The Things We Do (Under Editing)

More than Blood

Brother...

Brother...

The word swam around my head for a minute before settling into place, along with a lot of other things. Suddenly, everything I had heard about Elliot's family made a heck of a lot more sense. More than that, I found myself looking at Elliot in a whole new light. How had I not seen the resemblance between them? Especially with Elliot dressed up for the gala, he looked like a slightly softer version of his older brother.

At this point, my brain began to summon some words that were a tad bit more colorful than "heck".

Oblivious to how badly he'd fractured my understanding of the universe, Elliot continued his introductions.

"Will, this is my friend, Amelia." Here I got another shock. Though, I wasn't sure which should take precedence: hearing such a stiff and formal person's name shortened so casually by his brother (... brother... heck), or hearing Elliot call me his friend.

I decided on the latter when it became apparent that he had no intention of looking me in the eye any time soon. Covering for myself, I held out my hand to William.

"It's nice to meet you."

The man in front of me gave a sarcastic smirk that only served to make him look more like his younger brother. (There it is again!) "The pleasure is all mine." He took my hand and kissed it, like, actually kissed my knuckles, his eyes never leaving mine. I heard a faint snort from beside me. "It's incredibly rare for me to meet someone that my dear brother refers to as a friend."

My eyebrow lifted slightly as I looked over at my escort for the night. The look on his face was one I knew all too well: the one that says, "Please shut up now. I don't want you talking about me."

After hearing Elliot complain about his family, I was surprised to see them interact like this... like most brothers do (This will never not be weird).

William released my hand and smiled at me with practiced charm. "If you'll excuse me, I have to borrow your date."

"Go ahead. He's useless to me anyway."

William chuckled slightly, like we were both teasing someone we cared about.

The illusion was shattered immediately. As soon as the man turned away from me, his smile dropped and he grabbed his brother's arm, hard enough that Elliot clearly had no choice in being led away.

I watched as the two disappeared down a path, farther into the garden, every instinct screaming that I should follow. Whatever William had wanted Elliot for, it had seemed important—important enough for him to break face.

Why did I have to keep dealing with this family? I thought I was away from this crap.

Before I could decide whether or not to move, a felt a small finger poke my elbow.

"Excuse me."

I turned around to find Anna Grey standing in front of me. Great, this was exactly what I needed. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at me, and a huge smile stretched across her face.

"Hello," I said hesitantly, unsure of what else to do.

"Hi!" her grin only got more dazzling. There was no way her teeth were naturally that white, even if she took perfect care of them. "I saw you talking with my brothers. Are you by any chance Amelia?"

"You've heard of me?" I wasn't sure I liked where this was going. Instinctively, my eyes scanned the area for an escape route. My options were limited by my apparel, but the garden was an open space.

Anna nodded enthusiastically, her styled curls bouncing around her shoulders.

"Of course! When Elliot finally agreed to bring a date, I wouldn't leave him alone until he told me who it was." Hopping towards me, she leaned forward and grabbed my hands. "I'm glad it's you. You're so pretty!"

I suppressed a shudder at the unexpected touch, and forced a smile. "Thank you." My heart twinged a little at the thought that she wouldn't be this happy to see me if she knew who I was. Not that I'd stay out of prison long enough for her to see me.

Suddenly, the girl leaned back and looked around before dragging me towards a path. I only managed to pause long enough to put my glass down. My heels clicked on the stone and Anna's laughter danced around us, the plants drifting slightly as the wind laughed with her. She led me to a small, artificial creek, crossed by a wooden bridge. On either side of the water were rows of flowerbeds, all filled to overflowing with blooming plants. 

We finally stopped, and Anna directed my attention to some of the flowers. "When I saw you, all I could think of was these. They're my favorite." She brushed her fingers across some petals. "You look just like a rose."

My heart nearly stopped. For a moment, all I could do was stare at the flowers. I had long since stopped seeing beauty in the color red. Even before Phantom Banshee, the color had been one of anger and pain. That's why I had chosen it.

Eventually, I reached out to the flowers too. In that instant, I saw them through the eyes of the little girl beside me. They really were beautiful.

How she managed to see that beauty after what she'd been through, what I'd helped put her through, required more strength than I could ever hope to have.

"Amelia," the sound of my name drew my attention back to Anna. She had stopped moving and was staring at the flowers, her eyebrows drawn together and her gaze sad. "Thank you." Her voice got a little quieter. "Please save my brother."

Without another word, she turned and headed back to the party. I found myself standing alone beside the water.