School was already over. The final bell had rung almost ten minutes ago.

I silently followed behind a stoic Stephen. After realizing the mistake I had made, I stayed quiet. I didn't have any lies prepared which would sound believable to Stephen. So I stayed silent hoping they wouldn't think of it as a big deal. Teens say a lot of things, right?

"Why didn't you tell me anything about the test?" I asked Stephen, trying to decipher his mood.

"I knew you would pass." Stephen paused when we reached my locker.

"How?" I inquired, taking out my stuff I had placed in the locker in the morning.

"I saw your report cards from your previous institute." Stephen casually informed.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "You saw my report cards?" Did that mean he could get information from Islington Institute?

"Yes."

I wanted to ask him if he knew anything else from there. But before I could, I saw Eve leaning against a black car.

"I was wondering why your car was here." Eve commented when she saw us approaching.

Did my brothers own only black cars. If it was upto me, I would buy a red car. Maroon, to be more precise.

"Drake called." Stephen answered getting in the driver's seat. I followed Eve and sat in backseat.

"Did something happen?" Eve turned her body towards me, giving me her full attention.

"No," I shook my head.

Eve didn't pry after that but rather started ranting about the things I had missed, which was quite a lot. After that she proceeded to describe almost every person in our class. She didn't stop at that and proceeded to describe which teachers to be wary of.

Did she ever stop?!

No, she didn't. Thankfully, we reached home before she could tell me about a gym incident that occured three years ago.

"Make sure to eat lunch. Your brothers will be late so don't wait up." Stephen said, dropping us at the gate. He said he had an urgent meeting to attend so he had to rush back.

"Is the house always empty like this?" I asked to no one particular. Slumping in the living room sofa, I tossed my bag beside me. God, I was tired. The exams had eaten up a lot of my energy.

"Yeah, it's always like this." Eveline passed me one of the smoothies she had brought from the kitchen.

"Where are they?" I asked, sipping on my drink.

Eve slumped down in the couch beside me and grabbed the TV remote, "Noah has basketball practice after college. Kai is probably in his Uni. He never tells us where he goes, so we just assume on our own. Ezra is probably on day shift today."

"What do you wanna watch?" Eve asked me.

"Hmm? Whatever you want." I didn't know much about movies so l let her choose.

Eve thought for a moment until her eyes lit up, "Wanna binge watch 'Game of thrones'?

"Sure, what's it about?"

"Don't know," Eve shrugged. "War or something like that. Ezra banned me from watching it. But all my friends have already watched it, they say it's good."

"Aren't you scared what he will do if we go against his orders?" I didn't want to get on his bad side just to watch something.

But Eve couldn't care less, "The worst he can do is to confiscate our phones for a week."

I didn't resist after that. I don't regret it either. I didn't know watching TV could be so enjoyable.

"Why are you two still in your uniforms?"

I looked over to find Ezra standing in the doorway, his apron and Stethoscope folded in his left hand.

"Did you even eat lunch?" He asked glancing at the almost empty bowls of popcorn and ice cream. "And what is that you are watching?"

I looked at Eve to find her already looking at me. "Run," she mouthed before grabbing her school bag and sprinting to her room.

Um, what just happened?

"Sorry, we lost track of time." I took my bag in hand before slowly going to my room.

It was already evening. I am surprised we were watching TV for so long.

... ... ...

I went to find Kai after dinner.As expected, Kai was in the library.

I had read more books in the last few days than in my entire life combined. Taking the book Kai was reading yesterday I sat beside him.

Kai turned to look at me and flicked my forehead.

Ouch,that hurt. "What was that for?" I protested, feeling wronged.

"You lied about the ending. James was the killer." He replied nonchalantly.

"That's not fair!" I whined. Kai went back to ignoring me after that.

"Eveline told me you are studying art?" I inquired, getting bored of reading the book in my hand. It was about a cruel King who lost everything in a rebellion. The part where I was, the King had yet to make a comeback.

Kai didn't answer. So I took his silence as yes.

"Will you show me your artworks?" I requested. I really did want to see them. He used to paint when he was young, too. He taught me how to paint as well. Over the years, painting has been the only escape for me. And I had Kai to thank for that.

"You want to see them?" Kai turned to look at me. At my vigorous nodding he stood up, closing his book.

"Follow me," he said before heading down to second floor. I excitedly followed him. He took me to his personal room. As I entered, I was bewildered by the sight in front of me.

His room was filled with his artworks. His paintings were hung in the wall leaving no part uncovered. There was a half finished canvas in the middle of the room. He was probably still working on it. There were some sculptures in his room which were clearly built by him. They looked beautiful.

I looked at the paintings closely to get another shock.

"Is that me?" I asked pointing at a painting where a little girl was standing in a vast daisy field. A bunch of daisies in her hand as she grinned widely, one of her front tooth missing.

What made me sure it was me and not Eveline was because I remember as a kid I was obsessed with daisies. After my first ever tooth fell, I had cried for two days straight. Kai took me there to uplift my spirits. It had worked, for the moment I saw the sea of daisies I forgot all my woes.

"Mhm. You were so cute." Kai nodded, a faint smile on his face.

I looked around the room to realize more than half of the paintings were of mine.

My eyes locked with another picture.I was wearing a kindergarten uniform. Both my hands holding my braids, my tongue out and eyes squinting. The room was surrounded with countless such paintings.

The paintings looked so realistic that for a second it felt like the moment was happening live in front of me.

A surge of sadness filled me when I realized in all the paintings I was seven or below. He hadn't drawn anything above that age. He couldn't. I had lost the opportunity to make so many memories with Kai. And I would never get back that lost time.

"You always refused when I asked you to draw me." I commented, trying to distract my mind.

Kai froze at my casual comment.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"After you left, I realized I didn't even have one single photo of you smiling," Kai stated, "So I started to draw you from my memories. Your smiling face helped me stay sane. Otherwise I would have long gone deranged from missing you."

How could he say something like that with such a straight face?!

"You missed me?" I asked in disbelief.

Kai turned to look at me, "Everyday, little bunny."

"If you missed me so much as you claim, why didn't you go to visit me?Not even once?" My voice came out strained.

"I couldn't. Only dad knew where you were. He didn't tell us where he sent you to. Not even to Stephen. And no matter how much I begged him he wouldn't let me visit you."

"Diego knew. He visited me twice there." I mumbled. He could have just asked Diego.

"Don't speak of that bastard!" Kai punched the wall beside him. I flinched back at his aggressive behavior.

"I'm sorry, I lost control." Kai guided me to sit in his bed.

"Why didn't you come to pick me up when I first arrived here?" I asked him. I had been wanting to ask it since that day. "I had really hoped you would be there."

Why was it that Jordan cared for my feelings more than my own brother? Didn't he for once think I would be disappointed to not find him there?

"I was scared to see hatred for me in your eyes." He mumbled in a low voice, his eyes downcast.

"I could never hate you." It was one of those things I never succeeded in doing. "At first, I really tried to hate you for not coming to save me. But my heart just wouldn't let me."

How could you hate the person who practically raised you?

Kai was the reason I knew what happiness was. What smiling felt like.

He would tell me bedtime stories when I couldn't sleep. Make me laugh until my stomach hurt when all I wanted to do was sob in my pillows.

He was the one who would wipe my tears when I was sad, feed me when I didn't want to eat, protect me from all the ghosts and nightmares.

How could I hate him after all that?

"You were so harsh with me." I voiced out, my eyes burning with unshed tears. "I thought you hate me."

"I could never." He instantly refuted, raising his hand to pull me into his chest again.

His steady heartbeat calmed me down.

"I'm sorry, I was being selfish." He admitted, his hands patting my back trembling slightly. "I was only thinking of myself. I didn't want to get attached to you only for you to leave again."

"I don't think I have it in me to go through that pain again."

I tightened my arms around him, his words ingraining fear in my mind. I don't think I would be able to leave him again either.

"I won't leave this time." I promised. "No matter what happens, I will stay with you."

Kai didn't say anything. But the silent tears streaming down his eyes were enough to tell me all his unspoken words.