Two weeks have passed and still no word from Jax. I'm getting worried. I met Harry two days after the call (for the deal) and he said he hasn't heard from Jax either.

Over the fortnight, my brothers and I stayed out of each other's way. Well, I avoided my brothers when they tried to talk to me. Was I being petty and mean? Yes. But they left me with that monster. They kind of deserve it. I may forgive them at some point, but I never forget.

Anyway, today is a very important day. I need to sneak out of the house to go somewhere. But how to do it without breaking the rules or my 'family' finding out before I've left?

Aha... I have the perfect idea...

I went to Iris' room to call her down for lunch. However, as I was walking, I spotted her outside. She was by the black iron gates and was talking to the guard. The Guard smiled and allowed my sister out.

Was she insane?! The guard knows that Iris isn't allowed out! What if one of our enemies find out Iris? What if she gets kidnapped? What if-

Deep breaths Elijah.

I ran downstairs to the kitchen and spotted a note on the platform. It read:

To whoever reads this note:

I have gone out. Will be back soon.

Iris.

I couldn't help but smile. Very clever. By writing a note, she's technically informed us that she's gone out- thus not breaking any rules.

"Dad! Lisa! Boys!" I called, "Iris has gone out!"

Instantly, the seven came into the dining room.

Dad sighed, "I knew that this was going to happen at some point. Fortunately, I put a small tracking device on her." I smiled but inside, I was a little bit creeped out. Did he have tracking devices on all of us? I could tell my brothers were thinking the same thing.

David checked his phone and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "know why she's gone to the Ornamand Hospital?"

X

We drove to the hospital and parked the car and stealthily made our way inside. There, we say Iris chatting to the doctors and nurses as if she'd known them for years. She disappeared into a room and we decided to question the nurses.

"Excuse me," Lisa smiled at the receptionist, "I came to ask about an Iris Wilks?"

The nurse frowned, "No Iris Wilks. There is an Iris West, though. What business do you have with her?" She got quite defensive.

"We're her family," Lisa replied, there was an icy undertone in her voice, "do you know why she comes here?"

"Yeah, I do," the nurse said, "but first, can I see some identification that you are Iris' family?"

Lisa smiled tightly and showed her the proof. The nurse deemed it as 'acceptable' and showed us the room where Iris had gone a few moments ago.

To our surprise, we saw Iris sat on a hospital bed surrounded by young children, her arms wrapped around two of them. They were all staring intently at the screen on which 'Frozen' was playing. I smiled slightly when I saw her lip-syncing to the lyrics of 'Let it Go'.

"Every two ish weeks she does this," the receptionist smiled fondly at Iris, "she spends time with the young children suffering from chronic diseases. They're all going through a hard time and they love her. She talks to them, interacts with them and does it all for free. Poor girl, she's been through so much."

"What do you mean?" Dad's voice was trembling slightly with emotion.

The receptionist glared at us, "It's not my story to tell." She said simply.

I scowled and was about to say something when Iris looked over at us. Her smiled disappeared instantly and she said something to the children around her. They all looked disappointed and shot disgusted looks at us. Its quite an experience when a five-year-old snubs you.

Iris pulled open the door and stood in front of us, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. "Hey Martha," She exchanged grins with the receptionist.

"Hey Iris, these creeps want to talk to you."

Iris laughed, "yeah, they're my family. I'll, uh, put the flowers on the grave and go home, I think." Her eyes became slightly misty, "hey, guess what? Jax is coming soon!"

Martha's eyes lit up, "Really! I can't wait to see him again. He still owes me an arm wrestle from that Christmas!"

Iris chuckled, "yeah, that was a good night. Anyway, I'll see you soon." They bid goodbye and Martha gave her a bouquet of beautiful flowers. We looked at her in shock.

"Er," I cleared my throat, "hi."

"Hi," Iris' eyes twinkled with amusement, "So, you're all probably wondering why I come here, huh?"

"Yes." Dad answered.

Iris raised an eyebrow, "well honestly? It's none of your business. But I know you guys won't leave me alone until I tell you- which, I gotta say, is kinda annoying." She sighed, "follow me," and headed towards the exit.

We hastend to follow her.

As I made my way to the cemetery, my mind was reeling. How did they know where I was? How did they arrive just moments-

Oh.

I swallowed to keep my anger in check. They put a tracker on me. I looked at the bracelet that David gave me a few days ago- as a token of our family or something like that. Now, I know it's a big pile of stinking cow dung.

I took the bracelet off and turned around with barely suppressed anger, "Is there a tracker in this?"

David looked at me nervously, "Yeah?"

I breathed deeply and gave it back, "I appreciate the gesture to keep me safe but, I don't need it," it was true, I knew how to defend myself and use a gun.

David didn't say anything.

The walk continued in silence as we made our way to the ceremony. I was clutching the flowers and my breathing became shaky as I made my way to the grave. It was a simple white headstone with the words 'Alex Lykois. Beloved son and friend. You will be missed.' The flowers there were wilted and I threw them away and carefully replaced them with fresh ones. I gestured my family to sit and they did so, with some complaint about the dirty floor.

"Alex," I choked a little, "was my best friend. We met when I was six and he was 10. I was crying because El-Mom and David were arguing. He made my smile and laugh and took me out for ice cream. Our friendship quickly grew and we met Jax when I was eight. The three of us were tight- I told them everything.

Then, it all came crashing down when I was twelve. Alex was having some problems. He kept coughing, had trouble breathing and was tired all the time. Finally, he decided to go to the hospital and we found out he had lung cancer. The- doct- doctors couldn't save him. He had one year left. His last words to me were 'Stay strong, Rainbow. I love you.""

I managed to keep my tears back but it hurt so bad. I hastily looked down and busied myself with arranging the flowers. When I was done, I looked up and smiled, "come on, let's go back to the mansion."