“Glen are you ok sweetie?” She asked my brother softly.

He didn’t say anything and nodded his head slowly. She pulled back and took one of my hands in her own and reached down for Glen’s. He flinched slightly when her skin ran across his fresh wounds.

“What is it Glen?” My mother said looking at him with a concerned look.

“It’s nothing.” He said quietly.

She looked down at his hand and noticed the broken skin and drying blood. She gasped and looked at Glen.

“What happened?”

Glen looked at me pleadingly as if to ask me to not tell our mother about what he had done. I nodded my head and squeezed her hand.

“Mom…” I said quietly.

My mother still had her eyes on Glen but when I called out to her again she turned and wrapped both her hands around mine. She pushed a strand of my hair out of my face and I smiled weakly at her.

“Where did Dad go?” I asked looking at the door where my father had been just a few moments before.

“Ashley was in the hallway and I think he went to talk to her.” She said stroking my hair.

I cursed myself for feeling happy that Ashley hadn’t left me to go find Aiden. I shouldn’t feel any kinds of happiness after my brother had been killed. I looked at the closed door and wondered what it was that Ashley and my father were saying to one another.

The door opened slightly and my father re-appeared. He looked back out and nodded his head at who I assumed was Ashley. He closed the door and made his way over to my bed.

He placed a hand on my mother’s shoulder and leaned over to kiss my forehead. He pulled Glen in for a quick hug and I could tell that he was trying to be strong.

My mother looked at my father and squeezed the hand he had placed on her shoulder.

“I’m going to take Glen to go get his hands checked out Arthur.” My mother said after a few moments of silence.

“What happened to your hands Glen?” My father asked concerned.