Five's A Crowd

thirty

I can hear my heart beat dramatically, and it feels impossible to open my eyes. Where am I? I think to myself. 

My hand moves around and comes in contact with something leather, and I come to the conclusion that I'm still inside the car.

What happened? Are my brothers okay? Sounds make their way to my ears, and I suppress a loud groan. Why is everything ringing?

"Ze, wake up for me, darling. Come on, Hazel, open those eyes."

I can't tell whose voice it belongs to, but I'm sure that it's one of my brothers. 

"What do you want?" I slur, as my words come out slowly.

"Thank God you're alive, Hazel," the same voice exclaims in happiness. 

It's as if I rip the glue off my eyes when they finally peel open. I blink several times, trying to figure out my surroundings.

Charlie is right in front of me, and his hands rest on my fragile shoulders. In the distance, I see Levi on the phone with someone. From what I can tell, he's shouting.

Chase is no where to be found, and I instantly begin to worry. Charlie must sense my discomfort because he quickly answers my unasked question.

"Chase is talking with the police."

I raise my eyebrows as if saying 'when do you guys ever follow the law.'

"I don't know, little girl. They were on the scene due to witnesses, after Levi, Chase, and I woke up. Thankfully they didn't see you, otherwise, you'd be in the hospital right now."

When I take a closer look, a gasp escapes my throat, and Charlie furrows his eyebrows, checking for any concealed injuries. I notice that blood is strewn across his pant legs, as well as on his cheek.

But it doesn't seem to belong to him.

"Whose blood is that?" I ask, pointing toward the red spot on his pants.

"It's period blood," Charlie exclaims sarcastically.

"No- but seriously," I mention, sounding frustrated.

"You don't need to worry about it, Hazel. Levi's got it under control."

My eyes dart to where Levi is standing, and just as he was before, my older brother is shouting into the phone, raising his hand in the air to gesture different motions. 

"You're right. He's totally got it handled." I shake my head and scoff at Charlie's comment.

"Well, you're bleeding quite a lot. Chase was thinking that you have a concussion, but he was pulled away by the officers, and witnesses before he could figure it out," my older brother says, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding his head. 

"So did Levi crash the car? Or..." I look deeply at Charlie, making sure that he doesn't lie. 

"Nah, an enemy group wanted to make a scene, so they planted explosives inside the car. It just happened to go off while we were inside. From what we can presume, it was a bunch of amateurs, since the explosion wasn't able to kill any of us. If the group was experienced, we'd be dead before we could even think about blinking." Charlie shakes his head. "But that doesn't impact you, because Matteo and Axel will sort it out. And if they think it's important to tell you anything else, you'll be notified."

I was expecting his summary to be a lot more brief, and the respect levels I have for my brother rises. I nod my head in thanks, and try to move from my seat, but wince in pain.

"Oh yeah. And I think that you hit the door on impact. There may be a little blood, but nothing you can't handle, right Hazel?" Charlie's tone is mocking.

I turn to face him, and scowl in annoyance, twisting in an attempt the fix my sore back.

"Also, don't think we didn't see the make up that cakes your face. When Levi noticed it, he was fuming. He thought that you looked like one of the girls at school who tries to dress and look nice to impress a boy," Charlie says, laughing like he's just made a really funny joke.

I gulp lowly, realising that my plan was to do exactly that.

"You weren't dressing slutty to impress a boy, Hazel. Right?" My older brother states, accusingly. When I don't reply, he strikes. "Oh, my God. You were. The others are going to love this."

An excited look forms on his face and suddenly my protective side comes out. I jump from my seat.

"Please don't tell them, Charlie," I beg in desperation, clasping my hands together, in front of me. 

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't," my older brother says, smugly, thinking he's caught me, but the next words come out before I can stop them. 

"Because I think I love him."

My eyes widen, and so do Charlie's. I guess neither of us was expecting for me to say anything like that. 

We sit in an uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes, while my eyes travel to anywhere but my brother, who is surely looking confused and upset.

I've only been living here for a month and a bit, but I'm already 'in love.' Embarrassment tints my cheeks with a dark red shade, and I try my best to cover them up.

"I won't tell the others, but you have to promise me one thing, Hazel." Charlie's voice is completely serious, and I'll feel bad if I have to defy his promise.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?" I ask, bracing myself, while I expect something crazy.

"Promise me that he treats you right, and loves you."

I open my squeezed closed eyes, and glance at him wearily.

Wait, is he serious. 

A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for reading. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT, AND READ WHEN I GET A CHAPTER OUT TOMORROW. I have a plan for where this book is going, I just need a little support. Also, thank you very much for 8800 reads (I know that it's not a lot,) but to me, it means the world. Keep slaying in life, and I will see you tomorrow night- or day depending on where you live- when I update tomorrow. Bye <3