Chapter 10
“Bri, get some food.” I turned to Ethan and nodded. I finally looked up at everyone. I saw almost everyone staring at me. I looked at James and saw he was also looking at me.
“W-w-what are they waiting for?” I asked him, just above a whisper.
“They are waiting for you to get food. Ladies first.” My eyes widened and I looked around. There are no other girls here except me. I looked at the table and saw a whole buffet. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, everything you can think of is here. I quickly grab a pancake and 2 pieces of bacon. I looked back at James and saw him giving me a weird look.
“That’s it Bri?” I just nodded and looked down again. I heard him mumble under his breath but told everyone to grab their food. I grabbed a little butter and put it on my pancakes and started to cut them up. I slowly started to eat and put some pieces in my mouth. Ever since the accident, I don’t eat very much but to be fair I never did. I ate about half of the pancake and a piece of bacon. I was full and pushed my plate away. James stopped eating and looked at me. “Are you done?” I nodded once again and looked at him. “You need to eat more honey. You need some meat on your bones.”
“I can’t.” That was all I said to James. He sighed and put his hand back on mine. “I will keep an eye on you with your food because I can’t have my daughter starving.” He smiled at me and I offered a smile back.
“I-I-I think I’m r-r-ready to meet t-t-them,” I whispered to James. He looked shocked but quickly covered it up.
“Are you sure?” I nodded and looked at Ethan. He was also smiling at me. James then finally spoke up. “Everyone, can I have your attention?” They all looked at James and stopped eating. “I want you all to meet Bri, your sister.” They all looked at me with love in their eyes.
“You don’t know how long we have waited to meet you.” One of them said, I gave them a small smile.
“So I am going to go from oldest to youngest. Okay, Bri?” I looked at him and nodded. “First it is Trevor, he is 22.” He pointed to the guy that talked to me only a minute prior. “Next is Brandon, he is 21.” He pointed to the guy to his left. “Elli is next and he is 20.” He pointed to the guy on the right of Trevor.
“Jake is next and he is 18.” Jake was at the head of the table but on the other end of James. “Next is John and he is 17.” He was on the left side of Jake.
“Now lastly is Grayson and he is 16.” He was on the right of John. After trying to learn all of their names my head was pounding.
“I-I-I am B-B-Bri.” I looked down and started to try and take deep breaths. I heard a lot of hi’s back and I smiled a little. I looked up and they were all smiling at me. I looked at James and he was smiling too. “Can I be excused?” I asked so quietly that I almost didn’t hear myself. As soon as he nodded at me I got up and walked out. I need a little time to process everything. I walked around the house till I found the living room. I sat on the couch and laid down. I heard someone come in so I sat up very fast.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Grayson said while coming in.
“I-I-It’s fine.” I stuttered out. He came and sat near me.
“I would never hurt you and I know that everyone here would never hurt you.” I smiled at him and looked down. I yawned and put my head on my knees. “You can lay down again.” I looked at him confused.
“But you’re s-s-sitting down?” He smiled at me and spoke up.
“You can still lay down. Here.” He patted his lap. I was very hesitant and scared but slowly laid my head on his lap. I felt him move and I was about to get up but he quickly put a blanket on me. I slowly relaxed and closed my eyes. I then felt hands on my head and I flinched a little. I muttered sorry. He just laughed and said that I didn’t need to say sorry. I was slowly falling asleep. I then was woken up by everyone rushing in.
“C’e’ un problema!” An unknown guy said to Grayson. He just grunted and started to talk but I was so tired that I slowly slipped into sleep. Before I was fully asleep I felt him leave me on the couch as he went and dealt with the guy.
I woke up on the couch, still wrapped in the blanket that Grayson put on me. I brought my hands up to my eyes to rub them but I was interrupted by a low voice.
“Don’t do that. You will hurt your eyes.” I jumped and turned away from the voice. I pulled the blanket up to my head and snuggled into the couch. I heard a chuckle and then felt the couch dip next to me, letting me know someone just sat down. I tried to push myself into the couch more but there was nowhere else I could go. I felt a warm hand on my back trying to soothe me but it just made me more anxious.
“S-S-Stop.” I stuttered out. He was not gonna stop, was he. He is just like my kidnapper, my father, almost everyone in my life. They wouldn’t stop. Not if you pleaded, not if you begged, they won’t stop till they want to. I felt the hand leave my back but my guard was still up. Never let your guard down was one of the first lessons I have ever learned. I felt nothing for a few minutes but neither of us moved. It was like a staring match but we weren't looking at each other. I felt his gaze.
I felt him burning holes through the back of my head. I felt his gaze trying to figure me out. I heard him sigh but he didn’t move. Stubborn. I again felt a hand on me but this time it was slowly moving my head so I could look at him. Don’t look him in the eyes. Keep your eyes down. Don’t disobey. Don’t pretend that you are strong because it will only cause problems. His rules came into my mind. How stupid of me. I have been disrupting them this whole time.
They are gonna beat me. They are gonna teach me a lesson for forgetting. I took in a sharp breath and tried to think what they would do to me. What would they do to me? I started to shake just thinking about what they would do to me. I need to leave. I need Ethan. “E-E-Ethan!” I shot up and pushed the person away. I finally looked at the person and saw that it was one of my “brothers”. If I remember correctly he was Elli.
“What’s wrong?” He tried to come near me again but I shot up.
“W-W-Where is h-h-he?” My breathing picked up and I stood up from the couch.
“You need to calm down sweetheart.” I felt the pain in my chest increase. That name. That ugly, horrid name. He tried to put his hands on me but I backed away.
“Where is he!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. Out of breath, I turned and ran toward the stairs. I felt his thundering footsteps behind me but that didn’t stop me. Once I was in the big hall that held the stairs, stopped to keep my breath. I guess Elli didn’t see me stop because he came crashing into me.