Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 153: Good News

In the morning, the sun began to rise over the Salazar mansion. The light was weak and gray, filtered through a heavy layer of clouds.

Inside Nathan’s room, the air was stale. Eli woke up. He sat up on his folding mattress, his heart jumping when he remembered where he was. He looked at the closed door, then at the balcony. Someone was standing there. His heart was pounding.

But then he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Zane. The boy was up very early.

Eli stood up, went to the bathroom, and quickly put on his shoes and his jacket. He wanted to sleep more, but he needed to work.

He walked over to the bed and shook Nathan’s shoulder.

"Nathan," Eli whispered. "Nathan, wake up."

Nathan groaned and opened his eyes. He saw Eli standing there, fully clothed and looking frantic. "What? What’s wrong? Is someone coming?"

"No," Eli said. "But I need to work. My shift starts soon. I have to go now."

Nathan sat up and rubbed his face. "Ahh... Okay."

Eli looked at the door. He was terrified. He didn’t want to walk through the long corridors alone. He was afraid he would run into Leo or a group of guards who would drag him to the storage room and then kill him.

That thought made Eli’s stomach churn. "Can you take me to the front gate?"

Zane, who was standing on the balcony, walked inside when he heard Eli’s voice. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, but he looked alert.

"Where is your work?" Zane asked Eli. "I will drive you."

Eli looked at Zane, his eyes filling with relief. "Oh, really? You would do that?"

"Yes," Zane said. He walked over to Nathan, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lucas was still lying in the middle of the mattress. He was snoring softly, his arm thrown over his eyes. He had spent the whole night acting as a chaperone, but actually he was useless. He didn’t even stir when Nathan kicked his leg.

Nathan looked at Lucas and shook his head.

"Good morning," Nathan said to Zane, giving him a small, tired smile. "You’re sure you want to drive Eli? I can call Louis."

Eli’s face went pale at the mention of Nathan’s bodyguard. "Nooo! Please! What if they try to kill me on the way? What if they take me to a different place?"

Nathan realized his mistake. After what happened last night, Eli wouldn’t trust anyone from the Salazar family. He didn’t blame him, though he was sure Louis would never hurt them.

"No problem," Zane said, grabbing his car keys from the nightstand. "I’ll drive you."

"Eat something first," Nathan said, standing up. "I have sandwiches in the fridge."

Nathan had a small refrigerator in his room, which he kept stocked with snacks and drinks so he wouldn’t have to go down to the kitchen and see the staff. He walked over and opened the door.

"No, thanks!" Eli said, checking his watch. "I’m almost late as it is."

Nathan ignored him. He took out a wrapped sandwich, turkey and cheese, and walked over to Eli. He shoved it into Eli’s hand. "Eat it in the car. You can’t work on an empty stomach."

Eli looked at the sandwich and then at Nathan. He gave a small, genuine smile. "Oh, really, thanks, Nathan."

Nathan walked them to the door. He looked at Eli. "Will you come back? We still have the assignment to finish."

Eli hesitated. He looked at the door. He thought about what happened last night. But then he looked at Nathan. He wanted to play with them again.

"Yes," Eli said, nodding. "I’ll come back later today if it’s still allowed. But I have to go home first. I want to see my mother and make sure she’s okay."

Nathan nodded. He understood. "Fine. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here all day. I need to get my part of the task done. Tell me when you’re ready, and I’ll ask Louis to pick you up."

Zane stopped at the door. He looked at Nathan. He wanted to say something or hug him, but with Eli standing there, he just nodded. "I’ll call you when I drop him off."

"Okay," Nathan said.

He watched them leave the room. He waited until they closed the door. He walked back to the bed and looked at Lucas.

"Hey, wake up! Get back to your room!" Nathan said, hitting Lucas with a pillow. But not hard enough to wake up his brother.

Lucas didn’t wake up. He just mumbled something and turned over. "Mmnh!"

Nathan sighed. After realizing it was useless to wake Lucas up, he sat at his desk and opened his laptop. He had to get back to working on his assignment.

He looked at the document he had left behind. His mind was a bit stressed right now; he couldn’t focus.

Then he started to think about Ray and Edson again. He wondered where Malvin had taken them. He wondered if they were actually safe, or if Malvin was just a better liar than Leo.

On the bed, Lucas began to stir. He let out a long, audible groan and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He shifted his weight, his joints making cracking sounds that seemed loud in the quiet room.

Gabriel was still asleep on the mattress on the floor, undisturbed. Nathan let him be because maybe the boy wasn’t used to waking up early.

Meanwhile, he had been used to waking up early since he was a child. At the orphanage, they were assigned to help the supervisors in the morning.

Nathan looked at Lucas, who was starting to wake up.

Lucas sat up on the edge of the bed. He was still wearing the clothes he had arrived in. He ran a hand through his messy hair and looked toward his brother.

"Oh hey. You’re awake? Good morning," Lucas said, his voice gravelly from sleep. "My body feels like stone. This mattress is too small."

Nathan looked back at his laptop screen.

"It’s not because of the mattress. You should know not to sleep here," he replied. His fingers moved quickly over the keys, though he was mostly just deleting and retyping the same sentences.

Lucas just stretched his body again.

"You’re awake now," Nathan said. He didn’t turn around. "So you can get out."

Lucas let out a short, dry laugh. He stayed on the edge of the bed, stretching his arms over his head lazily.

"Why is that? I just woke up. I haven’t even had coffee yet."

Nathan stopped typing. He leaned back in his chair and turned to face his brother. "Make your coffee and get out. You really annoy me!"

"What? I did nothing!"

Nathan frowned. He then stared sharply at Lucas, remembering last night’s incident.

"Are you torturing people too? Like Leo?" Nathan asked.

The question was direct and cold. Lucas narrowed his eyes. He stopped moving. For a second, the room felt even colder than it was.

"What? Why would I do that?" Lucas asked.

"Do you know that Leo was torturing people in his room?" Nathan continued.

Lucas didn’t answer.

"He kidnapped people and tortured them. Did you know about that? Does everyone in this house just act like it’s normal?"

Lucas kept quiet and didn’t answer immediately. He stood up and began to stretch his neck from side to side. He avoided Nathan’s gaze, looking instead at the closed balcony doors. He acted as if he were simply gathering his thoughts, but his silence lasted too long.

"I’m hungry," Lucas finally said. He walked toward the door, ignoring the intensity of Nathan’s stare. "I need breakfast. Let’s go down."

Nathan stepped in front of him, blocking the path to the door. "I’m asking you a question. I need an answer."

Lucas let out a long, nervous sigh. He looked down at Nathan. His expression was flat, devoid of any guilt or surprise. It was the face of a man who had grown up in a psychopathic family and had seen things that made him numb.

"I don’t know," Lucas said. He shrugged his shoulders. "And I don’t care."

Nathan felt a surge of anger. "How can you not care when it happens in your own house?!"

"Well, it’s not my business," Lucas replied. His voice was calm, which made it even worse. "Leo does what he does. Malvin does what he does. I don’t want to know what they do, and they don’t ask me. You should learn to do the same and just mind your own business."

Nathan wanted to argue that he also didn’t want to interfere in other people’s business. But tying people up and torturing them was a crime. How could he just stay silent?

But Lucas didn’t give him the chance. Lucas pushed past him, opened the door, and walked out of the room.

***

By afternoon, the atmosphere in the room was strained. Gabriel had finally woken up, and after a quick breakfast brought up by the staff, the three of them returned to the room.

Nathan and Zane tried to focus on their assignments. Meanwhile, Gabriel tried to play games or watch movies. But soon he got bored.

Many times he walked out to the balcony and back. He seemed nervous looking at Leo’s room, which now looked so dark. After a while he came back to the room.

He did that many times.

Zane and Nathan, who were focused on their tasks, just sighed.

"Go walk in the garden if you’re bored. There’s not too much snow now," Nathan said.

Gabriel sighed. "Oh, I want to. But I’m still scared!"

"Scared? With your body?" Zane mocked.

Gabriel wasn’t offended. He just sat on the sofa, looking for something else to watch.

Zane shook his head and sat on the floor, his laptop on the table. He tried to focus, but every few minutes he would glance at Nathan. Nathan just smiled.

Nathan then reached for his phone. He wanted to contact Vale. He needed to know if Ray was okay. His heart was beating fast as he typed out a message.

Nathan: Vale, any news about Ray? Did they find him?

He hit send. His hands were shaking so much that he had to put the phone down on the table. He felt a deep, gnawing guilt. He was part of Salazar. He lived in the house where his friend had been kept like an animal. He felt like a traitor every time he thought about Vale.

A few minutes later, the phone vibrated. Nathan grabbed it immediately.

Vale: Ray is back. I don’t know what happened. But my aunt said he is covered in wounds. He won’t talk. He didn’t talk. They are trying to take him to the doctor right now. But thankfully, he is home now.

Nathan read the message three times. He didn’t reply. He couldn’t.

He felt a wave of relief that Ray was alive, but it was overshadowed by the image of the wounds Vale mentioned. He knew those wounds.

He knew why Ray was silent, the guy was likely terrified that if he spoke, his brother would come back for him.

And he couldn’t say a single word. He sighed deeply.

Nathan put the phone face down on the desk. He felt like a bad friend. He wanted to tell Vale the truth, but again, he couldn’t.

At the very least, he realized Malvin had kept his promise. Malvin had said he would protect them and get them out. Ray was home.

"Nathan?"

Zane was looking at him. He had noticed Nathan’s pale face. "What is it?"

Nathan looked at Zane, then at Gabriel. He took a deep breath. "Ray is back home. Vale just texted me."

Zane let out a breath he seemed to have been holding. "Then you shouldn’t worry. Your brother really let him go."

Gabriel nodded, looking back at Nathan. "That’s good! He’s safe, right?"

Nathan nodded.

Nathan didn’t feel like things had gone right. He felt like he was keeping a secret that would eventually crush him.

Zane suddenly hugged him, kissing his forehead. That boy didn’t seem to care about Gabriel’s gaze on them.

"I know your family better than you do. You shouldn’t be surprised. Try not to think about it," Zane said, trying to calm him down. He knew Nathan felt guilty. But no one could change the Salazars.