Not So Delicate ||18+|| ✔️

Brooklyn ~60~

TRIGGER WARNING: slight mention of sexual assault.

I sat in silence, listening to them argue and yell at each other back and forth. I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the noise.

When I was younger, I had a little sister. Her name was Ellie, short for Elouise. She was only a year younger than me. She died at the age of 8. We were in the yard playing, mom and dad were in the house cooking. We were a happy family.

Ellie ran after her kite, I shouted at her to not go far... she didn't listen. She ran out of the gate and closer to the road. I shouted for Mom and Dad to come help. They ran out after us... I was so close. I almost had her...

She was in the street, her kite in her hands. She smiled at me and waved her kite around... then she got hit. I remember my mom's scream, and my dad running towards Ellie's dead body. I stayed frozen. Watching as the street was painted with her blood. The neighbors ran out... the driver never stopped. She was dead on impact.

Ellie's dead eyes stared at me. They stared at me in my dreams for years. I always wondered how Mom and Dad would be if it was me who got hit...

Ever since she died, our family broke apart. Dad's temper was shorter, always yelling at Mom and me for the little things. I never liked people yelling at me... this had only made things worse. Mom's patience also wore thin, always yelling at Dad whenever he would yell. There was constant shouting in the house.

I continued to go to school and the gym, trying to spend as much time out of that house.

Every time I went home, I was forced to clean up after their mess. I was forced to take care of my Mom after she would be passed out with needles in her veins. They didn't show their love for me anymore. They didn't even speak to me. Every picture of Ellie, every craft made by her hand, every gift given to her, every toy she played with, was all burned to ash.

I watched as every last remanence of my sister burned away.

They blamed me for her death. They didn't say it out loud but I could tell by their looks. They blamed me. And in some ways, I blamed myself too.

"Stop yelling..." I whisper, looking at the two who are now standing and pushing each other around. I clench my jaw and grab the glass of juice, throwing the contents onto them. "Quit fucking yelling!"

Their eyes immediately went to me, glaring at me. I stood up and grabbed my sandwich, tearing it in half and shoving it into their mouths.

"Acting like fucking children. Sit down." I order, glaring at them. Their glares vanished and their shoulders slumped ever so slightly. I looked at them expectantly, watching as they rolled their eyes and sat down, glaring at each other. The sandwich I had shoved in their mouth was now in their hands, eating it. "Why are you two arguing? And don't look at me like that."

"It's nothing that concerns you." Atticus grumbles. I roll my eyes and adjust my weight to my other foot.

"That's not what I asked." I narrow my eyes at him. He glares at me and tilts his head a little, his eyes dark.

"You think you're the boss now? I think you forgot our roles here." He said lowly, I moved closer, standing between his legs. I lean down, placing my hands on his thighs as I lean closer to his face.

"You may be my dominant but right now, you're a stranger, Aristarkh." I spoke lowly, staring into his grey eyes. Up close, they appeared to have streaks of green and blue in them. I saw a quick flash of horror pierce through his eyes before they hardened.

"Don't ever say that name again." He growled, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "That part of me is dead. If you bring that name up again, trust you'll regret it."

"What are you going to do to me that hasn't already been done?" I ask, nearly replicating his growl. I noticed the way his eyes widened a little, looking over my face for a moment.

I lean away from him and look at Callan who was staring at the wall. I look at Atticus again. "You have a brother... Why didn't you tell me?" I whisper. He looks at me oddly before standing up, getting closer to me whilst keeping his eyes on mine.

"What did you say?" He whispered, placing his hand on my waist and pulling me a little closer. I furrow my eyebrows slightly. Did he not know..?

"His name is Alek... He was who took me. He was planning on killing you the moment you stepped on the property." I say softly, watching his face carefully. He stares at me, looking at Callan as he stands also. Suddenly the fight between them never happened.

They spoke with their eyes before Atticus left, storming out of the condo. I look at Callan, feeling regret etch itself into my bones. He sighs and pulls me closer, gently kissing my head.

"Don't bring up anything like that for a while, okay?" He says softly. I nod and look towards the door again. I feel his breath against my ear before whispering, "If we were under different circumstances, I'd bend you over and spank your ass raw for that behavior."

I look down at my feet, feeling ashamed now. Leave it to me to screw everything up.

~~~

I fucking ran him away.

It's been a week and Atticus hasn't returned.

I've tried asking Callan and Zachary about him but I've hardly seen them lately. The nurses told me they were very busy and they would try to get back to me as soon as they could. I've started physical therapy. Walking greater lengths with the help of the nurses and even starting to do jumping jacks.

I'm getting better.

And I'm getting hornier.

I didn't know why my body was doing this to me. Surely after something like that, my body would reject even the thought of sex. But it was doing quite the opposite. Every time I remembered them, my body would light ablaze.

It was frustrating, to say the least. I didn't want to feel this way towards them. I wanted them to make me not feel so that it would be easier to make up my mind. I sat on the bed, reading a random book I found. Most of my bruises were faded and the bite marks on my neck were starting to heal.

My hair was still choppy and ugly, and no one trusted me around scissors right now so I had to put up with it. The door opened, revealing a sluggish Zachary. He stumbled into my room, staring at me. I stood up quickly, watching him get closer.

My body tensed momentarily when he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him and burying his head into my neck, inhaling deeply.

"Hey... what's wrong? Where have you been? Did you-" I cut myself off, mentally scolding myself for worrying as much as I did. He held me tighter, kissing my neck softly before pulling away and looking at me.

"I love you. I love you so much, you have no idea." He whispers against my forehead, making my face go red. What happened to this guy?

"I... I love you too, Zachary." I whisper, looking up at him softly. He smiles and nods gently, looking exhausted.

"Can we take a nap?" He whispered, his arms tightening around my waist. I nod slowly and try to move away from him so that I can lie down. He shakes his head and guides me out of the room. I look at him confused for a moment. He leads us into another room of the condo that I have yet to see.

It wasn't a living room but it was close to one. Bean bags, couches, mats, hammocks, swings, everything you could think of was in here. He leads me to the hammock, gets into it, and picks me up gently. He laid me on top of him, closing his eyes as his arms wrapped around me.

I watched him for a moment before speaking up. I needed to ask him before he fell asleep.

"Where's Atticus?" I whisper, watching his face closely. For a moment, I thought he was already asleep. But then he spoke, his eyes still shut.

"Tracking down his brother."