↳ 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑 ー 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘

𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈 ー 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬

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Shuddering again from a rush of cold, Sierra licks her dry lips. "Could really use one of your hugs right now." Tone hoarse and throat sore.

Bare legs bend across the icy floor while Kaden uses what little energy he has left to tug on the chains. Each and every muscle in his body aching.

"Stop. That wasn't an invitation for you to hurt yourself. Stop it." He defeatedly slumps, obeying her tired commands. "You're not getting out of those chains. Neither of us are."

"I couldn't protect him." The barely audible words encourage her eyes to stay open. "I'm the older brother, it's my job to protect Gray, but I couldn't."

He manages to lift his head, letting his gaze dance over her creased brows.

"We did a test at school once. Both got an A instead of an A* like usual. When we returned home they were sat waiting. Esmee just looked disappointed but Blayk... He was furious. They confronted us, asked what went wrong and we just stood there. Neither of us knew what to sayー we didn't think it was a big deal."

"It isn't."

"Even though we got the same grades, Gray was the only one who got punished. I couldn't protect him. Blayk was twice the size of me. I can still hear it; him beating his own son. I begged him to stop. Threatened him. Even tried to hit him back but it was useless. Esmee just sat and watched, she didn't even care that her husband was beating the living daylights out of their youngest."

Sierra swallows the painful lump in her throat.

"I wanted him to hit me too. I didn't want Gray to go through that alone yet he did, because he wouldn't lay a finger on me and I despised him for it. I hated myself, I failed him as a brother."

"No."

"It wasn't just a one time thing, he kept on hurting him. Any little mistake earned him a beating. Until one night Blayk decided to kick him out of the house. He didn't expect me to leave with him, I don't know why. But it felt good to get away."

He groans quietly, adjusting his arms even though they return to the same uncomfortable position as before. His hands loosely grip the metal links.

"I wanted him to have a better life. That's why I started my own business. I got in touch with contacts and sold illegal things because it earned us the most money. We went from having nothing to having a roof over our heads. We had everything we needed. But Gray wanted revenge still, that's why he was so adamant about killing them. I was hardly going to tell him no."

"I stood between them. I stopped him. I knew it wasn't the right thing but I did it anyway because I thought I could change their minds. Why did I do that."

"You didn't know. He would never talk about it, he refuses to. If it's to do with our so-called family he'll only confide in me. He doesn't want anyone else to know about his past. Not like I do. He'll always be ashamed of himself."

"I couldn't even imagine putting my hands on Hope."

"Me neither. 'S why I tried so hard to be good for her. I didn't have much to go on but I'd never hurt her. I didn't have a childhood, I wanted her life to be better than mine."