Lavender

Mixed Emotions

Our soulmates rushed towards us. I was suddenly insanely tired and in immense pain. I crumbled into Max's arms.

I wake up on the bed. Adam brings over a washcloth and some water. He gently cleans my face. "Ice pack." I whisper.

Max brings me an ice pack and I press it against my bruised ribs. I hear across the room Luther mumble something under his breath. "He's gonna be a fucking friendly ghost when I'm done with him."

Max sighs. "Why is your anger so misdirected? Casper did what he had to do. Link made his choices."

"What?" I mumble.

"Luther's pissed at Casper for telling you to go."

I sit up and Adam pulls the cloth away. "Luther. Do not be the guy who hates Casper. It'll get real awkward once we all grow old together as a family. Casper didn't make me do anything. The boy's got no spine- I'm convinced he couldn't make anyone do anything, except maybe Leo. Casper was trying to go."

"Huh?" Luther responded.

"Casper wanted the address so he could fucking knock on the door and hope for the best. I went so he wouldn't get himself killed. He would have found a way there if I didn't go. He'd do anything to help Leo. And I get the feeling. All of us would do anything for each other. So what if they're the same way?"

Luther's voice gets softer. "I just... We can't lose you again."

"I promise you, that's what Casper was feeling too."

"So... I should be mad at you." Luther states.

Adam and Max sigh and look at each other. I roll my eyes. "Why are you mad at me now?"

"You broke the promise."

I think for a little while. "I know. And I'm sorry. But I didn't... go back in the metaphorical sense. Sure, I was physically back in the house, but I didn't belong there anymore. I didn't go along with what anyone said. I didn't go back to who I used to be, and I think that's what the promise was really about."

He nods. "Who the fuck can I be mad at, then?"

"I dunno, my dad? He seems like a good person to blame." I say, pointing to my face.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Adam asked softly.

I take in a deep breath. I tell them everything. Well, mostly everything. I talk about returning and seeing the family again, and I talk about the kindness my brothers showed me for the first time in years. They sit and listen.

"I'm glad you're okay." Max said.

Adam and Luther gave words of agreement. "Is there anything we need to discuss? New triggers or anything we need to avoid?" Adam asked.

He continued cleaning my face. "Not anything I can think of, unless you're planning on kicking me in the ribs and face." I chuckle grimly.

No one else laughs. Rough crowd. Once I'm cleaned up, the swelling is not too bad and there's only like 5 scratches and gashes on my face. Nothing that needs to be sewed up, but they bring me to the infirmary just in case I got a concussion. They sit me down and I look to my left. Leo waves. "Concussion?" He asks.

"That's what we're checking for. You?"

"Nah, my skulls too thick!" He laughs.

The nurse checks me out and gives me a clean bill of health. I get up and realize Leo's not moving. "Leo... what happened?"

He sighs loudly. "Apparently you're not supposed to run two miles on a bad ankle. Then walk another two miles. It's fractured."

"Oops. Wait, how'd you hurt your ankle?"

"Uh... I got pushed down the stairs. Tried to stop it half way through."

"That shit hurts! You'd think the carpet on them would help but it just adds rug burn to injury. Hate those fucking stairs." I roll my eyes as I speak.

I wave at him as I leave. I pass Casper on the way and stop him for a second. "You okay?" I ask.

"I'm sorry you went through that. I don't know how to make this better." He sounded on the verge of tears.

"Well, I'm gonna take a hot bath and eat some food. Leo will probably be... craving. Don't let him out of your sight. Bribe him for all I care. Make him rest, especially that ankle. No more treadmill for a while. The nightmares are going to get worse before they get better. Call me if you need me. Also we're having extremely mixed emotions about our brothers now. It's been a long day."

I continue. "But, all in all, he needs you. Not anything special, not anything out of the ordinary. Just his soulmate next to him. Okay, go."

He smiles and walks off.