SARAH Sometimes, all it takes is just a gentle brush on the cheek to take you ten years backwards, down the memory lane. Only, my journey is more than ten years away. It’s almost twenty. Back to the night the police showed up at our doorstep to let Kevin and I know that our parents were dead. They never came back from date night. Kevin’s congratulatory dinner was in the microwave—mom had made it last night to celebrate his entry into college. He had decided to heat it up before mom and dad returned from date night with some food for us. The microwave overheated and caused a fire. That night, we didn’t only lose our parents, but more than half of our house…burnt to the ground. We sat on a long bench in the police station just like this, in this exact position; Me, swollen eyed and tired, with my head on his shoulder. And him, back against the wall as he squeezed my knee. Till now, it’s hard to tell if the hand on my knee is there to ground me or himself. Whichever way it goes, I’m fine with it. Kevin manages to explain it all to me in a way that calls to the little girl inside of me. He was scared, worried about the very thing that happened to me. He had realized talking wouldn’t be enough to pull me away from the brothers, so something else had to be done. Something a bit more…drastic. I know I shouldn’t have listened. “So, Julian huh?” He asks, finally breaking the three hour long silence. Yes, I’ve been watching the clock. My response comes with a shrug. “What are you talking about?” I feel Kevin smile from the top of my head. “The man kept bugging me to know if you were alright. It was either I told him where you were, or blocked him from my phone. I’m sure you know what choice I went with by now. And he brought flowers?” He looks down at me with that charming smile plastered on his face. I make sure to keep my eyes off him, it’s the only way to avoid being sucked into his trap. “He’s quite resilient, isn’t he?” “It’s a pity. It can’t and won’t happen. Not when I’m…” The rest of my sentence is swallowed by the realization that I haven’t told Kevin yet, about my pregnancy. No one knows besides Julian. I want to tell him, I really do. But the words sit like stones in my throat. A secret like this is to be shared with joy, but I can’t bring myself to think of the words. How can I say them? Too late. “Not when you’re what?” Pulling my head from his shoulder, I shift on my spot to look carefully at him. He twists sideways on his spot so his caring eyes rest on me. “Is something wrong, Berry?” Yes. Everything is wrong. Not a single fucking thing feels right except for the babies in my womb. I’ve been so caught up in many things, I haven’t even taken the time to feel the joys of motherhood. I didn’t want to admit it before, but I’m really not prepared for this, any of it. The tears begin to flow down my cheeks again, heavier than before. My brother closes the distance between us. “I don’t know what to do, Kev. It’s all too much.” “Hey, it’s okay,” Both hands come down on my shoulders, steady and unyielding. “I’m right here. I won’t ever leave you alone again, it’s a promise.” Looking into his eyes is the easy part, it’s getting my mouth to move that leaves me gagged. But I have to. It’s already very obvious there’s no option of keeping it hidden forever. “I’m…I’m pregnant. About seven weeks gone, according to the doctor.” There, I let the bomb drop to the ground. Kevin is straightfaced at first, like I haven't just confessed to carrying life inside of me. Then, the shock comes seconds later. His eyes slowly grow wider and wider, until I fear his eyeballs will fall off. He tilts his head to the right and narrows his eyes on me, drops his gaze to my stomach, and lets it slowly travel up to my face again. Kevin shakes his head. “You’re fucking with me.” He shifts backwards. “I see it. You’re fucking with me.” “What? I’m not. Why would I joke about something like this?” The shock comes again. “So you’re not…my God!” He exclaims, both hands fly to his head, and he looks at my stomach again. “I’m going to be an uncle.”“Kevin…” He jumps up, throwing his hands into the air. I haven’t seen him pull this move in years. It feels almost freeing to watch him be so excited over my news. “I’m going to be a fucking uncle!” He places both hands on his knees as he looks straight at me. “This is amazing. I…I don’t know what to say. A boy or a girl?” My chest doesn’t feel so heavy anymore. Seeing the joy, bright as day, on his face…it makes me happy too. “I don’t know. Maybe both?” For a heartbeat, he looks boyish, eyes blown so wide with joy, I wonder if he can feel them about to burst. “Shut the hell up. Twins?!” “Technically, yes.” “Fuck it!” His hands go up again. “This is huge, Sarah. We should be celebrating!” “But I’m not sure they’ll want it.” His smile slowly fades. “Who the fuck…who gives a fuck what they want? You’ve always wanted to be a mother, haven’t you?” “Yes, but…” “Then that’s all that matters,” he sits beside me and takes both my hands in his. “I’m going to be here every step of the way, okay? Whether you want them here, or they want to be here. You will never have to worry about anything,” he smiles at my stomach. “None of you will.” For the first time in days, I feel light—almost giddy. The future doesn’t seem so bleak anymore. It’s bright now, so clear and exciting, the thought of it brings a smile to the corner of my lips. But, it doesn’t last long. When my gaze flickers to the TV screen at the end of the wall, my smile dies before it fully forms. I stare blankly at the face on the screen. A long spiky jaw and blue eyes that’ll haunt me forever. “Is that…is that Luke?” “What?” Kevin turns in the direction of my now terrified stare. I leap from the couch and reach for the remote on the TV stand. My shaky right hand tries to cling onto it while pressing the volume button. DEAD BODY FOUND IN DURMONT NATIONAL STADIUM. VICTIM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS LUKE BARNABAS HAWKTHORNE, FOSTER FATHER OF THE FAMOUS HAWKTHORNE BROTHERS OF HAWK EMPIRE, WHO DISAPPEARED FIFTEEN YEARS AGO AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE WHOM HE WAS REPORTED TO HAVE ABUSED SEVERALLY… Luke’s dead body is shown hanging from the top of a heavy duty vehicle. It’s blurred out, or most of it is, but it’s him…it’s him. “They killed him.” The remote slips from my sweaty fingers and falls to the ground. “They fucking killed him.” After everything that happened, they…they’ll never change. And they put it out there, left it for everyone in the world to know. I’m almost floating in my anger as my feet carry me all the way to Jaxon’s room. I push the door open, only to find a lady mopping the floor. No one is in here, not even Jaxon. The bed is undressed. They left. “Sarah, please. You need to rest.” I spin on my heel, fury sparking in my eyes. “Where are they, Kevin? I want to speak with them.” He heaves a tired sigh. “Berry…” “Now!”