I layed back on one of the two benches in the cramped room as the four idiots in the room continued their awkward stare down. Since Conner's outburst, the room has been so silent I swear I can hear crickets chirping. Glancing over at the two boys sitting on the other bench across from me I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. The two were pretty big, both of them were tall, tan, and covered in muscle. The larger of the two was covered in tattoos and had piercing gray eyes that seemed to be staring into my soul. The shorter one had a cocky smirk that was the same if not worse than Carters. With their similarities, I would guess they are siblings.
As I stared at them I watched both the boys' attention flicker to me instead of the twins. "Sup, I'm Daxton. "
At my words, the smaller boy's smile grew before he said, "Hey man, the names Nicholai like Connor." Nodding at his words I watched as Nicholai elbowed the larger boy.
"Mikhail," He bluntly stated.
Carter then coughed out the word, "Bitch," after listening to our conversation. He leaned against the wall by the door as Connor stood next to him, arms crossed.
"Yeah that's exactly what you are, thanks for introducing yourself to my pal Dax over here,"Nicholai said with a cocky smirk as Carter left his face.
"He. Is. Not. Your. Pal," Connor stiffly responded. I chuckled at all of their faces, their expressions so ridiculous it was all I could do not to flat out laugh. Mikhail had a small smile grace his face as we exchanged glances, both inwardly cracking up at how ridiculous this situation was.
Soon all of the boys' glares turned to Mikhail and me. I just shrugged and went back to laying down. We fell into awkward silence while Carter's face turned beet red as he wanted to respond to Nicholais taunt but luckily knew not to say anything as it would only lead to violence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Briella~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then his voice called out with a loud yell, "Weston, Declan, get your lazy asses in here!"
Following his yell, footsteps sounded as someone ran toward Elijah, though the sound was faint over the phone.
"What the heck do you want Eli?" A deep voice called out.
"Oh man, you will never guess what happened."
"What?"
There was a pause as Elijah started laughing again. He began to wheeze out his answer slowly, "Connor and Carter got arrested."
Silence followed before a cold voice, a new voice slowly said, " What do you mean arrested?"
"Look Dec, I honestly don't know! Some chic called me from Connor's phone saying they are in jail."Elijah rapidly spoke to the two boys who I'm assuming are Weston and Declan.
Muttered voices followed along with some thumps and bangs signaling a struggle. Panting followed as someone new spoke loudly into the phone. "This is Weston. Who the hell are you?"
The harsh tone caused me to jolt in my stiff plastic chair.
"B-Bri Briella-a."
Silence followed before the other voice on the call, Declan I think, softly asked, "Briella as in Briella Adams?"
"Y-yes." Sniffling I held back my unshed tears as best as I could, unwilling to cry alone in this crowded police station.
"Okay Honey, I need you to tell us what is happening," Weston said in a much gentler tone compared to a few seconds ago.
"C-Connor found-d out th-that we are h-his sibli-ings and be-began t-to beat-t up C-cart-ter for hit-titing on me-e and they got-t arrest-sted cause Cart-ter open-ned his big f-fat mouth and n-now m al-all alon-ne at thi-is stat-tion and I-I don't h-have mon-ney to p-pay the ba-ail and-"
"Woah slow down kiddo.. Deep breaths." At the sound of Elijahs voice, I stopped mid-rant. Breathing heavily I tried to get a hold of myself. "Okay honey I'm m gonna ask you some questions and all you have to do is say yes or no. Just stay calm, ok Briella?"
"O-okay, st-stay calm."
"Good honey," Weston said in response to my words before asking me all these questions. "Now you're at the police station?"
"Ye-yes."
"So they only got thrown in jail because Carter mouthed off to someone?" Declan slowly questioned.
"Y-yes... B-but i-it wasnt H-he, I-" I hastily stuttered out trying to defend Carter.
"Hey it's okay Sweetie, don't stand up for that pig." At Elijahs playful words a soft giggle slipped out of my mouth.
Shocked by the sound slipping out despite my threatening tears just minutes prior. Awws sounded from the phone as all three boys cooed at my giggle.
"Bri I'm gonna call Dad him and Alexander are nearby and they will come to the station you stay where you are and wait ok?" I nodded at Weston's orders before remembering that they couldn't see me.
"Yes." After my soft agreement chaos followed as from the sounds of it the boys wrestled over the phone all calling out goodbyes before Weston stole the phone and hung up. With a sigh I leaned back in my cold seat, hugging my knees to my chest. Pulling out my earbuds I turned on some music and closed my eyes to drown out the sounds of the hectic police station.
———————————-Daxton—————————
"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
I sighed at Nicholais words knowing this would only brew more trouble, but after an hour of listening to his reenactment of the 'best' Taylor Swift songs, anything he did would be better than that.
"To get hit by a car." Carter called out from where he now sat on the floor by the door.
"To get to a cute chick." Connor said with a smile as he stood next to Carter's slumped form.
At Connors answer, Carter gave him a fist bump as his cocky smirk returned.
Mikhail only frowned at their words. Nicholais smile only grew, making him look like a cheshire cat.
"Nope, Nope." Silence followed as Nic waited for someone else to make a guess. Common Dax guess. I only shook my head causing Nicholais gaze to turn to Mikhail.
"Please." Nic begged.
"No."
"Come on Mik, pleaseee!"
"No."
"Just once....For your little bro please!"
Mikhail's hard stare stayed as he glared at his brother's devilish grin. With a sigh he conceded, "Fine. Just once."
Niks face lit up like a christmas tree before his gaze turned to us all.
"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
A moment of silence followed before Mikhail stiffly gave the answer Nic had been waiting for.
"To get to the other side."
Carter, Connor, and I all rolled our eyes at his words while Nicholai burst out laughing.
"G-get it-t.. Ha-Ha T-to get-t to the o-o-other side-e Of the ro-oad Ha-ha." We all exchanged glances, even Mikhail, as we watched his brother drop to the floor as he shook hysterically in his laughing fit.
"Is he ok?" I asked quietly.
"No," Carter said coldly, "That... Thing is definitely not ok."
"True," Connor agreed as I nodded slowly with a chuckle at Carters words.
Mikhail only shrugged, ignoring his brother's antics, before laying back down on the bench across from the one I sat on top of. We all waited for Nic to calm down and stop laughing, but as the minutes went by he only kept making that high pitched sound that echoed through the tiny cell.
"Do you ever shut up?" Carter snarled out.
"Nope." Nicholai said as he bounced up, his laughing fit long forgotten.
"Why them?" Connor muttered out. "Out of all the lunatics to get locked up with, why these two?"
"Cause were the best nut jobs out there!" Nic shrieked out with a hoarse cackle that followed.
"True," Mikhail agreed quietly.
"That's it!" Carter yelled as he jumped up and slammed a laughing Nicholai into a wall. Despite the tight grip on his throat, Nic seemed as calm as ever. At the action we all jumped up, ready to fight or pry them apart, whichever came first. "Cut the bullcrap. Why the hell are you here?"
He laughed. Nic laughed as Carter's face came to resemble a tomato red. "The only bullcrap is whatever you rolled in before coming here!"
I kept silent and fought the urge to laugh. "Why. Are. You. Here? What are you trying to pull?"
"Umm My frequent cell time miles, two more arrests and I get a free set of handcuffs!"Nicholai states happily, most likely thrilled with his comeback.
"I swear if you're up to something or here to mess with us I swear to god I will knock Hail here into next week!" His thumb jerked towards Mikhail as he spat on Nics now red face.
"Yeah right." We all turned to look at Mikhail as Carters grip tightened around a gasping Nicholai.
"Excuse me?" Carter scoffed.
"Hey man? I think you should-" Conner started to speak as he eyed Nics shaking figure.
"Not now Con!" Carter snapped as his glare stayed locked on Mikhail. It was odd to see Mik and Carter stare each other down. While Carter was furious and his posture enraged, Mikhail was the complete opposite. His form was relaxed; not cocky but poised, waiting, thoughtful.
"You heard me." Instead of responding to Miks comment, Carter's hand tightened on Nicholais throat as his jaw clenched. Silence followed, all that was heard was Nics wheezing breaths as he got redder and redder. "Let. Him. Go."
Carter cockily tapped his chin as he thought over Mikhails order.
"Fine." In a flash Carter dropped Nicholai to the ground, leapt over Mikhal, and sucker punched him in the nose. From there, all hell broke loose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Briella~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My ears hurt. Having earbuds in for an hour was probably not good for me but at this point I could care less. I'm tired, hungry, and on the verge of a mental breakdown. Of course, being at a police station and watching as they lug around loud, mad criminals is the pinnacle of this conundrum. At this point all I want is to go home, or at least get a hug from Daxton. While this scenario was terrible, going through all this without Daxton is unbearable.
I remove my earbuds and rub my ears slowly as I check Connors phone for the time which now reads one o'clock in the afternoon. Lost in my own world I play with my earbuds, knotting and untying them in a never-ending cycle that keeps me away from the terror around me.
Suddenly the station is silent, dead silent. No talking cops, cursing criminals, no fussy children, nothing. Twisting in my seat I look to the door where the two tall, intimidating figures stand. They stood by the entrance in their slick, black suits as their eyes travelled along the room. At the feeling of their eyes on me I turn and look down. Wringing my hands together, I keep my eyes on the floor as chatter slowly starts up again. The cracked tile becomes more and more interesting as I hear footsteps headed my way. Two shadows loom over me, blocking out the harsh LED lights along the station's ceiling.
"Briella?" At the deep voice I slowly raise my gaze up till I am staring straight up. The crook in my neck does nothing to distract me from the two intimidating men whose gaze is locked on my own.
Their icy blue eyes meet mine and they widen as I slowly nod my head in response. The older of the two, the man with graying stubble and stress lines along his forehead, bends to my level.
"It's nice to meet you honey, my name is James Romano...your father."
It took a minute for me to process his words. Father... My Father. Both Daxton and I have never had a father figure in our lives. Minus an occasional drug dealer or hooker, there was little interaction we had with men in general. From homeschooling to cleaning and waitressing jobs interaction with people in general was rare, and the only male I spoke with was my brother. However now I have my Father, James.
My mouth opened and shut repeatedly as I tried to think of something, anything to say. My father and the other man chuckled lightly, though the younger version of James' eyes stayed cold, while my fathers held a twinkle of joy.
"It's okay, little pufferfish, you don't have to say anything." I blushed at my fathers words and looked down into my lap shyly.
Feeling a hand on my cheek, I automatically flinched before looking up at the other man who tilted my head up. Forced to stare into his I listened as he softly said, "Eyes up here little one... I'm Alexander, your oldest brother."
Giving a shy smile I quickly forgot his advice once he let go of my face. Twisting my fingers in my lap I stared down as James and Alexander muttered to each other before Alexander stiffly sat in a chair next to me and my father walked off, waving down a passing officer.
We sat in silence for a moment before Alexander reached out and gently grabbed one of my shaking hands. His thumb ran gently along my palm as I leaned back in my seat. The weight of the past week of sleepless nights is beginning to add up, along with all the stress from the past few days. My eyes miraculously closed as exhaustion seeped into me. The world blurred around me as I fell into an uneasy sleep. However, just before I entered into oblivion, I felt my body shift as my head rested on my brother's shoulder.