Their Hidden Treasure

Chapter 23

Damien's POV

I couldn't sleep.

I barely saw Sophia today and I didn’t know if she was okay. Did her wounds start healing? Was she in pain? Did Alexander give her her meds?

I didn’t have an answer to any of those questions and it was driving me crazy.

I needed to know if she was okay. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep if I didn’t know if she was okay.

I was a doctor. I had to go check on her.

But her other brothers surely made sure that she was okay. Alexander gave her the meds. Elijah made sure she ate. Lucas made sure she was warm. They did everything. She didn’t need me to check on her. She didn’t need me to do anything.

But what if they didn’t do it? What if she was hungry and cold? What if she was in pain?

I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair.

Why did I even care?

I clenched my fists and turned to my side. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to force myself to go to sleep.

She was okay. She didn’t need me. She would never need me.

My heart clenched painfully and my stomach twisted.

Was that true? Would she ever need me? Would she ever reach out to me like she reached out to Alexander? Would she ever feel safe with me? Would she ever want me?

I groaned and buried my face into the pillow.

Why did I even fucking care? She would go live with someone else after we caught that fucker. She wouldn't be here anymore. She wouldn’t need me because I wouldn’t be in her life.

But she was here now and I wasn’t sure if she was okay.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mumbled as I threw the blanket off me and got out of bed.

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep unless I checked on her. I had to make sure that she was okay. I just fucking had to.

“Stupid fucking brain,” I mumbled as I opened my bedroom door and walked out.

The house was completely silent and I knew that everyone was asleep. I was glad. No one would see me go to her and no one could give me any shit about it

I approached her bedroom and took a deep breath.

What if she was still awake? What if she got scared? What if she screamed for help? Did she know that I would never do anything to hurt her? What if she was afraid of me?

My heart was racing and I wanted to turn around and leave. She didn’t need me.

She didn’t fucking need me.

I was just about to turn around when I noticed her door was slightly open. I furrowed my eyebrows and walked a bit closer.

Why did she leave the door open? Was she even in the room? Did she leave?

I opened a door a bit more and peered in. My heart stopped when I saw Elijah.

He was kneeling next to her bed and running his fingers through her hair. He was whispering something to her and he had a small smile on his face.

He looked peaceful. He looked…

I had to get out of there before he saw me.

I was just about to take a step back when Elijah looked up at me.

His eyebrows furrowed and my entire body froze.

“Damien?” he mumbled quietly. “What are you doing here?”

I looked at Sophia, expecting her to turn around and look at me in fear, but she didn’t move. She was asleep.

“Damien?” Elijah called me when I didn’t answer.

I looked back at him and gulped.

“I was passing by and saw that her door was open,” I said quietly. “I was just checking to see if she was in here.”

Elijah laughed quietly and shook his head. He leaned in and placed a kiss on Sophia's forehead. He whispered something quietly before he stood up and walked over to me.

My heart raced.

I moved away from the door so he could walk out. He closed her bedroom door and looked at me.

My heart jumped into my throat.

“Why is it so hard for you to admit that you wanted to see if she was okay?” he asked. “She is your sister. No one is going to blame you for caring. You are supposed to care.”

I tightened my jaw and clenched my fists. I felt anger rising in me.

“I didn’t…,” I spoke, but Elijah interrupted me.

“Save it, Damien,” he said, rolling his eyes at me. “You aren’t fooling anyone but yourself.”

Elijah shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I am not quite sure why you are trying to fool yourself, but stop it,” he continued. “She needs you. She needs her brother, Damien.”

I gritted my teeth.

“She won’t need me for long,” I said through my teeth. “She won’t be here for long.”

Elijah furrowed his eyebrows. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and narrowed my eyes at Elijah.

“She will be placed in another family as soon as the fucker is dealt with,” I said, making Elijah widen his eyes. “She won’t be here for long and she won’t need me for long.”

Elijah was staring at me with a shocked expression on his face. He was silent for a few moments.

“Are you insane?” he finally said. “Do you really fucking think that we would give her away again? That is never going to happen again. She is staying. If your fucking family won’t take her, Alex and I will.”

I saw fucking red.

Elijah tried to walk past me, but I grabbed his upper arm and stopped him.

He looked at me murderously.

“You are not taking her,” I said, tightening my hold on him. “She is my sister too.”

Elijah snickered. His warm breath touched my cheek and I…

“Maybe you should start acting like it then,” Elijah said angrily. “You act like she is your patient when we all know that she is so much more.”

I gritted my teeth again. Elijah took a deep breath and looked at my lips.

“She would like you more if you let your guard down,” he said quietly. “I would like you more if you let your guard down.”

My entire body froze and my heart stopped beating.

Elijah looked back up at me and gulped.

“Get your act together before it’s too late,” he added as he ripped his arm out of my hold and walked away.

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes.

My heart was going to jump out of my chest. I wanted to slam my fist against the wall, but I didn’t want to wake Sophia up.

So I just tightened my jaw again and rushed back to my room.

Sophia was okay. There was no need for me to check on her.