Three Hearts Left Intact

Chapter 43: Agony

As morning arrived and the birds were chirping Mallix stirred awake on his bed alone with sprawls of crumbled paper all around him. He sat up slowly stretching his tired body as he threw the notebook laying on his chest and the pen next to his mouth off the bed.

His first thoughts were consumed with the grief of knowing his girls were still so far out of reach. Rubbing his eyes with dark circles under them, he yawned loudly.

It took him a few minutes to find the strength to get into the shower and begin his morning routine. Once he was freshly showered and in his casual day outfit, Mallix hung his head low as he marched to the door.

It took him until he placed his hands on the doorknob when the thought stroked his mind. His half asleep mind woke up faster than any time before. 'Today's the day Alex can get the new blueprints for the Fendly's base!' He internally screamed to himself in excitement.

Throwing open the door and running out into the kitchen the amount of energy radiating off of him sent everybody's head his way. "Well good morning." Nina laughed seeing a genuine smile for a change.

Too excited for words, Mallix looked desperately around the kitchen for Alex. When he saw him sitting besides Zander sharing a laugh he sped his way over to him. Throwing his hands down on Alex's shoulders, he send his friend shooting up with shock before turning to meet Mallix's large eyes.

"Hey...?" He said putting another forkful of cereal into his mouth.

"Did you get it yet?!" Mallix couldn't wait for pleasantries. He was too eager to find out if Alex had gotten the blueprint.

"Get what?"

"What do you mean, what?!" Mallix smacked his head softly, "the blueprints Alex! The blueprints to the Fendly's base!"

Alex's face turned to understanding as he shook his head to Mallix's disliking. "What?! Why not?!"

"Because M, I've got to wait to get a call from my informant. He hasn't called me yet. I don't know when it'll be, but I will say he is a man of his word and if he said we'd get it by today, then he'll get it to us by today. Just give him a few hours. It's only," turning his head towards a clock, "ten in the morning. We've got some time."

Mallix grunted as he roughly tapped Alex's shoulder with his head low knowing he had no control in the situation. He simply had to wait.

"It's only a few more hours M, you'll live. Eat some breakfast you'll be fine." James scoffed at his brothers dramatic morning show.

Not caring about the sarcasm that filled his voice, Mallix felt too defeated to say anything back. Instead of following James request to join them in breakfast, Mallix walked back to his room in agony. Time was his enemy today. He wanted to hurry and get his hands on the one document that would help him plan his girls escape.

Back outside in the kitchen, James and Nina were bickering over James snarky remark while Alex and Zander were lost in their own world.

"How could you be so arrogant, he's going through hard times right now. The least you can do is show some sympathy. He's your brother after all." Nina tried to get through to James, but his thick skull was saying otherwise.

"Exactly he's my brother, meaning I don't have to show him I care. He should just know I was only playing around."

"That's not the point. Lain and Kaila have been missing for nearly a week now and if we don't get them out of their within the next week we may never see them again. He's struggling right now, and he could use our support. Especially from you." Nina's eyes held no room to continue this dispute. Turning around she walked over to the table, placing her crutches on the floor as she joined in Zander and Alex's conversation.

James was left in the kitchen sipping on his morning cup of coffee. He rolled his eyes as Nina walked away. Grabbing his plate from off the counter, he walked out onto the back patio to eat in isolation, slamming the sliding glass door shut.

When Nina saw James leave the cabin, her blood boiled in irritation. She couldn't help but express her anger in her face. "Calm down N. Remember that's just James. He's been gone too long, just let him adjust." Alex mentioned upon seeing her staring out at James through the back window, before returning back watching to Zander eating.

"Yeah I know. But I just can't help but feel like he doesn't have any empathy for M at all. All Mallix did was watch over him growing up, and this is how he repays him." She sighed letting out some of her anger.

"It's there. Just buried deep down." Alex smiled as he grabbed a napkin from off the table and dapped away dribbling milk off Zander's chin from his bowl of cereal.

The small man besides him looked up with thankful eyes as he continued to eat. Seeing them interact softened Nina's heart. "So how's this going on?" She pointed at both men turning her frown around.

"I would say it's been alright. Last night we were just talking more about what this means and that we're taking things at his pace. Right now we're just adjusting to letting me help him more than normal. Isn't that right?" Alex turned his attention down to Zander who smiled and nodded as a quiet mumble could be heard behind his stuffed mouth of cereal.

"I'm happy for you guys. I know M got upset last night thinking back to old memories with Lain and Kaila after Z showed up with the picture of you guys, but hopefully seeing this can put his mind at ease."

Alex was left looking at Nina scrunching his eyes, he hadn't known about Mallix's distancing. Deciding this wouldn't be the most suitable conversation with Zander at his side, Alex could see Nina's crutches from the corner of his eye. "So, how's your leg doing?"

The sudden shift in conversation caught Nina off guard but after clearing her voice she resumed normally, "I'm doing better. It doesn't hurt so much anymore when I put it down and I can actually move at a decent speed. Although I will say I do miss being a two legged human again, this whole one leg isn't quite my style." They shared a laugh.

Zander was too focused on his food to realize the conversation going on besides him, but when he saw both of them laughing he couldn't help but join. Many things brought joy to Zander's life, but seeing people happy were one of the top joys in his.

As the trio continued their light hearted discussion, the brothers remained isolated from the rest. Each internally dealing with their own battles.
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Let me know what you think. Thanks Lexx signing off