The Missing Piece

40. Demons

~~Hey guys. did y'all read chapter 38? Someone told me its not available. Let me know if you are having the same problem. If there are a lot of people having the issue, I'll publish that part again after this chapter.~~

Ryder's POV

We were all sitting in the living room after dinner. Only us cousins were there. Most of the guys seemed lost in thought, while the eldest siblings were discussing something in hushed voice.

My mind was wandering around the thoughts of my baby sister. When she walked in the dining room with the A-triplets and her two friends from school, she was lost in thought. She looked sad. She smiled when she looked at the family.

I know it was fake. There is something we are missing. We have to find out soon. I know there's something going on in that little head of hers.

I remember how she almost cried that day. We were all sitting together in the living room as usual. That day, she just sat there staring into distance. She didn't talk, didn't laugh, didn't even smile. She was thinking something. We tried to engage her in conversation, but it was like she wasn't even sitting there, she was somewhere else.

We kept glancing at each other and at her. Then, her eyes became glossy. That freaked us all out. Our heart aches when we see tears falling through her eyes. She covered it up saying she had a stomach ache.

We aren't idiots. She is not one to cry over pain. She broke her hand and didn't even notice. When she did notice it, she didn't even spill a tear.

And she thinks we'll believe that poor excuse of hers. She sucks at lying.

I thought it was the shock of the kidnapping and the nightmares that were affecting her. But we all are suspicious that it is something else that is bothering her.

We can't force her to tell us. We are afraid we will trigger something by making her tell us her thoughts or whatever she sees in the nightmares.

We also told the cousins and uncles about it. The whole family knows. That's what we always do. All of us stick together to solve any problem. The cousins also noticed the change in her.

Grandpa has a special and the biggest spot for her in his heart. He is too worried about her. He keeps asking about her whenever she's not in his sight. The first thing he says after coming back to the mansion is 'Where's my princess?'

Grandpa was the coldest of all the men of our family, before she came. He didn't ever show emotions to any of the guys or even his sons. But since our baby sister arrived, his personality completely flipped. Not only does he show emotions to her, but he started showing us emotions too. She's like the warmth of our life.

Its like she is the ray of sunshine that melts our cold exteriors.

"Something's wrong with our baby sister." I said.

The room became silent. Everyone looked at me sadly.

"I think so too. She's hiding something." Damon said staring at nothing.

"Yeah. She's sad about something." Will said sadly.

"We need to get her to open up to us. She's suffering alone." James said.

"We asked her to talk to anyone she wanted, if not us. She doesn't want to." Elonzo said.

I sighed.

"Do you think Max might know something? I mean, they have been together since they were 8." I suggested.

"Yeah. We should ask him." Tyler agreed as everyone nodded in agreement too.

"Diego, can you go call Max, please?" Emiliano said.