Athena

Chapter 16

"Take my mind and take my pain
Like an empty bottle takes the rain"
-Tom Odell

They start heading towards me.

I watch them motionless as they take long strides to reach me.

They're only a few feet away when another body enters my line of vision. The unknown man comes and crouches down beside me, next to King.

My attention leaves my brothers as the new guy takes a hurt and exhausted King in his arms. They hug each other with so much love and relief that I can't help but smile at the sight in front of me.

"It's gonna be okay, Gray. I got you now, I got you." The scary looking man whispers.

Although almost the entire body of King is supported by the person that I assume to be his brother, his hand is still holding mine in a tight grip. I glance down at our intertwined fingers and smile a bit more.

Once I look back up I see that my brothers have reached me and are now looking down at me with unreadable expressions.

No-one dares to speak. We just stare into each other's eyes. I don't recognize all of them. The most familiar face is Alex's.

He takes another step so he is right in front of me and kneels down. We are really close, if I were to extend my arm I would surely touch him. He doesn't say anything, he just looks at me, seeming lost in thought. I don't move, I don't even blink. I have no idea how I am supposed to act or what he is going to do.

Before I get a chance to dwell on it, though, he has already engulfed me in a tight hug.

I immediately stiffen and remain as still as possible, waiting for him to let go. When he doesn't, I begin to relax in his hold and enjoy the warmth and safety that he provides. I slowly bring my free arm up and encircle it around his torso.

His reply to my action is to tighten the hug and bury his face in the crook of my neck, taking a deep brith.

"Athena..." He whispers.

I don't a answer him for a while, not trusting my voice enough not to break. I then only nod weakly and breath out his name.

"Alex..."

With that he lets out a sob and kisses the top of my head. He loosens his hold on me, not letting me entirely escape from his arms, just enough so he can take a look at my face.

His eyes are red and small tears run down his cheeks as he smiles and kisses my forehead.

I give him a smile of my own while I bring up my hand to wipe his tears. Once my fingers brush along his face he closes his eyes in content.

"You cannot begin to imagine how much I've missed you, Thena. I looked everywhere for you, everywhere. I'm sorry that I failed you as a big brother." He whispers, keeping his eyes closed.

"Shh, you couldn't have known, it's okay. I'm here now." I say in a small voice. If this had happened a week ago I would probably slap him and shout at his face for letting me go, but now that I know the truth about what happened I can see that I wasn't the only one hurting. They were suffering as well.

I take my eyes off of his face and look around, only for a soft blush to cover my cheeks. I bite my lip in embarrassment as I look at the croud that has formed. Not only my brothers and the Kings but even some other men that were fighting previously, are watching us with soft smiles on their faces.

I quickly look away and back to Alexander who apparently witnessed my shy reaction, causing him to chuckle softly. He leaves a kiss on my deep scarlet by now cheek and gets up on his feet. He extends his hand for me to take and I gladly accept it.

I try to get up but something is holding me down. I look at my left hand which is still in King's tight hold. I then look back up at Alex who is now glaring at my hand.

"Gray, you can let her go now, it's okay. She's hurt and she needs help."
His brothers tells him softly. He is really gentle for a scary guy. I guess it's true that you should never judge a book by its cover.

King, or should I say Gray, looks up at me with his half-opened eyes. He attempts to smile but it looks more like a grimace because of his pain. He then squizes my hand once and let's go of it, reluctantly.

Once he frees me I get back on my feet and face Alex. I awkwardly smile, waiting for him to do something.

"Right, so this are our cousins, but they're more like our siblings. Leo, the oldest and Enzo the middle one." He says while pointing at them. "I believe you know the youngest, Matteo." He says giving me a pointed look.

"Yeah" I mumble "Nice to meet you" I say, but on a second thought I add     "... again?"

They both chuckle. Leo steps forward and engulfs me in a hug of his own. "It's good to have you back principessa"

"Alright alright we get it, you missed her and all. Can I have my hug now?" Enzo grumbles from behind us causing me to giggle.

Leo let's go of me and I open my arms towards Enzo. He doesn't waste a second before he accepts my hug and kisses my head fondly.

"Why wouldn't you tell us it was you back at that house?" He asks quietly so only I can hear him.

"It's complicated"

He's about to say something when a sudden wave of dizziness overcomes me. I clutch his shoulders tightly so I don't fall and he pulls back to look at me confused.

"Are you okay?" He asks but I cant answer him. My vision is blury, switching in and out of focus. My ears are buzzing and my legs suddenly feel weak. My hold on Enzo loosens and I'm about to fall when two strong arms wrap around my waist and keep me up.

I can hear my name being called but I can't concentrate on the voice. My eyelids are growing heavier and heavier and all I want is to sleep.

I close my eyes and relaxe my body in Enzo's hold. The last thing I hear before I let the darkness consume me is my brothers' pleading voices asking me to stay awake.

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I loved Alexander in this chapter! Vote and comment!

-A