Sin & Savior

CHAPTER 8, PART 4

Seraphina's entire body went limp as she sat with her problems.

Considering that she remembered nothing from Saturday night, that Alexander remembered just as much, but that Broderick seemed to know everything, bothered her more than anything. The possibility of having been sexually assaulted without her knowledge was secondary in the face of the bigger picture. Her brother had been inexplicably harmed, she had been interrogated and aggressed against, and she was possibly drugged and potentially pregnant. She was now going viral online for defending herself, resulting in her brother's attack and injury at the hospital. Heartbroken and lost, there was no reprieve for her emotional burden because the one thing she wanted—explanations and answers—was nowhere in sight.

And all of that came secondary to the thing she knew she'd never forget for as long as she lived: what Alexander asked her to perform in her car on the way to the hospital. As she melted into the couch meant for the visitors of patients at his bedside and he began to reclaim consciousness beside her, she was lost for ways in which to respond or engage with him that wouldn't ultimately be clouded by that enduring, unfortunate truth. As he roused, she shifted her body to meet his.

"Hiiii. Good afternoooon, Aly. How are you?" she said, standing up and walking over to the bed to caress his face and hold his hand.

"Been better... been worse..." he chuckled. "Actually... no, I haven't," he laughed, before coughing hard and covering his chest with his uninjured hand.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Alex!" she shrieked softly into the air around them.

"I'm fine, sis," he said, his voice grainy and strained through the pain enveloping him. "A little foggy, but... I'll be alright. I'm strong, like you." He smiled.

Seraphina smiled back, glowering. "I love you, Alexander."

"I love you, too, Sis," he said. "And: I'd love you even more if you could get them to quit feeding me crap. The food is TERRIBLE here." He giggled.

"I'll pick you up something. What do you want?" she asked.

"To... remember what I like to eat," he said, frowning.

"Alex... I... I know it's a lot to ask you in this condition, but... can you try and tell me what you remember about the night we spent at Giovanni's place?" she said hesitantly.

His eyes glazed over as he absorbed her words. His silence filled the room like a heavy fog—a distant storm, enveloping everything with an eerie stillness that made even the faintest sound seem monumental. "We... I...," he said, before dispelling the sound of his own voice with the cacophonous tears, his sobs ringing throughout the room like a crash of shattering glass. He stared up at Seraphina, his eyes pouring a river run red. "I'm so sorry!!!" he said, before slamming his face into his uncast hand.

"Sorry for what, Alexander? Please! Tell me what's going on... Broderick won't say a word, and I have to know what happened."

"I can't remember anything, Sera. I can't even remember who Giovanni is. Did I meet him at all?" he asked.

"Yes, we both did, Aly. I'm sorry for pushing you," she cooed. "Don't worry about it. We'll go and ask Broderick together one last time," she commanded.

Alexander nodded, recovering his original position in the bed, shifting unsteadily.

"I'm tired, sis. I'm gonna lie back down."

Their mother stepped over from out of the shadows and kissed him softly on the forehead. "Rest well, my sweet, sweet baby."

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