CHAPTER ELEVEN

He tossed and turned in his duvet eventually kicking it down at then end of the bed, he exhaled a breath of frustration. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't will himself to fall asleep. Benedict blinded pulled his phone from the charging port on the bedside table and brought it to his face.

His eyes squinted as the bright screen glared at him as he unlocked it, dimming down the brightness, he checked the time and sighed.

2:23am.

If he couldn't fall asleep in the past four hours, he won't in the next. He brought up the photo gallery on his phone and pressed the first image in recent photos.

It was a quick photo of the polaroid that he found in Kiera's bedroom which really unnerved him and only brought even more questions and even less answers. He did originally take the polaroid but Kiera would notice something different so he put it back when she wasn't around but did snap a quick pic of it.

He reread what she wrote under the photo: 19th birthday.

Exactly two months before she left and never looked back. It confused him more than the Matrix films did and so did she. He thought back to that very night that rocked and flipped his childhood and family upside down, he was only five years old and he doesn't remember a lot of it but something did stick out to him in his memories.

Ten or more years ago...

It was a cloudy, dark night in the winter months. Benedict was sound asleep in his Star Wars centric bedroom and rocking his Scooby Doo pyjamas.

The door slowly cracked open, making no noise and simple crept in making sure not to step on any toys and Lego pieces.

It was Kiera, she quietly knelt down at the side of his bed where his head was facing. She watched him for a few minutes almost memorizing him for the what she has to do next. Her hand ghosted over his free shoulder and slowly rocked it.

He grumbled and whined in his sleep. She lowly shushed him and he instantly recognised who it was that was waking him.

"Kier-wa?"

She smiled sadly at him and nodded. "It's me, don't get up, Benny. I just have to tell you some things and you can go back to sleep, okay?"

Benedict nodded sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the sleeves of his pyjama shirt. "What?"

"I just want to tell you that I love you with all of my heart and don't ever forget that, not for a second. You may not see me for awhile but I'll always be with you in your heart." Kiera wiped her eyes as tears threatened to escape but she was stronger than that, she could make it through this.

"I wuv you too, don't cry, Kier-wa." He held her hand.

She smiled with tears in her eyes. "You are so sweet, Benny, you have such a kind soul. Much better than mine and you deserve the world. You're more deserving than I of that."

She took a deep breath. "I love you."

And then she was gone.

Present time...

The next time he saw her was when she picked him up not that long ago and now here he is, living in her house with their eldest brother Lorenzo. He sighed and opened up his group chat, he knew they wouldn't answer but he needed to get this off his chest and get some solid advise from his friends. He was too close to this, so personal and so much emotion. He couldn't think clearly.

Maybe they could.

Benedict: I found an old photo of Kiera and some guy on her 19th birthday, I've never seen him before. There's something there, I can feel it. Should I confront her about it or should I ask Enzo about it first? I honestly don't know what to do anymore.

He sent it and plugged his phone back into the charging port, lay back and tried to get some sleep. Thankfully, he did.

He woke up in the morning and took a quick shower, he came back to his bed with a towel wrapped around his waist. He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed his phone, checking his messages.

Charmy: bite the bullet, ask your sister

Cream: I would, as you, ask your brother first. He was old enough to remember what happened and more likely to answer you than Kiera

Tails: valid point

Charmy: Fine, fine, ask the brother

Benedict: thanks guys

He locked his phone and got himself ready, he wasn't going to spend all day in his bedroom although he wanted to do. There was too much on his mind. He put pants on and a navy hoodie on before going downstairs.

He looked around and there was no sign of Kiera, not a surprise though. Benedict strolled into the kitchen as his stomach rumbled at a low volume. He opened the bread bin and pulled out a few slices, then noticing that the side door was open ajar.

His eyes narrowed at it and he paused what he was doing to go investigate. He opened the door and looked around the doorway and found Lorenzo having a cigarette. He smiles at his brother, it was nice to see him and someone other than himself in this house.

Lorenzo gave him a nod. "Sleep well?" He asked, blowing out a puff of smoke away from him.

Benedict shrugged. "Not the best but not the worst. I see you're still smoking, thought you quit?"

He rolled his eyes. "Our sister is draining me already, needed to relieve the tension. She's like a drill sergeant, you know?" Lorenzo shuddered at the memories.

Benedict leaned against the brick wall of the house, his eyes wandering watching something in the trees, Lorenzo quickly caught on. He wasn't stupid. He finished his cigarette and stomped it out.

He cleared his throat. "What's on your mind, kiddo?"

He turned his head and met his brothers gaze. "I found something of Kiera's I probably shouldn't have but I can't get it out of my head."

Lorenzo gave a disturbed look. "Do I wanna know?"

Benedict rolled his eyes. "No, no, nothing like that. It was a photo, an old polaroid."

"Right, and?"

He drummed his fingers against the wall and pushed himself off the wall. He took out his phone from his back pocket and brought up the picture he took of it and showed it him. Lorenzo took the phone and had a closer look at it.

"Who's the bloke next to her?" He handed the phone back to him.

Benedict sighed in frustration. "I was hoping you would know, I was too young and you were old enough to remember."

"Sorry, Ben, I've never seen him before."

He rubbed his temple, this was a long shot but he had to try at least. "Enzo, is there anything you can remember about the night she left or what led up to it happening?"

He shook his head sadly. "I have no idea, I thought everything was fine with her. I was in deep with my own crap to notice what was going on with her which I regret now for obvious reasons."

Benedict took a deep breath, trying to process everything. "A boyfriend, maybe? Do you remember her having any guys over or around her at school?"

Lorenzo tried to think. "She never brought a guy home and she wouldn't dare to, she'd get slaughtered if she did. I never saw her with any lads, hell, I didn't even see her at school."

He thought of something else. "She's too smart for her own good and if she outsmarted our father and had a secret boyfriend then maybe that is him."

"You think so? It was taken on her 19th birthday."

He shrugged. "Nothing really happened, it was the usual we put her presents in her room and had the cake together, went to bed."

"But she clearly didn't go to bed, looks like she snuck out." Benedict smiled, he was finally getting answers to his questions even though these are just theories. There's only one person that knows what happened that night: Kiera. She's not really open to talking about the past.

Lorenzo looked annoyed. "She snuck out of that house and didn't get caught? She could have told me how to do that and I wouldn't have been under house arrest in my teens."

"It was probably a good thing you were." Benedict smirked.

Lorenzo glared at him. "Hey. Uncool, but true." He walked toward the side door.

"Come on, I'm gonna take you suit shopping for the dance and then we have a sister to confront." He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

Benedict followed him inside, closing the door behind him. "The dance isn't until next month."

"Better early than never."

He looked at his brother confused. "That's not how that saying goes."

"So?"

Oh god, this is going to be a long day.

Benedict groaned. "How long now?"

"Just shoes and stop being a baby." Lorenzo rolled his eyes and it reminded him of Kiera, sees the eye roll of annoyance and contempt is genetic.

"Fine, you choose. I don't care." He really doesn't but Lorenzo knows his stuff and knows how to look good. He was definitely the stereotypical ladies man, these days not so much.

He nodded, brining up a pair of shoes and comparing it to the suit he's chosen. "So, Ben, who is the lucky girl you are taking to the dance?

"There is no lucky girl, I'm going with my friends."

Lorenzo groaned. "Going stag, really?"

"Sorry I'm not following in your footsteps with a different girl in my bed every week."

He looked surprised. "Ouch, Benny-boo. What's up?"

Benedict sighed. "Sorry, Enzo, I didn't mean it like that – I'm just not like you or our other brothers."

"Its okay, don't worry about it. Let's head home."

It was the evening, Benedict and Lorenzo were sat at the dinner table and no word from Kiera all day so they went ahead and made dinner without her.

The front door opened and closed, she waltzed in. "Welcome home, dear sister." Lorenzo smiled at her.

Kiera paused her footing at the end of the table. "What's got your panties in a twist?" She crossed her arms as Lorenzo nodded to Benedict to take over.

He pulled out his phone and pulled up the photograph of her polaroid and laid the phone down and pushed it toward her. "Care to explain?"

Her eyes met the photo and chills ran down the entirety of her body. She looked at the guy in the photo and it made her hairs stand on end, and it definitely rubbed her the wrong way. "Where did you get this?" She seethed through her teeth in a low tone of voice, she was not happy.

Benedict's voice was quiet, he felt like a little lamb set up for the slaughter. "I was looking for a new book to read, I picked a book up in your bedroom and it fell out."

He slowly met her eyes and they were dark, they reminded him of their father. He was down right scary when was angry and so was she. "I'm sorry."

He felt a hand on his arm, it was Lorenzo. "Don't apologise, Ben."

Lorenzo looked at Kiera. "So, what the hell happened? Why did you leave? Do you not care at all? We're waiting."

"Of course, I fucking care." She spat.

He was smug. "Then tell us, we're family. Your secret is safe with us."

"You really wanna know? Really?" Her tone of voice changed, there was something sad and emotional behind it.

"Yes." Lorenzo pushed for the both of them.

Benedict did want to know but not like this, he didn't want to hurt her to find out. "Some family." Kiera said.

"What?"

She quickly recovered. "The guy in the photo was a short lived shitty boyfriend, his name was Forsythe, and he got me pregnant because we were stupid teenagers who didn't know any better."

Her eyes watered but she continued on. "On the day I found out, so did our father, what a saint he was. That same night he made me get an abortion and said I was a stupid girl and this would never happen again."

A few stray tears slid down her cheeks, and Benedict felt his heart breaking watching and listening to her. "I couldn't live there anymore, under his rule like I belonged to him. His perfect little princess. So I left and never looked back."

She looked at the both of them. "Are you happy?" and she stormed out.

He wasn't happy, far from it.