Chapter Nine
Davian descended the stairs to meet Riven. When he saw him, he immediately knew he was drunk. He grits his teeth in annoyance.
"What have I told you about drinking?" Davian asked with a clipped tone.
Riven turned to him with a bored look on his face. "What are you gonna do? Ground me? I'm nineteen."
"I can kick you out, and you can go and be a drunk by yourself." Davian fired back, getting irritated with Riven's attitude.
Riven scoffed and turned away to walk upstairs. Davian pondered if he should break the news now or wait. The last thing he wanted was for him to run into her suddenly.
"Wait," Davian called.
Riven turned around and looked at him. "What now?"
"Verena is home," Davian told him with a stoic expression.
It took a few seconds for Riven to process what Davian just told him. His face morphed into one of fury, and Davian stepped forward, ready to subdue him as he made a run for her room. Davian wasn't confident that Riven wouldn't hurt her.
"Why the fuck is she here? Do you have any idea what that psychotic bitch did?" Riven screamed in fury.
"Don't call her that." Davian snapped. "I am well aware what happened."
"She murdered Carter! How could you bring her back here?" Riven continued to yell.
"Her files state she has schizoaffective disorder, meaning she has schizophrenia and depression. She wasn't in her right mind, Riven. She's sick."
"So that excuses her stabbing him to death?"
Davian sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration. "Don't put words in my mouth. No, it doesn't excuse what she did, but she didn't do it out of malice."
What the brothers didn't know was that she meant what she did. The schizophrenia came after what she did. She has always had depression since she came to terms with the fact that no one ever cared about her.
"She can't be here. Who's to say she won't kill one of us?" Riven fired back.
"She won't. I am warning you now not to lay a hand on her, or you won't like the consequences." Davian told him.
Riven glared at Davian for a minute before storming past him and rushing out the front door, slamming it behind him and leaving his rage in his wake.
Azryn had been eavesdropping on the conversation from the living room.
Lucian and Praxis listened from upstairs.
Lucian and Azryn were stunned to learn Verena had been mentally ill.
Something was wrong for her to murder Carter with such brutality, but to know she was also schizophrenic took them off guard.
Praxis stood close to Verena's door with a tense posture as if he expected Riven to charge at any moment. He relaxed when he heard the slam of the door. He knew he would have to watch Riven like a hawk to ensure he didn't come anywhere near Verena.
Lucian made eye contact with Praxis. "Isn't schizophrenia the worst thing you can have?"
Praxis sighed. "I don't know Lucian. All I know is that she's sick and can't just be abandoned."
"You really think she should be here? We aren't exactly nurturing and experts in mental illnesses." Lucian asked skeptically.
"I won't let her be abandoned again. We failed her when she was growing up, and I will not let her be failed again." Praxis stated sternly.
Lucian nodded. "Riven needs to be watched."
"Yes, he does, and I need help with it. I can't do it on my own as much as I want to."
"I will. I don't hate Verena or wish her harm, you know?" Lucian scoffed.
"We haven't been brothers of the year," Praxis stated. "She didn't deserve to be neglected like that for things that weren't her fault."
"You're right. It was immature for us to put our anger for our mother's betrayal on her. She's just a kid." Lucian agreed.
"Thank you."
Lucian nodded and went back to his room.
Praxis wanted to check on Verena. He suspected she probably heard Riven's voice. He knocked on her door and waited for her to come to the door. When she didn't, he became concerned.
He knocked again, "Verena? It's me, Praxis. Can you please open the door?"
When he still got no response and heard no movement from her room, he opened her door. Davian removed the lock. It was to be able to get to her and keep an eye on her, but Praxis worried it would give Riven easy access.
When Praxis saw no sign of Verena, he felt his heart begin to race. He immediately began to look for her. Her bathroom door was open, and he scanned her bathroom looking for any sign of her.
He felt his heart race faster the longer he couldn't find her. When he was about to go look for Davian, he heard something from under her bed.
He got down on the floor and looked under the bed to see Verena hiding. His heart clenched, knowing she probably heard Riven and freaked out.
"It's okay, Verena. He left. You're safe." He encouraged in a soft voice.
She didn't move, and Praxis sighed in defeat. He wasn't going to force her out of there, as he knew it would just trigger her.
They had a lot of work to do to gain her trust—even just a little.