Salvage

Chapter 11

Aurelius Pov 

The hospital didn't sound the same one Ambrose was gone. 

Before, everything had been muffled, footsteps swallowed by concrete, voices dulled like they were afraid to echo. Now there was movement everywhere. Doors slamming, boots running, radios crackling low and urgent. The building felt awake, angry, like it knew it was being exposed. I Stayed where I was. 

Kingston didn't let go of me. Not even when Wynton started giving orders, not even when guards rushed past us, not even when the lights flickered again. His arm was a weight around my shoulders, guarding me, grounding me, reminding me I was real. That I was here. Moon clung to my shredded sleeve, Lucien asleep and his tiny fingers gripping my shirt like he was afraid I might disappear if he let go.

I pressed my lips into Lucien's hair and breathed him in. Still here, still breathing, still theirs. "You're shaking," The man said quietly,  turning towards me.

"I don't know how to stop." I admitted shakily. " That's okay, you don't have to." He smiled at me and that alone almost broke me. They guided us out of the cell slowly. No rushing, no grabbing. Another man walked ahead, checking every corner. The third man stayed behind us, watching our backs. Damien never took his eyes off of me, like he is afraid the walls might swallow me again if he blinked. 

The hallway felt longer than it should've been. Every step brought memories I didn't ask for hands on my arms, needles, voices telling me to be quiet, to behave, to be grateful. My chest tightened until breathing hurt. Kingston felt it instantly.

"Hey," he murmured, forehead resting against mine."You're not there anymore." "I know," I whispered, " My body doesn't." He nodded like he understood completely. We reached a room that looked.... normal. Clean walls, a window, real light. It shouldn't have mattered, but it did. It mattered so much my knees went weak again. They sat me down gently.

Moon sat me on his lap curling around me, Lucien followed except he was still asleep. I wrapped my arms around them, afraid to loosen my grip even a little. Wynton stepped into the doorway, his expression unreadable. "They're securing the rest of the hospital," he said, "Our piece of shit uncle won't be able to touch you." The word uncle made my stomach churn. " He knew, didn't he?" I asked quietly.

Wynton nodded once. "Yeah, he knew everything." Silence filled the room. Damien sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched. "We're going to make him answer for it." I looked at him then, really looked. He looked older, tired, furious, but his eyes were the same. Still mine, still my brothers. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

His head snapped toward me. "For what?""For surviving when I couldn't fight back." His expression shattered 

"Oh Al...." his voice broke. "that was surviving." Kingston swallowed hard, Marco looked away, and Mateo rubbed a hand over his face.

No one argued and that helped too. Eli checked the the kids gently, whispering explanations, letting them ask questions. Moon asked when we were leaving and I'd Ambrose can still find them. "No, he can't" Eli said firmly.

I wanted to believe that. 

As the adrenaline faded, exhaustion crept in. Heavy, bone-deep. The kind that made my thoughts blur at the edges. My memories started slipping again faces fading, sounds distorting. Panic flared. "Don't, please don't let me forget again." Damien grabbed my hand, Kingston mirroring him from the other side. "We won't, even if you do, we won't" Kingston said gently squeezing my hand in reassurance.

That promise lodged itself in my chest. Sirens wailed somewhere outside causing Lucien to wake up. Wynton checked his watch." We need to move soon." I nodded slowly

Leaving terrified me, staying terrified me more. They wrapped me in a jacket before we went. Kingston's. It smelled like him, familiar, grounding. I pulled it tight around myself and Lucien, Moon having Damien's jacket. As we walked toward the exit, I glanced back once.

At the hallway.

At the door.

At the place tried to erase me.

It didn't own me anymore.I didn't feel healed but for the first time since the dark swallowed me, I felt something else.

Held.

And that was enough to take the next step.