Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Last Bearers ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

I was born in the middle of the day on a hot summer day. According to my father Hayden, it was a really hard labor. I took my time coming out. We were happy, my two fathers, my older brother Bryan, and me. Bryan was not quite a year old when I was born. Our next brother, Miles wasn't born until I was two and Bryan was three. My father Harou had decided that he needed a break from childbirth for a while. When I was four, we moved into a new, bigger house that my father Hayden had built for us since our family was growing.

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Chapter 13

Daire was extremely worried when Aleksei didn't return to his lessons. He became even more worried when Aleksei didn't appear at lunch.

“I'm sure everything is fine,” Caelyn said in a soothing voice as Daire uneasily picked at his food.

Though his voice was soothing, Caelyn's aquamarine eyes were filled with worry; not only was
Aleksei missing, Alden and Bryan were gone as well.

This is not a good sign. Caelyn thought grimly.

He kept his eye on Daire as they went to their afternoon lessons. The blond was pretending that there was nothing wrong, but Caelyn knew Daire well enough to know that he was worried about Aleksei. Caelyn turned his attention to the front of the room as Mr. Brennen started their lesson. He tried to pay attention, but he kept turning to glance at Daire. The blond was staring straight ahead, not listening to a word of what was being said. His sapphire eyes were troubled. Caelyn felt the urge to envelop Daire in a warm hug and tell him that everything was going to be all right, but it was not the appropriate moment for that.

A sharp knock on the door brought Caelyn out of his thoughts. He saw Daire's posture tense. Mr. Brennen stopped talking and blinked a few times.

“Yes, come in,” he said when the knocking persisted. The door opened and John stepped in. “Why hello Director. This is quite a surprise.”

“I wonder if I could borrow Daire for a moment.” John looked extremely serious. “It's very urgent.”

“A…all right.” Mr. Brennen looked surprised and didn't hide it well. He turned to Daire. “Daire…?”

“I'm going,” Daire said softly.

He rose slowly and crossed the room. He looked slightly dazed as he went out into the hall. John closed the door behind them. The entire classroom was still as everyone listened, trying to hear what John and Daire were saying. Even Mr. Brennen was listening. Daire gave a muffled cry. Finally, the voices died away and the door opened. Daire came in, looking even more dazed.

“Daire?” Mr. Brennen asked.

Daire looked up. “Some…things came up. I…I have to leave.”

“All right. I understand,” Mr. Brennen said gently.

Daire returned to his seat and started gathering his things. He unexpectedly turned to Caelyn and Aidan.

“Can you…can you watch Colin for me?” Daire asked.

“Sure Daire,” Caelyn answered.

“Thank you.” Daire tried to smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes as it usually did.

He finished gathering his things and hastily retreated. Caelyn and Aidan shared a surprised glance. Both of them could sense something was wrong. Without ever saying anything out loud, they came to an agreement that they needed to follow Daire. They stood up and started to leave. Suddenly, Aidan thought of something and crossed the room again. He bent over and picked Colin up from where he lay in his carrier. He ignored the baby's cries of protests as he rejoined Caelyn at the door.

“Let's go,” he said rather harshly.

Caelyn nodded and silently, they departed. Daire hadn't gotten very far by the time they had decided to leave. Caelyn hurried forward and grabbed Daire by the arm. Daire whirled around, his entire body rigid, but when he saw that it was Caelyn who grabbed him, his posture relaxed.

“Honey what's wrong?” Caelyn asked gently, brushing Daire's bangs out of his eyes. “What's upsetting you.

“It's Aleksei,” Daire answered faintly.

“Aleksei? What's that bastard done now?” Aidan growled.

Daire shook his head violently. “It's not like that!” He paused, his chest heaving. “Aleksei is sick. Really sick.”

Caelyn and Aidan stared at him, Aidan's jaw hanging open.

“Why? What's wrong with him?” Caelyn asked.

“I don't know!” Daire cried.

He started sobbing. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, the tears finally coming. Caelyn stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the sobbing blond. Daire rested his head on Caelyn's shoulder. Caelyn didn't say anything because there was no need for him to. His actions spoke for themselves.

After Daire had stopped crying, Caelyn pulled away from him so that he could wipe away his tears.

“So what are you gonna do now?” Aidan asked, bouncing Colin up and down in his arms to try and stop his fussing.

“Here, give him to me,” Caelyn said in an exasperated tone.

He opened his arms and Aidan put the baby into them.

“There there.” Caelyn's tone was extremely gentle. “It's all right Colin. Don't cry.” After a few moments, Colin calmed down. Caelyn glared at Aidan. “You have absolutely no childcare skills, do you?”

Aidan shrugged, then turned to Daire. “Hey, you never answered my question.” He blinked and realized that Daire had already started to walk away. “Hey!” He ran forward and grabbed Daire's arm. “And where do you think you're going?”

“I'm going to the medical facility to see Aleksei,” Daire answered in a flat voice, halting his procession, and turning around. “You and Caelyn should go back to class.”

“Oh no.” Aidan shook his head. “We're not going anywhere `cept maybe to the medical facility. Actually, scratch that. We are going to the medical facility and that's the end of it.” Aidan's fierce expression softened a bit. “Daire, we're your friends. You don't think we'll just leave you to deal with this shit all by yourself, do you?”

The corner of Daire's lips twitched up into some semblance of a smile. “I guess not.”

“Attaboy.” Aidan smiled encouragingly.

Caelyn joined the two Bearers and the here of them walked to the medical facility. After a bit of persuasion, Daire, Caelyn, and Aidan were allowed into the back to visit Aleksei. They were shown into a small room filled with all sorts of medical equipment. Aleksei's three Breeder friends were all there, blocking the view to Aleksei's bed.

The only one the Bearers were able to recognize was Alden. The other two, a boy with wild dark curls, and a boy with silver hair glared at the newcomers hostilely.

“What the hell is he doing here?” the dark haired boy snarled, gesturing to Daire.

“I am Aleksei's mate,” Daire answered coldly.

“That means nothing,” the boy sneered.

“Bryan, shut up,” Alden snapped. He sighed softly and rubbed his forehead. “Let me introduce you. This is Bryan. No he's not always this grumpy.” Alden gestured to the dark haired boy.

Bryan snorted and crossed his arms. His smooth, boyish face made him look a lot younger than he actually was. He looked more like he belonged in school rather than at The Institute.

“And this is Jesse,” Alden said, motioning to the silver haired boy.

Unlike Bryan, Jesse looked like he was his age. His silver hair was cut almost as short as Aidan's. He had large luminous blue green eyes. He did not offer any sort of a greeting.

“We know who Daire is,” Bryan said to Alden. “So who are the other two?”

“I can hear you,” Aidan said loudly.

“I wasn't talking to you,” Bryan retorted. “So who are they?”

Alden frowned. You should remember them. The other blond is Caelyn, Halen's mate. And the brown haired boy is Ian's mate, Aidan.”

“And the kid is Aleksei's?” Bryan asked, eyeing Colin.

“Yes Bryan,” Alden said patiently. “This is Colin.”

Bryan stepped forward and curiously peered at Colin. “He looks a lot like Daire. He really looks like Daire. But I can see a bit of Aleksei in him, especially in the eyes. Here I thought the kid would be cursed with Aleksei's bright red hair, but apparently that's not the case. Huh.”

“How is Aleksei doing?” Daire asked, turning to Alden.

Alden's kind face was deeply etched with worry. “There's been no change.”

“What's wrong with him?”

Alden hesitated. “He…I…can I talk to you privately for a moment?”

“Let me.” Bryan grabbed Daire by the arm and dragged him out of the small room. “The only reason I'm doing this is because Aleksei is my friend. You do have a right to know what's going on because whether I like it or now, you are his mate. You're bonded together for life. Aleksei…I don't know him very well. He and I came to The Institute at roughly around the same time and though I see him as a friend, I still don't know that much about him. I couldn't believe when I found out…” He stopped.

“Found out what?” Daire asked breathlessly.

Bryan didn't answer at once. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

“Daire, I...ugh.” Bryan ran his fingers through his hair. “Fuck. I suck at trying to explain things.”

“It's all right,” Daire said softly. “Take your time. I can tell what you're trying to tell me is very important.”

Bryan stared at him for a few moments, then shook his head. He thought for a while.

“You saw today…how he freaked out in class right?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Daire nodded. “Does this have anything to do with how he is now?”

“Of course it does,” Bryan said impatiently. He shook his head and tried to control his temper. “Sorry.”

“Don't apologize,” Daire said soothingly. “Keep explaining.”

“Well, after Aleksei didn't return to class, I cut class to find him. Took me so damn long to find him. I found him in the strangest place--under the sinks in the bathroom.”

“What was he doing there?” Daire asked curiously.

“No fucking clue.” Bryan stopped. “Sorry. I have a bad habit of swearing.”

Daire shrugged. “Nothing I haven't heard before.”

Bryan stared at him again. “You really are something else.” Daire blushed. “Anyway, I found him laying under the sinks shaking and sh…stuff. I didn't want to leave him so I stayed there until Alden showed up. We tried to get Aleksei to move but when Alden grabbed his arm…” Bryan trailed off, staring at the wall over Daire's shoulder as he remember the events that had already long passed by.

Bryan shook his head and brought his thoughts back to the present.

“Daire…” his voice was unusually gentle. “There's something I've got to tell you. I just…I just don't know how to say it. Fuck. I'm just going to say it. I'm pretty sure that…” Bryan sighed softly. “I'm very sure that Aleksei was molested as a child. Like sexually molested. He may even have been raped.” He looked at Daire.

Daire had frozen, his posture rigid.

“Are you…are you sure?” he breathed.

“Fairly sure, yes. Alden was the one who first thought of it. When I asked John, he snapped at me that it wasn't my business, and when I asked again, he got even angrier. That didn't really sit well me, you know?” Bryan stared at Daire meaningfully. Daire nodded. “It made me think that he was hiding something. Actually, no it made me sure that he was hiding something.”

“I agree,” Daire murmured.

“Plus it explains a few things,” Bryan continued. “Like why he's so freaking messed up in the head.”

Daire was frozen again, thinking.

“Yes, it does,” he whispered, his eyes wide. “It makes perfect sense. God, why didn't I see this before?”

“Don't beat yourself over it,” Bryan said. “None of us figured out until now and we've known him a lot longer than you have. Aleksei's an unreadable block of ice.”

Daire nodded. “But I can't blame him for trying to protect his heart by closing it off. He's a lot stronger than I am, to have survived for so long after something like this has happened.”

“Yet at the same time, he shouldn't have repressed his feelings for this long because look where he's at.”

It was Daire's turn to stare at Bryan. “You're right. Aleksei is an idiot in some respects.”

Bryan cracked a small smile.

“You're all right kid,” he said gruffly. “You're all right.” He awkwardly patted Daire's shoulder. “Come on. Let's go back in there.” He jerked his thumb at the door to Aleksei's room.

The two of them started to head back into the small room. Suddenly, Bryan stopped and turned around.

“Hey,” he said in a low voice. “Don't tell anyone what I told you, okay? Even your two pals. I don't think Aleksei wants it broadcasted around what happened to him. Besides, I'm not totally sure I'm right about this.”

Daire nodded. “I understand.”

“Thank you.”

Bryan went into the small room first, with Daire silently following behind. Bryan immediately gravitated to Alden.

“Did you tell him?” Alden asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” Bryan answered. “He seemed to take it well, at least from what I could tell. He seemed a bit shocked, but I can't blame him.”

“Yeah,” Alden said softly, looking at Daire, who was approaching his mate's bed. “I don't either.”

“He's a good kid,” Bryan said out of the blue. “Aleksei's very lucky to have someone like him in his life.”

“Yes.” Alden nodded.

“Aleksei?” Daire asked softly, walking forward. “Aleksei, it's me. I'm here now.” Tears clouded his vision. He blinked them away.

He stopped by Aleksei's side and sucked in his breath. Aleksei looked so…sick. It was so sudden. But then again, Daire reflected, the change could have been happening over a long period of time and Daire would have never even noticed.

Aleksei's fiery red hair was a tangled mess and stuck out in every direction imaginable. His skin was deathly pale, which made his hair stand out even more. He was dressed in a loose gown, an IV stuck in his large arm. An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth and his breath clouded the inside of the plastic. Daire took in an unsteady breath and reached out. He gently placed his hand on top of Aleksei's. He was surprised to find the skin burning; his deathly pale complexion suggested that he would be cold.

“Hi Aleksei,” he whispered. “I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, okay?”

The Breeders and Bearers alike could see that no matter how much Aleksei had hurt Daire, the blond still loved him with all his heart. It made Caelyn sad and Aidan angry, but there was nothing they could do.

To be continued…

Notes: Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, what are you doing? You weren't supposed to go off and tell Daire that Aleksei had been molested. Actually, you and Alden weren't supposed to find that out in the first place. I got back to my outline only to deviate again. And I threw in a bit of random dialogue with Alden and Bryan that I just wrote in when typing the chapter up (I always write chapters out first) about how Bryan is stating that Daire is a good guy.

Aw, Bryan's finally warming up to Daire. Now if only Aleksei could do the same…(laughs bitterly) My characters are such drama queens.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I decided that I didn't like Caelyn's hair color so I changed it so that when Daire first meets him, it had been dyed black because he lost a card game against Aidan. Yeah, I forgot I revised Chapter 1 and added that scene in. My apologies. Maybe I'll wait until this is finished before revising the rest so there's not as much confusion. I did rewrite the first sex scene between Hayden and Harou. During my Mythology class (feels more than a little perverted). I haven't finished the revisions for Chapter 2 yet, though I'm getting closer. Some of the other minor characters actually have a personality now. XD