"Ethan."

"Silas."

"Get out!"

"It's my fucking house! You get out."

"Enough!" Devon yelled as he slammed his fists down on the table, causing the cutlery to rattle.

I was actually scared that the table might break in two from the force he had used. The brothers fell silent but they continued to glare at each other from across the table. Everything had gone back to normal—constant bickering amongst them—but it was a lot worse.

I noticed the fact that Valeria barely talked to either of them and that Devon couldn't look Silas in the eyes. He felt guilty about something but I didn't know what. David was the only one who acted natural towards all of them.

As for Avery, she made sure to kiss and touch Ethan whenever Silas or I were in the same room as them. It hurt. Sometimes if felt like my heart was being ripped apart. All I could do was breathe through it and act like nothing was wrong with me. Silas seemed to understand what was happening. I'd find him watching me with concern sometimes.

As the days passed, the urge to leave increased. The arguments between them just got worse and worse. Sometimes it would turn into physical fights that either Devon or David broke apart. I hated being in the house with them when they fought like that. I couldn't just walk out like I wanted too. Silas had made sure that I understood why I couldn't leave the house without an escort.

The fact that Ethan went out of his way to postpone the fight with Kyle, made Silas even more furious and short tempered.

There was nothing left of the Ethan I had spent the night with. He went out of his way to ignore me and when we were forced to be in the same room, he was rude.

It was all getting too much to handle. I just wanted things to return to normal—before David showed up at Silas's door. A part of me wished that he had never forced us to return home but then again, things always happened for a reason.

***

"Hey."

I glanced up at Valeria hovering in the doorway. She gave me a small smile as she entered the living room. For the first time in hours the house was deadly silent. Ethan had left after another shouting match with Silas and Silas had disappeared somewhere.

Valeria took a seat opposite me with a small sigh. Her eyes dropped to my stomach for a few seconds before darting back up to mine.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," I muttered.

"Lara, how do you really feel?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

Her question instantly made tears fill my eyes. I quickly blinked them away as I turned my head so she couldn't see them. I hesitated. How much could I possible tell her? Silas and I weren't married yet, and I honestly had no clue when we'd be getting married. With everything that has been happening, we barely talked.

I tried bringing up the wedding but Silas instantly shot me down. He didn't want to leave without fighting Kyle.

"I'm not so good," I finally said, glancing back at her. "I just don't know for how much longer I can handle this. Silas said that we could leave but he won't without fighting Kyle and then Ethan. . .I just don't want to be here anymore."

Her eyes shone with concern as they darted over my face. Valeria pursed her lips as she continued to stare at me. She swallowed loudly as she got to her feet and closed the distance between us. Valeria crouched in front of me and reached for my hands. She gave them a squeeze as she stared up at me.

"How about a little vacation?" she asked.

I frowned at her. My lips parted, but before I could utter a word, she continued.

"Two weeks away would do you good. Of course we won't go far. I have a friend who would be really happy to have us come over for a few weeks. They live about an hour away in a small town. Alark—that's her mate—is going away for some business. It'll just be the three of us them." Her smile widened. "We can have some girl time. It'll be good for all of us, but especially you. I can see that you need this. Say yes Lara."

I wanted too so badly, but uncertainty filled me. "What about Silas?"

"What about him? He's old enough to take care of himself."

"I—"

"We can do some wedding planning." She gave me a sly smile.

"You're not being fair."

Her smile widened. "I know. Shall I tell David to arrange it for us?"

I licked my lips and glanced around the room. A change of scenery would be good and so would some fresh air.

"Okay."

"Good. I'll get everything sorted. You start packing." She stood and hurried towards the door. "We'll probably be out of here within the next hour or two."

I stared at the wall after she left. An hour. I thought it was going to take a few days to make arrangements for us to leave. The nervousness faded slightly and excitement rose. I was looking forward to sleeping in. The brother's constant yelling wouldn't wake me up for days to come. But I'd be away from Silas.

Maybe it'll be good. A few days apart would do us both good.

Struggling to my feet, I made my way out of the living room and up the stairs. Our bedroom was empty which made my shoulders sag. I had hoped Silas would be here. I hesitated in the doorway for a few seconds before walking over to the closet.

Within a few minutes the suitcase was open on the bed. I was already half done packing when Silas entered the bedroom. He paused and stared at the suitcase for a few minutes before glancing up at me. Panic flashed through his eyes. I noticed that he had paled considerately.

"You're leaving?"

Before I could answer, Silas hurried over to me. A gasp fell from my lips when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Please don't leave me. We can leave. The fight isn't important."

Liar. The fight was a lot more important to him for reasons I couldn't understand.

"I'm not leaving," I told him. "I'm going on a vacation with your mother."

Silas pulled back and blinked at me. My eyes dropped to his lips and I couldn't resist. Placing my hands on his chest, I stood on my toes and pressed my lips against his. Silas held still as I kissed him. His hands slipped to my hips and his lips parted when I licked them. A groan fell from his lips, instantly making heat flash though me. It pooled between my legs as the ache intensified.

My hands slid to the back of his neck. I tugged him down, unable to stand on my toes any longer. Silas's hands slid down over my ass to the back of my thighs. He picked me up and guided my legs around his hips. I moaned when I felt his hard length pressing against me.

He took a few steps forward and then turned.

"Let go with your legs," he whispered.

I frowned and dropped my legs from around his hips. A surprised gasp fell from my lips when he threw himself backwards onto the bed. My wide eyes snapped to his laughing ones.

"We could've broken the bed!"

Silas chuckled. "These beds are sturdy, sweetness."

His lips captured mine again before I could answer. I moved my legs so I straddled him and stroked my hands down his chest. Frustration hit when I couldn't tug his shirt up. The material was pushed inside his jeans and with me on top of him, I couldn't pull it out.

"Where are you going?" he questioned after breaking the kiss.

I sighed and sat up. Of course he was going to ask questions when I needed more from him. I wanted him. I was starving for him, but it was clear that he didn't feel the same at the moment.

"I told you," I muttered with a loud sigh. "I'm going on vacation with your mother."

"You did tell me that. What I want to know is where you are going."

Licking my lips, I scooted backwards until I sat on his upper thighs. My hands slowly trailed down his chest to the band of his pants. Would he stop talking if I pushed my hand down his pants? A smile slid onto my face when I thought of his reaction.

"What are you smiling about?" he questioned with a frown.

I shrugged. "Nothing. Valeria said we would go visit her friend. We'd have girl time and stuff."

"And stuff." He smiled. "That excites you?"

I nodded. Andrea was my best friend, but since the night at her new house, we haven't really talked. I've actually given up on calling and trying to get her to talk to me. For some reason she had decided to end our friendship because of Silas. I loved him and if she couldn't accept it, then I wasn't going to keep on trying.

"I've only ever had a sleepover twice. Since Andrea and I were moving around a lot, there wasn't much time for fun."

"How is Andrea?"

I shrugged again. "Haven't talked to her in a while."

His frown deepened. "Why?"

"I don't know and I don't really care. What I do know is the fact that I finally get to set foot out of this damn house. I'll have peace and quiet for hours on end."

Colour flooded his cheeks. Silas quickly glanced away from me.

"You're not going to stop me from going, are you?"

His eyes snapped back to mine. "I want to, but I won't."

"Good." Our eyes snapped over to the doorway. Valeria winked at me. "We're leaving in an hour so get packing!"

With one last smile, she spun on her heels and disappeared from view. I stared at the place she had stood for a few more seconds before I turned my head to look down at Silas. He was unready watching me but the smile had disappeared.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

I rolled my eyes at him as I climbed from the bed. "Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere."

Silas silently watched me as I continued to pack. I was a little undecided on what to pack but decided on simple things. When I was done, I closed the suitcase and zipped it closed. Silas stood then and walked over to the door. I frowned when he closed it and flipped the lock. He was smirking at me.

"We still have half an hour left before you leave."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. Silas stopped in front of me. Without touching me, he reached around me and pulled my suitcase off the bed. He placed it aside and then reached for me.

I clung to him as he kissed me. This time he slowly lowered me down to the bed. His eyes darted over me from head to toe as he stood there. It was hard to make out what he was thinking because his lids were lowered. My breathing sped up when he took off his shirt and reached for the band of his pants.

"Valeria said that we'll make some wedding plans. With their help things would go smoothly."

Silas's hands froze. I realized that he had tensed too. His eyes slowly rose and what I saw made pain flash through me.

I knew things were too good to be true. Climbing from the bed, I headed towards the door but paused when he called my name. I turned slightly.

"If you don't want to get married anymore, just give it to me straight Silas. I'm sick and tired of you making up excuses."