Serafina

Chapter 7: Lies

When I wake up the next morning, my hair is tangled in a mess above my head and my eyes are puffy with tears. I have come to the decision that I am going to avoid my brothers, specifically Colton and Kaden, and pretend that the interaction we had last night never happened. I pray they don't tell Vince. If they know what's happened to me in the past, they might not want me anymore - I wouldn't want me either.

As I trudge downstairs, I pass Colton on my way down. Suddenly the floor of our house looks very interesting. I sneak him a fleeting glance as I walk by, and I'm met with his eyes giving me an almost... pitiful stare. I try to look back again to get a better view of his expression, but when I try to, he's already gone.  

For the rest of the day, I manage to avoid my brothers, who all seem to be busy with their own business. Besides Elijah, who has checked up on me once to see if I needed a snack, I haven't uttered single word to nor seen anyone. Maybe that's because I've been cooped up in the library all day, reading. 

The library is a big, high ceilinged room at the end of another one of our endless hallways. It is paneled in dark wood, and one of the walls has a great arching window with natural light that streams in. When I found it, the room looked untouched. Seem's none of my brothers are big readers.

Right now, I'm reading Harry Potter. It is my favorite book series in the entire world. Whenever Trevor would hurt me, I would just imagine myself whisked away to a world where magic was real, and you could fly away from your trouble on a broomstick. I guess that's what I was doing now. Pushing last nights events out of my mind by getting lost in the adventures of Ron, Harry, and Hermione. 

As the sun starts to set, I make my way to my room for dinner. I decide I'm going to skip - it's best I don't try and get to close with any of my brothers, as they'll never really know me. I'm all showered and cuddled up in bed, watching an episode of Outer Banks on the fancy TV in my room, when I hear two quick knocks on my door.

"Come in." I say, pulling my sheets up to my chin. I know that it would be rude to ignore whomever is knocking, but I really just want to be alone right now. When Elijah walks into my room, I sit up in bed, trying to hide the grimace on my face with a smile. My ribs throw while my wrist aches. The pain is excruciating, and I can only distract my mind for so long before it starts to come back to me.

"Serafina," He begins, "We'd like to have a family dinner tonight. These moments when we can get our entire family to eat together are so rare and few. Please come join us." He says, gentle, yet firm. 

I sigh; there's no point in arguing. I've come to realize that Elijah is almost like the glue holding this family together. 

As I trudge downstairs in another one of my stupid expensive  pajama sets (this time long sleeve), I can't help but notice my heart quickening as. walk into the kitchen. For the faintest moment, I think I see Kadens eyes meet mine, but I might just be imagining things. I'm seated in-between Elijah and Ryker, who doesn't even spare me a glance. He and the twins look sweaty, as if they just got back from the gym. Vince and Elijah are wearing more formal business suits, and I feel out of place in my navy blue pjs with white hearts.

For dinner, Lorena has cooked a Mediterranean style feast. I half heartedly scoop a small portion of seafood and salad onto my plate. Although everything looks delicious, my stomach still hasn't adjusted to the difference in portion sizes. Dinner is quiet, and besides the occasional banter between Ryker and Kaden, and formal conversation within Elijah and Vince, no one speaks.

"You need to eat more, bambina." Elijah says, as my brothers practically inhale their meals beside me. I push a piece of shrimp around on my plate absentmindedly.