Page 13 of Castle

He just stared at me like an adorable man-child.

“If you tell me the truth, no one will hurt you. I’m your friend, Castle. You need to trust me.”

“Friend.” He repeated.

“Was it Barbara?”

He stared at me for a full one minute. I’d learned not to feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

A few seconds later, he said, “It was...her.”

I gave him the plate with the last slice of cake like I promised and left to go to bed.

The next morning, I told Devin everything, and he came upstairs to Castle’s room to check the puncture marks on his bottom lip. He seemed disturbed by it, and couldn’t believe that Barbara would hurt Castle.

“Castle, is it true what Millie is saying? Did Barbara hurt you?”

“Castle, tell your brother the truth.”

He began breathing erratically, gripping his hair tightly and started rocking back and forth repeatedly, screaming bloody murder.

I stood frozen in place as I watched this gorgeous, innocent man go over the edge.

Devin caught my hand and dragged me out of the bedroom and locked it from the outside. He pulled out his phone and called the nurse to come upstairs urgently while I heard things being thrown across the room inside, followed by the sound of loud crashing.

“Winston, I need Barbara removed from this house. Right now!” Devin yelled into the phone.

He was shaking when he hung up, and he had fresh tears in his eyes as he leaned his back against the wall. “I’m sorry you had to see him like this. Sometimes he gets ticked off by certain people, so you have to be careful what you say to him.”

Hesitantly, I touched his shoulder, and he placed his hand on mine. His emerald eyes were shining with unshed tears. “People told me he was better off in a home, a private facility that cared for someone like him. But I couldn’t do that to him…he’s my brother. I wanted him to stay here with people who truly love him.”

I nodded, “I know. You did what you thought was the best for him.”

“But he’s getting hurt because I trusted the wrong people, Millie.”

Devin allowed me to pull him into a hug, and all I wanted to do was take away his pain and suffering. I just rubbed his back in soothing circles. “I promise no one will ever hurt him now.”

And I vowed to make that happen.

I heard a noise again that night and when I glanced at the clock; it was past two a.m. In the sitting room below, the grandfather clock chimed, and I heard the faint sounds of it drifting from downstairs. I drank some water and went back to bed.

Just then, there was the sound of footsteps outside of my bedroom.

I sat upright in bed, staring at the door, when there was a brief knock.

My heart thumped in my chest.

“Who’s there?” I called out.

I didn’t hear any response.

“Castle, if that’s you, go back to sleep,” I said firmly.

Seconds later, there was another knock.

I was just so tired of playing these stupid games. He wouldn’t talk to me when I asked him something, but he had the nerve to wake me up at odd hours of the night to scare me half to death.

When the footsteps faded, I opened the door and found something on the floor.

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