silent

61

• AMALIA •

I wake up again, a yawn escaping my mouth as I look up at Mason, who's holding onto me with one arm as he puts his phone to his ear with the other. He doesn't look very happy.

     "Emma—you can't come here!" He whisper-shouts. "I have to take care of my baby sister."

     I frown, nosily trying to strain to hear the other side of the conversation.

     "We need to talk, Mason." Emma says. "Someone else can take care of her, you have lots of siblings."

     He lets out an annoyed sigh. "No. I am. If you wanna talk so badly then we can now. On the phone."

     He looks down at me, and his expression softens when he sees that I'm awake. "Never mind. I'll call you later." He says, not giving Emma a chance to reply before he turns his phone off, setting it onto the bedside table.

"Is that your girlfriend?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes. "No."

     I smile and lean my head back onto his shoulder. He kisses my cheek and sits up, bringing me onto his lap. "You wanna go see Xander?" He asks.

     I nod. He stands up, setting me on his hip carefully before leaving the room, keeping me in my blankets. I lean my head on his broad shoulder.

     He stops outside of Xander's door. He doesn't knock or ask for permission before pulling the doorknob down and letting himself inside.

     Xander is sleeping in his bed, on top of the covers and still in his clothes. Mason is quiet as he carries me over to the bed, setting me down beside my oldest brother. I tilt my head, then tap on his shoulder.

He scrunches his nose slightly, but doesn't wake up. Then, still asleep, he wraps an arm around me and scoops me over to his side, resting his chin on the top of my head while letting out a small, content breath.

"I'll be back in a second." Mason says quietly, leaving the room. I look up at Xander, peaceful in his sleep, and lay my head on his chest. He wraps strong arms tighter around me, cocooning me completely in his embrace.

I close my eyes for a moment, opening them when I feel a hand begin to lightly scratch the back of my neck. I clench them shut again, memories of my mum flooding through my head, but then I force myself to remember that it isn't my mother holding me, and that she'll never be there to hold me again.

I glance up at Xander, who smiles sleepily at me. I can see the relief flooding through his expression as he leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek.

"Hi, princess." He says tiredly.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

"Fine. My head hurts a bit though."

"Yeah?" He questions, concern filtering through his eyes. "Who brought you in here?"

"Mason."

He grabs his phone off the bedside table and types something in before putting it back. He sits up, letting out a small breath as he adjusts me on his lap.

     I kiss his cheek, and he smiles as he runs his fingers through my hair. He looks tired. I hope he's okay.

     Mason walks into the room, a small box and a water bottle in his hands. He smiles at me, sitting down beside Xander and I. He opens the box, revealing a small pod of paracetamol. He pops one out and offers it to me. "Here you go."