Trembling With the Strings

“Where are your brothers?” Darius asked me, not looking me in the eyes.

“Upstairs,” I murmured, taking in a deep breath and contemplating whether or not I really wanted to say what was on my mind. He beat me to it.

“Gracie, please don’t do this,” he mumbled. I started heading up the stairs, but Darius caught my wrist and twirled me around to face him. “You know how I feel about you, but lately I’m not so sure that you feel the same way about me.”

“What are you talking about?” He was acting a little different, kind of sappy.

“You’re holding back. You can trust me with anything, and I wish you would. What have I done that betrayed you in any way?”

I bit my tongue, not wanting to say what needed to be said. I still had a bit of doubt in my mind about the night my father had been killed. Darius had been acting so weird, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he had anything to do with my dad’s death. And there was also the matter of my mother. They hadn’t exactly gotten along too well, but how could he have killed her since we were out on a date?

Marcy had been home. She could have easily slipped outside, sensing that my mother was near the house. What was next? Would they kill me?

“Gracie,” he hissed through clenched teeth, his grip on my wrist suddenly tightening. “I know every thought that has ever run through your head. Do I need to remind you that I know exactly what’s going on? I choose to ignore the unpleasant things—like Lyndell and you. I choose to let you get away with thinking that I killed your dad, which I didn’t! I, however, will not stand for you accusing my sister of hurting you in any way, do you understand? Every lie you tell me is shown on your face. It only takes a second of reading to know that you doubt me. I don’t know who killed your parents, but it sure as hell was not my family!”

“I’m sorry if everything seems to point at that!” I growled back, tugging my hand out of his grasp. “I’m going to talk to my brothers. I’m sorry that I’m only human, and that you could easily kill my entire family. I’m sorry I feel a little nervous around you. Should I apologize for being born, too?”

I don’t know why I was picking fights with him lately, but I had expected him to get mad (and he did). He lashed out and jerked me to him again, nearly snarling in my face.

“Never say that again,” was all he said before storming away from me. I caught up on my breaths, forcing my legs to carry my body up the stairs.

“Guys?” I called, knocking gently on the closed door.

“What do you want?” Marcus asked, opening it just a crack.

“I need to talk to you, and Marty. And how’s Johnny?”

My brother cringed, but stepped back so I could walk in. Jonathan and Demetrius were sitting on the bottom bunk of the bed. Marty didn’t meet my gaze as he watched his feet.

“How long have you been doing this?” I asked him, stepping up and kneeling down in front of him.

He looked up with a guilty expression on his face. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad. I just… I thought you were having trouble with understanding words and…all this time you were just trying to be my baby brother for as long as you could?” I thought for a moment. “I find it hard to believe that a six-year-old boy came up with this all by himself.”

Demetrius stayed silent, but Johnny squirmed and fidgeted in his seat.

“He didn’t,” he told me, looking up at me through the piercing eyes that could only belong to a vampire. “We’re all we’ve got. We wanted to keep you happy, and you were always so happy when Demetrius was a little kid. I told him to do it. Marc had nothing to do with it. He thought it was a bad idea, but… It kept you happy.”

It kept you happy.

I cringed as the soft whisper echoed off the walls of my mind. I glanced over to Marcus, but he was only watching his feet thoughtfully. I took Marty’s hands in mine as I looked him in the eye.

“You’re growing up, I know that,” I told him, smiling gently. “I want you to do that. You’re still my little man no matter how old you are, though. You always will be, too. And Johnny and Marc. Even if they hate it they’re my baby boys; my knights in shining armor.”

I pulled both Johnny and Demetrius into my arms as I forced myself not to cry. The absence of Jonathan’s heartbeat cut into my very core, and the sound of Marty’s heart racing was a constant reminder of the impending doom hanging over his little head.

I nearly jumped when I felt a pair of cold arms wrap around my shoulders, but I smiled when I saw Marcus biting his lip as tears brimmed his eyelids.

“I promise we’ll always have each other, alright?” I whispered, standing up and taking my brothers with me as I held them close. “No one can take that from us. No one.”