Breaking the Ice | ✍🏼

27. A Way Out

| Annalise Walton |

"A Way Out"

I stood, clutching Aiden's hand as he finally lifted his body out of the bed. It was the first time in four weeks that my brother had been able to leave his own bed without needing someone to help him. He was able to finally lift himself up, before he grabbed my arm, using it to hold himself stable.

I could tell, just from looking at him, that he didn't want to rest all his weight on me, so I pulled him closer to me, wrapping the hand that was clutching my own, around my shoulders, and holding his hand. He grabbed his crutch and slid it under his other arm, before I grabbed the other one and slid it under the arm around my shoulders. 

Then we could start our slow trek out of the room, where we would be waiting for the news. For once, when my hand reached the door, I didn't hesitate. I didn't stop, as I walked through and kept the door open for my brother as he slowly hobbled out of the room, before I was following him, just down the hall.

Our supposed brothers wanted this to be a little outing for Aiden, even if it was just down the hall, just so he didn't have to feel so constricted to that room. I also thought it was for if anything went wrong, there would always be a way out. There would always be somewhere where I could run and hide before I had to go and build everything back up once again. 

Taking a deep breath, Aiden and I had finally made it a few steps down the hall, and to the group that was sitting around on the chairs. These people had told me that they were my brothers, and it felt like it, with the way that they stood around us, but a part of me inside, didn't want to believe them. 

My heart wanted to be open to them, while my mind wanted to shut down every new possibility that I could have with these people. That I could potentially be living a life outside of the mind games that had always been played on my mind. I wanted everything to be true but then I wanted to be told that I had been lied to, as that had been what my whole life was about. 

Lies, lies was all anyone ever told me whenever it came to family. "Everyone here?" someone spoke, but I was too busy holding onto the arm that had wrapped itself around my waist and was pulling me into my big brother. The only brother that I had known to still be standing. Nods were given, and then the words that could forever change my future were voiced. 

"100% exact DNA was found to be shared in each and every one of you" 

I had no idea how to react. People were wrapping arms around another, but none of them looked smug, even though they had already known. They had told us that we were related, and I hadn't believed, but I should have. I should have recognized from the eyes to the hair, to just the way some of them smiled, it was like looking back at someone that was so similar to me. 

The arm that was wrapped around my waist, squeezed it, making me look up at my brother, who was already looking down at me, tears in his eyes. I knew that he had always been a little lonely, now that we didn't have Riley and River, but I never knew that maybe I was the one he had wanted. He pulled me to his front, as I wrapped my arms tightly around him, but enough to allow him to stay standing. 

The tears trickled down my cheeks, and into my older brothers hoodie. I sniffled, a soft smile playing on my lips at the thought of being able to feel safer in a household, over thinking of where to go to next. I gave him one last squeeze, while he patted my back. I knew that this was big for him, the whole physical touch side of things. 

"Ann" a voice spoke, making me turn around, and see the person that had been trying his real damn hardest, and I had tried to shut him down. I let go of my brother, waiting for him to be stable before I flung myself at Hayden, surprising him more than myself. I held on, clutching the back of his jacket, as he held onto mine. 

"Some people are worth fighting for" 

---

Collapsing everything down into two bags, was not hard. It was easier, as most of my stuff was still back at the house we used to live in, before it was broken into. I had kept most of my stuff in bags, hence why it was so easy to leave that apartment. I had taken most of my stuff with me. 

I didn't want to go back to the house, as there was nothing there for me anymore. I could just find some of my cash in my back account, hoping that it hadn't been shut down, and buy whatever I didn't have. I didn't many memories from that time, only what I needed, and that was it. 

I could make new memories. Aiden had just been allowed to leave the hospital, a week after we had known that we would be moving in with our brothers, who were also moving back here. We had apparently grown up here, and we were now all coming back. We would be moving to the outskirts of Minnesota, so that we were away from where Aiden and I had grown up, but we were moving to the other side of our city, so that we could still go to school and everything else. 

I had yet to have the talk with Hayden about what I wanted to do with figure skating. I wasn't sure that he knew I was one, but I wasn't sure that it was something I wanted to do in the future, or at least not where I used to do. Pair skating sounded like fun, but I liked the look of hockey, but not necessarily ice hockey, as that was Aiden's thing. 

I wasn't sure on anything anymore. All I knew, that as I zipped my bag up, that I was ready to leave. I was ready to leave until I saw someone that I hadn't seen in a while, as he was dealing with his own family issues at the moment. "Anna" he murmured, and I had never seen him so tired, but I was just so happy for him that he was standing on his own two feet, as he had been cleared about a week and a half ago, but was kept for testing. 

"Hey Angus" I spoke, a sadness dripping into my tone. I was scared, to go back to reality, afraid of losing the Angus that I had gained, away from the party boy and the playboy. He hadn't been that to me, and I was scared that he was going to go back to the boy that I knew. The boy that I had grown to hate, and not the one that I had started to love. 

Love was a big word, but I was sure that we were just friends. He would never date me, and I would be too scared. I had too much baggage and he had a big dream that he was going to chase. "I have to head off to a training camp in two weeks, but I was wondering if you would like to catch up some time. Without Aiden, just the two of us. Nothing special, but just to help you settle in a little, with someone old that you know. Up to you" 

Maybe I was wrong. "Sure, just let me know the day" and with that, we had one final hug, before he was taking Aiden's bags, and I was taking mine. We were in silence, and for once, it didn't scare me away. I wanted to stay in this lull of peace. 

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thoughts? xx

can't believe i have been writing this book for just over a year now