Brothers 3

Chapter 5

After James had eaten, he went back into the forest to look for Ella. He wanted to make things right as soon as he could. Otherwise, Ella might think he didn't care enough.

He walked through the trees until he heard footsteps behind him. He had visions of the black wolf pouncing on his back and ripping his muscles out past his spine. He froze and the steps halted too. Whirling, James bared his teeth and brought his hands up as claws.

Orlando raised his hands beside his head. "I surrender."

James rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

Orlando lumbered up to him, each step sounding like a stomp. "Just wondering if you have seen the twins anywhere?"

James screwed up his face. "I don't think either of them want to see me for a while."

"They will get over it."

James picked at his teeth. There was a piece of someone stuck between them. "Maybe."

Orlando noticed his bitter tone and bellowed a laugh. "We are all friends James. You wouldn't have as much of a problem if you stopped screwing your friends."

"Jealous I didn't pick you?"

"Always. But come on, we need to find the twins. They aren't at home either." Orlando started to wander into the woods.

"You know I am kinda busy to be honest." James was walking the other way. "But I will help if they are still gone later."

Orlando waved over his shoulder at James and slowly disappeared from sight as he weaved through the trees.

James continued into the forest with his hands in his pockets. His memories of this forest were not great. Most of them involved him disappointing his father and Eddie laughing at him. It was hard for him to distinguish one of the days from the others.

But there was a single time when he hadn't hated the place.

He had been about seven and still hadn't had a growing phase. His legs were too small to keep up with his brothers as they ran ahead and crashed through the bushes.

"Hurry up, baby!" Eddie had yelled back in his usual taunting manner.

The tone he used made James want to catch up more and he powered ahead. But no matter how much effort he put in he couldn't make his legs move faster. His brothers were a blur, their vampire speed already starting to develop, but James was as slow as human.

He gasped, folding his stout body in half and putting his hands on his knees.

"Guys!" He shouted past his shortness of breath. "Guys wait up!" when they didn't return, James felt the sounds of the forest baring down on him. He was suddenly surrounded by a million monsters who made new and usual sounds. A twig snapped and he jumped.

Clenching his chubby hands into small fists, he started to hum to try and ward off the tears coming on. It was a tune that Robert had taught him, something their mother had taught Robert before she died. But James couldn't do it right and it wobbled out of focus until it was unrecognisable.

Sitting on the ground, legs folded beneath him, he started to cry. At first, they were silent tears that were bigger than his eyes. Then a steady stream of little ones came out along with some whimpers he was ashamed of.

"He is still back here!" It was Eddie again and James tried to sniffle away the evidence before Eddie would see he had been crying.

Eddie came through the bushes. He was twelve and covered in pimples. His hair was greasy and stuck to his forehead. James thought he had become quite smelly, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to further the rivalry between them.