Page 3 of Light in Your Eyes (Romero Brothers #1)

Kellan

Every part of my body feels sore. I can't even move an inch.

It hurts. It hurts so much.

I try to move my head, but it feels like being attacked with a hammer.

I can hear faint whispers.

"He's just a little boy. Still very young," someone cries.

"What a tragedy."

Tragedy.

That one word makes me snap. I try to sit up but fail because of extreme pain. I want to scream, but what comes out of my mouth is a weak whimper.

I feel people rushing toward me and settling me back on the bed. My head hurts so much.

God, why is it so painful?

"Kellan." A man's voice echoes, close to me.

I know that voice. It's familiar.

I try to open my eyes, but it's so hard to do so. My eyelids flicker, and slowly, very slowly, I open my eyes. I'm sure that I've done that, but I keep failing. I can't see anything. It's total darkness.

"Kellan," the man speaks again, and I finally remember his voice. "It's me, Fenrir."

"Fenrir?" My voice is shaking. It sounds so weak and hoarse. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here beside you."

"Where?" My voice grows panicked. "Where are Mom and Dad? Where's Inez? I need to see them."

There's no response from him, which makes my heart race. I hear someone crying again. Probably a nurse.

"Why are you not answering me?" I demand. "Where are they?"

To my horror, Fenrir sniffs. He's crying.

Fenrir never cries—I just can't imagine that. And I don't like it.

"I'm sorry," he says in a sad tone. "I'm so sorry for what happened to your family."

I'm at a loss for words. Something wet rolls down my cheek, and I realize that I'm crying too.

All this time, I've always tried my best to not cry and be tough, but today, it's just too much. I can't do anything but cry.

"What are you talking about?" My voice is filled with anger. "Where are they?"

"Kellan." Fenrir takes a deep breath, as if he's trying to calm down too. "I did try to warn your dad, but he didn't listen. I knew that he was not supposed to get out of the house this morning. They planned to kill him while he was on the way—" Fenrir stops short and curses under his breath.

I freeze.

They?

Who are they?

Are they the people Dad wanted to shoot earlier?

"What happened?" I raise my voice, becoming even more impatient. "What happened to him? What happened to Mom and Inez? Why are you not bringing me to them?"

"I—" It seems that it's very hard for him to speak. "I don't think that you're in proper condition to know—"

"Fenrir!" I roar.

My chest is heaving up and down. I never spoke to him like this, in such a commanding tone. But I've lost my patience. I want to know everything. I want somebody to take all this pain away.

Fenrir heaves a sigh. "A van coming from another road hit your father's car, crashing from the right side. Your mother and father died on the spot because they suffered the worst damage, as for Inez and the driver..."

I feel like the world around me crumble into pieces.

"They didn't make it either. You're the only one who survived. It's a miracle—"

"No." I shake my head in denial as tears stream down harder down my face. "No, it can't be true. You're lying. You're lying to me."

"Kellan—"

"I need to see them," I cry.

I can't move my body because of all these wounds. I hate to just sit here, shaking with fear.

"Just tell the doctor to do something to my eyes. I can't open it. Do something," I lash out .

"Kellan." Fenrir's voice is filled with sympathy. "You've already opened your eyes."

His words make me taken aback. It's already dark here, but I feel like I'm falling deeper into an endless pit.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "It must be because of the injury from the crash. I can't see you like this, Kellan. I can't—" His voice is shaking. I feel him moving from his spot.

"Where's Jaxon?" It's the only question left to say. I feel my heart shatter into a million pieces.

Fenrir doesn't answer, so I cry again.

"Where is he? I need to see my brother."

I need to see Jaxon. He'll tell me that everything is alright. He'll tell me everything I need to know.

"He's here," Fenrir finally says. "But I don't think that the two of you can meet each other soon. He's not in a proper state either."

With that said, Fenrir leaves.

***

I wait, wait, and wait. But Jaxon still hasn't come yet.

The doctor visited me, but I didn't catch what he was saying. He didn't answer the question that had been lingering in my head. Instead, he said that I needed help first, as though he was waiting for a therapist before saying anything about my eyes.

It's when I hear shouting from outside the room that I come to my senses again. It's Jaxon.

"I need to see Kellan!" his loud voice echoes in the air, hysterical. "I need to see my brother! "

I can hear the surrounding fuss, as though the nurses are trying to put him back into another room, preventing him from seeing me.

"Jaxon, please," one of them says in a soothing voice. "Both of you are not in good condition right now. Help is coming. You can see your brother when both of you are in a fit state. It's for his own good, and yours too."

I know what's going on. They're treating us like helpless kids, but what can we do to change that?

We are indeed kids.

"Jaxon," I stutter. "Jaxon!" I call him with all the energy left in my body.

"Let me go," he hisses to the surrounding people, and I can feel his movement when he rushes to the bed.

"Where are you?" I urge.

"I'm here." His hand grabs mine, and I can feel the warmth of his skin. I'm holding on to him like my life depends on him.

"Why can't I see you?" I sob.

I want to see. I really want to see. I hate this darkness.

"Why can't I see anything?"

Jaxon doesn't say anything, and I become even more restless. This is not the reaction that I expect from him.

"Why are you silent?" I ask.

The next thing I hear is his cry, and that makes my heart drop. I feel my eyes water again. My throat hurts so badly.

"Am I blind?" I whisper.

Jaxon sobs. "I'm sorry." He breaks down, tightening his hold on my hand. I can feel that he wants to hug me, but he can't do it because of how wounded I am. "I'm sorry, Kellan. "

I don't know what I should do. Jaxon's hand is shaking as he cries with me. My heart feels like it doesn't exist anymore.

Why didn't I just die in the car crash?

Why am I still breathing?

Jaxon is holding my hand so tightly, like I am his life, and maybe I am. If I'd died, what would have happened to him? He would have been alone. Would he have killed himself because of the pain?

"Where are Mom and Dad?" The question leaves my lips even though I might already know the answer.

No. I want to hear it from Jaxon. Maybe he'll tell me that Fenrir was lying. I beg him to do so. Mom, Dad, and Inez must be somewhere in this hospital too, in another room.

"They're gone," Jaxon rasps, crushing my heart.

He breaks down again while I'm silently crying. I can't see anymore, but why can I still cry? I don't understand this world at all.

I wish that this were just a nightmare, but why does the pain feel so real?

"What about Inez?" I ask.

Jaxon's sobs break again. "She didn't make it either."

" No ." I want to explode. "It can't be true. She was right in my arms. I was there protecting her. She's still alive, Jaxon. I was sure that she was still breathing."

I can't believe that Inez is gone too. My little sister is gone, the one I protected with my life when the crash happened.

Yet, Jaxon's pain is proof that everything is true. He's not lying. He's telling me the truth while holding on to me, just as tight as I am holding on to him. We never let go of each other's hands, as if the other would die if we did so.

Today is a nightmare that I won't be able to forget for the rest of my life.

I've lost Mom, Dad, and Inez.

And I'm blind.