From where IV was sat next to his bed, III looked so serene while he slept; it was such a contradiction to all the bandages that covered him, the bandages that hid all the healing cuts and bruises that he had obtained the night before. IV wondered how he could wear such an expression after all that had happened, after his face being distorted by pain just a few hours ago.
He remembered back to the night before, getting a call from III begging him to go pick him up, but when he finally arrived, he found his little brother torn apart and being held up by his hair, his body limp and his eyes watering. There had been so much pain in those eyes.
"THIS IS WHAT YOU GET!" the attacker had yelled at IV, throwing III on the ground towards him before running off into the rainy night. As soon as IV had picked him up to carry him home, III had desperately latched onto him, scared out of his mind. What made IV's heart sink is that III's grip was so weak that he couldn't actually hold on, and was more pressed against him then hanging on.
How could he have let this happen? If only he had made it there sooner. If only he had been able to be there to protect III.
"Please don't cry," a hand softly touched his face and wiped away a tear that had started to fall, "Everything will be alright."
IV pressed III's hand to his face, closing his eyes so he didn't have to look at that weak, gentle smile; it would only make him cry more.
The monster that had done this to III would surely pay for what he had done.
IV would make sure of it.