Phoenix
Blood. There is so much blood. Jake stands over her, hovering with a blade to her chest, but she isn’t moving. She’s as still as stone. Ice dances in my veins as I watch him. He’s going to do it. He’s actually going to cut her heart out.
“Hey, Jake! Company!” A man yells, but my eyes remain fixated on the blade in his hand. He raises his head, noticing the look in my eyes.
“Ah… you made it. I didn’t want to finish without you,” he says, but his words just sweep past me. The blood and the idea of touching her heart intrigue me so much more.
“You’re going to do it?” It was much more of a statement than a question. This was it. This is what I wanted to hide from Jess and never let her see. The lust of blood. I craved it more than I craved the air in my lungs. Something about it sustained me. Jake knew it too.
“Come over here. We can do it together, Phoenix.” In my blood-induced haze, I walked toward him. I don’t know how I made it over there or how my legs even worked but seeing so much blood dripping out of her; I couldn’t help myself. It was magical. It was mesmerizing.
“Phoenix?” I hear Jake say my name, but my eyes are glued to her chest. So much crimson beauty. I’ve never seen this much before. I reach out and slide my fingers through it as if in a trance. Hell, I may be in one. Jake chuckles as I look up into the eyes of my brother, my friend. The one that understands this evil.
“It’s ok, Phoenix. Let yourself go in it,” he says. I nod my head and glance back down at my fingers slowly running over her chest. Blood smears every surface, covering her perfect porcelain skin, tinting her the color of a rose. My fingers keep sliding over it until I reach her neck. I wrap my hands around it and squeeze lightly. The soft thump thump thump against my fingers jerks me back to reality. What the hell am I doing? What the fuck is he doing? I love her. I don’t want her dead, but now that I’ve lost it, I need to play into it if I’m going to get her out of here alive. I slide my fingers back down her neck until I stop over her chest where her heart is. My heart. She gave it to me willingly, and I’m going to keep it. Looking back up at the sick smile on Jake’s face, he laughs.
“You want to do it? You want to take it out?” he asks as if he can see it in my eyes. The thought of cutting into someone and taking something so vital to living has crossed my mind–but not Jess.
“Would you let me?” I keep my front in place as bile rushes my throat. I find myself slowly whirling in circles. My head won’t stay focused on the task. I need him to believe me. I need Jake on my side here.
I want to cringe at his words, but I know he’ll see that. He will feel that in me. I can’t let that happen. I need to get her out of here–but I need to handle Jake first.
“She was nothing. She wanted to break us apart. Jake, she almost won. I almost let her.” The words barely tumble out of my mouth, making me sick to my stomach, but I forced them out anyway. Jake cocks his head to study me as my nostrils flare. Anger eats away at my insides, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Jake watches me as I drag my gaze back to his. Rage washes over me.
“She did. Are we brothers, Phoenix?” he asks. Heat surges through my veins. I need to kill him. I need to hurt him. I want to hurt him.
“Yes. Always brothers.” He likes what I said. Jake slips the knife across Jess’ chest to me. The handle and blade are both covered in blood–her blood. I reach down slowly, picking it up. I twist it in my hand as I study each little droplet that he urged out of her. My eyes meet his, and I smile. For a brief second, he sees me. He sees what he’s done, and the regret of offering me the knife hits him hard.
“We’re brothers!” he screams as I raise the blade in my hand and plunge it into his neck. His blood sputters out as I grin like the sick bastard I am. Jake reaches up, grabbing his neck as if he can stop it but he can’t. I laugh as I pull the blade free. Jumping up, climbing over Jess’ body, I plunge the knife into his chest.
“Bastard!” Another plunge into his stomach.
“You hurt her!” I scream as I stab into his neck over and over until there is barely a thread holding him together. I look down at the one person that was supposed to be my family. He was a traitor. He tried to kill the only person I love. I toss the knife before reaching down. I lift Jess’ broken and weak body from the floor and rush toward the car.