Kapitel 31: forever

"YOU HAVE NO FAMILY."

The words sting.

"You are just an unfortunate girl who happens to have the last piece of a god inside of her and that is how you are going to live from now on."

If looks could kill, Connor would be dead by now but yet again, he is a god; an immortal.

"Keep that opinion to yourself." She spits venom at him. "Take me back, Connor. If Brady dies, I will kill myself also. I swear."

Connor moves abruptly but Aubrey does not seem shaken by it. She is already in a horrid situation and she is not going to be controlled by this god.

"Like I said, I do not care about your brother. Whether he dies or not, I don't care. I would keep you away from Kai to save more than 10 billion people on this Earth." He shouts back at her, his grey eyes going livid.

Aubrey's expression changes to that of pity, "You gods are pathetic. You are evil. You have no sympathy and are all irrational. You offer to protect me at the expense of the lives of the people I love." She pauses, staring deep into Connor's furious eyes. "I will rather die than live without my family."

Connor's fists tighten as veins pop out his neck and head, preparing to yell sense into the rebellious nineteen-year-old. "You have no fa—"

There's a whoosh of strong wind and Aubrey sees herself standing in front of her apartment, back at Mid-Bayern. She stares around with dead eyes and an opened mouth.

There is no Connor, no plain, white walls, no Australians and no expensive Mansions. Just her back at her small and safe town, standing in front of her door.

A frown forms on her face; how is she back here? Is it Connor? Or is it Kai? And how is it all possible? She turns around, making sure she really is back to Mid-Bayern, Elm's street. When her eyes scan over the familiar roads and houses, she relaxes but her relaxation soon turns into perturbation.

A piercing scream pulls Aubrey out of her thoughts as she realizes it is her younger brother's. She bursts through the door, hitting it open even though it hurts to do so. She runs inside to meet her brother in the living room, grabbing his feet.

Her eyes are wide as she approaches him; scared of what may have taken place.

"Brady, are you okay?" There is fear audible in her voice as she looks at him with pity eyes.

Brady turns to her with a pained expression, cupping his big toe in his hands. "I told you to get rid of this chair, now I hurt my toe."

Her eyes fall to the wooden chair at the entrance of the kitchen and then goes to the living room, seeing no presence of a god. "Where is Kai?"

Brady takes time to answer as he is still recovering from hurting his toe. He wiggles it around, responding to her, absentmindedly. "Who?"

"Kai. He was here. Where is he?"

Brady sets his leg down, standing straight to tower over his sister in height. "Is he a dog? One of your friend's pet? I didn't see him."

Aubrey is confused at his statement, not sure if he is joking or she imagined everything.

"What are you saying?" She starts to get offended by his nonsensical replies. "You were with him just now. I heard your voice, you sounded scared. He said he was going to kill you."

"Geez." He stops her, staring with concerned eyes. "Nothing happened. Where did you get that from?" He starts to chuckle.

Aubrey feels like she might lose her mind with these games the gods are playing. She starts to get worked up about the situation.

"Brady. I'm being serious. He was here with you," Aubrey starts to speak faster as she panics. Brady notices how her hands shake in anxiety. "I heard you arguing. He said he was going to kill you if I didn't get here. Where is he? Brady are you—"

"Hey." Brady holds her by the shoulders, stopping her from speaking crap—so he thinks. He lowers his voice, starting to take Aubrey's condition seriously. "No one was here, okay? Aubrey, is everything okay?"

"No." She pushes him away, forcefully. She starts to look round the house, briskly. She walks to the kitchen checking everywhere possible the god could be hiding. She moves back to the living room, looking behind the couch. "Where is he?"

The house smells of cigarettes— a solid confirmation that he is indeed here.

"Where were you?" Brady fires. "You weren't home through out the night, and you left your phone. The neighbors said they heard you screaming, running out the house barefooted."

Aubrey is about to walk past him, headed for the rooms when Brady holds her in place.

"What is happening? Aubrey, are you okay?" That's when he notices the dried blood on her forehead. "Is that blood?"

He reaches his hands out to touch it but she blocks it.

"Brady, just answer me. Where is he? He was here. I know what I heard." She gets reeled up and that startles him.

Her younger brother raises his hands in surrender, "There was no one in the house."

Her brows furrow, running a hand through her messy hair.

"I was alone all night, there was nothing in the house with me. I promise you, nothing happened." He says slowly and it angers Aubrey by how sincere he sounds.

She looks up at the ceiling in exasperation and her face scrunches up as it comes to her notice that the house looks untouched.

"What happened to the house? Why is it back in shape?"

Brady's brows furrow as he shoots his sister a bad look, already tired of her mood swings and emotions. "Nothing happened to the house. It was perfect when I got home."

She can swear on her life that she saw the house begin to fall apart when she ran out.

That glass she spots on the table fell to the ground, shattered. The couches were being torn and the walls were damaged from their bodies hitting up against it but now, everything seems normal.

Did she really imagine it all? Or is she imagining her conversation with her brother right now?