Some Thorns, Some Roses

XXIV | A Rock and a Soft Place

I abruptly opened my eyes and took a deep intake of air. It was just a dream. However, I was not sure if I was yet to be safe. 

I was in an unusual bed and the atmosphere was too modern to be any home I have stayed in. I squirmed uncomfortably in the sheets and looked around. A major sense of deja vu spread across my being. 

This reminded me too much of when I got shot. I grimaced at the feeling and the moment my face contorted was the second I felt the pain on my face. 

Without moving my face anymore, I hissed at the pain and my eyebrows furrowed. My hands reached up to my mouth but before I could touch them, I heard a demanding voice. 

"Don't touch... you'd be at risks of infections." Beau warned me, walking over to me with a tray of breakfast. 

I didn't smile at him because my face was in pain, but I wanted to show my gratitude in some way. Before I could even try to get him to understand me, he already knew my thoughts. "No need to thank me, Serena. Just rest and try not to move you mouth too much." 

I nodded my head slowly. 

"Even though that'll be hard for you." he joked around with me, successfully causing the corners of my mouth to rise. 

I playfully nudged him and scooted myself up to a sitting position. Beau placed the tray of food on my nightstand and sat directly beside me, but facing me. 

He grabbed the edge of my shirt and looked into my eyes. "May I?" he asked and at first I was a bit taken back. 

Then he lifted it a little and I saw the wraps around my waist. The second I saw them, I swiftly nodded my head yes. 

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. 

He chuckled and told me, "Calm down... It only looks that bad." 

My eyes almost teared up with the amount of damage that one day made. He thoroughly checked my wound, making sure it was healing properly. "Xander told me to check and make sure it was getting any darker." 

I didn't take my eyes off of the very end of shirt. I was doing my best not cry. After all... I was about to die. 

"I t-tried to tell him we were engaged." I muttered, not trying to make my mouth worse. I still didn't look at him. I was too busy trying to focus on not crying and making a fool out of myself. 

Beau sighed deeply and when I finally looked up, he was looking to the side. "I know." was all he replied with. "Reggie is a fucking idiot." 

I didn't like the way he spoke about Reggie. It seemed like something that Atticus would say to Davy or something Davy would say to Xander. It made it seem like they were familiar. 

"How do you know him?" 

He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows, "Who?" he asked, tilting his head to the side a bit. 

"Reggie." I answered briefly because I felt my mouth start to ache again. 

He smirked and nodded his head. "I know Reggie just as much as you know PJ or Auggie." 

Now my eyebrows furrowed and I was doing my best to understand him. Because PJ and Auggie are my brothers. So if he knows Reggie like I know the twins then that means...

Flashback starts

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"What about the fifth oldest, the one over you?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing together even more. He looked up at me only for a moment with glossy eyes, tears threatened to slip out at any moment. He didn't say anything, which was a big enough answer for me.