The Four Brothers ~ Completed

Capítulo Dezessete: A Bala

Thanks for all the support recently! I've been going through it lately. My anxiety is so high I've barely been able to leave the house and my depression has kicked into high gear. It's a fantastic mix. Hell, it's right up there with a Molotov cocktail when it comes to explosive tendencies. I'm sorry if my writing isn't as good as usual.

Anyway, we're nearing the end of TFB!

I don't plan out chapters, I just sit down and write what comes to mind with a general idea of where I want the story to go or what dialogue I want to add, so I have no idea how many more chapters there's going to be, but it won't be too many more.

Gemma's POV:

Mother dearest gulped loud enough for me to hear and I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing madly at the sudden fear in her eyes. It was as if she'd just realized that her actions, her words, her choices weren't going to be swept under the rug and excused.

"You've gotten so big." Madre from hell smiled, fingers snapping against her thigh. I watched her hands for a second before looking over her face, over her badly dyed hair, and towards her eyes.

Holy shit. She was in withdrawal.

I didn't know what she'd been on or how long she'd been off of it, but she certainly wasn't on it at the moment. Her eyes were wide and glassy in a sort of desperate way, her skin sweaty and yellowing with need. My lips quirked into a smile when I locked eyes with Sinclair and I knew he'd noticed her state too.

"That happens when you haven't seen your kid in twelve years." Zion sneered down at her, looking utterly disgusted with her attempt to touch him. She jerked back, like she'd been struck, and her nervous smile fell into a wet, teary frown. I rolled my eyes and leaned further into Zion's side, where I stood slightly curled into his leg. She was going to start the spiel again and I really didn't want to hear it again.

"Sinclair, Zion!" Tobias's voice rang across the yard, loud and dominating. I lifted the body weight I'd been letting Zion hold and started to look around for my eldest brother. He was standing near the door of the house, wrapped in black with a fancy bullet-proof vest strapped to his chest.

"Tobi!" I shouted, racing towards him. He crouched and held his arms open. I plowed right into his chest, knocking the air from both of our lungs but neither of us cared. His arms were steel bands around my back, keeping me close to his chest. I breathed in his scent, my belly warming with love, and I locked my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck.

"Look at me, Gemma, look at me, baby," He ordered, using one arm to keep me locked to his chest and his free hand to tilt my face up to look him in the eyes. "Are you hurt? Did they touch you?" He panicked, only relaxing his devastating grip when I shook my head vehemently.

All my damage was mental and emotional, not physical.

Yeah, I was gonna need a ton of therapy after this. Scratch that, a ton more therapy.

"I had to do something really bad." I whispered in his shoulder, from where I'd stuffed my face. Tobias froze a bit but continued to walk around with me in his arms, rocking me side to side gently, as if I were a baby he was lulling to sleep. I nuzzled further into him when I heard steps behind me. I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to me so I didn't make a move to get down, but I was pretty sure Tobias shooed the person as I didn't hear anyone speak.

"It's okay, minha vida, you can tell me." (My life) He cooed, rubbing his hand up and down my spine. I let my muscles go lax, completely at ease in his arms.

"I killed a man." The words floated in the air between us. For a moment, I wondered if Tobias had heard my quiet whimper as he hadn't paused in his actions or responded in any way. I went to lift my head off his shoulder, to see the look in his eyes, but the hand that had been rubbing my back rose to nudge my head back into place. I went without much of a fight.