sʜᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ

T W E N T Y - O N E

Alexa

I woke up to the screams of one of my brothers. I couldn't tell which one screamed, but I wasn't the only one that woke up that way. The baby started crying.

I quickly shot out of bed. Not because the baby was crying—I'm sure Veronica has that covered—but why did my brother scream? I quickly threw on a sweater and rushed out of my room in the direction of the scream.

Andrew stepped out of his bedroom. "Alexa, who screamed?" I shrugged, and we both rushed together. In the direction of Dad's and Veronica's room.

We stepped inside, and neither of us were prepared for what we saw.

Ryder were both standing there, frozen in shock. Cameron had a phone in his hands. Dad was there, glaring at them both, holding a bloody knife. And Veronica's body was on the bed. Blood was everywhere and her eyes were wide.

I swallowed.

"Guys?" Cameron noticed that Andrew and I were here. His face was pale, but so was Ryder's.

We could faintly hear sirens getting closer. I think Cameron called them, hence the phone, because...

Veronica was dead.

And our dad was the culprit.

***

The cops arrested Dad on the spot, and Cameron filled Zach, Jason and Justin in. Ryder hasn't said a single word since he's saw his mom's corpse.

My brothers and I all sat on the couch. Zach had went to get Noah and now the baby is in his arms. No one said much of anything. We were all just so stunned.

One of the cops came back in after making sure that our dad was in the cop car with hand cuffs. He looks is over. "Are any of you adults?"

"Yes, sir," Zach said, his voice hollow. "I'm nineteen and my brother is eighteen."

The cop nodded. "I'm Officer Reynolds," he says. "Your dad is going away for a long time. We might have to put the younger ones in the system, but they might let them stay with you guys."

I tended up, exchanging panicked looks with Andrew. What is happening? By younger ones, I know that he meant Andrew, Ryder, Noah and me. Jason and Justin were sixteen, which is an age that people could get emaciated, anyways. And Cameron and Zach were adults, so they are definitely safe.

But what about the rest of us? Will we be separated from our older brothers, from each other, even?

"You can't take my siblings," Zach tells them, standing up, gripping Noah as if he was scared he would disappear.

Officer Reynolds sighed. "I'm not going to, it's not my place," he says. "But I do gotta call CPS so they can decide."

Ryder glanced at Andrew and me and gripped Andrew's hand since Ryder was right next to him. It would have been a cute sibling moment if the situation wasn't so dire.

"Zach..what...," Jason started to say, as if he had something to ask, but wasn't sure how to phrase it.

"Everything is going to be fine," Zach promised him, but I wasn't so sure that was a promise that he could keep.

Officer Reynolds looked between us. "It's okay, they won't be able to get to you today," he says. "I'm sorry for your loss, have a good rest of your day."

And then he was gone.

I wasn't sure what to say. The atmosphere was so thick with tension.

I felt more sorry for my stepbrothers than I do for myself. They just lost their mother. To my dad....

I was scared to say anything, honestly.

They've hated me in the past for lesser reasons, and this was certainly a bigger reason to hate me.

"I can't be here," Andrew muttered, standing up. "I'm going to Michael's. Alexa, Ryder, wanna come with?"

Ryder shook his head but stood up anyways. "I'm going to hang out with my friends. See ya..." And then left.

Zach sighs and glances at Cameron.

Andrew was still waiting for my response, so I stood up. "Guys?" I started. "Will you all be okay.."

Cameron nodded. "Go ahead, kid."

I left with Andrew, feeling bad, but I realized that no one really wanted to be near each other, not right now, and we are worrying about CPS on top of everything....

Can't I ever catch a break? Can't my family? Somehow, I feel like the answer to that would be a big fat no.

"Why did you want to go over to Michael's?" I asked Andrew, half to break the silence, but also out of curiosity.

Andrew shrugged, his face hard as stone. "Jackson and Elliot will be there, too," he tells me. "I dunno... it was suffocating being there...I just couldn't be there when there's a chance that—that we'll all be separated. I just—I need my friends and I thought you would too. Sorry if I seemed like I was being insensitive, considering..."

"I never thought you were being insensitive," I told him. I guess I kind of understand. "I was just confused is all, and a little concerned... Are you okay?"

Andrew laughed. Not a regular haha kind of laugh, but a bitter one. "I don't think any of us are okay," he says. "Here I was, worrying about being a killer. If I did kill Dad, he wouldn't have killed Veronica. They'll still have their mom—"

"Andy, it's not your fault!" I tell him.

"Whatever," Andrew said. "He's a murderer. And I was going to be, I have the intent in mine. I guess that's something I got from him."

"Andy, stop it! What? You can't really think—"

"We're here," Andrew interrupted, as I stared at him with concern in my eyes.

"Andy, don't try to brush off what you just said—"

Andrew looks at me with a fake smile. "Sorry, I was being a little silly, I just needed to get it off my chest. We can talk about it later."

"Andy..."

But before I could really say much of anything, he knocks on the door and Michael opens it with a goofy grin on his face

"Why if it isn't my favorite twins!"