Love Unspoken

After sticking a fever patch on Brandy, Quinn held her tight all night, unable to sleep, just watching over her. Alexander sat with Quinn. The rain drizzled outside, and the room was wrapped in silence.

Kyle went off to find a room to crash in by himself.

Alexander said, "Go get some sleep. I'll hold her."

Quinn shook her head. "You sleep. I can't sleep anyway."

She touched Brandy's forehead. "It's not as hot anymore. If she doesn't have a fever tomorrow, she should be fine."

Alexander sighed and patted her hair. "She'll be okay, don't worry."

Quinn nodded. "Okay."

Neither of them slept all night, keeping watch over Brandy until dawn. Sprout, squeezed in the middle, slept soundly and didn't wake up all night.

In the morning, Brandy woke up groggily in Quinn's arms. She stared at Quinn with wide eyes, not moving.

If Quinn hadn't looked down and seen Brandy's open eyes, she would've thought Brandy was still asleep.

Her face lit up with joy. "Brandy, you're awake? Does your head still hurt?"

Brandy slowly shook her head, a hint of guilt on her face. "Mommy, I'm sorry."

Quinn was taken aback. "Why are you saying sorry out of the blue?"

Brandy blinked and said, "I got sick and made you stay up all night." Quinn felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

Brandy's cheek pressed against Quinn's chest, her childish voice continued, "I won't get sick anymore. I want to be with Mommy."

It was rare for Alexander and Quinn to take her out, but she got sick. She was afraid that next time Alexander and Quinn went out, they wouldn't take her along. Looking at Brandy's face, Quinn felt a sudden ache in her heart.

She forced a smile and touched Brandy's cheek. "Silly girl, it's not your fault. It's because Daddy and Mommy didn't take good care of you that you got sick. Mommy should be the one saying sorry." Brandy said, "Sprout didn't get sick."

Quinn reassured her, "He just got over being sick, didn't he? Alright, don't overthink it. Daddy and Mommy are always here for you."

Brandy finally smiled, snuggling into Quinn's arms. Maybe it was because she was sick, but she had never been this clingy before.

Quinn patted her back. "Go back to sleep. It's still early."

Outside, it was getting light, but the rain and overcast sky made it seem darker.

Quinn sighed inwardly, feeling unlucky that it started raining as soon as they arrived.

It rained lightly during the day, trapping them in the house all day. By evening, there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down.

Sprout acted as if nothing was wrong, except for occasionally looking up at the ceiling when there was thunder. Once the thunder passed, he would wander around the house, exploring.

There were a lot of bugs in the house, so Kyle followed him closely, afraid that his curiosity would lead him to pick up bugs from the ground to play with.

Quinn took care of Brandy, who was scared of the thunder and clung to Quinn all day because of her illness.

Quinn was also afraid of thunder, but she didn't dare show it in front of Brandy.

Alexander squatted nearby, tending to the fire. Most of the wood in the house that could be used had already been burned.As Quinn was dozing off with Brandy in her arms, Sprout came over with a big grin, calling out, "Mommy." Quinn opened her eyes and looked at him. Despite her tiredness, she smiled at his bright eyes and patted his head.

Sprout held out both hands.

"What do you have there?" Quinn looked at his hands and instinctively reached out to take it.

The next second, when she saw what Sprout was holding, she screamed sharply, jumping up with Brandy in her arms. "Alexander!" she exclaimed.

Alexander turned around to see Quinn huddled in a corner, with Brandy crying loudly in her arms.

Then he saw Sprout holding a nearly four-inch-long centipede, which was wriggling in his hand, its numerous legs making one's skin crawl. Alexander's mouth twitched.

Kyle was also shocked. He had only gone to the bathroom for a moment, and Sprout had caught a bug and showed it to Quinn!

Unsurprisingly, Sprout got a good spanking and cried his heart out that night.

Alexander held him over his knee and spanked his bottom. "Will you grab bugs again?"

Sprout cried and shook his head. "No, I won't."

Seeing him cry so miserably, Quinn hesitated and went over to stop Alexander. "That's enough. Don't hit him anymore." Alexander hadn't used much force, but it still hurt.

He let go of Sprout, who immediately ran to Quinn, hugging her leg and crying, mumbling about bad Daddy.

Quinn looked at his tear-streaked face, with snot and tears mixing and running into his mouth and down his neck, feeling sorry for him.

She squatted down and took out a tissue to wipe his face. "Alright, stop crying. Don't catch bugs anymore, okay? If you catch a poisonous one or get bitten, your little hand could rot. Without hands, how will you play with toys, right?" Sprout's tears fell again, but he nodded after a moment of silence.

Quinn patted his head and asked Kyle to bring a basin of water. Before washing Sprout's face, she took a couple of photos of him.

When Sprout grew up, these would be his embarrassing moments.

Brandy squatted nearby, seriously lecturing Sprout. The funniest part was that Brandy still had tears on her face, making the scene both comical and oddly heartwarming.

After a night of commotion, Brandy's fever subsided, and Sprout calmed down. The siblings huddled together, with Sprout behaving much better, probably because he knew he was wrong or because he was in pain. He even knew to stretch out his hands to warm them by the fire.

Not far away, Kyle watched the family of four sitting around the fire, feeling a sense of relief. But then he sighed, lost in thought.

At dawn, the rain stopped outside, though the sky remained overcast.

Quinn was a bit worried and asked Alexander, "It looks like it's going to rain again. Do you think Maddox and the others will come looking for us?"

Alexander sighed, walked to the door, and looked out the window, frowning. "I don't know. They might come. Don't worry, he knows what he's doing."

"But in this weather, I think it's difficult." Quinn sighed, fearing that they might encounter an accident at sea in such weather.

Alexander patted her shoulder. "He's not reckless. He won't take unnecessary risks."novelbin

As they were talking, they saw a boat approaching from the distant sea.