Wicked Games

38 - Eliana

Chapter Thirty-Eight | Eliana

Reid walks back into the bedroom like he's just seen a ghost. I give him a cautious look before slipping off of the bed and closing the distance between us. "What shit did he come out with then?" I question, grabbing a hold of his face and tilting it down, so he can look at me. "Reid?" Worry creeps in at how silent he is.

"I won't let anyone take you from me again." He mumbles more so to himself than to me. I let out a nervous laugh and smile gently at him.

"Nobody is going to take you away from me again, Reid," I reassure him, and he stares at me with a pained expression on his face. "What did Ross tell you?"

"I won't survive it a second time round. It will fucking kill me." He ignores my question, and my hands drop from his face. I can't afford for him to fall into another breakdown. We only just got him out of the last one and despite him being better, Dax is still standing with him every single day to watch him take his medication.

"Reid, listen to me," I say to him sternly. "Nobody is taking me away from you." Reid lets out a frustrated groan, and clutches at his hair. I gently push him down onto the bed and step in between his spread thighs. "What did Ross tell you?" I repeat.

"Baker is going to use you as a weapon." He stares at me with wide eyes, his green eye swimming with vulnerability that reminds me of when we were kids. "That fucker wants to take you away from me again!" He shouts angrily and I sigh, running my fingers gently through his hair, trying to calm him down.

"You need to calm down, Reid." I urge. "We were only young teenagers when we were split up the first time. We didn't have the freedom or the family we do now. It's going to take a lot of work to split us up, won't it, baby?" I crouch down and stare into his eyes watching them soften.

"Yeah." He swallows hard and nods his head, reassured by my words.

"You look tired. You need to rest." I tell him, pushing him down gently onto the mattress.

I lay with Reid, gently stroking his hair and it doesn't take long for him to drift off into a deep sleep. Once I know he's settled, I climb out of bed, carefully slip out of the bedroom and make my way toward the basement where Ross is sitting on the floor, a loose chain that's connected to the wall wrapped around his ankle. It's long enough to allow him to move around the basement.

His head lifts at the sight of me, his curly hair drooping across his forehead, his green eyes just as tired as my Reid's.

I grab a chair and pull it in front of him. "I think this would be a bit more comfortable than the cold, concrete floor." I urge him to take a seat and to my surprise, he listens and stands up to sit down. I get my own chair and place it opposite him. His eyes trail down to the bruise on my neck and guilt flashes in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He apologises and I shrug my shoulder.

"It's fine. I know now what I should and shouldn't say around you." I smile tightly and he gives a curt nod, moving his gaze to the floor. "What did you tell Reid about me? He came upstairs and was in a state of shock, and I'm sure you're not aware of this, so I'll give you a warning for what you choose to say next time, but he has bipolar. He's already suffered an episode, and I would appreciate it if you didn't trigger another."

"He has bipolar?" Ross rasps and I give him a nod. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware. I only told him the truth, the inevitable that will happen."

"From what it sounds like to me, Ross is that you've told your brother that I'm going to be taken away from him again." I fold my arms over my chest and raise a brow at him.