Locke

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Dane stayed static, pacing in small circles. He hadn't moved away at all. I couldn't help but think he knew where I was, that he had me in his sights and was just fucking with me.

I wanted to run, I wanted to dissolve into nothing and seep into the dirt floor. He was too close, too crazed, too dark.

There was no way I could get past him if he found me. One wrong move, one rustle of leaves or snap of a twig, I'd be leading the lion to its meal.

My lips fluttered against each other as soundless demands spewed freely. Keep going! Look someplace else!

Begging and pleading with the powers from above, I ached to just get one more chance to run, one more chance to break free, one more chance to escape. But no one seemed to be listening, my prayers were falling on deaf ears, getting slapped back down by the hands of the sun.

“I know you're out here, you might as well show yourself. Save yourself the embarrassment of being yanked out by your hair.” The muscles on his legs flexed as he took short brisk steps towards the trunk of a tree. “Maybe that's what you want. Am I right? Is that what you want? You want me to drag you out by your hair like I'm a fucking caveman?”

Dane laughed to himself, leaning against the tree and tugging out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Lifting a cigarette to his lips, he cupped his hand around the end and lit it. He stayed silent for a long moment, drawing in a few long puffs.

Exhaling a heavy breath, he looked up at the sky. “Do you think your sister is looking down on you? I'm not a man of faith, Hanna, but if I had to bet, I'd say she's definitely not.” Tapping the head with a single finger, he watched the ash fall off and land on the ground.

I hate you!

I'm going to kill you, you piece of shit!

The words tugged on my tongue, begging to be released, to be freed from their cage and allowed to take shape. I refused. It was too much of a risk. I still couldn't tell if he actually knew where I was or if this was just a game he had been playing with himself since I took off.

If he didn't know, yelling would only give him what he wanted. . .

Me.

“You know why I think that?” A devious smile spread across his lips as his eyes scanned the forest. “Because you're here with me. Because if she was watching over you like an angel, lightning would probably strike me right here, right now.” Holding out his arms, he welcomed the hot fire from the heavens. “No? Nothing?” Dane yelled up to the sky. “Guess you're on your own, Hanna, no one cares, not even your own sister.”

Every inch of my body trembled with rage. Fear was a strong emotion, but when you hated someone as much as I hated him, rage towered over all.

“Vanessa was such a pretty thing. It's too bad she decided to swallow all those pills, it really is. I know you blame me for that, Hanna, I do. But I didn't feed her those, she fed herself.”

That was it, that was all I could take. I could sit back and listen to him babbling about nonsense. I could handle him trying to fuck with my head and make me think that Cole was just like him and that the girls he had killed were going to blame me.

None of it was true. He was a liar, he was a fucking bastard. Every word out of his mouth was built from sick thought he had inside his head.

But to act like he hadn't somehow held my sister's hand, to try and downplay his role in her death. . . I wouldn't stand for that.

I had been pushed to my breaking point. My blood was boiling, percolating under the skin and turning my flesh red hot.

No more.

Jumping out of the bush, I glared at him. “Don't you fucking dare! Don't you fucking dare try and say she didn't kill herself because of you!” Taking a step forward, I clenched my fists by my sides. “You raped her! You did that! She didn't want you, she never wanted you!” Angling my head, my brows furrowed deep. “No one would ever want someone like you.”

Dane bared his teeth with a toothy grin as he dropped the cigarette. Stalking towards me, I didn't move. My eyes veered, teeth clenching down and biting the inside of my cheek. I wasn't going to let this man scare me anymore. He had owned my life in so many ways for long enough.

Curling his fingers around my neck, he dug his nails in hard. “Is that what you think?”

My shoulders jerked up towards my ears as his fingers squeezed down. Twisting my head, I glared up at him. “That's what I know.” Taking in a deep breath, my nostrils flared. “My sister was too good for you. She would have shot you down and told you to go fuck yourself if you had ever tried to ask her out. You had to do what you did because someone like her would never sleep with a scumbag like you.” Spitting in his face, I barked, “You're disgusting! You're a piece of fucking shit!”

Thinning his lips, Dane drew his hand back and swung it across my face. My head snapped to my shoulder as my knotted hair lashed my cheeks. Keeping my head down, I rocked my jaw back and forth, working out the sharp pain.

Swallowing, the taste of iron ran down the back of my throat.“I'm going to kill you,” whispering under my breath, a smile spread up to my ears. It wasn't a smile meant for anything good, it was a smile built off hate, it was a smile that came with so much anger my heart hurt and my lungs burned. “I'm going to take what you took from her. . .” Pausing, I wiped the blood off my lips with the back of my palm. “Life.”

Looking down on me, Dane let out a wild chuckle. “Sweetheart, that is the funniest shit anyone has ever said to me.” Slapping his knee, he yanked me in close, bringing his mouth to my ear. “And you're going to regret saying it.”

Spinning me on my heels in one quick swoop, his hand turned into a fist, connecting with my stomach. The air from my lungs flew out hard and fast, leaving me before I had the time to suck it back in.

Dropping to my knees, I clenched my gut, gasping for air. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to jump to my feet and strangle him. But I couldn't. I was numb, there were no tears to shed, there was no voice to cast, there was no strength to hold down on his throat.

“Stupid fucking bitch.” Running his hand over his chin, Dane's head bent and rolled as he grunted. “I'm going to make you beg for your life. I'm going to make you feel every inch of your body as it cries out for me to stop.”

Curling my fingers into the dirt, I clutched a handful of sand. “Only if you can catch me.”

“What did you just say?” His voice dropped in tone, sending a chill down my spine.

Looking up, my lips curved into my jaw. “Only if you can catch me.” In one quick jerk, I threw the sand into his face and jumped to my feet, sprinting away as fast as I could.

“Ahh! Fuck!” Slamming his hands against his head, he rubbed his eyes.

I didn't look back, I didn't stop to see if he was following me; I ran.

The ground vibrated beneath my feet, the tremor worked its way up my legs and stabbed the joints in my hips. But nothing was going to stop me. Not pain, not fear, not failure.

His feet mimicked mine, repeating the same thuds and thumps across the forest floor. He wasn't far behind me, he was right there, gaining speed and running me down.

Pushing my legs to their breaking point, I traversed over fallen stumps, layers and layers of leaves, sharp thorns and broken branches.

Each one entered my skin, I felt them go in and I felt them break free. But there was no pain as they punctured my body, there was no sting or burn as I ran barefoot for my life.

His hands blew cold air across my back as he swiped to grab me. He missed, and my feet moved faster.

I thought I was losing him, I thought that I had gained some distance between us. I was wrong.

The weight of his hands dug into my arm, yanking me off my feet and into the air. Throwing my body, Dane shoved me to the ground. “You little fucking shit!”

I was staring at the sky, the bright blue was speckled in white clouds. Focusing through the treetops, I could see a plane flying over us, unaware of what was happening right below its path.

My mind skipped, focusing on long lost wishes and the taste of freedom I had finally found. I could see myself flying, I could feel the wind in my face and the ground disappear as I rejected gravity and demanded weightlessness.

I'm not here.

I was in the comfort of my mind, giving it permission to block out what was about to happen. I was going to die happy, not in fear, not with tears streaming down my cheeks and my heart racing inside my chest, wishing I had done things differently.

“I'm done with this, I'm done with you.” Raking his nails over my scalp, he gripped my hair and tugged me up off my back. “On your knees,” he snapped, yanking a knife from his pocket.

The silver blade sparkled under the sunlight, shining like an evil diamond. I did what he said, curling my feet under my body. Pushing my hands into the ground, I sat on my knees and kept my head held high.

He could take my life, he could end it right here; but I would not die with my face buried in my chest.

“I've thought about this moment for years, I thought about every single thing I would do to you. I was going to fuck you, I was going to choke you, then I was going to slit your throat and be done with you. But now. . .” Slipping the blade over my cheek, I felt my skin peel open as warm blood trickled down over my chin. “Now you're not so lucky. You're going to be my favorite one, I'm going to take my time. I want you to wish for death, just like I did every single day in that cell. I want you to feel what it's like to watch your life turn to ash when it's at the hand of another.”

Tilting my head, I let my eyes connect with his. “You already did that to me. What's wrong, no new tricks?”

Clenching his teeth, he grabbed my hair at my forehead and pushed my face down. “Look at me again and I cut your eyes out.”

Releasing a cool breath, I kept my eyes on the ground. This was it, this was where I'd take my last breath and finally leave this world. I was about to see my sister again, I was about to be able to rid myself of all the pain I had held onto for years.

I had nothing left. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. I was at his mercy and he had none to spare.

The cold edge of the blade pressed against my throat, piercing just the surface. Closing my eyes, I said goodbye to my mother, goodbye to myself and the person I had been lucky to find again after all this time.

I was going to die with no regrets. I lived my life and whatever life I had was worth every breath.

“No!” a voice shouted from behind me. “Dane don't! Let her go!”

Cole? Is that really him?

I wanted to look, but I was afraid it was just a figment of my imagination. I didn't want to risk opening my eyes and finding out it was trick. Dane's face was the last thing I wanted to be looking at when I took my final breath.

“You're too late, Cole, you can't stop this.”

Peeking out from the corner of my eye, Cole was running towards us, his hands jetting forward, waving a white flag.

“Don't do this, Dane, she doesn't deserve it. She didn't do anything wrong. Please, don't hurt her.”

Dane's head clicked as he cocked it into his shoulder. “Doesn't deserve it?” Scoffing, his lip twisted in confusion. “Are you fucking serious? She's the reason I was sent away. All of this is her fault, every last bit of it.”

“If you do, it'll be the last thing you ever get to do. You can't have her, Dane, she's not yours to take.”

“Not mine. . . She's not fucking mine?” His voice strained as he spoke, hitting high and low tones. “She got me arrested, she stole my life—our life, from us. Don't you want this too?”

“I'm not you, I never was.” Holding out his hands, Cole stepped in slowly. “I should have said something back then, when we were kids and you started robbing houses. I didn't and I should have. I could have prevented all of this if I just had.”

Growling, Dane flicked the knife up, pointing it at Cole. “How can you say that? You're my brother, is that what brothers do?”

He was telling the truth, they are brothers.

My stomach twisted, coiling up like a knotted rope, waiting for the last strand to be plucked free. Cole was Cole Sterling. I didn't want to believe it, but now I couldn't deny it.

They were brothers. They were blood.

“Prevented it? You fucking helped me. You didn't tell her how we sat outside her house? Or how you had her brush and you kept it for years?”

“I didn't keep it.”

“Fuck you, you didn't. I found it in your room, tucked away in a stupid little box in your closet like a damn teenager. You still have it, Cole, tell her, tell her how you were there too.”

His eyes flashed to mine, hovering for a second before getting torn away. And with that look, Cole took my heart and smashed it into a million pieces. This wasn't just a secret that he carried. He carried my entire past on his shoulders.

How did I not see it?

How fucking oblivious was I?