Thicker than Water

Chapter Twelve

Marisol wasn't injured, but was a bit shaken up.  She stayed next to Marissa and clung to her as her mom healed my broken ankle.  Marissa kept thanking me for protecting her daughter while Daniel tried to soothe Marisol.  He didn't even glance my way which lead me to believe he blamed me for putting her in danger in the first place.  I couldn't argue that it was indeed my fault.  Marisol had done wonderfully and I was actually glad for that.  If she hadn't came up with the idea to run, we could have been ambushed and killed in the worst case scenario.  That may be why Marissa was so forgiving though I had put her eldest child in a terrible situation.

My brother, Kant, and Sam had captured the remaining two of the five men that had attacked us.  They were at a distance, questioning them about their reasoning.  There was originally three but one of then had killed himself not wanting to talk.  But I could see why.  Sam was definitely a scary man to be interrogated by.  His whole atmosphere and personality flipped when he questioned them.  He was able to get into their minds and play with it like putty to get them to talk.  It was freaky, but useful.  Kant, not joining in on the questioning, stood close to watch over their captives.  My brother stood near him, asking questions every now and then but struggling (from what I could tell) to control his anger.

"Hey," Marisol said shyly.  I faced back to her and she hugged me tightly.  "You saved me.  Thank you."  I embraced her back to help comfort her nerves.  "How did you do that," she asked by my ear.  I simply shrugged.

Marissa finished healing my ankle and smiled at me.  "It'll hurt for a few hours, but is healed," she said.  Her eyes turned sad.  "You kept your promise to protect my family.  You did everything you could and even hurt yourself -for my daughter's sake."  She bowed her head slightly.  "Thank you, Rose."

"Your welcome, Marissa," I said and got to my feet.  My leg tingled from pain but I could manage.  Marisol and Marissa stood with me.  "Marisol did great.  But, I wish I hadn't put her in danger in the first place.  If that bullet had been any higher, it would have hit her leg or back."  I patted Marisol's head.  "Thank you for healing Selka."

She nodded quickly then went to Maggie who was playing with Mario in the tall grass.  Daniel glared at me then went back to watching his children.  Guilt rode heavy into my heart and I sighed quietly.  Marissa joined her husband and I was forgotten.  I looked back towards my brother, who was holding a man by the collar of his shirt.  I tilted my head and strained to listen, but couldn't hear a single word.  My brother was obviously upset, his tense body and clenched fists made it clear.  He mustn't have gotten the answer he wanted from the man for he grabbed the man's head and turned it sharply to the left.  The man went limp.  I shivered from the sight and I had to look away.

A strong arm wrapped around my waist and spun me around.  I fell into Victor who grinned at me.  I glared up at him.  "Don't give me such a scary face," he teased lightly and kissed my nose.  I wanted to headbutt him for scaring me, but didn't.  "Your brother is busy, so I'm going to take advantage of that."  Before I could protest, he kissed me fiercely.  It felt so foreign even though I had kissed him a few times before.  After kissing my brother, however, it was like I was only attuned for him and him alone.

Unsatisfied, Victor let me go.  I stepped away and wiped my mouth on the scarf and pulled the fold back over my face.  He stared at me sadly like an abused animal.  "You mustn't want me to kiss you then," he says grimly and folds his arms.  "Why?"

I had to at least try to be honest.  "I don't want to kiss you," I said honestly, but not giving a true reason why.  "I'm tired and want this day over with.  Sorry, but I don't want to be affectionate today."

He groaned and dropped his arms to his side.  "You're so stubborn," he said bitterly.  "I haven't seen you in days and you push me away?  What the hell, Rose, you act like you don't love me."