“Let go of me!” She tries to break free from my grip but I don’t let her.
“Anastasia, stopit!” I raise my voice, shaking her body and trying to get her out of her state.
But she breaks down in more tears, losing all strength as she falls to the floor. I sink down beside her then, capturing her into my arms as I pet her head.
“Shh, babydoll, it’s okay.” I soothe her pain, though I keep holding back tears of my own.
She keeps screaming and crying into my chest until she simply falls asleep out of exhaustion. I stand up and carry her to bed, placing her there before stepping out of her room and closing the door.
I turn on the shower and look at myself in the mirror as the water gets warm. I don’t recognize myself anymore, the man staring back at me feels so empty. Yet, there’s so many feelings lingering behind my heavy eyes.
Stepping into the shower, the warm, thick steam surrounds me. I let my hand reach the water first, and instantly, my skin burns. I let the rest of myself step under the warmth, and my chest feels like needles instantly.
I claw at my own chest as it burns like fire, but I don’t let myself turn down the temperature. I just killed my brother, this is the least I deserve. I run my hand through my hair, and red liquid runs over my body.His blood. I swallow down the thick lump in my throat. I’m not throwing up. Nope, won’t happen.
I don’t shower for long, only until my hair is rinsed from my brother’s blood. Then I step outside and the freezing air hits me like a punch to the gut. I wrap the white towel around me, then I leave the bathroom without looking twice at the monster in the mirror.
Looking through the windows of the livingroom, the outside is full with my father’s men. And when I see them zipping the bag over his face, I tear my eyes from the situation. It’s like seeing myself in a bag, dead, heart no longer beating.
I already know I won’t be able to sleep, so I sit down on the sofa and stare at the wall. The TV stays turned off along with the radio. I can’t stand any sounds right now.
I just keep staring at the wall with heavy eyes until the sun rises the next morning, and the birds start singing outside the windows.
Chapter 15
Anastasia
I wake up the next morning as the door to my room opens, and Brian steps inside. I back away until my back hits the headboard, then there’s nowhere else I can escape.
“I know you might not be up for breakfast, but you need to eat. Especially after the ordeal yesterday.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You have to eat, babydoll.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Stop it.” His voice is empty, and his body shows no signs of having energy to argue.
“Why didn’t he save me? Why didn’t he bring me home? He tried tokillme.”
“I told you, but you didn’t listen.”
My eyes fill with tears. I heard everything they said through the helmet, everything Matheo said. He had no heart, but I had believed otherwise for the past six years of my life.
My heart breaks all over again as I think of it.
“I know it hurts,” his tone is gentle. “But I will take care of you.”
He comes closer and sets down the plate before me, filled with the breakfast I mentioned and more. He has placed everything like a heart on the plate, and somehow, it makes me soften.
“You made a heart out of it,” I say, looking up at him.
“I know,” a small smile forms on his lips. “Eat now, you need it, your energy is already low,” he says before turning around.
“Wait!” The word leaves me before I get the chance to think.
He stops in the doorway, head turning to look back at me.
