Caged

41

"Alright, I think we got everything," Ethan murmured the words distractedly as he slammed the trunk of the car shut.

"One more," Caleb pointed out as he came out of the house, holding a black suitcase in his right hand. I watched silently from the porch as they threw the last bag into the car, and shut it for good this time.

A hand gently pressed against my back and moved me to the side. My head snapped over to see Elijah pass me to walk over to where Alastair was on the phone, his back facing all of us. I zoned in on the file Elijah held in his hand and watched him stroll over to Alastair to hand it to him. They began talking about something that I couldn't hear from where I was standing. Moments later, Ethan walked over to them to listen in.

"You okay?" Caleb's concerned voice made my attention shift over to him, and I realized he'd moved to stand right next to me.

"Yeah, I just..." I trailed off, my eyes finding Elijah and Ethan again. Alastair had slid into the driver's seat by now, so it was only my brothers talking. He turned the car on; the headlights lighting up the dark path ahead of them.

My throat closed up when Elijah placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder, speaking in hushed tones. Ethan listened intently, nodding once in a while. I didn't realize my eyes had welled with tears until Elijah pulled Ethan in for a hug.

Even in the dark, I could see how Ethan tensed at first at the action that seemed so foreign to him. Then, he visibly relaxed and wrapped his arms around Elijah in return, his head on his left shoulder as he gave in.

"Hey," Caleb's hand came to grab my arm and he gently tugged me towards him. "Izzy, tell me what's wrong. You're crying."

Instead of responding, I dove into his arms. It clearly took him off guard from the way he stumbled back a step, but he eventually wrapped his arms around me. I squeezed my eyes shut against his neck. "I'm scared, Caleb," I whispered.

I was terrified.

Waking up everyday and not knowing what to expect was a scary feeling and the fear was becoming permanent. Knowing that I could lose someone else at any moment was ripping me apart, and I couldn't do anything but watch as everything slowly fell apart once again. Not that it ever really stopped.

"Of what?" He asked quietly, running one hand through my hair.

"Everything," I mumbled, gripping the back of his jacket as tight as I could before he left me. "I'm scared for all of us. I'm scared for Kaiden and that something's gonna go wrong again before he comes home. I'm scared that Elijah's gonna disappear again or get hurt one night while he's out there somewhere. I'm scared that you and Ethan aren't going to come back and..." I hesitated. "I'm scared for me."

I was scared of what would happen when I left. I was scared of stepping out of the dark when I finally found out the truth. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to handle it.

I was always scared, no matter how hard I tried not to show it.

He stayed quiet for moments, his hand paused in my hair. "I'm scared too, Izzy," he admitted against the side of my head and my eyes flew open. I pulled back a bit and Caleb cupped the sides of my face in his hands. "For the exact same reasons, but I promise you that we'll be back. I can't say anything about the rest, but Ethan and I will be back, okay?"

I bit the corner of my lip, searching his eyes for reassurance. "You'll be safe? And you'll call?"

Caleb grinned and used his thumb to brush away some stray tears. "We'll be safe, I promise. And I'll call everyday. I'll force Ethan to talk too," he added lightly at the end, and my lips twitched into a small smile that only lasted a few seconds.