Cole

––––––––

“It wasn't like that, Dane, and you know it.” My palms were out, trying to soothe him, hoping to lower him off the cliff he was about to jump from.

His eyes clouded over, turning gray and milky. “Not like that. . . You really have the balls to stand there and pretend like you didn't enjoy watching her? You knew where we were, and you still chose to come with me. Don't act like I'm the bad guy. I saw the way you looked at her, I watched you steal glimpses of her that she'll never get back. We both watched, we both sat side by side, we were in it together then, and we're in it together now.”

Locke's eyes flashed, sadness and betrayal coating them in a thick layer of glass. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream and curse and beat the ground around her.

But it wasn't because of what my brother was doing right then anymore. . . It was because of me. Because of the damage I had caused, because of all the things I should have said and never did.

Scurrying backwards on her hands and knees, she moved like an injured spider over the forest floor, trying to save what little life she had left. Her gaze widened as she swallowed hard, face cracking like a fragile piece of ivory.

The betrayal she felt spewed from her pores, stabbing me in the chest. It cut my heart in two and left it empty.

I'm sorry. Casting a gentle look, I tried to force my apology through my skin, hoping she could hear it.

A smug grin filled Dane's face as he let the knife drop to his side. “Aw, did I just screw you over? You didn't tell her any of that? Did you?” Raising his brows, his lips curved into a teasing frown. “I'm sorry, I should have let you tell her. It was wrong of me to over step, please Cole, go on. Maybe she'll feel different if you say it.”

Crooking my jaw, my teeth ground down. I had enough of his shit. He wanted to paint me as the same monster he was, he wanted her to hate me with everything she had. And that thought, that single thought mingled with raw emotions.

He was wrong.

“Stop.” Pointing at his face, I felt the anger in my chest start to grow bigger, working its way down my arms and over my legs. Every muscle sparked, expanding the sinew into tense strands that wanted to tear him apart. “You and I both know that I tried to stop you. I wanted to leave, you went anyway. I wouldn't have been there if I wasn't with you.”

A single tear fell down Locke's cheek, plopping to the ground and drying up instantly in the harsh dirt floor. I wanted to run to her and scoop her in my arms. I wanted to tell her over and over that I was sorry I hadn't protected her then, and I was sorry I hadn't protected her now.

Her face was swollen, covered in dirt and scrapes. Her fingernails were black underneath, blood smearing the back of her palm and up her wrist. She wasn't unharmed, she hadn't been spared.

Just looking at what he had done punctured my soul and left me deflated. I failed her. . . Again.

Dane lifted the knife in my direction, swirling it in the air. “I'm killing her, Cole, and you're not going to stop me.” A husky laugh exploded from his mouth as he shook his head. “You didn't stop me then and you're not going to stop me now. We both know that. You don't have it in you to do it. I'm your brother, I'm family, you don't screw over your family.”

Locke shifted on her knees, allowing her eyes to stay steady on mine. She looked lost, unable to understand, unable to grasp what was unfolding before her.

“No, Dane, you're not family, you never were.” Taking another step in, I let my arms drop to my sides. “Let her go.”

His eyes slit tight, nose scrunching up. “Or what? What do you think you're going to do?”

“It's not what I'm going to do, it's what you're going to do. You can't kill her, I won't let that happen. You can use me, take out your hatred on me, Dane, not her.”

Scrubbing his jaw, his head tilted a hair as he eyed me. “You'd die for her?”

Nodding, I puffed up my chest and opened my arms. “She didn't do anything to deserve this. I did. I shouldn't have let you do what you did, I should have spoken up when I knew it was you. I should have said something when you stopped just watching and decided to take instead. I failed her, I won't fail again. Let her go.”

“You've got to be shitting me. What makes you think I'd ever exchange her for you? She got me arrested, she stood up there and told a story that got me locked up. I told her that night if she ever said anything I'd come back for her. So, here I am, taking what I should have that night in the first place.” His head rolled to look down on Locke as he dropped to his haunches and gripped her chin hard. “Your sister kept her mouth shut, she didn't say a fucking word. I was glad she killed herself, she took her testimony to the grave.” Baring his teeth, his cheeks hollowed as he bit down hard. Snapping his head in my direction, any piece of my brother that was left, vanished from his eyes. “What kind of man are you?”

“I'm the kind of man that makes things right. I'm the kind of man that's willing to give up everything for someone he loves. I'm the kind of man you'll never be.”

Flaring his nostrils, Dane lurched forward, swiping the knife through the air. Jumping back, I grabbed his wrist and held it tight. “Run, Locke! Run!”

Standing in one quick push, Locke took off, her feet hitting the ground with heavy thuds. Her back was to me, face staying straight ahead, never looking back.

Dane growled and cursed as we struggled, arms locking around each other, chests crashing hard. I was going to fight him, I was going to do everything I could to make sure she got away.

If he killed me, I'd accept my fate as long as I knew Locke was safe. My life wouldn't be worth living if she was taken from me.

Trading my life for hers, it was only right. This was my way to make up for a past I couldn't change, this was my way of her telling her I was sorry,

I was sorry I didn't fight harder when I was younger. I was sorry I didn't speak up when I heard about her sister. I was sorry for seeing the police sketch, and knowing immediately who it was and not doing anything about it.

I was sorry for all of it.

His hands clasped around my neck, yanking me into his ribs and holding me tight. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! You really want me to kill you?!” Thick fingers found their way around my throat, digging in and cutting off the air. “Fine! Today you die, Cole, and you know what?” The heat from his words scaled down my neck and raked my spine. “It changes nothing. I'm still going to kill her, I'm still going to find her and take what I deserve.”

Red became all I could see, it coated my vision in a liquid haze, stealing away my surroundings. I wouldn't allow him to ever have her.

Throwing my head back, I felt my skull connect with his face. But he didn't let me go, it only seemed to enrage him more. His grip tightened, his nails pierced the surface, and my red haze turned into a purple fog.

Scratching at his hands, I tried to peel them off my neck. But it became harder and harder to use my muscles as the oxygen grew thin and my body weakened.

The trees began to tunnel, closing in on me as air became scarce and my lungs struggled to work. Focusing on Locke's small frame as her feet kicked up dirt and her hair waved a silent goodbye, I let her freedom be my voice.

She was going to get out, she was going to get away. . . And that was all I wanted.

Closing my eyes, I took in small sips of air that crawled into my lungs, allowing me to keep going, to keep living, even if seconds were all I had left. My mind flipped through images of Locke and the short time I was able to have with her. The pictures kept turning, bringing me back years, to a time when my brother was my brother.

There were good times, there were moments to remember and laughs to embrace. Not everything was black and spoiled, not everything was rotten and tainted by the man he had become.

I was going to die thinking of the family we used to be and the only girl I ever loved.

There was no pain, there was no sadness; for all the darkness that clouded my life, happiness was what I would leave with.

THUD!

Dane's body went limp, falling to the ground like dead weight. Dropping to my knees, I took in long heaving pulls of air and held my throat.

Turning around, Locke was standing over him, holding a thick log. Her eyes were large, peering down at Dane's body as he laid motionless. “Fuck you, Asshole.” Dropping the log to the ground, she flicked her eyes up to mine.

We stared at each other without words, without voices to carve out apologies and endless cries for forgiveness.

Her hands were by her sides, open and dangling as if the weight of the world had just lifted off her shoulders. Her lip twitched, cheeks streaked in fallen tears and mud.

Sirens blared through the trees, echoing around us. And we both just stood quiet, allowing our eyes to speak the words neither one of us could say.

My apologies were heard.

Her prayers were answered.

And together we found love in tragedy.