Going back

32|| Hate

A/N: Here's chapter 32. Enjoy, people.

"Should we wake them up?"

"But they look so cute sleeping like this!—Wait, what are you doing?"

"Iris is drooling, I'm taking a picture for blackmail purposes."

Iris' eyes flew open at these words and she tried to turn and swat whoever was speaking, but she found herself trapped by an arm wrapped around her waist. She turned and was met with Alex's sleeping face and a slight blush spread over her cheeks. Were we sleeping like this for the whole night?

A pointed throat clear dragged her gaze up. She squinted, using her free hand to wipe away the thick gloop of sleep nestled in the corner of her eyes.

"Good morning." Elijah raised a brow. "Restful night?"

"Barely." She groaned, sitting up and wincing at the sudden stiffness in her right shoulder. "What're you all doing here being so creepy?"

"We're not being creepy," Damien said, more than a little miffed. "We're being concerned."

"Concerned about what?"

"Well, you are literally sharing a bed with someone who has tried to kill you before."

"Tried being the key word here." Iris turned to the sleeping boy beside her and forcefully patted his cheek with the back of her hand. "Oi, get up."

Alex bolted upright, eyes widening and blearily turned to Iris. He threw his free arm across in a pathetic attempt to shield her. "What's going on? Where's the danger?"

She rolled her eyes. "No danger here. Brandon? You have the keys?"

"Uh, yeah, I do." He tossed them over with a blink.

Iris nodded in thanks and released herself from the shackles. She sighed in relief, rubbing the sore, red area with a grimace.

Alex wore a similar expression. "Ouch. Was this really necessary?"

"I take no chances when it comes to dealing with you." She shuffled across the bed and grabbed a few clothes from her closet. "Would you guys mind watching over him while I freshen up?"

"Of course." Elijah smiled. It disappeared when Iris entered the bathroom and he rounded on Alex. "Now, let's talk."

Alex swallowed, suddenly realising he was alone in a room with six very dangerous people and his only lifeline had left the room. "Y-yes?"

Damien rolled his eyes and pursed his lips- the expression was startlingly similar to his sister's. "Relax, we're not going to hurt you."

"Unless you hurt us," Julian piped in.

"Unless you hurt us," Damien repeated with a nod. He glared at him. "Or we think you're going to hurt Iris."

Did they rehearse this? Alex wondered. "I would never hurt Iris."

"You literally tried to kill her yesterday."

Not exactly. Alex winced, but couldn't deny how it looked from their perspective. "And aren't you glad I failed?"

"Hey." Julian scowled. "We're not at the stage where we can joke about it."

Alex raised his palms in mock surrender. A sudden thought struck him and a slow grin stretched across his face. "Do any of really think you have the right to do this?"

"What are you talking about?" Elijah snapped.

Alex shrugged. "I mean, come on. Biological brothers have ignored her for a decade to the extent that she's found her own family without you all. The stepbrothers she hasn't known long enough to even call you acquaintances. Who the hell do you think you are having this sort of talk with me when I bet you haven't even properly spoken to her?"

A deadly silence settled over the room.

"How dare you say that?" Damian growled, hands clenching into tight fists by his side. "How dare you say that when you know nothing about the situation?"

"I know what Iris has told me." Alex propped one leg up and draped his arm over it in an almost lazy manner. "And she didn't really have anything nice to say at all."

(Author's note: If you're reading this on any other site than 'Wattpad' then you're likely to be at risk of a malware attack. Please report the site as it has stolen my work)

***

And she didn't really have anything nice to say at all.

Iris sucked in a sharp breath, resting her forehead against the door. An almost incredulous chuckle pushed past her lips. He remembered.

A slight pain pushed against her chest, right above her heart. She hated Alex so much that it hurt to breathe when she saw him. She hated how much he'd changed from the sweet, kind boy to this. She hated how much his attitude towards her kept switching: one moment he was trying to kill her, the next, he's her best friend again.

Most of all, she hated how much she could never bring herself to hurt him.

What would you do, Mum? Iris squeezed her eye shut. What would you do in my position?

Of course, there was no response. There would never be a response.

Swallowing back the sudden knot of emotions clogged in her throat, Iris turned the handle and pulled open the door with a little more flourish than needed. "Well, boys, I hope you all were being nice?"

"We were being absolutely charming," Julian responded. He frowned and tilted his head. "What's that on your shoulder?"

Out of instinct, Iris tugged her shirt up to hide the bruises. "Just a couple of injuries I got from running last night."

"You should get that checked out," Elijah said. "I know a very good doctor who can—"

"It's fine." Her jaw clenched and she couldn't keep the bite out of her words. "We have far bigger problems to worry about anyways."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad are waiting for us downstairs with Mia and Eun Woo." Damien crossed his arms. "I don't like that guy— he wouldn't stop glaring at us."

"He's just trying to protect his sister." Iris sighed and nodded. This is going to be a very long day.

******

"Good morning, children," Lisa greeted with a brighter smile that did nothing to hide the dark circles beneath her eyes. "Did you all sleep well?"

All eyes swivelled to Alex and Iris.

"Yeah, we slept perfectly well." Iris yawned and rubbed the back of her neck. "What's going on here?"

"Mia has kindly noted down all the details from the night Elise was— the night she was murdered." David's voice wavered on the last word, but he cleared his throat and continued. "Today, she will be transferred into the safe custody of another organisation."

"Which organisation?" Brandon asked.

Lisa and David exchanged a wary look.

"The Agency," David replied.

A chill draped across the room like a lead shroud as almost every expression darkened. Only Mia and Eun Woo seemed confused.

"I don't understand?" She asked. "I've heard of The Agency before. They're good people, right?"

"Yeah," Iris sighed. "They are. That's the issue— they don't... exactly us very much. And the feeling is mutual."

*********************

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