The night before they would be leaving for Texas, Scarlett slept over at Brian's house.
It had been an uneventful night. The two had watched TV for a while and spoke quietly. Scarlett fell asleep on the couch, and Brian carried her to his room, where he lay her down on his own bed. He slid in beside her, wrapped his arms around her, and the two slept soundly.
When Scarlett awoke the next morning, it was with Brian's warm scent all around her, and his muscular arms holding her close. She turned her head slowly and looked up, immediately met with two amber orbs. His eyes were so beautiful. Honey, chocolate, brown sugar, copper, and goldenrod, all mixed into those intense eyes.
He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she giggled softly. "How'd I end up here?"
"You tell me." Brian grinned, then felt a flash of alarm at the uneasiness that crossed Scarlett's face. Oops. How was it that every time he tried to joke around her, he ended up saying the wrong thing? "No- it wasn't like that. I'm sorry, that was stupid."
Scarlett let out the breath she'd been holding and nodded against his chest slowly. "No... it's fine." She mumured, trying to hide just how frightened she'd been. Brian wouldn't do something like that to her. Not after she told him about that... that time. "I trust you."
He immediately stiffened beside her and untangled himself from her gently. For a moment longer he stared at her, his expression guarded and impossible to read, before he finally stood.
Now it was Scarlett's turn to feel alarmed. Had she said something wrong? Did he not want her to trust him? Concerned, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood as well. She felt cold now, away from his arms. "What's wrong?" She asked.
He appeared to be about to respond, then seemed to think twice and shook his head. "Don't worry about it." His voice was forcefully light-hearted, not even close to convincing her. He didn't try to explain himself, just sighed. "We have to leave for the bus soon. We'll stop by your apartment so you can pick up your bags."
That was right. Today they'd be leaving to stay with Brian's family. Excitement flowed through her, and her face split into a wide grin. "That's right! I completely forgot." In an effort to brighten his mood, Scarlett teased him gently. "I finally get to meet your mom!"
Brian sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, joy."
"What's wrong with your mom?" Scarlett asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.
"You'll see."
Whatever Scarlett expected upon stepping off the bus and blinking in the blinding sunlight, it certainly wasn't suddenly being encompassed in a pair of dark arms and smushed against a prominent bosom.
"Mamá..." Brian sighed as he exited the bus behind Scarlett. "You're going to suffocate my student."
"Mi hijo!" The woman exclaimed, releasing Scarlett and tackling Brian in a massive hug. "I can not help it, you know." The woman, Brian's mother, laughed. "They are always so cute!"
Gracia Shaden spoke with a heavy Spanish accent, Scarlett noticed, still somewhat stunned from the sudden proximity of the woman. Her skin was several shades darker than Brian's, and her hair was straw-colored, hanging down to her waist. She was gracefully plump, giving her a very warm and motherly look.
"That was just plain wierd." Craig muttered as he stepped up beside her, Faith and Stan trailing behind him. Mr. Woode appeared disinterested, staring off at the vast prairie. "Too bad she didn't really suffocate you."
Scarlett glared at the boy venomously. "Too bad you weren't the first one off. That would've been hilarious."
Faith laughed nervously, stepping in between the two just when they appeared ready to scratch eachother's throats out. "Really not the time, guys."
Indeed, the two suddenly noticed the people that were appearing one-by-one out of the massive house, greeting Ashton and Brian with big smiles and laughter. A middle-aged woman with cropped russet hair and a sour expression scrutinized the students severely before snorting. "These are the ones you brought?" She rolled her eyes. "They're too scrawny to be any help on the ranch."
"We'll find something for them, Russ." A white-haired man that bore a strong likeness to the woman told her, giving the kids a grin. "Sorry about my sister, guys. She's a bit prickly." Scarlett noticed that both Russ and her brother were Caucasian, obviously not of the same Latin heritage as Gracia.
"Ooh yes!" Gracia wrapped her arms around the white-haired mans waist. "We will find many, many things for you adorable children to do! Such fun you will have." As though a thought suddenly struck her, she let go of the man. "I almost forgot! I am Gracia, Brian's mamá!"
Brian rolled his eyes when Craig muttered, "I'm completely unable to see the resemblance."
"This here is my husband, Ben." The white haired man lifted one hand in a casual greeting. "His sister, Russ," the woman spat on the dirt in response. "And Maria- where is that girl?"
"Here I am!" A beautiful gypsy-like girl suddenly stepped out of the house, her long golden hair waving in the breeze. Her chocolate-brown skin contrasted sharply with her bright blue eyes and the pale yellow sundress she wore. "Ah, Brian's minions have arrived?"
"Minions?" Stan appeared confused. "I... I don't think that's an accurate term."
"I am joking." The girl laughed, approaching them across the vast frontyard. She too had an accent, though Scarlett was not quite able to place it. She appeared to be about their age, but had a maturity about her Scarlett had only ever seen in her older sister. "That is what we call you children when you arrive."
"Why is that?" Faith asked.
"Because we're gonna run you into the ground working." Russ raised one pierced eyebrow skeptically. "It won't take long."
Stan gulped, and Faith laughed nervously. "Is that so?"
"Quit scaring them, Russ." Brian muttered coldly. "There's no need."
Surprised by such a blatant tone of annoyance, Scarlett looked at her teacher questioningly. Though he wasn't looking at anyone, his uneasiness was obvious in the way he rocked back and forth on his heels. Something about this place put him on edge. His family appeared to know what this was, as they exchanged several worried glances, with the exception of Ben who only rolled his eyes.
"When will Tam be her, Gracia?" Maria finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Hm? Oh, yes. She will be here later tonight." Gracia replied, smiling. "Brian's sister is a very busy woman, you see. Very succesful, she is. It is too bad she doesn't visit often."
"At least she didn't move across the country." Ben muttered with a barbed glance at Brian, who stiffened but didn't reply.
"That means everyone will be here, if Rowan is coming, too." Gracia nodded, and Maria grinned.
"Not everybody." Brian whispered, just as a strangely chilled wind swept past them. He turned away suddenly and began walking toward the house, ignoring the eyes on his back.
"What was that all about?" Craig asked.
"Nothing." Gracia appeared uncharacteristically serious, her eyebrows drawn together in worry. "Do not worry about it, child. My son, he has quite a bit on his shoulders."
Ben snorted, earning an elbow in the ribs from Russ.
"Let us go in now, children," Gracia smiled warmly, all traces of worry gone from her face. "So much fun you will have here, I promise that!"
Later that night, they all sat around a massive oak table that stretched almost completely across the dining room. The house was just as gigantic on the inside as Scarlett had seen on the outside- it had a warm, earthy quality about it, so much more comfortable than the lonely apartment she was used to, or her parents' sterilized mansion.
Gracia had served a bountiful dinner of smoked turkey, chicken, beef, and pork, all raised on the ranch behind the house. The family owned three hundred acres of land, most of which was hand-worked. That explained why they all had a lean, muscular quality about them, the same there was in Brian.
"Tam should be here in about ten minutes." Ben announced as he walked back into the room after answering the phone. He sighed as he sat down, shaking his head. "She said she failed another pregnancy test."
Gracia clucked her tongue, a scowl on her face. "She'll be having triplets in no time, you mark my words."
Scarlett smiled, warmed by the woman's obvious support of her daughter. "What's her husband like?"
"Annoying." Russ muttered.
"He's a good man." Ben glared at his sister. "A bit rough around the edges, and strong enough to beat even Brian. Tam's the only person that can keep him in line."
"He nearly broke my arm the last time we had an arm-wrestling match." Ashton joked, to the amusement of the rest of the family.
"How long have you known Mr. Garra, Mr. Woode?" Faith asked, having noticed the easy way he got along with the English teacher's family.
"This calls for the photo album!" Maria exclaimed, leaping up suddenly and dashing from the room. The gathered party exchanged several bewildered glances, though Gracia and Ben chuckled lightly. Brian blinked several times. "She doesn't mean...?"
"Baby pictures!" The girl shouted, racing back in with a thick album held to her chest. She placed it on the table while both Brian and Ashton groaned loudly. Maria opened to the first page, and both Faith and Scarlett squealed at the adorableness of the picture.
A baby Brian lay asleep beside a baby Ashton, both in diapers. Ashton's thumb was in his partially open mouth, a small trail of drool trickling from the corner of his lip. Brian appeared to be dreaming, his eyebrows furrowed and a tiny smile on his lips.
"You were so cute!" Scarlett laughed. "What happened?"
"Haha." Brian rolled his eyes.
"I had no idea you guys have known eachother that long." Stan looked at them curiously.
"Our families used to be pretty close." Ashton explained. "My sister and I usually came with my parents when they visited. I'm stuck with this douche because of them."
"Language, boys!" Gracia chided.
Maria turned to the next page, which was a picture of baby Brian staring up at the camera with wide amber eyes. He was reaching upward, his pudgy fingers grasping for the camera.
"He tried to get his hands on anything he could when he was little." Gracia laughed.
The next picture was of a robust young man with a jaggedly handsome face, dark brown hair, Caucasian skin, and amber eyes that were hauntingly familiar. He held Brian in his arms, and was staring down at him with an expression that seemed impossibly cold. "Who's that wierd man?" Stan asked, somewhat unnerved by the man's expression.
"That strange man," Brian muttered. "Is my father. And he's dead now."
Stan gulped, staring at the English teacher for a long moment. Nobody liked to have their father referred to as 'that strange man', especially if they were dead. "Oh... oh. I'm really sorry..."
"It's alright." Ben said quickly, blatantly avoiding looking at Brian. It had become very apparent there was something wrong between the two. "You didn't know."
It was obvious that it was not alright, but nobody said anything more about it, as the door suddenly opened and a woman stepped into the room. She had spiky, jaggedly cropped tawny brown hair, shot through with auburn and blond, and green eyes. She had a complexion much like Brian's, though her face was round like her mother's.
"Tam!" Maria ran to hug the woman, and was quickly followed by Gracia and Brian. A moment later a tall man with dark red hair and a sour face appeared, nodding stiffly to the family before setting his bags down.
"Glad you two could make it." Ben smiled as he approached, kissing his step-daughter on the cheek.
"Anytime." The girl, Tam, grinned. "It's been too long since I visited. I didn't want all of you to forget about me."
"How could we forget about you, child?" Gracia hugged her. "Things are so quiet without you trying to punch every person that steps through the door!"
Laughter circulated around the room, and Scarlett found herself smiling. She couldn't understand Brian's unease about his family. All she saw was happiness and love and laughter. But there was something boiling underneath, something that was surrounding Brian, something they all knew about. It was then that she first realized just how trapped Brian must be.
"So, she's the one?" Tam leaned against the doorframe of Brian's room, later that night. Her brother lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. He blinked and looked at her when she spoke. "What are you talking about?"
"The little redhead." Her green eyes narrowed. "I'm not blind, Brian. What the hell are you doing?"
Brian sat up quickly, staring at her in shock. "How did you know?"
"Because you just told me." Sighing, she shut the door and sat down at the foot of his bed. "What's gotten into you?" She asked sternly. "She's your student. Do you really not understand how wrong that is?"
"I'm perfectly aware of how wrong it is." Brian snapped, not meeting her gaze. "No need to tell me." They were silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I think I've done enough by now that this doesn't really matter. I'm going to hell anyway."
"You don't even believe in God." She raised one eyebrow at him.
"Exactly." He muttered in reply, laying down again. "I don't care anymore."
"Yes, you do. You always say how you don't want to bring anyone down with you. Isn't that exactly what you're doing?"
Brian's teeth clenched. Tam really had a way of twisting the knife in his wounds. "Just shut up. It's none of your business."
"It will be if they find out." She whispered. "You know they're looking for her."
"I won't let them take her."
Three hours past. Scarlett lay alone on the bottom bunk, listening to Faith's steady breathing above her. Everybody else was asleep, but she just couldn't seem to calm her mind. Thoughts of Brian, thoughts of his father, thoughts of that dead girl, Lark, were swirling in her mind like a tornado.
Her half-lidded emerald eyes suddenly widened when a strange noise sounded from outside the room. She sat up quickly, bumping her head on the top bunk and cursing silently. She stood gingerly, though the others were too deeply asleep to notice her. For some reason she was determined to find the source of the noise.
The door creaked softly as she opened it and stepped out into the hallway. There was the noise again, soft and pained. Her brows furrowing in concern, she began walking down the hallway, one hand trailing down the side of the wall. When the noise next came, she was standing beside a door, knowing it was coming from inside. She pressed her ear against the wood and listened. Somebody was crying.
She opened the door achingly slowly and peered inside. There, curled into a fetal position on his bed, was Brian. She stepped inside and shut the door. He was asleep, she could see that, but his body shuddered with barely controlled sobs. There were no tears, just dry choking sounds that emitted from his chest.
Scarlett approached him slowly, wanting desperately to wake him up but knowing she shouldn't. Demons that attacked while you slept were something that had to be dealt with on one's own, she'd learned that. Still, to watch him silently, that pained expression on his face while his hands fisted in the sheets, it was almost more than she could stand.
More than anything, she wanted to know what was causing him so much pain. She wanted to know why his family whispered about him behind their backs. She wanted to know the secret behind his father, behind Ben, behind the heritage of Maria. Somehow, she had to help him. To see him wracked with such agony, to see him acting so strong in his waking hours...
But Brian's demons were more potent then anything she could have guessed.
Hmyes.
The plot. It be thickening.
Lovely and inspirational reviewers include: Nightkill, Snowflash, Queen Of The Pens, winterthaw of thunderclan, Sparkheart of ThunderClan, Meiveva Sirenice, xXLeafdappleXx, blackshadow, and Stargazer2000. HOLY SHI-
That's a lot of reviewers... XD
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