The Pain They Carry (NaNo)

DISCLAIMER: This is an actual book of my own writing and will be published one day. Absolutely NO copying in any form

Prologue:

Cambridge, England

2007


The Brown family– Cambridge’s most envied. A family composed of well-rounded, well-disciplined individuals.


Annabelle McMartin-Brown was an extraordinary mother hen. The neighbors– the entire town of Cambridge, really– would describe her as a radiant woman, with pale skin, emerald green eyes and strawberry-blonde hair woven like fine silk. She appeared much younger than her almost thirty years of age would let on, hosting all of the Brown family events with sweet smiles and honeyed words.


Her husband, Silas Ezekiel Brown stood as the head of their household. His jet-black hair, baby blue eyes and a charming smile made a fine love potion for all the women in their town. Underneath all of his charisma and troublemaker appearance, however, lay a violent and surging temper for anyone who hurt the family he would kill to protect.


The two of them married and had two little tikes not long thereafter. At nine years old, their eldest son, Theodore Silas Brown, took after the appearance of his father– sans his blue eyes. Theodore’s eyes resemble his mothers, flashing bright emerald greens and disarming anyone who peeked at him for just a second. Ezra John Brown, the youngest Brown (and his father’s favorite), was undoubtedly the troublemaker of the family; his blue eyes always, always twinkling with something mischievous.


He was the light of his fathers life at just seven years old.


Things were picture perfect within the sturdy walls of the Brown family mansion. They would remain that way for some time to come. That is, until Elizabeth Annabelle Brown’s piercing, newborn wails ripped through the only life that they knew.
Chapter one:

London, England

2031


Elizabeth Annabelle Brown couldn’t help but smile in amusement as she observed her boyfriend of three years, scrolling through YouTube shorts and arguing with his friend Max over one of them. Her boyfriend knew the footage wasn’t real, but Max didn’t– thus, they were shooting back and forth, as they had been for the past half hour. Time pointlessly wasted, she thought, but it still amused her nonetheless.


Her lips quirked up slightly as she began to recall how they met– how she fell so irrevocably in love with her man, Alex. Lily was the youngest child of the Brown family, and the reason why the family had no mother to watch over them anymore. She knew this fact as she was growing up, as it was made evident to her just what she made them lose by her father. He blamed her deeply for Annabelle’s death and tended to ignore her whenever she was around.


It was… painful, having to experience that. But she knew that he must have been hurting a lot more from the loss of his wife. Still, though. It would have been an unbearable pain if it were not for her brothers being there; the complete opposite from their father. They were the ones who primarily raised her. She often looked at their hair color and felt a bit saddened– she had the hair color of someone she would never get to meet, and while Ezra had the same, at least he didn’t kill their mother.


She often dyed her hair to escape the similarities she shared with her mother, and currently, it was a creamy blonde– although her roots were beginning to peek through a bit. Despite having a slightly different appearance, she was frequently still compared to her mother in regards to her personality; sweet, warm, and nurturing. She didn’t want to go out of her way to be a mean person, so Lily never bothered changing her personality to be something different– something who she so clearly wasn’t.
Alex, her beau, her confidante, the love of her life reminded her every day why that kindness was a good thing. Her brothers protected her in their own way, but Alex had a way of protecting her, too, despite presenting as a submissive when he turned thirteen years old. With his background, Lily could only thank the stars he turned out the way that he did. His parents didn’t take the news of their son being a submissive very well, having raised only dominant children up until then.


They called him an embarrassment– a shame to their family name. A stain that his parents could only deal with through years of abuse, that only amplified when he came out as bisexual– where they kicked him out of the house for good. It took three years meandering around the streets for Andy, his older brother, to find him again, and return him to their brothers and sisters. Although they didn’t have the power to fight back against their parents' cruel mistreatment of their younger brother, they mourned his eviction.


Lily sighed at the memory. Most people would say that it turned out really well, in the end. Lily knew better, though. Dinners every Saturday evening wouldn’t make up for all of those years of traumatic abuse, she thought with disdain aimed at his parents, only in name.


It’s gotten better, though. When they met three years ago on a date set up by Ezra and Scott, Alex’s older brother, they immediately hit it off. As their relationship progressed Lily had peered into bits and pieces of Alex’s memories, and him, hers. They shared thoughts with each other Lily hadn’t even told her brothers, as tight-knit as they were. All of the ups and downs that came from a relationship were amplified by their bone-deep wounds, but still– they managed to overcome that. Lily was able to see Alex become better, and she hopes that he can say the same for her, too.


Clearing her throat as her thoughts came to a halt, she decided to grab his attention, finally bringing him out of the argument he was still in. So engrossed in it, he just barely heard her call his name– multiple times. Smirking slightly, she leaned over to grab his phone from his hands.
“Hey!” Alex snapped, his head whipping around to meet hers with narrowed heterochromatic eyes. In an instant, they widened with regret. “Shit, sorry! I didn’t mean to snap. You startled me a bit.”


“Hm,” Lily raised an eyebrow, "Be sure not to do it again, Alex,” she said, passing his phone back to him. “And please pay attention when I call you. Is Max staying for dinner?”


“I won’t snap again,” Alex promised, crossing his fingers over his chest. “He isn’t staying for dinner, by the way. I have to go down to the station later,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he did so– a force of habit whenever he was stressed or upset.


They were both detectives at the London Central, with Alex being the head of the homicide squad, and Lily working under him as a robbery-homicide detective. While they were both great at their jobs, the roles themselves were stress-inducing on a good day, and downright tortuous on the bad ones. To be quite honest, describing what Alex felt now as stress would be placing it lightly.

“This case is going to murder me.” Alex mumbles. “There’s no new leads or anything. And two more bodies were dropped this morning.” Alex’s eyes filled with tears. “One was Nick.”

Lily moved to sit next to him and wrapped her arms around his body. “Hey, it’s okay. You’ll solve it, you always do. “ She sighed and rocked him gently as Max took his leave. “ I’m so sorry about Nick. I’ll help you find the murderer, there’s got to be something that will identify them.”

Alex smiled at Lily, she knew that Nick had been one of his best friends. “So far, all the victims have been men of approximately 22 to 26, all lighter skinned and have been reported missing for over a day.” He said before frowning. “That’s why Nick has thrown us into a loop, he wasn’t even reported missing before he was found. But we know it’s the same person because the work was the same, and the same mark that’s on all of our victims was on his collar bone.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m lost at this point.”

“I’ll come in with you. Maybe i can try and figure something out. “ Lily sighed, taking his hand and massaging it lightly. “We’ll find the person who did this and he will pay for the lives he’s ruined.”

“Thank you, love.” He said, leaning his head on her shoulder, exhaling slowly. “What about your case? How’s it going?”

“It’s been…stressful. Three robberies of jewelry stores in a week, no viable footage, and my partner is lazy. All he wants to do is sit on his ass and do nothing but play on his phone.”

“Anything I can help with?” Alex asked, putting his arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek.

Lily gave him a grateful smile and shook her head. “No, you’re busy enough. No need to get more stressed or busier.” She scooted closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. “You sure?” He asks gently.

“Positive, Alex. Just keep yourself safe, this person is dangerous.”

“I will,” He promises softly, “and you do the same.” They sat like that for awhile before his phone rang and Alex sighed answering it. “Hunter?”

“There’s been another drop.” Tomas, Alex’s partner and best friend, said.

“Give me five, forward me the address, and I’ll meet you there.” Alex hung up and started to put his belt back on.

“What happened?” Lily asked, standing up and watching him carefully.

“Another body was found. That’s three in one day..” He shook his head, finishing putting his stuff back on and kissing Lily’s cheek. “I’ll see you at the station later.” He grabbed the car keys and left.

Lily watched him leave, biting her lip. She had a bad feeling about this and most of the time her premonitions were correct, but this time was the one time she hoped they weren’t.


Alex drove to the scene and got out walking over to Tomas. “What do we have?”

“Luke Grason, age 25.” Tomas said and Alex let out a choked sob.

“Damn” That was one of his cousins. “Somethings not adding up. Neither him nor Nick were reported missing before they were found.” Suddenly Alex caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and he gasped. “Tomas watch out!” he called just as a gunshot ran out and Alex tackled him out of the way. He felt a burning pain as the bullet lodged into his side and he hissed. Both of them grabbed their guns and shot out where they saw the shooter, but the guy had disappeared.

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” Tomas asked rushing over to Alex’s side.

“Y-yeah, I think.” He broke off as everything went fuzzy . “I think i was shot.” Alex chuckled.

“How is that funny?” Tomas asked as he caught Alex as he slumped to the ground. “Damn” Tomas muttered. “This is Tomas Wollf to base, officer down, i repeat officer down.” Alex heard movement, but everything went dark as he passed out. The last thing he heard was Tomas telling him to hang on.

James Harvey, the dispatcher, heard the call and sent the ambulance out before getting up and heading to find Lily.

Lily was in her office doing some work while waiting to hear from Alex. Hearing a knock at the door she got up and opened the door. “James? Is everything okay?”

He shook his head. “Lily, it’s Alex, you’ve got to get to the hospital, he’s been shot, that’s all we know.”

Lily froze for a second, all she could think was her premonition had been right. “All right, just let me grab my phone and stuff.” She ran to the desk grabbing it before heading back to James. “Okay let’s go.”

James drove Lily to the hospital, where they found Tomas pacing. “Oh thank god.” Tomas muttered upon seeing her and walked over. “I’m so sorry, he jumped in front of me.”. Tomas’s hands were shaking as he was talking to her.

“Hey, it’s okay. Have you heard anything yet?” She asked anxiously, taking his hands in hers trying to stop her own from shaking.

“No, Alex was rushed into the er the minute we arrived.” He admitted as he led Lily to a chair and sat down with her. “I don’t even know what happened, one minute we were discussing the new victim, and the next Alex was tackling me to the ground.”

Lily nodded slowly, processing this information. “Who was the new victim? And do you think it could have been the murderer returning to the scene?”

“The victim is Luke Grason, 25 years old. And it’s possible it could've been the murderer.” Tomas admitted.

“Grason.” Lily repeated, thinking as to where she’s heard that name before. “Isn’t that Alex’s cousin?” She stood up and started to pace, thinning hard.

“Yeah. I’m starting to think that Alex is playing more of a role than we know. And Alex has seemed more stressed and tense than usual.” Tomas said slowly. “It was one home call that set him off.”

“I’m starting to think he’s being targeted. First Nick, his best friend, then Luke, his cousin. And now him. That shot was either meant for him or you, but either way they seem connected.” Lily said, still pacing.

“I agree.” Tomas said turning to the hallway as the doctor came out calling Alex’s last name.

“Is he okay?” Lily asked panic and worry in her voice, rushing over to the doctor.

The doctor held out a hand. “The bullet lodged into his side but it didn’t hit anything vital. He lost a lot of blood but he will make a full recovery. He’s asleep, but you can see him.”

“Okay thank you.” Lily smiled in relief and turned to Tomas. “Would you like to come see him with me?”

Tomas nodded. “I’d like to see him to make sure he’s okay.”

The doctor led them to his room but before opening the door, he turned to them. “He’s hooked up to a lot of machines, so be prepared.”

When he opened the door, Lily swallowed, walking in and the minute she saw him she sat on a chair next to him, taking his hand and starting to cry.

Tomas sat next to her and rubbed her back. “He’s going to be ok.”

“What if it’s true? What if he is being targeted.” Lily cried, looking up at him with her startingly blue eyes.

“Then we have to work harder to find the murderer and we’ll have 24/7 security around the both of you.” He said firmly. “And if he is actually being targeted , I’m going to try and get him off the case…although, to be honest, i don’t know if that’s the best thing. Because with him on the case he’s in the loop. I just don’t know…we’re not even sure if he is the one being targeted.”

“I hope he’s not. I hope I’m 100% wrong.” Lily replied, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

“So do i.” Tomas said quietly. Suddenly, Alex’s heart monitor started beeping rapidly as he started to cough. The doctor came in, perfectly calm and relaxed. “Hey, Alex you’re going to be okay, we’re just going to remove the tube.” Once the doctor removed the tube, the heart monitor went down to normal pace, and Alex relaxed no longer coughing..

“Alex?” Lily asked gently squeezing his hand.

Alex blinked slowly, looking over at her. “L-lily?”

“Hey honey. How are you feeling?”

“Hurts.” He mumbled quietly.

“I know baby.” Lily smiled softly, playing with his hair. “Do you want anything?”

“I want to go home.” Alex muttered. “Soft bed.” He leaned his head against her hand, since it calmed him down.

“I’m sorry baby, but you can’t go home yet.” Lily said quietly.

He whined, but nodded his head, he knew he couldn’t. “How long before i go home?”

“I don’t know, love, I’ll ask the doctor when i see him,” She answers, curling his hair with her finger.

“Ok.” He falls asleep again.

“He’s awake and talking, that’s good.” Tomas said softly

Lily nodded. “Yeah.” She bit her lip a little. “I guess I’ll tell him when he’s better about what happened?”

“Yeah, i think that’s best, we shouldn’t layer it all on him, while he’s recovering.”

Lily sighed. “I guess so. Would you like me to help you with the case and all?”

He shrugged. “Alex had been overseeing, given that he was the head of the unit, but we could use the extra help.”

“Okay, just let me know what i need to do and I’ll be there.” Lily offered.

“Come to my office tomorrow at the station and we’ll go from there.”

Lily nodded, running a hand through her hair. “I’m just wondering why anyone would want to hurt him.”

“I have an idea of who but I’m praying its not true.”

Lily looked up fixing him with a you-better-tell-me look. “Who is it?”

“An ex.” Tomas said, reluctant to go into it.

Lily sat back with a groan, closing her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Trust me, i wish very much that i was kidding. You know Nick Ryan, right?”

“Yeah, that was Alex’s best friend.”

“We found dna on the body, it matched to his ex.” He said, worry etched on his face.

“Does his ex know that I’m his girlfriend now?”

WC:2940