Do A Little Digging

[Aera’s POV]

I get home to find that all the lights in the estate are off. Great! That meant that I wouldn’t have to deal with a bunch of questions from my father about how the party went.

After leaving Crimson Tides, I took a detour to clear my mind. I didn’t know why, but having seen Ayla in such bad condition left me uneasy. It was the oddest fucking thing. The only reason I could think of as to why it did was because it reminded me of my brother. At least, that was what I would tell myself.

With Alphonze heavy on my mind, I head straight upstairs toward his room, where he should currently be sleeping.

Being sure to be quiet, I creep inside to find his eyes open and staring me down.

"Why are you up?" I ask, moving forward and plopping down beside him. "Usually you’re asleep by this time of night."

"Crimson... Tides..." he manages around his oxygen mask. "How…"

"If you’re wondering how things were, they were fine," I assure him, feeling my irritation flare.

My brother was in the con