Child of a King

Chapter seventeen - Verdict + Characters

Twirling a finger through the ends of my hair, I kept my vision low, doing everything in my power to avoid looking at Nate who sat in front of me. Nervously rolling my bottom lip between my teeth, I squirmed feeling his heavy gaze on me.

"Angel?"

"Hm?"

"Please look at me".

It took a moment until I slowly and timidly raised my anxious eyes to meet his worried ones.

"How are you doing, baby?" He asked gently, a crease forming between his eyebrows as his face held the utmost concern.

I lifted my shoulder in a shrug, my gaze flickering back and forward from the view of the lake and to my older brother. "Don't know", I added in a whisper, my stomach twisting.

"Do you want to talk?"

The dreaded question hung heavily in the air, making me fidget with anything that was within my fingers' reach to distract me from my torn mind.

"Yes". My small voice sounded deafening as it cut through the silence like a sharp knife. "And no", I added in a mumble, dropping my gaze to my lap.

"How about I'll ask you something and if you don't want to answer you can just say no?"

I allowed his suggestion to sink in, thinking thoroughly if this was a good idea. It had never been an option for me to talk about what had happened in Idaho with anyone besides Luca and she had made it very clear that it was a secret. A secret no one could ever know about. I knew Liam and Gary were aware of some of the things that had occurred but to what extent, I wasn't sure. My sister had told me that I could come to them if I needed to discuss anything about that part of my life, but that she preferred me to find her instead.

Slowly I nodded my head, accepting my brother's offer, hoping I wasn't breaking the promise I had sworn to Luca.

"Okay", Nate sighed, standing up from his spot on the couch. "Let's go for a walk while talking. I'm sure it will make things more comfortable".

Truly glancing at him for the first time since he found me here in the library, I noticed the dark circles around his eyes and the slight redness that lingered around his chestnut irises. I know I drifted off to sleep in his arms last night but the exhausted facial expression he was wearing made me wonder if my eldest brother had gotten any rest. Well, more rest than what I knew he had gotten when I slipped out of his embrace this morning. Even though it was barely morning when I woke up. It still wasn't. The early rays of the sun had only now just begun to appear behind the landscape of trees that surrounded our property.

Reaching for his hand, I engulfed his firmer than I usually did, needing someone to hold on to extra tightly today. Especially if I was going to be reminded of everything, I had worked so hard to forget.

The early morning breeze felt brisk against my exposed skin that surrounded my face, removing all the tiredness I felt. After descending the patio steps to the narrow path, we followed the pebbled trail that circled around the lake. The sunrise peeked through the forest, birds chirping happily in the crown of the tall pine trees. It was a breathtaking vision. Like something taken straight out of a fairytale.

"Are you sure you still want to talk?" Nate asked, white fog appearing when he was speaking due to the low temperature.

I nodded, brushing Demon's fur when he rubbed against my leg before taking off deeper into the woods. Properly to do his business.

"Alright, remember to let me know if there is something you're not comfortable talking about".

A small smile graced my lips at his sweet consideration. "I will".