The Velvet Room | ✔

𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖥𝗈𝗋𝗍𝗒

Warning: mentions of sexual and childhood trauma

I gasped, choking and coughing as I felt something down my throat. I looked frantically around the empty room, scratching at my throat and feeling the cast around it. My eyes widened as I tried to cough or spit whatever was in my throat out when a rush of nurses came in.

"Calm down honey, we're going to take the tube out but you have to calm down," I tried as best as I could but the gagging feeling was uncontrollable. As if I couldn't breathe when the point of the tube was to do the opposite.

They slowly pulled the tube from my throat, leaving me to go into a coughing fit as they sat me up slowly.

"W-Where—"

"Bunny," The women moved aside and I saw the two, Lucas holding a vase of lilies and a worried look lining both their faces. My lips wobbled at the sight of the two and they set the flowers down and came on either side of me. "Shh, baby it's okay," but I just shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes as their hands gently stroked my arms and leg.

I shook my head as I looked down, lip wobbling as a rush of memories flooded over me.

"I-I can't," I sobbed, looking over my bruised arms and feeling the pain that radiated over my face. I could feel my swelled eye. "I can't keep doing this. I've tried so hard at that job, but this just keeps happening," I wiped my eyes quickly, reaching up and caressing Lucas's stubbly cheek with a sad smile. I watched as he leaned into it, cupping that hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss my knuckles.

"What did he do baby?" But I shook my head again.

"I won't make the same mistake," they gave me a confused look, but I looked at Vincent and did the same thing with his cheek. My thumb stroked over my cheek, feeling his rough stubble, thicker than Lucas'. I did as he would do me, pushing his hair back so he could see me better.

"I learned from Leo," Their sad smiles and confused looks dropped immediately, Lucas standing more straight as he just stared at me for a moment then looked over me.

His fists clenched at his side, looking away momentarily then back to me where he leaned down and kissed my lips gently, passionately, his lips moving so softly against mine it's like they weren't even there.

And then they were gone – along with him as he stormed out but Vincent just sighed.

"He'll be back, bunny," he wiped my tears that still trickled down my cheeks.

"I don't want to do this anymore Vincent,"

"What are you saying, Reyna?" He gently stroked my bruised cheek. His eyes searched mine, worrying that I was implying something else but I wasn't. I could never leave them. It would break me too much. Even in such a short time, I felt my growing attachment.

I took a deep breath to avoid my sob, "I quit."

________________

I heard the door creak open, the curtains had been pulled back to hide the bright light of the moon and street lamps outside, but enough peeked in to graze over his face and show me who is it.

Lucas.

He let out a soft sigh, not seeing I was still awake and walking around my bed.

"Where have you been?" I asked quietly, seeing as Vincent was asleep right next to me. He sighed, and pulled up a chair by my bedside, letting me reach up and cup his cheek. Upon doing so he let out another content sigh.

He took my other hand, balling it into a fist and kissing my knuckles gently, each and every one.

"I'll never let anyone touch you again," his golden eyes looked up at me and a chill slid down my back. "Ever. You're mine. No one touches what's mine." His eyes gently closed again, until soon he laid his head on my lap, never letting go of my hand.

I rolled my head back, peeking over at Vincent who was still uncomfortably asleep.

I turned and looked up at the ceiling, the bleach-white ceiling, just thinking for a moment.

I didn't recognize the man who did this to me, but it was like he knew me. Like this was revenge, yet I've never seen his face in my entire life.

I looked at my two men, wondering if they could've known who it is and kept it from me. In all honesty, it seemed they kept a lot from me. Of course, I've respected that, but if it's something to do with me I feel like I should know.

So why won't they tell me?

I know if I brought it up they would just say something along the lines of its to protect you, but that isn't fair. They can't just leave me out of the loop for everything. I have the right to know, especially in this occasion, who attacked me.

"Bunny," Vincent softly said, the gravel of his voice coming to sound as he slowly sat up and cracked his neck. "Why're you up? You need rest," he petted my hair, looking over me with his silver irises and a confused gaze.

"Who was it?" He cocked an eyebrow at my question, "Who was that man?" Now, he just stared at me blankly, contemplating his next response but it made me irritated.

"Vincent," I said a bit more sternly.

"His name is Ricardo Owen, you don't know him, baby," I just shook my head, leaning back and sighing.

"Why...won't the two of you ever tell me what's going on?" I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face.

"You lied to me about Leo. You didn't talk to him, you beat him to a pulp. I-I...I didn't want you two to do that,"

"Reyna, we were just trying to protect you—" I shook my head.

"He hurt me, but you just did the same thing to him, that's not going to fix anything," He opened his mouth but then stopped, slowly shutting it. "I know you two hurt people, maybe even kill, or maybe those are just rumors, but it's not okay,"

"Just like it's not okay to keep hiding things from me. This isn't going to work if you can't be real with me," He stared at me for a moment,  leaning back and a different look resting upon his face as he looked at his sleeping brother. A blank expression rested on his face now.

"You wanna know everything?" He cocked an eyebrow. Slowly, yet surely I nodded. "Then let's start from the beginning," his adam's apple bobbed up and down, finally looking back at me and sitting up.

"Our mother," he paused, "was raped every single day until we were thirteen. We heard the screams, the begs the agony. But we were too weak to do anything.

At that point atleast," His face turned to stone, "At thirteen, our father killed her in our very living room, which we then killed him." My eyes opened wide, clenching the sheets below my hand.

"We went to go live with our uncle in Italy, where we originally came from but my mother wished to come to the states. Our uncle is a cruel man too, but I have to say thanks for the way we are today. He trained us from the day we arrived for the assalire,"

His eyes studied my expression for a moment, "We rose up quickly, we grew up quickly, and our uncle realized how powerful we were getting and tried to kill us. But of course, didn't succeed. We tried to go after him but his coward self got away."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "Ricardo, the fucking bastard, he's on the list for a reason. I've seen him sneaking into the club before, stirring trouble. Only to figure out he's one of my uncle's men." I noticed the way his eyes ventured from my own, how he twisted the ring around his finger.

"I know my uncle, and I know he's stupid and doesn't know how to track people. So I know he has connections here. And I know who it is."

"W-Who is it?" I asked, my mind still boggled by all this.

"Leo."