The Secret Keeper One

It all started a week before he was to graduate. Some of his cousins and his brother had done something odd. They were doing something strange behind his back. His brother, Teddy, was barely home. And when he was, he looked so tired. So much older then the sixteen years that he actually was. Sometimes he would come home smelling off, too. Like smoke, fire, and something awfully close to iron. He had no idea what in the world it could possibly be.

Or why in the Hell he smelled that way.

But something deep inside of himself told him to not ask. Urging him to keep his mouth shut about it. That he didn't need to know a damn thing about Ted's personal life. All he had to do was keep it out of their parents' sight. Which Aurelius took some rather painstaking step to fix. Or rather shove into a metaphorical closet to never see the light of day ever again. Even well into adulthood. There were things that he would hide even from Teddy himself.

Fearing what Teddy would do if he knew that he knew about his...whatever it was.

That Teddy would hide the whatever in the Hell he did from him. Way better then he had been doing so. Something that he hadn't wanted to dwell on. Then and now. He would rather just allow his brother to do what he wanted. Whatever in the world that was.

To this day, Aurelius isn't all that sure of what it was. Or wanted to.

During that time, Aurelius debated on how to speak to Teddy. Just how to speak about the whole odd situation. Each time he practiced, he felt it had fallen flat. Sounded really dumb to himself. Or sounded like he was accusing him of doing something terrible.

Like drugs or alcohol.

Neither of which, Aurelius really wanted to. Nor did he want to cause him any unnecessary stress. Despite how hard he tried, he couldn't get the words out. No matter how hard, he tried to. He just couldn't force himself to. It wasn't something that he could really bring up. No matter what Aurelius did, he couldn't bring himself to speak. So, he just let it go. All of the days before his graduation, Teddy had done weird stuff. Coming home late. Sometimes with their cousins in tow. A few times he would come home with injuries. Bruises and cuts. Once he came back with puncture wounds on his arms and neck. That was a day before his graduation. On that day, Teddy came home so very...different.

He had missed Aurelius's graduation entirely.

Didn't answer his cellphone when people called. No one they knew had seen him either. Or rather, no one was willing to say if they had seen him. There was this sort of odd undertone to it. Like they didn't want to tell him or rather...they couldn't. Neither of which Aurelius had been sure of. All he knew is that Teddy's strange goings on had stopped completely that day.

No more late night sneakings out with his friends or their cousins.

There were no more scents of blood, smoke, or whatever. And there weren't any bruises on his younger brother as well. It was strange but, he didn't pay it any mind after. As he had his own problems to deal with. Going to a job as well as getting an apartment. Of which he felt he needed at the time. Or he felt that he thought he needed. Some small part of him now feels it had been a bit of a mistake. Though things went pretty alright. He was sort of lucky he hadn't been kicked out. There were times that he had almost been.

Which was something he had been deeply afraid of. Somehow Teddy made him chill out. Telling him that he was going to make it. That things were going to go his way. Despite how much he had doubted his younger brother, he turned out to be right. Like all of the time. Aurelius wasn't sure how he knew but, was glad about it.

Despite how weird it all was.

But why look a gift horse in the mouth? And all that important crap or whatever.

As of now, Teddy was barely a blip on his radar. Despite how hard he tried to retain contact, he just silently drifted away from him. Sure, he was getting a few messages. But all they were were small ones that didn't really amount to much. Which was sort of disheartening to him. As he couldn't understand how it happened.

Or the why.

But, guessed that it was just normal. Siblings drifting apart to this sort of communication. And that he couldn't just expect Teddy to talk to him twenty-four seven. That he had his own things to do. Still, it really had sucked. AS he felt sort of abandoned by his little brother. Sort of lonely as well. Their parents had also stopped talking to him. For whatever reasons they brought up. It was also something that he didn't really dwell on. Aurelius just went on with his life. Went on trying to act like all of this was fine. That it didn't bother him in the slightest bit. Despite the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach.

This was just how things were going to be. Probably for the forseeable future. As there was no real way for him to force Teddy. Or force either of their parents to speak to him. All he had to do is send a few emails. As well as a few gifts to show that they could talk. When they were ready to.

Whenever the Hell that was going to be.

Well, that had been the plan. And it wasn't the wisest one. He knew this. But, it was all he could do. Thought he could. That was until this morning when when he got up. Right as he made his coffee, there was this knock on his door. For a second, he thought he had been hearing things. Then came another one. Followed by more rapid knocking. It was rather confusing. As Aurelius hadn't been expecting anyone. Or anything. So who in the Hell was at the door? Setting his empty coffee mug on the counter, he retied his bathrobe. Hurriedly walking to the front door. Where the knocking was becoming more and more frantic. To the point that it seemed like someone was trying to knock the damned thing down.

"Hold on! I'll be right there!",he demanded. Trying to sound more annoyed then scared. As his heart was just pounding in his chest. Almost fluttering like a frantic bird trying to escape its cage. Just what in the Hell is going on? Who could be here so damn early in the morning for?

Was...had someone he knew died or something?

He would have checked his phone but, he left that in the kitchen. Something he was kicking himself over. And he felt more like an idiot for that. Instead of lingering on this, he checked the peephole on his door. Holding his breath as he did so. What he saw on the other side had shocked him.

It was Teddy.

Looking worse then he had ever seen his younger brother. Nose broken, his cheek had a deep gash in it, and his lower lip was split. He was bent over slightly with his hands over his stomach. There was a rapidly growing red spot under his hands. That made him quickly unlock the door within a second and throw it open. Practically dragging his little brother into his home. In a panicked voice, Aurelius demanded,"Ted?! The Hell happened to you?"

"Why in the Hell are you bleeding?!",he added. Then he shook his head as he dragging his brother towards the kitchen. That didn't matter! What mattered was getting that injury fixed up before Ted bled out in his house! It took him less then a minute to get him into the kitchen. Sitting him down at the kitchen table. But it took a bit longer to find the first aid kit. Aurelius carefully moved his younger brother's hands from the wound.

It wasn't anywhere near as horrible as he thought it would be. But it was still pretty terrible.

He sanitized the needle from the kit and then threaded it. Cleaning the injury and sewing it up in a hurry. Not looking up from his task as he quickly took care of it. When that was done, he bandaged it up. Letting Ted's shirt fall down as he worked on his next injury. Fixing his younger brother's broken nose as quickly as he could. His younger brother barely winced at this action. When he was done, Teddy looked a little better but not all that much. Wiping his blood from his nose as he sat at the table.

Just what in the Hell had done this?

Why in the Hell was Ted here after being away for so long? And why was he so quiet, too? Not asking for help or anything like that? Just what in the world was going on? He wished that he could get him to say one damned word about it. Anything to tell him what was going on.

Then he wished that he hadn't.

"Aurelius, I'm so sorry for bringing you into this.",Ted stated all of a sudden. His voice was thick with remorse and fear. A cold wave of terror washed over him at his brother's words. Sitting down at the table with his brother, Aurelius asked,"What are you going on about?"

"Bring me into what?",he questioned. A bit terrified as he scooted his chair back from his brother. Unsure of what to make of this. His younger brother frowned as he held his hand over the bandages. Touching them gently as he sat in front of his older brother. In a gentle voice, Ted informed,"I, you hid all the weird shit that I did."

"When we were kids, this is a part of all that.",Teddy added. Looking even worse than when he came into Aurelius's home. Leaning over the table, he covered his face with his hands. Taking a deep breath before he pulled his hands away slightly, he continued,"They found me, Aurie."

"The-the things that I killed. Vampires, werewolves, and these things called merfolk.",he added. Putting his hands down before turning to his older brother. A look of fear on his face when he did. This made Aurelius stare at him in surprise. Unsure of what to make of his younger brother's words. Trying to understand just what it meant at all. In a low voice, Aurelius blurted,"Are you high or something?"

"What in the Hell are you talking about?!",he cried. Teddy grabbed his older brother's hands with a sad smile. As if he were sorry about the whole thing. The idea that these mythical creatures were after him. Now they were after his older brother as well. Softly, Teddy answered,"I know it's hard to believe but it's true."

"And..and a group of them are after me for what I did on your graduation..and they're after you too.",he warned. Tone told Aurelius that this wasn't a joke. That this was real and it was actually happening. His mind just wouldn't accept it. There was no way that this could be real. It made his stomach churn as he tried to understand the conversation entirely. While they sat, his younger brother patted his hand gently.

Aurelius looked away from his younger brother and into empty space. Absorbing the information as he sat there. Unsure of what else he could do.

"In an hour, I need you to pack and we'll leave.",his younger brother informed. Letting go of his older brother's hands as he pushed the chair back. Carefully standing up as he stared down at Aurelius sitting there. Trying to pretend that the blank look on his face wasn't fear. That his older brother wasn't upset. In a gentle voice, Teddy muttered,"I'm sorry for everything, Aurie. I didn't want this to happen but, it is. I can't save Mom and Dad from any of it."

"But at least I can save you."