brutal

Chapter 45

VERENA

Sleepless nights came and went, but some of them lingered longer than I'd like.

An hour has passed since I've been tossing and turning on the king-sized bed of the guest room. It was at the end of the hallway on the same floor as Yuna's and Seth's bedroom, thankfully farthest from the former's. If my thoughts hadn't been loud enough already, whatever they're doing would be louder.

And tonight, my thoughts have never hounded me so strongly. It would be easier to bypass my flaws as a human being by taking my medicine and fall asleep immediately, but I wasn't planning on taking them tonight.

Pride was a factor, but it was overshadowed by the fact that my body healed faster than the average person. In fact, my wounds are nothing more than scars now, and while my family is well-aware, they're adamant on following Sabine's instructions.

I loved my brother's wife as much as I did her husband, but they turn a blind eye every time I tell them I've been through worse. I was a kid trained to be a soldier— I didn't learn how to kill in sandboxes and playgrounds. I had scars all over to prove it.

Now, I'm just rambling. I flipped over to my side and bit back a curse when I caught a glimpse of the time on the digital clock next to me.

1:12. Not late enough for me to hate myself, but not too early to give myself a pat on the back, either. I always managed to sleep before midnight since the incident, but I guessed staying here was a hard change.

Even harder for my brother, who was the first person I called when I entered my room earlier. He sounded out of breath when he answered me, and when I feared that I'd caught him in the middle of something private, I remembered that he liked running in the evening.

"Kai and I talked diplomatically, as requested. And if I need to reiterate: yes, we made a deal. No, he didn't follow it."

Surprisingly, Reid hadn't sound pissed. He just talked as if it was something he'd gotten sick of discussing. "And, yes, I admittedly went back on a few details."

"Such as?"
"Has he not told you?"

"We haven't seen each other since this morning." My body had heated at the memory of me with Kai in the car before everything went to shit. I shook it off easily and focused on the matter at hand.

"Fine. Told him three things. One, that I'd send him daily updates on you— did that one with no problem. Two, that I'd let you call him if you wanted to." He cleared his throat. "And third, the most obvious, told him to stay away."

Reid went silent for a while before speaking in a hushed tone, "In retrospect, I sounded like an idiot when I told him to do that. Can you forgive your dear brother, sister?"

"It's stepsister. And, don't worry, you sound like an idiot all the timd," I retorted then. He cursed lightly on the other end. "I can see how your similarities ultimately became your friendship's undoing."

"Ha ha. And we broke off not because of that."

"Right. You ever telling me why you stopped talking?"

"Later." Ah. His usual response. "Anyway, dad knows you're staying there. He wasn't exactly pleased with the way Kai dropped by our supposedly secret hideout to get your things for you to stay with him."