THE RISE OF CAIN FAULKNER

five

breath | years & years

"What?" I laughed disbelievingly. "I'm telling you what I don't know about this RM thing and you're pretending my brothers have been kidnapped? They're at home!"

"Brennon doesn't lie," Cain simply stated and it dawned on me that he wasn't lying. He was being serious. He was being serious. He was being serious. 

"What? No! This is a scam to get me to admit to nothing, right?" I attempted to smile, but my facial muscles were all worn out by my constantly changing emotional outbursts.

"I'm not lying." 

"What did you just say?" I whispered in disbelief. My hands shook. If I thought I was going into shock before, this was nothing compared to that. My babies. My poor poor little brothers.

"Child protective services," the words came out of my mouth before I had the chance to process them and my insides twisted in horror. If child protective services found out my brothers were kidnapped under my care, I would be deemed unfit to take care of them and I would never see my brothers ever again. 

Literally, my reason to live would be taken from me. And my father would do nothing. No NO NO, I was not going to think like that. Standing up, I braced myself. 

"Where are they? How do you know where they are and who took them?" I said in a no nonsense tone. "They were at home the entire time! So who took them?" 

"I don't know, Brennon does. He wants me to bring you over," Cain didn't look too thrilled at the idea and neither was I. 

Being locked in a car with him after he insulted me from my mother's uterus to the afterlife? No, thank you. 

"I'll go with you, only to find my brothers. Then I want you go leave me the hell alone and I won't bother you with my existence. We have a deal?" I looked expectantly at him, my hand outward to make the deal official. 

He looked disturbed once more, but nodded and grabbed my hand with his large one. I let go as fast as I could without being weird about it. He still had the weird facial expression and I groaned in annoyance. 

"Since you're here, harassing me, I assume you have your behemoth of a car somewhere?" I asked, my tone filled with annoyance. Cain looked over to me and slowly nodded. 

"What the hell is wrong with you now? Cat got your tongue?" I raised an eyebrow. "You had no problem being an asshat moments before!" 

"Shut up," he snapped, eyebrows furrowing. "I'm thinking, so shut up." 

"Cain, we don't have time for you to think!" I exclaimed. "My brothers are in danger, and Brennon is calling us."

Finally, finally something clicked in his brain and he briskly walked ahead of me. I struggled to keep up with him because my five foot something frame could not keep up with his six foot something. 

I followed him to the end of the street and once his black Escalade was in view, ran over to the passenger side. I got in the car and slammed the seat belt in its socket. Not hearing the drivers door open or Cain anywhere, I craned my head back to see the trunk open. 

"Hurry up!" I snapped, not annoyed now, but apprehensive. Cain didn't say anything, but made his way to the drivers door and got in. Before starting the car, he casually placed his gun on the console in the middle of our two seats and my eyes grew wide.  

As if reading my mind, he answered, "Just in case." While driving, Cain seemed like he was focusing too much on something and that itself was bothering me. Distract yourself, Alex. Your brothers are fine.