In the middle of it all.

CHAPTER 27

Song: "You need to calm down," - Taylor Swift. 

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He destroyed it all.

Where once lush, evergreen plants blooming with bountiful flowers stood, was now scatters of dirt. Broken clay pots sat in jiggered shards on the ground. Soil clumped in piles on the ground and near the door.

It was chaos.

"What the hell," muttered Cameron.

Daxton answered with a loud roar. His hands clung to his hair. He pulled it hard, hoping that the pain would smother the deep one in his heart. His back faced his brother, and his eyes were closed. He didn't want to see the damage he'd caused.

He could hear feet shuffling softly in the distance. A gentle hand on his shoulder followed. Daxton tensed and jerked his body away. "Speak to me brother," his brother whispered. Daxton squished his eyes tighter. He could feel the water build behind his lids and he despised it. He didn't feel sad and so he shouldn't feel the need to cry, except, his body didn't seem to agree.

"Daxton." Cameron's voice was soft. "What happened?"

Daxton's breathing was labored. His heart felt like it was ready to claw out of his body. His mouth opened and fast, short breaths came out heavily. His chest rose and his hands shook. He turned around to his brother and stared at him. Cameron's murky eyes were wide in fear. Daxton hated seeing the look on his face again. He had vowed to make sure Cameron never felt such fear, yet there he was, scaring his brother again. He cursed.

"It's happening again!" Cameron yelled. He looked around the room while holding onto Daxton's shoulders. "What do I do? What can we do? Um, you need to um-" he looked around the room frantically, pulling at his hair. "Um, we need to." He looked lost.

"Ca-alm do-wn," he said. His words were hard to get through his panicked breaths.

"Calm down!" shrieked Cameron. "Don't tell me to calm down. You need to calm down!" Daxton winced. He forgot how loud his brother could get. Daxton shook his head and fell onto the bench. His right hand lay against his left pectoral. He felt like he was having a heart attack. His chest felt tight and his heart wouldn't stop beating so loudly in his ears.

"Mikayla!" Cameron yelled furiously loud. Daxton's hands shot to his ears instantly.

"Do-on-" he took a breath. "Don't."

Cameron looked at him oddly. He looked like he had a million thoughts running through his mind. Daxton didn't have the energy to ask him what he was thinking.

"Cam," a timid voice said.

"Careful!" Cameron scolded. He rushed towards the door and helped direct Mikayla safely into the room. Daxton's breathing accelerated. He didn't think his heart could take anymore. He looked at his lap. He couldn't look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and all it did was remind him of what he'd said.

"What's going on? Who's breathing like that?" asked Mikayla. Nelly followed behind her and walked straight towards Daxton. The trained Golden Retriever whined at his feet. When he ignored it, instead, Nelly jumped on him. He kept trying to push her away, but he no longer had enough energy. He simply chose to lay there while the heavy dog continued to whine and lick at his face. Despite the circumstances, he found himself smiling softly.

"Something is wrong with my brother," answered Cameron.

Daxton looked up in time to see Mikayla glare. "I'm sure there is and, knowing him, he probably caused his own problems."