♦Selena's POV♦
I wake up tired.
Very tired, this isn't right, I just woke up right? It shouldn't be possible to be this tired again so soon.
The sun is up and streaming through the windows, thank fuck it's a Sunday.
I roll to the side and come face to face with September's wild hair, she must have been so harried and worried last night that she forgot to put on her leather strap.
I fall back on the bed and sigh, my body had been healing itself all through the night, hence my tiredness.
Well yesterday was one fucking long ass day, one that I never want to repeat.
From detention to fighting those black things, then the row between Zach and Cameron, then bloody Neruda - I narrow my eyes at this point still disgruntled.
The beach, more black things, Cyril, mom and finally September nearly burning down her room.
Yup! I have every right to be extremely tired.
I sneak a peek at September again, she moved so that I can see a little of her peaceful face still buried under all of that hair, which at first glance, really looks like you're staring at the back of her head.
I put both hands on my face, I might be physically tired but my brain is too hyperactive to let me fall asleep again, even though I so desperately need it.
It's all a mess.
What makes it even more frustrating is that I can't figure out mother's motive, what exactly is she trying to do?
Only one thing would make her do all those things to the both of us and try so hard to hide it.
She has always known September is the Imperial and for some sick twisted reason, didn't want that to happen so she did everything in her power to make sure that September's powers remain hidden forever.
Unconsciously I clench my fist at this, I'm so angry that my eyes are glowing and fangs are peeking out. I'm not sure yet of Cyril's part in all this but I'm a hundred and one percent sure that he isn't innocent.
Last night I was too confused to make sense of anything and now my brain is working double time, trying to make sense of all the information I received in so little space of time.
I slip my eyes shut, I might have gotten my memories back but I still know so little, it's almost impossible to come up with a concrete line of thought.
The strain is too much on my physically tired body that I give up and start to fall asleep again.
That is, until a slight rustling brings me back to full consciousness again.
Someone is in the room with us.
I gently squint open one eye, making sure to keep my breath even, well at least I tried and it worked out well too, till I spied a haggard Cyril, creeping over September.
One moment I was on the bed and the next had me at his neck slamming him against the far wall.
"You bastard!" I whisper furiously in his face. "What the fuck do you think you're doing??" I demand, anger fueling my tired body.
He just stares back at me with dead eyes, that warm face I've always known is cold, closed off and blank.
He doesn't say a word, doesn't even react to the fact that I'm holding him off the ground in a choke hold against the wall but he looks past me to stare at our youngest sister sleeping on the bed and his gaze stays there.
"Don't Cyril, just fucking don't." I growl at him, using my other hand to rip his eyes away from hers by viciously twisting his neck.
Still no reaction and the first flickers of genuine fear licks through me.
"Who the fuck are you? And what the hell did you do to my brother." I ask on the last thread of sanity, everything was starting to get better but if Cyril did his thing again we would be back to square one, maybe even lower.
He still doesn't reply, but at least his hard face remains turned in my direction. Slowly, one of his hands creep over and wraps around my hand on his neck.
"I don't want to have to use force, Reina." He says in an empty tone.
I'm so astounded that I do nothing but blink and stutter for a couple milliseconds.
"Don't you dare call me that!" I scream out in a whisper, tears are gathering at the corners of my tired eyes with how high my emotions are rising. "Just go away!"
His reply is to slowly but surely peel my hand off his neck, at any other time this would have been highly difficult if not impossible but I'm weak, I'm tired and the assault was unexpected.
I sag in my own body as he successfully removes my hand from his neck and steps away from me. "Why do you have to do this Rapha?" I ask in a sad voice, crumpling to the ground in a heap of lax muscles clothed in skin, watching as he slowly walks towards September who is still fast asleep.
He pauses, one hand going up to tousle his gold blond hair. "Because I can do nothing else." He replies cryptically without looking at me, moving forward.
There's so much adrenaline pouring through my body but I remain on the ground unable to do so much as lift a finger to help my twin who's life is about to be taken from her for the umpteenth time.
Move!
I scream at myself in my head in frustrated anger, but nothing happens, it's like I'm trapped in a wax statue where I can do nothing but look on as he cradles her head in his hands.
September mumbles a bit but other than that she says nothing else for the duration of time that Cyril crouches with his hands on her head, taking her hard won memories away.
Unconsciously, tears start to drop down my face and by the time he gets up I'm full on sobbing.
I know that when he is done with modifying September's memories, it's going to be my turn and he's not just going to take away the events of the day before but he'll most likely reseal the memories I just got back.
He gets up and turns towards me and a huge lump of something lodges in my throat, with wide eyes I watch him make the walk towards me.
I'm an Empath, I should know what is lodged in my throat, choking me, cutting off my air supply.
That's right, I know what it is…
Terror.
I'm terrified, for the first time in my life ever since mother threw September off that cliff. I'm thoroughly terrified, the kind that comes with goosebumps and it's own kind of chill.
He places his hands on my head too and I can do nothing but sit there and wait for him to take everything away, again.
I push my terror to the side and force myself to look up at him, if I don't do something right now, all is going to be lost.
But that's the thing, I can't get even a bit of spilling emotion from him, he feels like he looks, blank, empty.
"B-Big brother, Rapha." I whisper to him, fresh torrents of tears are pouring down my face. "Please don't do this."