Mirrors (The Academy)

Chapter 4: Getting The Girl Back.

Victor's point of view.

I lay very still. I can't stop staring at the ceiling. Next to me, Luke is in the same condition.  Nathan and North are downstairs making dinner in silence, almost like it's important.

We lost her.

I always told myself I would live to make Princess smile and be happy. Since money meant nothing to her, I felt helpless when I couldn't make her laugh or hug me - or one of my brothers, in joy. It's the way I feel now.

Luke has stopped smiling. He stopped making jokes and daydreaming. If North weren't so consumed in pain he would be worried sick about him, because even when they seem to be fighting all the time they love each other intensely.

Sang has left with half of each one of us.

Today she's meeting her real family. I wonder if she's nervous. I wonder if she misses me holding her hand, kissing her soft lips... I wonder if she's thinking about me now. Us.

"When we get her back, there is not going to be single secret between us" I say to Luke, out of the blue.

He turns his head to me, "What if we don't ever get her back?"

"If Gabriel ever listens to you saying that, he's going to kick your butt" I tell him. "Don't think like that, Luke. I won't let you. We are going to get her back... I just know it"

"She's out there meeting those Academy people without us looking after her." Luke has always feared Sang being taken away by other members of the Academy. God, all of us are. And now, she's out there.... and we can't do anything about it.

"Do you think they're good people?"  I hadn't noticed North standing there. These last days he's been angry. And not just usual angry North, but angry at life, angry at himself for keeping so many things from Sang, for never noticing how it made her feel.

Just like Kota. He's so mad, but he won't acknowledge it any time soon. He's been in his house, doing every single homework assignment. When he was done with them, he took his math text book and has been working on it like he had a deadline to turn it in.

"I checked on them," I tell them both. "I checked on them three thousand times, trying to find anything wrong to keep them away from her... They have done nothing wrong. Just mission reports and lots of charity work. They are Saints."

North paces back and forth, like a caged animal. Luke sits up beside me and I follow his example. He grabs a pillow and holds it tight against his chest.

"What about the brother?" North growls.

"Checked. He is the second in command of his team. There are five of them. Lots of missions accomplished. Lots of young girls saved. I..."

"What?" Luke asks.

I sigh.  "I can picture Sang... getting along."

That crushes us.

"Dinner is ready" Nathan says, appearing by the door.

We stay silent, Luke still hugging the pillow and North pacing around the room.

"Will they treat her right?" Luke asks.

"They better," Nathan growls, catching up very fast.

Sang is everything we are capable of thinking right now. The dinner is quickly forgotten. We haven't had a real meal in a while now.

"I'll crack their faces" North threatens.

I sigh.  "Has anybody heard from Gabriel or Doctor Green?

"Dr. Green is living in the hospital right now," Nathan informs us. "He's behaving like Kota. Gabriel is simply in bed and Silas is trying to get him to eat something."

"What about Mr. Blackbourne?" North asks Nathan.

He shrugs.  "Who knows?"

There is silence, for a while.

"What if she never comes back to us because she realizes she wants to be in her brother's team?" Luke spills his insecurities all over us.

North clenches his fists.

"Stop it, Luke. Right now. I cannot think like that even for a second."

But Luke isn't ready to stop just yet.

"When did we go wrong?" He and the pillow almost become one.

"Luke" I try, but he isn't listening.

"Why did we never see it coming? We see everything coming. We were insufficient. And for that, now we are going to lose her. Maybe we already have".

"Shut up!" North growls.

"I heard they are really good at what they do. They have a guy who is like Sherlock Holmes. He is a profiler. The dude sees everything"

"She is not switching us!"  Nathan is shaking his head in pain. North is already losing it, looking at his brother like killing him.

"Luke, stop now" I ask him. "This is going nowhere!"

Luke explodes.  "You want me to calm down?! Cupcake can't even look at our faces and you're asking me to calm down? She's probably never coming back!"

North goes for him, "Fucker!"

North throws himself at Luke.  The last thing I want is a fight in this already broken family so I pull Luke towards me, but since I'm on the corner of the bed we both fall to the ground. I hit my head.

I start to see dark points dancing in my eyes.

"Victor!" Nathan approaches me.

"I'm okay"

North looks guilty as hell just as Luke does.

"I'm sorry man" North apologizes.

Luke helps me sit back on the bed.

"I'm serious here, guys. I know it's hard being away from Sang. It's killing me as much as it's killing you, but we need to stick together. We are everything we have..."

"I agree" Nathan says. They all do, at the end, nodding their heads.

"So what do we do now?" Nathan asks "We just sit here and wait for Sang to decide to come around? What if those fuckers take her? And her brother? You know how she is: It's impossible not to love her. That dude is gonna get too close and will want her to join his team. I'd rather rip my heart out than lose her to any other guy."

Luke looks at him. "What are you planning then?"

"Maybe we shouldn't let her forget us."

"What do you mean?" North gets in "She asked for space"

"I know. And we'll give it to her. But we need to remind her how much she'll miss us, and how much we care. Discretely, of course"

"Of course," I whisper.  "Should we call for a family meeting?"

"Yeah," Luke suddenly smiles. "If Cupcake thinks I'm just sitting here, giving her up so easily, she's dead wrong!"

North agrees.  "We have a new mission then: Getting Sang Back".

My brothers' eyes light up. They go into action: Trying to find the rest of the guys to talk about the mission. This one is different from all the rest we've ever had before, because this time we are not accepting no for an answer.