Their Hidden Treasure

Chapter 17

Sophia's POV

I wasn’t even sure if everything that was going on was real.

Those three men seemed like they genuinely cared about me. No one ever held me like that. No one ever kissed me. No one ever hugged me. No one ever fed me pancakes and asked me what I wanted. No one ever smiled at me like that.

Most importantly, I’d never felt safe with anyone, but I felt safe with them.

Mostly with a man called Alexander. I was pretty sure that’s what his name was. There was something about him that made me feel calm. His embrace was warm. His voice was soothing. His words were reassuring.

The man called Elijah had the warmest gaze I’d ever seen. I felt relaxed when he looked at me. I felt loved when he caressed my cheek. I felt like I mattered when he asked if I was hungry.

There was something so innocent in the third man. I wasn’t sure what his name was, but I could tell that he was the youngest of them all. Maybe that’s where his innocence came from. He made me feel free. He made me feel like I could come to him with any problem I was having. I wasn’t sure if he would be able to solve it, but I was sure that he would hug me and make me feel like that problem wasn’t as big as I thought it was.

Alexander could solve any problem that I was having. I was sure of it.

But it was all too good to be true.

It couldn't be true. I was probably dreaming. Maybe I was dead and this was some alternate reality that my brain created. Maybe James finally hit me so hard and I was just lying on that basement floor, waiting for someone to find my lifeless body.

But why did it create those two other men that I was terrified of? Why was my brain torturing me even after I died? Why was I in pain still?

“Sophia?” an unfamiliar voice called my name.

I blinked and focused on the man who was sitting in front of me.

I had no idea where I got the courage to look at him without being ordered to. I was even looking at my brothers without them telling me to do it. I had no idea why. Maybe I was too confused to pay attention to the rules?

The new man smiled at me warmly.

“Hi, Sophia,” he said. “My name is Seth and I am your psychiatrist.”

I gulped and gave him a small nod to let him know that I heard him. I was somehow able to look at him without being ordered to, but there was no way that I would be able to speak to him without being ordered to. I was still paying attention to that rule.

He glanced up and smiled again.

“I am your brother’s friend,” he said, looking back at me. “We work together at the hospital.”

I nodded again.

He smiled and looked at the rest of my brothers.

“I am not sure how productive this session will be with all five of you here,” the psychiatrist said.

“I am not leaving her,” the youngest man said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

The psychiatrist sighed and looked at me.

“It would be best if we talked alone, Sophia,” the psychiatrist said with a small smile.

It didn’t really matter to me, really. I wasn’t going to tell him anything anyway. I wasn’t even sure what he wanted to know.

“Damien,” Seth said, looking up at him. “Can we please have a moment alone?”

There were a few moments of silence before Damien spoke.