Luna

Chapter twenty-two

I could softly hear a heart beating which woke me up quietly.

I preferred this way of awakening to Ethan's screaming.

The memory of yesterday's events came rushing back to me. Anxiety was momentarily chased away by sleep, but returning to the conscious state brought it all back.

I mentally prepare myself for another day fighting against my inner demons.

My eyes slowly open and are blinded by a sunbeam.

A chuckle echoed across the room when I groaned while rubbing my eyes.

Only then I realized I wasn't alone.

"Good afternoon bambina," Isaac greeted.

I couldn't fight the smile that crept into my face. He was here, alive and still breathing.

After Julia left yesterday, he came back. Exhaustion was trying to take me to an unconscious state, but I refused to go back.

Isaac knew exactly how to calm me down, he eventually convinced me to get some sleep.

The image of my brothers dying because of me was etched into my memory, I could only hope it will never become reality.

"Afternoon?" I asked confused.

"Yeah its already 3pm. "

I shot up so that I was in a sitting position and gave him a confused look.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked so peaceful, and I figured you could use some sleep after such an exhausting night," he explained.

Isaac was right, I hadn't had a proper sleep in a few days.

"Don't you have to work?" I asked him.

My brothers were always working even on Saturdays and Sundays.

"Cole is handling it, don't worry. Let's head to the kitchen, so I can make you some food," he suggested.

I was sitting on the kitchen counter swinging with my legs while watching Isaac cook something.

"I didn't know you could cook," I wondered.

"Well, I know the basics, I'm not as good as Cole or Julia. I learned it when dad became absent because he was too busy searching, someone had to make sure my brothers were fed," he told me. 

Guilt washed over me, I was the reason their mother left and their father was too busy to properly look after them.

"You were only thirteen."

"It's my responsibility as the elder to take care of you."

"You were a child then, he shouldn't have pressured you into doing his job."

"We had a promise. Dad would make sure you returned to us and in the meanwhile I would make sure the others were doing alright. Cole helped me a lot, so I wasn't alone."

"How did he die?" I asked carefully.

I saw his shoulders tense. Before he could answer me, Aiden strolled around the kitchen.

"Look who is finally awake. Did you sleep well?" Aiden asked me while placing a kiss on my head.

"Yeah. Hey, where are the others?" I wondered.

"Cole is making some calls, Ethan and Kayden are supervising a delivery across town and Julia is doing some groceries," Isaac answered.

That explains a lot. It is never this quiet in the house, there is always someone who's screaming or something like that.