Rekindling

Chapter 15 - Rock

Will's words hang heavily in the air and it feels like time stands still.

My eyes are still closed, like I'm afraid to witness what is going to happen next. But when it takes forever for anyone in the room to react, curiosity gets the better of me and I squint slightly. The sight in front of me is not pretty when my eyes land directly on Sean.

He looks like he has seen a ghost, way worse than when Will mentioned the awful situation in which apparently Sienna's body was found all those years ago. His eyes are unnaturally wide and any remaining blood has drained from his face, making him look pale as a sheet. For a moment, I fear that he will faint if I don't go over to support him, but when I try, I find my feet are glued to the floor, leaving me unable to move.

I am frozen in my spot while dread is taking hold of my body. I have been expecting an instant explosion, mainly from Jordan, but instead, it is eerily quiet in the living room. The only thing I hear is the sound of someone's heavy breathing but I can't seem to make out where it is coming from.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Jordan's gravelly voice eventually cuts through the tension like a knife, startling me. But it also manages to drag me out of my immobile state. I turn my head in his direction and find him staring at our drunk brother with a nonchalant expression, almost looking bored.

"The hell you don't! Don't fucking lie to me! Actually, don't lie to her!" Will unexpectedly erupts, putting everyone's attention on me when he gesticulates wildly in my direction.

'Leave me out of this!' I want to scream, but no words come out.

Instead, I just stare back at my brothers, feeling helpless and useless – and utterly overwhelmed.

"Stop being so dramatic, Will. You're clearly drunk off your ass and you're not making any sense," Jordan accuses him way too calmly.

His face still looks disturbingly neutral, but from having spent a lot of time with him since he returned home, I can tell that he is barely holding it together. I have learned to read him as best as possible, which, admittedly, is pretty difficult, since he's not an open book when it comes to his emotions like some of my other siblings are.

And over these past few weeks, he has become very unpredictable with his moods and reactions. Something is clearly bothering Jordan to a great extent because he is losing his infamous countenance more and more lately. His reaction to anything relating to the stranger is the main indicator that he is not okay.

"I am not making in any sense? Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? I am definitely not drunk enough to buy your bullshit any longer, Jo-Jo!"

My heart clenches at Will's mocking tone when he basically abuses my nickname for Jordan.

"Trust me, I wish I were shitfaced enough to not care about your deception and flat-out lies! Because it's a fuckin' tragedy! But newsflash, big bro, my brain is still functioning well enough to be able to distinguish between the truth and complete and utter bullshit!"

I don't remember ever seeing Will so beside himself. Sure, he fights a lot with Alex and has been doing so over the years, since they pretty much disagree on everything having to do with Will's behavior, his disinterest in getting good education and his choices about his future. But never have I witnessed him so viciously attacking anyone like this.

I wonder if there is more that he discovered during his two trips to the East Coast than I am aware of. Or if it is simply a case of him being as annoyed about them keeping a ton of secrets as I am. With the difference that Will actually has the guts to speak up while I have not found that courage yet. Strangely, it leaves me with a sense of satisfaction that he is fighting in my corner. Maybe, in a joint effort, we will eventually manage to get to the bottom of this chaos.