Battle Scars|✔️

The Brothers

-Thea-

As soon as I stepped off the train, I realized that I had no idea who I was looking for. I had never seen a picture of my father so how I was supposed to find him in this crowded station was lost on me. Mom had told me his name was Arthur Mason but that's all the information I had on him. I was standing in the station looking around when a man tapped my shoulder.

I jumped and snapped my head around. A boy who was clearly too young to be my father stood in front of me. What I noticed first, were his electric blue eyes. My eyes. He was really tall and kind of scary so I looked at the ground and kept my eyes there. Don't look anyone in the eyes. That was one of the rules. "Are you Thea Mason?" He asked with a small smile.

I nodded "Well I'm Alex. I'm your brother. Well one of them anyway." My heart dropped. No one told me about brothers. I looked up at the boy in front of me with wide eyes. He chuckled "Didn't know you had brothers huh?" I shook my head."Well anyway, lets go to the car." he walked away but I didn't follow. 

"H-how do I know you're n-not a b-bad guy." I stuttered nervously. He looked at me sympathetically before kneeling down to my height. "See these eyes?" He pointed to his blue orbs. "And your eyes." He pointed to my matching ones. "They're the same. Meaning chances are me and you are related." I nodded shakily and this time when he walked away I followed.

 We got into the car and Alex drove away.

"My Dad, well our Dad, wanted to come and pick you up but he had an important work thing. He'll be home tonight though." He told me. I nodded and looked out the window. Just like on the train, my new surroundings were mesmerizing. The city was so busy and energized. There were so many colors and things to look at. I had been locked up in my little town all my life not knowing somewhere so beautiful existed just a train ride away.

"So Thea, what do you do for fun?" It was obvious that Alex was uncomfortable with little girls and trying to make conversation but I didn't really do anything for fun so I just shrugged. "You don't talk much do you?" He asked. I shook my head and Alex shrugged. We drove until we reached a huge house. It was bigger than anything I'd ever seen.

Alex put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched away. He gave me a questioning look but I ignored it. No one was going to know what happened in that house. Not now, not ever. Alex walked to the front door and I followed behind, with my backpack slung over my shoulder.

My ribs were aching which didn't help my already existing nerves. I will get to the bathroom as soon as possible and take some painkillers. I had stuffed the bottle into my backpack this morning and hadn't taken any since.

But right now I had to focus on meeting the rest of my brothers. How many were there anyway? I tugged on Alex's sleeve and he looked down at me "How many brothers?" I practically whispered "Ahh so she does talk." When I didn't share his amusement he answered my question "Um well there are 5 brothers. I'm the oldest and you'll meet the rest in a second." I nodded and we went further into the house.

We entered a kitchen that was prettier than the ones you see on TV. Alex told me to sit at the counter and then he turned and yelled "BOYS! COME INTO THE KITCHEN!" His voice made me flinch involuntarily. It reminded me of when Mom and Greg would yell at me. 2 boys who looked identical to each other raced into the room

"Is she here? is she here?" He asked practically bouncing on his feet. "Yes Beau she's here. Now calm down before you scare the poor kid." Alex said rolling his eyes. The obvious twin of the bouncing boy looked at me and smirked "Don't worry, he's been scaring us since birth." I gave him a small smile and he broke into a huge goofy grin.

"Thea these are the twins, Beau and Greyson. They're 16." They both gave me face splitting smiles and I gave them a small one back. 2 more boys came into the room. One looked like a younger version of Alex while the other resembled the twins. The Alex look alike beamed when he saw me.Were they really that excited to see me? 

"Thea this is Hayden, he's 21 and Drew is 18." Drew gave me a bored wave and that broad smile hadn't left Hayden's face. "Welcome home Thea." He said sweetly. Home. For me home was just an idea on TV. Maybe it could be more. Or maybe not. "Why doesn't she talk?" Beau asked loudly. All of us turned our attention to him "Not everyone talks as much as you dickhead." Greyson said rolling his eyes.

"Hey! Language! We have a little kid in the house now." Alex said elbowing him. Greyson frowned and rubbed his arm. I didn't want Greyson to get in trouble just because I was here "It's okay. I've heard bad words before." I said quietly. Sometimes when Mom and Greg would fight, Mom would call him a dickhead so I was used to it. Alex gave me a disapproving look "Well you won't be hearing bad words here." I nodded, regretting saying anything in the first place. There was an awkward silence but thankfully Hayden broke it

"Why don't we go outside and kick the soccer ball around." All the boys nodded and I followed them outside to a big backyard. "Thea come play!" Hayden called to me. I shook my head. Partly because I was tired and partly because my ribs were still killing me and a hit with the soccer ball would absolutely kill me.

Hayden pouted playfully, earning a small smile from me. Every time I smiled at one of these boys, their face would light up. They must be really happy I'm here. I sat on the grass watching them play for about 20 minutes before Alex came over to me "Thea, come inside. There's someone who wants to meet you." My eyes widened and I got up and followed inside.

All the other boys had already gone in ahead of us and were swarming around a tall man. A tall man with electric blue eyes. When he saw me and Alex enter he pushed the other boys out of the way and came over to us.

My father stood in front of me but I suddenly found my shoes very interesting. He knelt down and gently lifted my chin so I was looking at him "You are so beautiful." He whispered. I just looked at him. Then he pulled me into a tight hug. I was tense in his arms at first but for some unknown reason a feeling of safety washed over me. 

I relaxed in his embrace no longer being afraid.

A/N-Do you guys want a character list?

Edited:7/26/20