Page 56 of This Blood that Bonds Us (This Blood that Binds Us #4)

Fifty-Five

Aaron

I whistled as I slid into the kitchen in my socks, with a new sense of excitement and vigor. The birds chirped outside in a chatter, and the smell of coffee hit me like a freight train.

“Someone’s happy this morning,” Mom said as I swooped in to kiss her cheek.

“Oh, very.”

I picked up various things in the kitchen while she washed dishes.

For the first time in a long time, everything felt clear.

Kimberly sat at the table with her head in her notebook, scribbling down something. The plan was to go to Kilian’s and continue finalizing our plan. I came up beside her and kissed her forehead before sitting across from her. The blush on her cheeks brought a smirk to my lips.

“Hey family.” Presley came through the front door carrying a paper bag.

“Did you get the popcorn for movie night?” Mom asked.

“Extra butter just like you . . .” The bag hit the floor, and its contents scattered and spewed onto the hardwood.

His eyes widened and he keeled over, holding a hand to his chest. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes until he was sobbing.

I was already near him, holding him and trying to get him up to speak to me, but he was inconsolable. Only uttering under his breath.

“Something’s wrong.” He looked up at me with red eyes. “Something happened. Something bad.”

“Did something hurt you?”

“Not me! It’s them! They’re hurt. It’s Zach or Luke . . . or both. I don’t know. Something is wrong.” He fell into my chest again, sobbing harder. “It hurts. It hurts.”

His hands fisted in his hair as he writhed in agony.

Fear coursed through me at what was happening to him, urging me to find the solution.

“It’s going to be okay, Pres. I’ll fix it.”

“You don’t feel that?” He hiccuped. “Why don’t you feel it?”

I hadn’t noticed the weight in my chest was gone. That constant pain had vanished. I felt nothing at seeing my brother cry, other than normal sadness and the urge to kill whatever was causing him that much pain. There was no ache of any kind. No stabbing or aching.

I didn’t feel the bond anymore.

“They need help. Something is wrong. We can’t leave them there.”

I squeezed him tighter. “We will. I promise. We’re going to be together soon, and this will all be over.”

Presley sobbed into my shoulder for at least twenty minutes. Then Mom went into protective mode and scooped him up and had him sit with her next to the fire.

All three of us sat with him until he quieted, but when it stopped, he wasn’t the same. This was different from the times before. Presley’s eyes had gone vacant as he stared into the fire. The only thing that shook him from that state was Sarah nuzzling his legs.

Something was wrong, and I had to find out what. No more waiting.