One day as Ethan watched the three play pirates on a shallow bend of a river, things turned out to be not the usual game. In an arm's stretch of a strike, Dylan swayed his stick sword attack to Karl who missed in a retreating maneuver and it got the boy on the face and tore his flesh from the top of his left eye down to the corner of his lips. The boy yelped out in a large voice, being anguished by the hell of pain. Blood spewed through the long tear, like a river flowing down a gorge. He tried to hold back the red fluid with his right hand but that could not prevent the blood from squeezing out. Everything happened so fast. He lost his footing trying to stand sentry and was brought down on the watery surface in a big splash. He cried out in agony as the waters smashed against his body. He couldn't find it to open his eyes due to the pain and he tried to feel his way up the river bank. His left hand caught onto the wrong stone at the wrong time and he paid so severely to the wrong choice as the hand was smacked from the top by large stones; big as schoolbags. The boy continued to wail and this time he was crying so loudly that he seemed like a big baby. His voice echoed through the forest around them.
Karl and Dylan rushed over to help his hand out of the rubble as Ethan watched on. He didn't want to get involved whatsoever in the event beforehand. Once freed from the pile of stones, the young boy stopped crying and looked over at the two heroes, his clothes soaked wet and face painted red. His pain turned to anger in a split second and he shoved Dylan back to the flowing river and the young one landed butt first and screamed in pain.
"What the hell!" Ethan shrieked from the top of the banks, standing as fast as electricity itself. He looked on as the older fellow, whose face was dripping blood, approach his brother. He seemed to have never fully understood how wrong his face looked at the moment and that he needed immediate medical attention. Karl headed over to try and stop the guy from hurting Dylan.
"Zayn! Don't!" Karl cried out as he blocked his way.
"I will kill you!" The angry boy roared as he pushed Karl away in less of an effort, heading for Dylan who was still seating, frozen on the riverbed. Karl grabbed the boy's leg firmly, soaking himself wet from the water passing beneath and around him. He looked forward and yelled to the boy still seating on the aqua ground.
"Dylan! Get up and run! Go!" Karl shouted. Dylan got up so fast and raced out of the shallow river, clothes soaked and body so cold, and raced for the banks. Ethan took his hand and the two quickly darted into the woods and headed back home as Zayn's voice warned from afar that he would kill him when he got his hands on him. The twins never stopped for a second to catch their breath until they got back home. They found their mom present in the kitchen and was nursing the little baby girl in her arms. Layla was shocked at first at what happened to her children. They quickly confessed what had happened. When she asked for Karl's whereabouts and learned about them, she quickly went outside and searched for her last boy. She found him however as he neared their home soaked with water from golden hair, beautiful face, and tiny body. That night, they were given a deep talk about their dangerous games and how they needed to avoid that boy. Ethan was glad that his brother was here today, alive and well, and was angry at Cousin Karl for having dragged Dylan towards such an ordeal. He never wanted anything to do with Karl as he felt like he was taking his brother away from him and giving him away to another. The hate would go on for a long, long time.
"Those kids are lucky to have come out unhurt Paul," Layla told her husband as she placed the baby in the crib, her husband already waiting for her in bed. "I don't know what kind of troubles they are getting themselves in nowadays ever since they found that Zayn fellow. I hope the poor boy recovers quickly though, I cannot imagine his pain."
"They're kids Layla. Sometimes mistakes happen." The man answered unwittingly. Layla tucked herself in the bed before she talked again.
"Mistakes such as those injuries? Paul… I need you to be serious with me, for today." She cried out. "We nearly lost a boy today, if not all."
"Tomorrow we will go and speak with Zayn's parents and see how we can come to better understanding honey. How's that for a start?" Paul asked her.
"I was thinking of maybe shifting where we live." The young wife answered as she looked at her husband. The baby in the crib was snoring silently.
"Shift?" His eyebrows narrowed. "To where?"
"Well, there's this company from Dubai that I had applied for a post there."
"You want us to move to Dubai?" Paul asked, playing with her hair.
Layla laughed at the answer. "No. Will you let me finish speaking?" She got closer to him and he wrapped his hands around her. "The company is a cloth line industry based in Dubai. And I had applied for a post there for a senior managerial role and guess what… they didn't even ask for an interview. They already gave me a spot as their brand ambassador here in the country and their HQ in the country is in Seattle, Washington."
"Wow, Layla that's good to hear." He felt overwhelmed by happiness. "So what were you suggesting?"
"I want us to move to Washington, leave all this mess behind us, and start over." Layla finished her talk. She turned over and looked at her prince. He was as handsome as he had been five years ago when she exchanged vows with him. "We can begin new and well, and build a beautiful future for our boys and girl." She cupped his chin.
"I like your idea better." He told her as she pecked his lips. Layla was impressed by his response, after all, he was her better half and he allowed her to contribute to any sort of matter that would help the family. Paul and Layla were in love. Nothing would break the connection between them since Jenna Clara was out of the picture, as she had been for the past ten years. The couple slept into the night in each other's arms, embracing their warmth and love. The following days would be peaceful for both of them and the boys. Zayn was nowhere to be seen and the three lads avoided him as much as they could. There were some rumors that he had been hospitalized as his condition seemed serious than what they had imagined at first. The boys never strayed far away from home since their warning and had made it in their effort to play nice and safe games. Ethan still carried the hate with him, as much as he tried to forgive Karl. Layla talked with him about the issue and Ethan promised to change… but he didn't. He carried it on, silently on his own as he had been when Zayn was still around.