Elias

I woke up groggy, and with a headache. My mouth was dry, like sandpaper.

I moved my head from side to side and saw Leo asleep in the chair, and Santiago asleep next to me. I look at the clock next to my bed and see it's 1:46 am.

I go back in my head and try to remember what happened.

I remember Leo drugging me. But I was in an unresponsive state. I really did want to say something to Leo but it was like I couldn't.

Then I remember what caused that.

Elijah...

He said I had 5 days to make my decision.

What happens if I don't go? If I don't give him my answer?

But I have 5 days to decide, I don't need to worry about this right now.

I grab the remote from the bedside table, apparently it's called a nightstand? At least thats what Leo told me.

I turn on Disney+ and turn on the lady and the tramp. It's one of my favorite movies.

I make sure the volumes down before watching it.

Then rewinding and watching again

And again

And again.

Until I see the sun peeking out from my windows.

I turn off the tv and go downstairs. I'm hungry, and I never got my water.

I walk downstairs and see the the kitchens empty

Great.... Now I get to have a PB&J for breakfast.

I grab a bottle of water and chug it.

And then another one.

And another one.

Until I'm satisfied. Then I go to the pantry and grab the items I need for a PB&J.

I make one before I start eating. As I'm eating I see someone from the corner of my eye. I turn around until I see its Alvaro.

"Good morning Elias, how did you sleep?" He asks me before walking towards the coffee pot. He starts a pot before turning to me.

"PB&J for breakfast?" He asks me, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I was hungry and I don't know how to make anything else." I tell him while finishing off my sandwich.

"Well let's learn. Would you like some bacon and eggs?" He asks me.

My nose immediately scrunches at the thought of eggs. "No thanks. I hate eggs." I tell him. No way am I putting those things in my body.

He laughs before requesting we make pancakes.

I hadn't had pancakes in years.

Alvaro spent the better part of his morning teaching me how to measure the ingredients, use the stove, flip pancakes, and how to clean up the mess.

That ended in a bigger mess

"Elias, you don't pour soap over the counters and just start wiping it off." Alvaro sighed while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Uh but that's what you told me to do. Put some soap on it, grab a rag and scrub." I told him confused. Thats literally what he told me what to do...

"Okay some soap doesn't mean the entire bottle of dawn dish soap. Don't you see the suds? How the soap is drying on the counters, and how the rag is now sticky? That means it's got too much soap on it." He tells me.

I just stare down at the counter in front of me. I mean yeah it felt weird to use the bottle of soap to clean the counters, but he said to use the soap. He never said anything about water.

Alvaro came over and started to quite literally push the soap off the counter and into the trash can he had positioned partially underneath the counter.

Then he grabbed my rag, threw it in what looked like another trash can, and grabbed two new rags, soaked them with hot water before teaching me how to properly scrub at the counters.

Once the kitchen was clean I turned to the pile of pancakes we made. Most of them where to burnt to be eaten, and some to raw in the middle, but there was enough good looking ones in the stack.

Those were the ones Alvaro made. He showed me how to do it a few times before trying to help me.

"I guess I'm not a good cook." I said solemnly.

"These things take time to learn. Leo has a natural ability for it but he also spent most of his time under our abuelas arm learning since he was 4. Marco isn't allowed to even touch the stove for any reason. Last time he did he almost burnt down the house." Alvaro says.

I go to reply but I'm immediately cut off by Marcos loud voice.

"ONE TIME. IT HAPPENED ONE TIME WHEN I WAS 17!!" He yells out from another room.

Alvaro just laughs, head tilted back and cackling. This was an evil laugh, but not a sinister evil. A playful evil.

Throughout my weeks of living here I came to understand that siblings have playful fights and arguments. Pushing each other's buttons and waiting for the reaction they want. Teasing is what Alvaro called it.

I'm guessing this was the teasing Alvaro mentioned one day when I asked him about it.

"Well I have some paperwork to finish so if you need me Elias I will be up in my office." Alvaro says before walking out of the kitchen.

A feeling immediately washes over me. I don't know what to do today. I don't want to read a book, write in my journals, or watch a movie. I want to actually do something.

I walk out of the kitchen and walk towards my room. Santiago and Leo nowhere to be found.

I walk into my closet and pull out some gym shorts, and a dry-fit T-shirt. I quickly put them on, grab some running shoes from my closet and make my way towards the gym and indoor pool. My knife inside my pocket like always. I know Leo doesn't want me working out but I can't just sit inside and do nothing anymore, my body is tingling with energy like it never has before. It feels like pure adrenaline and if I sit still any longer it feels like my body will explode.

I walk into the indoor pool room and immediately go towards the gym. Last time I was here I didn't get a chance to actually look through the gym equipment. All I saw were the barbells and immediately went for them.

I walk in and look around, I see machines of every kind, for every muscle there is. My eyes are immediately drawn to the punching bag on the opposite sid elf the room. My body still tingling with energy.

I walk over and look around, looking for gloves or tape of some kind. I've been out of practice for a while and if I injure my hands in any way I know for a fact Leo would kill me.

I walk over to the cabinet and see pads, guards and a bunch of other shit. But my eyes are drawn to the tape. I pull it out and immediately tape my hands like I've done a hundred times before.

My mind is racing and my body is jittery, this is going to be fun.

I start off with my normal routine. Left, right, left, right, left, right, right, left, right, left, repeat.

As my body starts to warm up I get onto the balls of my feet, tanning around the bag like it's an opponent. Left, right, left, right, left, right, right, left, right, left, repeat.

My body moves on its own. Going through the motions it's gone through for years. My hits start to get harder, my vision narrowing. Left, right, left, right, left, right, right, left, right, left, repeat.

I don't;t know how long I go for. I go until my hands shake, and my feet are sore. I look down at my hands and see the redness, and how swollen they're getting.

Fuck. They're bruised bad. I guess being out of commission for a few weeks really does a number.

But my energy is still there, the tingling in my body didn't go away, it didn't even diminish. I huff and look around again. My eyes catching sight of the barbell and bench.

I make my way over and start to do chest presses. I do my normal routine. 5 sets of 15: 150lbs. 4 sets of 10: 165lbs. 3 sets of 5: 180lbs.

But even when I'm done. The energy is still there. It won't go away and I quickly start getting frustrated. I've never had this happen, never had this energy that won't go away. Usually it's the opposite. My body is tired and needs energy. My body isn't used to this.

I see a guy out of the corner of my eye, he looks normal enough. Maybe he has an idea.

"Hey you have any idea on what to do when your body won't stay still. Like you have all the energy in the world?" I ask him.

"I'd go for a run in the park, get some fresh air. You need it. Being cooped up inside doesn't help, run until your feet are blistered and it feels like your lungs are bleeding."

I nod my head and smile at him, running down the hallways and towards the back door. There's gotta be a park somewhere around here.

I run outside and start looking around, the backyard here is massive. Between the pool, tennis courts, basketball court, the massive garden, and just open space I could run for hours. But my mind sees the trees surrounding them. Immediately I run over towards them and start running.

Just running.

No big houses.

No family.

No buzzing energy.

Just me, the wind, and the trees.

As I run I take random turns. A left here, and a right there.

I haven't run in ages and it feels so good to be free. To be alone, truly alone.

I run until my feet blister and it feels like my lungs are bleeding. When I stop I look around and don't see anything but the forest.

It's so peaceful here. The buzzing is gone. I'm not bone dead tired but I'm not energized, not energized like before.

I turn around and start walking back in the direction I ran in.

But I didn't see the house, or the backyard. Not even after what had to be at least 30 minutes. I didn't know. I didn't have a phone or a watch.

All I saw was trees.

Beautiful majestic trees.

Their branches were huge, and leaves a vibrant green which is odd considering it's still winter.

I could stay here forever.

I sat down underneath one of the trees and looked up, looking through the leaves.

I hear someone walking near me and my head snaps towards the sound. But no one's there.

I get up and start walking back in what I hope is the right direction.

I see the same man who said a run would help me.

"Hey did the run help?" He asks me while matching his pace to mine.

"Yeah it did, the tingling energy is gone. I feel normal again. No more crazy adrenaline spikes."

"Good I'm glad, whee you headed now?" He asks.

"Well I'm trying to head home, but I don't know the correct direction." I tell him.

"You called it home. Thats a first." He says.

"Yeah. I guess it has become home." I respond quietly as we continue walking.

"So do you think you're going to kill Fransisco?" He asks me.

I just keep walking. Not responding because I don't have any answer for him.

"You want to. Don't you?" He asks me.

"Yeah I would. He destroyed my life, kept me hidden from my brothers, and did unspeakable things to me, a child. Of course I want him dead." I tell him.

"Then why don't you just agree to kill him? Thats what you want. You want him dead." He tells me.

I stand there and think. He's right, I do want him dead. So what's stopping me?

"My brothers are what's stopping me... I don't want them to hate me." I tell him quietly.

"Well they're murderers too right? So what difference does it make? You want to be like them, and it's not like you haven't killed people before." He tells me while continuing walking in the same direction I did.

He's right... I'd be more like them, I'd fit in with my family.

We continue walking in silence. So I should tell Elijah I should do it.

"So I'm going to kill Fransisco." I tell him.

"So you will." He responds back.

I'm going to kill him.

As we continue walking I start hearing people calling out. I turn to my friend and ok at him confused. "Who are they looking for?" I ask him.

"Well I think they're looking for you. I mean you did just run out of the house without telling anyone where you were going and sprinted off into the woods." He tells me calmly.

"Because you told me to! You said a run would help me!" I tell him, angry.

"You didn't have to, you asked for help for a problem and I gave you a solution. You didn't actually have to do that." He tells me while shrugging.

"Oh my God you asshole I'm going to be in so much trouble now. You have to tell them you told me to do it." I tell him.

"How could I do that Elias? I'm not real." He says to me.

What....the......fuck....

"If you're not real than how are you here? Talking to me right now?" I ask him confused.

"Because you idiot, you have schizophrenia. You have hallucinations all the time." He tells me like it's the most normal thing in the world.

I just stare at him.

So his questions weren't real? I made them up? Wait... he tricked me....

"You tricked me. You don't know if my brothers are Mafia leaders, you just suspect they are because I do. Killing Fransisco would only make them upset with me!" I yell at him.

"Okay so are you going to kill him?" He asks me.

"No, I'm not. I'm going to go back to my brothers and act like none of this crazy shit happened. This conversation wasn't real, you're not real, none of this is real. Okay? I'm going to go home and act like I just went out for a run. I didn't have an episode. I didn't agree to kill Fransisco. And my brothers aren't mad at me. It will be fine." I say to him.

But he's not here.

He's not real.

It's just me.

Having a conversation with myself.

Fuck my life.

I turn around and start running towards the voices calling my name. I run until I break through the trees and walk up to the house, looking for my brothers. I walk in and immediately see Marco and Alexander inside. Talking on their phones in a different language. That has to be Spanish.

They hear the door open and immediately see me and end their calls. Both of them questioning me at the same time makes my head hurt.

"Geez all I did was go for a run, it's no big deal." I tell them trying to walk past them.

"No big deal?! NO BIG DEAL?! YOU RUN OFF FOR 5 HOURS AND ITS NO BIG DEAL?! TELL ME ELIAS ARE YOU INSANE? ARE YOU REALLY THAT STUPID THAT YOU THINK ITS NOT A BIG DEAL?!" Marco screams at me.

Immediately I'm taken aback. They haven't yelled at me like that, ever.

Alexander just stares at his twin, frozen and not sure how to respond.

"Do you know how many people we have looking for you right now? How many people have been looking for you for HOURS? Because I think thats a really big deal." He exclaims.

"Well sorry for trying to go for a run. You guys keep me trapped in this fucking house like I'm Rapunzel or some shit." I tell him. Trying to find a way out of this.

"Okay we all need to calm down. Elias did you have an episode while you were in the woods? Or did it happen before?" Alexander asks me.

No I can't fucking tell him. If I do then they get worried and then I'll never be left alone agin. Nope not happening.

"No I didn't okay? I was tired of doing the same fucking things every fucking day, trapped in this house like Rapunzel. So I went for a run through the woods for a few hours. I came back. It's no big deal." I tell him while getting my teeth.

Alexander just looks at me like he doesn't believe me. He goes to say something but is cut off by his phone ringing. He steps outside and answers it. Now it's just me and Marco inside.

"I know you're fucking crazy but this? This is a new level Elias. There are rules here. Rules you have to follow for your safety and ours. Alvaro and Leo are going to be so upset with you when they get back. Elias they stopped they're entire day to look for you. They missed meetings and countless emails to look for YOU. All you do is worry them and it needs to fucking stop. We shouldn't have to baby you just because you want to be an emotional teenager, you want to prove to use you can take care of yourself? Then start showing us. Because we can't trust you." Marco says before storming off.

I need to show them?

I need to prove to them that I can take care of myself?

Then fine. I'll show them.

Tonight I'll meet with Elijah and kill Fransisco.

That's how I'll show them I can take care of myself.

I start walking up to my room and slam the door shut. I immediately go to the bathroom and lock the door. I turn on the shower and start undressing.

They want me to prove to them that I'm not a fucking child?

Then fine.

I'll prove it to them.

I hear someone entering my room and the bathroom door being banged on.

"Elias, when you're done in there come out. We need to talk to you." I hear Alvaro say, his voice stern.

I roll my eyes and finish up in the shower. Wrapping a towel around my body before opening the door and walking towards my closet. I see Alvaro and Leo sitting on my bed, watching my every move. Leo's eyes immediately see my bruised knuckles and I can see his sharp intake of breath.

I ignore both of them before going into my closet and getting pajama pants and a grey cotton shirt.

This is going to be so fucking fun...

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Hey guys, sorry for the late update. A lot going on at home but it's fine now. So I'm back on track.

Anyways what do we think? I think this is a good chapter. Did y'all like Elias's friend in the woods? I imagined him as his internal voice yk? Btw keep in mind I am not a medical professional, all my info about Schizophrenia I get from researching off of google. Thi is the best way I can describe it.

Don't forget to comment/vote.

Another story y'all should read is Diamond S ranch. It's an older brothers/ little sister book and is literally the best Wattpad book I've genuinely ever read.