"Are you uncertain? Or just scared to drop your guard? Have you been broken? Are you afraid to show your heart? Life can be unkind, but only sometimes, you're giving up before you start," All You Never Say, Birdy

Easton Foxworth.

The estranged twin brother of Eve Lawrence (neé Foxworth) and the person that I didn't know it then, was a dangerous person to all of us. He oozed arrogance and perilousness and I could tell that this was someone that I did not want to get caught up with.

"Hmm," He mused as he took a sip from the china cup of tea that I had for Eve earlier, though she left it untouched. "Jasmine, I presume?" He chuckled to himself, leaning back on the armchair that he was in, the air of tension in the room slowly skyrocketing. I could see Natalie rubbing her arm in a manner that told me that she was uncomfortable and I could see Eve swallowing so hard as if she had tons of rocks stuck in her throat.

I blinked nervously as I teetered in the doorway of the living room. I had no idea what was going on, but judging by the looks on their faces, it wasn't anything good. "What do you want, Easton?" Eve asked with a steel air in her tone, sitting across from her brother. Easton put a hand on his chest, mock hurt revealing in his expression as his eyes narrowed. He was giving her the look that said, 'Who exactly do you think you're talking to?' I shivered, not knowing what to do. I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to be witnessing this.

"Now, Eve," He ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair, throwing a leg over the other. "Can't I just come to see my dear twin?" He replied in a tone that made his intentions sound anything but. I had no idea what their deal was, but long ago, something had happened between the two and they were no longer close like they used to be. No details were ever made to the public about it, so one could only assume.

"Hmph," Eve muttered with sarcasm in her voice. "Is that right?" Her tone was neutral and calm, but Natalie looked at her as if she was confused. "You haven't come to see me in 13 years," She muttered snidely. "Not after what you did," She whispered quietly and all of us, sans Easton, held our breath as Easton glared dangerously into her soul. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you, sis," He chuckled darkly. I fiddled with my fingers, not having been noticed yet, and that was when I realized that Nishan and Noelani were gone. Everyone who was in here before suddenly disappeared.

"Now," Easton raised his cup, a grim line on his lips that dared Eve to challenge him. "Can I get some more tea?" He asked and I slowly nodded, stepping forth as I picked up the tea kettle on the way. "S-sure," I stuttered, his eyes flicking towards me in a manner that made me question everything. He held his cup out to me and I did as he asked, wondering why he was staring at me so intensely. "Who is this?" He asked curiously and Eve crossed her legs.

"He's our maid," She chose her next words very carefully, her face still struck with mild horror. "What's it to you?" She retorted and I think that she regretted her choice of words with the sneer that her brother shot her. I removed myself from the situation, bowing slightly. The conversation between them was strained but I could sense that Eve had some deep-rooted hostility for her brother, though the reason wasn't clear. Natalie shot me a look from across the room and I couldn't read it because it was as quick as possible before Easton caught onto it.

"Do you need a reminder of wha—" Eve put her hand up, gritting her teeth. "No. What I'd like to is what you want." She tried to sound convincing and firm, but it sounded like pleading to me. Easton clicked his teeth, taking a sip of tea as his eyes bore into Eve. He seemed too calm and too calculating for my taste. I didn't like the way he made me feel uneasy because I could sense that he had an ulterior motive lurking up his sleeves.

"Now, now, Eve. I just came to spend some quality time with my family. Is that so bad?" One would think that he genuinely cared, but by the shake of her head as she chuckled, Eve definitely did not agree. "Family, you say that word so casually. How nice, but you can't stay," Eve wanted to sound adamant, but Easton didn't really care. "And why is that? You have so many rooms here. I'm sure you can spare me one." He didn't sound suggestive, but he sounded as if he was telling her that he was going to stay whether she liked it or not.

Scary.

"Now, where is my dear nephew?" He grinned widely and I got a bad feeling. It literally slapped me across the back as all of his teeth came into view. I shivered slightly as Natalie took a step back, her discomfort becoming apparent. "He went to go put the baby down," She said with uncertainty and Easton frowned, obvious displeasure greeting him. My stomach churned unpleasantly as the vibe that I got from him gradually got stronger. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with him, and it only had been three minutes, but it was enough. His air was stifling, choking me around my throat, and he felt too malicious.

I quietly excused myself and made my way down the hall. I wiped my sweaty hands off on my apron, shaking my body to free itself of the nerves. I didn't know what it was about him, but he just felt entirely off. As I came down the familiar hallway of bedrooms, I opened the first door, peeking into the room. "Hello?" I said, but there was no response. "Hello?" I said again as I entered the second bedroom on the left. Where could they have gone? I repeated the same procedure for the same seven doors, reaching the one that had been vacant for awhile. "Hell—"

The door opened on someone else's command and a hand reached out, latching onto me and yanking me inside the room with so much force. I went to speak, completely shocked, but my body was slammed gently against the door as my eyes snapped up to look into one green and one brow, seeing them filled with some much trepidation and worry. I was absolutely confused as to why he was only a breath away from me. I could feel his body heat as I stared up at him, pondering why we were so close when he was so against it.

"W-what—Nishan," I crinkled my brow, feeling him squeezing my biceps tightly. He hushed me, his eyes shut as he bit his lip, shaking his head. I could see a crack in his cold, hard facade.

"Stay away from him."

I visibly jolted, scrunching my brow as I sought to figure out who he was talking about. My heart was beating at the intense adrenaline in my system, and it could've been of the close proximity of our bodies. I couldn't stop the blush as he inched in closer, a hard look morphing his features. "W-who?" I stammered. I had a vague idea of who he was talking about, but I had to be sure. "That," Nishan took a deep breath, a shudder wracking his soul. "That man." He spat coldly, I could see that his brows were wrinkled in contempt as he squeezed me once more. "W-why—"

"I mean it, Ezra," He gritted his teeth and my eyes widened almost comically at the first sound of my name coming from those lips. Everyone said my name on a daily basis but something about hearing it from him made it different. My mouth fell open and I was immediately hypnotized by the way my name sounded as he said it. Was this really the same man who called me a fag every chance he could? Was this really the same man who made it his personal job to sabotage me?

The answer was yes, but one couldn't tell with the way that his hands were gripping my arms. He was squeezing so hard as if he intended to leave bruises in the shape of his handprint. "Okay," I relented, wondering why he seemed so upset at the sudden appearance of Easton. I could feel his anxiety as he started grinding his teeth, shaking his head. He bit his lip, hard enough to warrant blood, and I furrowed my eyes, seeing a new side to him.

His hands were shaking and I didn't know what possessed me to, but I reached over to grab them. "Hey..." I whispered, encasing his big hand with my smaller one. I half expected him to throw me against the wall across the room as I started to rub his palm, but he just opened his eyes, staring at me. His face was unreadable and his hand stopped shaking as he focused on me. I didn't know why, but I couldn't see him sad. "It's okay," I lamented soothingly, his hand tightening slowly around my own.

None of us knew why we were letting this happen, but he was a man in need of comfort and I was a man who was willing to give it to him. I was relieving all of my frustration and annoyance through this shared touch, and he was relieving all of his fear and anxiety and together, they became one. We didn't know it then, but we had one thing in common: our ability to be other's anchor.

We just stood there, his neck bent as he stared into my eyes, soaking up each other's presence before we realized that we had stepped in too deep. My eyes threatened to look away, but my heart was beating so fast, telling me to just stay. I felt a soft smile threatening to contort my lips and I could tell that a warm blanket of security was wrapped around us, keeping us safe and secure in the grasp of each other.

Was this really happening?

It couldn't have been.

But alas, this was really him, clutching my hand as if it was his lifeline.

"...thank you," He spoke in a soft but deep voice and my chest tightened, my cheeks blazing. He said so as if he was okay now, but his hand didn't leave mine. Our eyes didn't leave each other. In that moment, I wasn't Ezra Moore and he wasn't Nishan Lawrence. In that exact moment, we were just two people seeking comfort.

And that was okay.

"No need," I quietly spoke. Even if he was someone who demeaned my entire image, the mother hen and the empathetic within me could not stand to see him looking so distraught. I didn't know why he did, but in due time, things would come forward. "Where's Noelani?" I asked, coughing in mild awkwardness as I reminded myself of the real reason why I came. "O-oh," He detangled our hands gently, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's over there," He pointed to the pink crib in the corner of the room, featuring a sleeping baby.

I still wouldn't forget how he called me by my name. "W-wow," I put a hand up to my mouth, covering my chuckle. "You actually called me something that wasn't fag or queer," I simpered and he rolled his eyes. "Don't get too happy," He scowled, but in this point in time, I could feel that there was no real insult or negativity.

This was something totally different.

And just like that, the tense and rigid belt around us began to steadily lift. "I-i'll be back to check on her, okay?" Nishan nodded in reply, running a hand through his wavy hair as he fixed his shirt. "Anytime. You know where I am," I clicked my teeth, looking away from him. Now that I had actually seen a different side of this homophobic man, I couldn't help but feel enthralled. "If you n-need anything, you know where to find me," I cleared my throat, that mother hen pleased with herself. "I know," He replied and I couldn't stop the grin that came to my lips as I turned around, giving him a small wave as I left.

I probably shouldn't have done that, but oh well.

"Oh my god," I pinched myself as I exited the room, thinking that I was dreaming. Sure enough, I still felt rage for him because of all the things that he did, but it graduated from hate. I didn't know what this was and I was almost too afraid to find out. Who knew if that was just a facade? It couldn't have been because he went out of his way to warn me. Did that mean he cared or not? He let someone like me, a homosexual, hold his hand, even after he done preached to me about how the gay folk were wrong. With the memories that I had of him in my mind, there was no way that I could just suddenly forget about the things he said to me, the things he did to me because he was nice to me once. Being called a fag and a queer really hit home.

I couldn't really care about that right now. I checked my watch, seeing that I had spent well over an hour here. I still had a lot to do cleaning wise, and I wasn't sure if Eve or Natalie were still in the living room. Some time had passed since I left them, so they were probably tending to their devices now. I didn't know about Easton, and I didn't really care.

I let out a breath of relief, my mind rolling through the last twenty minutes of my life. The first half of those twenty could go to hell since Easton was in them, but the last twenty could stay so that I could process everything that had happened. I looked at my hand, the palm still red from how tight Nishan had his own wrapped around. "Crazy..." I mumbled to myself, balling it up. There was no way that I could process a change like that because I didn't even know what it meant. That, and the fact that I didn't want to know.

Interesting.

I walked down the opposite way that I came, knowing that there was a hidden stairwell back there. I really didn't want to run into anyone that would pose as a problem for me. I was having a hard day as it was and I had to hustle to get all of my daily chores done before I could go check on Noelani. I couldn't count on Nishan to take care of her, even if he said he would because he was too incompetent and incapable of caring for a baby.

There was a series of doors as I approached the end of the hall and I continued to walk down, pausing ever so slightly in my step, hearing a voice coming from one of the cracked doors. People really had to learn how to be discreet because this was just dangling candy in front of a nosy ass person like me. I peered my eyes into the crack, seeing Eve with her back to me as she wiped her eyes. Was she crying? "I don't know what to do, Ada," She pushed her hair back, her voice twisting with the sound of guilt and sorrow. "It just makes me so fucking mad that he shows up out of the blue like this!" She griped and I jumped at the sound of the curse word leaving her lips.

Damn, this was bad. I shouldn't be listening like this. I knew it was so, so wrong, but my feet just wouldn't move. "I wish it was that simple," She wept once more and I frowned. "But you don't know what he can do to me. I don't know why," Eve shook her head, crouching over herself.

"I kept quiet about her murder all these years," She sniffled into the phone and I held my breath, making sure I stayed silent. "I just wish that I knew why. Why he did it. Why my baby," She wailed quietly and my heart longed for her. "My Naomi didn't deserve that." My ears pricked up at the sound of their daughter, the one that was murdered. "I just can't tell Leon," She pulled at the strands of her hair, the sound of her friend consoling her becoming evident. I really had to stop eavesdropping. "Not now." Eve continued and I was trying to put together the pieces in my hand.

Did Easton Foxworth really murder his own niece? But that made no type of sense. Why would he kill his own niece and why would Eve even let him back into her house, knowing what he did? Why wasn't he in jail, rotting away like the creepy piece of shit that he was? Why was he still under this roof, acting as if nothing could touch him?

Unless it was something more that I wasn't seeing.