𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇

XXXII

— RORI —

On Tuesday afternoon, my brothers pay me a visit; all but Zephaniah and Teddy present.

A few of them attempt a smile, others seem to ignore me all together, and, all in all, it is unconventional.

Even though some of the bouquets are a few days old, they flourish in this wearisome environment, brightening up the otherwise dull interior. Upon entering the room, Quentin sneezes for a few long moments, resulting in Seamus launching one of the many nearby boxes of tissues at him, hitting the back of his head in the process. Our brother turns to scowl at him, rubbing the spot where it had landed.

"Ow!" he exclaims. "Do you mind!?"

The elder ignores him, ever so lovingly shoving him out of the way, as he takes the last seat beside Uvaldo, who resides on the couch to the left of me. I roll my eyes at their typical, self-involved, bickering, and divert my attention elsewhere.

Once Seamus has settled, he faces me and lifts his head in acknowledgement. Quentin, on the other hand, still projects a mean glare at our brother.

My eyes then drift to Uvaldo, and i retract slightly when i see the lifeless look in his eyes. This is such a common theme amongst my siblings. In particular, Teddy. They say eyes are the window to the soul, but, if that were the case, he would not have one.

Of course, the only time i have doubted this theory was during our last meeting, when they showed me a smidgen of remorse...

I struggle to reciprocate Uvaldo's gaze, and when he does not shift his expression or say anything to appease me, i promptly direct my attention elsewhere.

Instinctively, i look for Wyatt. Only i am surprised when i find that he avoids eye contact with me entirely. That leaves me with Yakov, Xavi, or Vinnie.

I have to say, all of my brothers seem a little worse for wear, especially the eldest bunch, and i half expect to find that, in my time away from the rest of civilisation, we have entered a zombie apocalypse.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

It takes me a moment to realise that Uvaldo is addressing me and not someone else. My head swivels once more, and there his death stare greets me once again.

"I'm sorry?" i say, unsure of what exactly he is referring to.

"That this Damiano fella approached you — you should have told us the moment it happened, so why didn't you?" he elaborates, catching me off guard when he mentions our new-found relative's name.

I feel a sense of deja vu at his words, as i recall having a similar conversation with Seamus prior to this meeting. Still, they clearly do not know the whole story if they are asking such questions. And either way, why would they assume that i am in a position where i can share this news with them?

With this knowledge, i glance to his right, as if urging Seamus to intervene, but even he appears curious, and, as i glance around the room, the same goes for the rest of our brothers.

Luckily, Vinnie comes to my rescue as he clears his throat and sends a meaningful glare in Uvaldo's direction. The latter isn't impressed by this, but relents nonetheless.