitely wouldn't be comfortable being held like this. Cassian continued carrying me up the stairs and down the hallway to my room. He wasn't even panting and hadn't broken a sweat yet; he was just carrying me like I weighed nothing to him.
He opened the door to my room and placed me down on my soft bed. The sheets had been changed from the mess I made earlier this morning. I was too tired to protest anything as he slid off my unicorn slippers and covered me in blankets. He tucked me in and kissed my hairline lightly. "Dormi bene, tesoro," he whispered before leaving.
My breathing evened out and my eyes shut. I allowed sleep to again overcome me. After all, everything was much easier when I could just sleep through it. That was if I didn't have nightmares, of course.
I was awoken for what felt like the millionth time today. Cassian was in my room. He was standing by my bed, stroking my hair. This motion relaxed me further; I shut my eyes again. "Shit. This is supposed to be waking you, not putting you to sleep," he stopped running his fingers through my hair. I grumbled, and he let out a small laugh.
"Cmon, I have food. It's dinner time." He tried to convince me to wake. I grumbled again, but this time in distaste. I was not hungry at all.
"Aurora, this will be the last good meal you get before they put you on that diet plan," he revealed. Now this had my attention. Diet plan? I sat up and rubbed my eyes with my right hand. "Diet plan?" I yawned out.
"Yes, Aurora, you're way underweight. They made a plan to fix your eating," he explained. I knew I was skinny, but I didn't need a diet plan. They were all going to think I was being dramatic. "I don't need a diet plan," I protested, sounding embarrassingly whiney.
"Yes, you do, Aurora. The doctors already discussed it with us. You have to start it tomorrow, so I thought I'd bring you some actually good food," he laughed. I gazed over at my nightstand and saw three steaming bowls of mac and cheese. Three? Who's the third for? Just then my bedroom door opened and Calix walked in holding a laptop. I was surprised he was joining us. Did the others not want to see me?
"Uh... won't the others be mad we're eating in here without them?" I asked, trying to discreetly figure out why they weren't here. Calix and Cassian share an unreadable look.
"They're out handling business. We'll be watching you tonight," Calix informed me.
Oh.
They didn't actually want to be with me right now.
They had to.
"I don't need a babysitter. You guys can go do whatever," I dismissed, trying not to sound hurt.
Why would I think they'd want to hang out with me willingly?
"Yes, you do. You're practically a baby. Plus, you don't want to eat mac and cheese and watch a movie with us? I thought we were cool." Cassian probed. I instantly felt bad; he thought I didn't want to hang out with him. I thought they were cool.
I thought all my brothers were cool.
But I didn't want them to have to hang out with me. I was not a baby, I was thirteen.
Before I could argue any further, Calix dropped into bed beside me and handed me a bowl of mac and cheese before opening his laptop and setting it onto the bed. I looked into the bowl and saw the unicorn-shaped Kraft pasta noodles. Did Calix pick this out too?
Does my scary older brother like unicorns and glitter?
Cassian slid in on the other side of bed, leaving me sandwiched between the two. I reluctantly forked some mac and cheese into my mouth. I almost thought the unicorn-shaped pasta noodles made it taste better.
But I was just being ridiculous.
"You like Mulan?" Calix asked with his mouth full of pasta. His laptop was open, and his cursor was hovering over a movie called 'Mulan.' Mulan? I had never heard of a movie called 'Mulan.' In fact, I haven't heard of many movies at all; unless they were shown to me at school, I had no idea of their existence.
"I have never seen Mulan," I whispered shyly.
Cassian's head whipped towards me, and his eyes widened. "Never heard of Mulan! What do you mean never—" he stopped mid sentence. It must have clicked in his brain why I had never heard of Mulan.
I wasn't allowed to watch movies.
"You will like it," Calix puts an end to the awkwardness by clicking on the start button, but not before sending Cassian a look of warning.
All three of us were invested in the movie. Two almost adult men were snuggled up under pink floral bed sheets, resting their heads on silk pillowcases, completely engaged in a movie about a princess. A princess warrior, that was. I thought they wouldn't notice if I stopped eating. But like hawks, they caught on immediately.
"Finish three-fourths of that, then you can be done," instructed Calix. I felt bad because I couldn't even finish a bowl of mac and cheese. What kid couldn't do that? The twins even gave me a smaller serving than they had. A much smaller serving.
I swallowed back my nausea and finished three-fourths of my bowl. As soon as I set it down, Cassian picked it up and emptied my pasta into his bowl. He scarfed it down like he didn't just finish all of his.
I cringed.
Our bowls were now on my nightstand, and our attention was fully on the screen in front of us. As the movie progressed, I determined Mulan was my favorite princess.
I may not have seen any other princess movies, but I doubted any could even compare to her character. She was so strong and brave—everything I wanted to be.
It was getting late, and the same tiredness from earlier was flooding my body. I struggled to combat the fatigued feeling and finish the movie; there were only 20 minutes left. My body decided it wanted to sleep rather than watch a princess movie, and I just had to give in.
A part of me felt oddly safe with my two brothers beside me. I had hardly known these two, and Calix was certainly a man of very few words. But something in me just naturally felt safe around them. Maybe it's because they're your brothers, moron.
Whatever it was, it let me fall asleep beside the two. Allowing myself to be unguarded was something I never did, but the twins seemed to soothe me to the point where it was possible.
I closed my eyes and slipped away. But not before feeling someone tuck me into their side.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author's Note:
Hopefully the length of this chapter was satisfactory.
I might have procrastinated my math homework to get it posted...
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