reticent

75

• AMALIA •

"Grayson." I whine, pushing him away from me. He keeps his hold on me tight enough so I can't escape it yet gentle enough so he isn't hurting me.

     "We have to stay here." Grayson tells me. "Dad and Xander will be okay."

     "No." I whisper. "Gray."

     Elijah sits on the end of the bed. "Amalia, it's fine." He assures me gently.

     Then the door bursts open, and I jump back into Grayson's hold. But when I see Xander I relax.

     "Let's go." Xander says, his eyes wide like he's just seen a ghost.

     "What happened?" Elijah asks, standing.

     "Come on." He replies, urgency coating the words.

     "Where's dad?" Grayson asks.

     "He's fine. Come on."

     Grayson stands and takes my hand, pulling me to stand. I stumble a little, suddenly feeling dizzy, and he wraps an arm around me to stabilise me. I've only eaten a little bit of soup today, and I haven't walked since I went to use the bathroom in the night.

He smiles reassuringly at me. "It's okay. Lean on me."

Relief spreads through me at his words, and I lean most of my weight on my older brother. He stays upright as though I weigh nothing.

"What's going on?" Elijah asks Xander from where they're walking in front of us.

     Xander doesn't respond, but I notice his fists clench at his sides. He shakes his head a little. "You'll see."

     "Xander." I whisper.

     His head whips around and he meets my gaze. His eyes soften, and he slows down to walk with Grayson and I as Elijah paves the way.

     My brows raise in surprise when Xander pulls me away from Grayson, then quickly lifts me up. I exhale a small breath as my muscles relax, tiredness making my eyes close little by little until they're shut entirely.

• MASON •

There's a knock on my door, and I groan. "What?"

"Can we come in?" Elijah shouts.

I furrow my eyebrows. Since when did he ask?

Jenna opens her mouth to give him permission to enter, but I quickly cover her mouth with my hand. "We're ass naked. Come back later!"

"Mason!" Jenna exclaims. "We're fine, come in Elijah!"

I roll my eyes. "You're so annoying."

"Says you." She replies.

The door opens, and Elijah walks inside, Xander behind him. My eyes widen when I see that the latter has a sleeping Amalia in his arms, and I sit up, immediately regretting it due to the horrifying pain that spreads throughout my abdomen. Jenna pushes me back into a laying position, then moves out of the way so my older brother can set our baby sister beside me.