“Are you sure you don’t want to come, Soph?” I asked for the fourth time.

Sophie shook her head and offered me a sweet smile. “Go! I’m just going to sit here and enjoy the peace and quiet before I have to go back to the city tomorrow and brave the crowds and the rush.”

Ava and I had to go to the campus today to pick up the rehearsal schedules and chat with the production team about what they wanted. Usually, there would be no way in hell any of us would go in on a Sunday afternoon to do this kind of stuff, but everyone involved with the Fall Spectacular was so excited to get things moving that we just couldn’t say no.

This production was the highlight of Jacksonville College.

Every single student who had something to do with performing arts, whether it be dance, acting, music, film, they were all a part of it. Given that representatives from performing art and production schools all around the country came to see it—looking for the next best thing, the next student who stole the show—we all wanted to do and be our best.

“Come on,” Ava groaned. “We’re going to miss the meeting if we don’t go right now.”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the doorway, I shook my head as I stumbled along with her, waving at my sister. “We’ll grab some movies and junk food on the way home, and we can have binge night before you leave,” I told her with a bright grin.

She nodded enthusiastically. “Sounds amazing. I love you, Emmy.”

“I love you, too,” I called out as Ava pulled me through the front door and over to her car.

“You know, Sophie’s a lot more like you than I thought she’d be,” Ava said thoughtfully as she pulled her car out of my gateway and onto the road.

I wound down the window, letting the cool breeze hit me in the face and smiled. This had been the first time my friends had actually spent time with Sophie and gotten to know her better than the persona she showed on the television. They all had gotten along so well, and it made me really happy that they could see that part of her, the part she usually doesn’t share with a lot of others. She was soft, thoughtful, and funny. She loved being social and making people laugh, but she also loved her down time, a time where she got to just have her moments with her own thoughts.

I played it off like acting wasn’t hard and that she had it so easy, but I knew that wasn’t the truth. Sophie struggled too, having to watch what she said and where she went, constantly having people in her face and saying horrible untruthful things about her in the tabloids. It’s not easy, it’s mentally exhausting.

And if I’d realized anything about this visit, it was that I needed to make more time to support and see her and remind her that I was there if she ever needed me. I’d been seriously slacking on that part, given that she had always had my back and been there for me when shit got tough. I owed her more, and I needed to stop hiding and cowering away, letting the pressure my father put on me impact on our relationship.

Ava and I rushed through the production meeting, managing to sneak out the back just before it was finished and head to the DVD store. We chatted excitedly about our roles in the play and how, by a stroke of luck, they’d actually paired us together. Ava was going to sing while I danced, and we had a list of songs to choose from that were all amazing and beautiful and would showcase both our art forms.

“I can’t wait to ask Sophie how many of these guys she’s met or dated.” Ava cackled. She’d picked out a wide range of DVD’s, each with different male actors from Johnny Depp to The Rock.

I chuckled softly as we pulled up to the house and climbed out. “For some reason, I don’t see her and The Rock together.”

Opening the front door, I was about to call Sophie’s name when I heard a shrill scream emanate from upstairs. I’d never heard a noise filled with so much pain, it struck me right in the stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs.

“Sophie,” I whispered in horror, looking over at Ava whose eyes were filled with fear.

We moved in the same moment, dashing up the stairs and rushing down the hallway.

“Sophie,” I yelled, another painful cry greeting me as I stumbled down the hall.

A man in dark clothing stepped out and into my path, and both Ava and I grabbed onto each other, staring up into his dark, lifeless eyes. He was big, larger than life, with a thick neck that seemed like it was the same width as his head. His chin was covered with a full beard that had a ginger tinge, matching the color of his unruly hair, which was thick but not enough to hide the sneer on his lips. We tried to back away, but before my foot even touched the ground, we were met with the barrel of a gun, the dark hole staring at me with a strange sparkle.

“Emmy, run!” I heard my sister cry, instantly bringing tears to my eyes.

“Oh, no. Bring her in, she can join the party,” a voice said gleefully from inside the bedroom.

I gripped Ava’s hand in mine, it was clammy and shaking. I wasn’t much better, my body already sweating and tears pooling in my eyes as the man, dressed in a leather jacket and black jeans, waved us inside the room where I could still hear my sister’s pleading sobs.

As I stepped into the doorway, my knees almost buckled but Ava held me tightly, supporting me as my chest constricted, and a loud song of devastation burst from my chapped lips.

“No,” I screamed.

My sister lay tied to my bed, her wrists bleeding and soaking the silk scarf that held her captive. Her hands were a sickening shade of blue, almost matching the bruises that marred her face and naked body. There was a man between her legs, grunting, forcing his way inside her. She thrashed against him, tears streaking her cheeks.

I stumbled toward the bed, wrenching my hand from Ava’s as I fought to get to Sophie. Just before I reached the foot of the bed, a cold metallic object was pressed to my throat, a body at my back, making me freeze and hold my breath.

“Now, now, little one… Benny here isn’t done yet. You wouldn’t want to interrupt and make him mad would you?” The deep voice tickled against my ear, in a soft tone that you might hear a mother use when trying to comfort a young child.

“Stop,” I gasped, choking almost. “Please leave her alone.”

A deep chuckle sent a wave of shudders through my body. “I would, but you see, I’m trying to send a message. And I don’t want it to be misread.”

He pressed the knife harder, the sharp blade pinching my skin, forcing me backward.

When Sophie’s eyes met mine, I almost crumbled. They were bloodshot, one almost swollen shut. There was a glaze over them as she bounced and jolted from the force of the man’s thrusts. It was like she was seeing right through me, as though she was seeing a ghost standing there, at her bedside, as she was mutilated and defiled.

I could see she’d given up, her fight deteriorating rapidly, her body had had enough.

My soul shook as I watched my sister, my beautiful hero, being torn apart and destroyed.

“Sophie…” I whispered, one of my hands reaching out, wanting to touch her, wanting to tell her I loved her, feeling like she needed in that moment to know.

“Please leave her alone,” I sniffed.

“Would you like to take her place?” the voice asked in amusement.

My mind didn’t even consider my options. “Yes, yes, I will,” I told him instantly, willing to do anything if it took away her pain.

“No,” Sophie screamed, throwing her body against Benny and almost pushing him to the floor. The fire was back in her eyes as Benny struggled to gain control. At first, I thought she was glaring at me, but I soon realized it was aimed at the man who watched her over my shoulder, his blade against my neck. “Ti ucciderà!” she screamed before Benny brought a hard fist across her face.

I couldn’t make sense of what she was saying, my mind hearing it as simply gibberish. Sophie had always been the one interested in our culture. She’d asked Dad for years to teach her Italian, but he’d always refused. I guess he caved.

Booming laughter shattered my eardrum. “I’m sure he will.”

I gasped, my knees buckling underneath me, but I was kept on my feet.

The men in the room chuckled.

“Geez Benny, they both want a piece of you.” Someone commented, laughing, as though he was just hanging out with friends, and that this was some kind of joke and that my sister wasn’t being raped.

Benny grinned, his hand going to Sophie’s throat, squeezing it until she was choking for air. I reached out again, the blade cutting into my neck.

A hand grabbed my hip, holding me in position. “Wouldn’t do that if I was you, Emerson, don’t want you to lose your head now.”

The way he said my name was as if he knew me, and that thought alone made me want to vomit. I had to fight to keep the contents of my stomach where it needed to be.

Sophie’s body lay limp on the bed as Benny climbed off, reaching for his pants, not even bothering to look over his shoulder at the aftermath he’d left behind.

A shove at my back had me falling to the floor, the carpet burning my knees as I scampered to turn around. I looked up at the man who’d held me captive, my blood dripping from his knife. His hair was long and black, hanging to his shoulders. His eyes matching his hair—pools of hell was the only way I could describe the color. He had the shadow of a beard dusting his face and upper lip, and his body was slim, not powerful like I imagined when he’d held me. His black suit was prim and well pressed, his tie the only part of him that didn’t seem to match—it’s color gold with a slight sparkle through it.

Ava landed with a thump beside me, crying into her hands, her body shivering uncontrollably.

“Who…” I managed to force out, but the rest of the words fell short, emotion clogging my throat and a haze of unbelief settling over me. The room was beginning to spin, and I was struggling to sit up.

“My name is Tobia Bellucci,” he answered, holding his hand to his chest and grinning. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Emerson.”

I gagged, staring at his amused face.

“I actually came here looking for you. My brother convinced me you’d be an easier target, left all alone away from your family.” He smiled. His face was expressive, so genuinely filled with joy and excitement, that the dimples pinched into his cheeks were a testament to that. “You should have seen my surprise when I found your sister here instead.”

“No,” I whispered, scooting back until my back hit the end of the bed.

He stepped forward, bringing the blade in his hand to his lips. His tongue snaked out, in a way I imagined could have been seductive if it weren’t for the situation. It touched the smear of blood, my blood, collecting it on his tongue before sweeping it back inside his mouth.

He groaned, closing his eyes in ecstasy and licking his lips. “So sweet,” he murmured, opening his eyes, his full lips turning down sadly in a pout. “It’s unfortunate that I have to leave you here. But I know that this is the best way to tear your family to shreds.”

He laughed, it was almost like the giggle of an excited child, or a possessed man who should be inside a padded room. His dark eyes darted around the room, his mouth twitching.

I couldn’t stop the flow of vomit now as I leaned to the side and expelled the contents of my stomach across the mint green carpet. The men in the room pointed and laughed as I tried desperately to hold it all down.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” I cried out, choking on another wave of vomit as I struggled to keep it down.

The response that came was no longer from a man in control. “Because the blood that runs through your veins is owed to me.”

I felt lightheaded, my brain unable to compute the words. They were like a riddle, one I wasn’t able to understand, but that I greatly wanted to know the answers to.

“Well, I think that’s our cue to leave,” Tobia stated, clapping his hands as if snapping himself out of the darkness and waving his men out. He stood in the doorway, a smug smirk on his lips. “Say hello to your uncle for me, Emerson. I hope to see you soon.”

I heaved in a deep breath as I heard their footsteps move down the hallway and then the stairs, and like a light switch, I suddenly clicked. “Call the police, Ava,” I ordered before scrambling up on the bed.

Tears fell, and I struggled to breathe as I witnessed my sister’s beaten and broken body lying on the stained sheets. Blotches of red were splattered across them, still damp, soaking through and spreading. “Sophie, please… wake up,” I told her urgently, crawling over her, trying to be careful but desperate to reach her.

Her eyelids fluttered, breathing new life into my body as I tore at the restraints that bound her hands to the headboard. The second they came loose, I saw my mistake. Two deep gashes ran down each wrist, and where they had been slowly leaking against the pressure of the scarf, the blood now flowed freely.

“No! No, stop,” I cried through tears as I tried to wrap them again. “Sophie, wake up. Please wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered again, but this time they opened a sliver, just enough for me to see her staring back. They always filled me with warmth, the color of hot chocolate on a winter’s day I always used to say, and she would tell me mine were like the blue of a summer’s sky. We were such opposites of one another, but it was that which had brought us together, that made us stronger.

“Em…” the whisper was so soft and so delicate that I almost missed it. I gripped her wrists in my hands but lowered my head.

My tears dripped onto her cheeks as I pressed my forehead to hers. “Please… d-don’t leave me…”

“I…” she started, the sound no more than a light breeze, “… love you.”

“No…” I licked my lips while bringing one hand to her face and not even caring that it was covered in her blood. I smeared it across her cheek, tapping her, trying to keep her with me. “I need you.”

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe.

It felt like the air had been sucked from the room and with it my soul had been stolen. There was nothing left but this body that held my broken heart, and it was slowly bleeding out, slowly draining away my life.

Her usually bright eyes were now dull, not even a sparkle or reminder of the sister I once knew. They stared straight at me as if she was begging me to come, pleading with me to save her from a fate that I before, would never have wished upon my greatest enemy. But now, I wished so much more for them. I wished them pain and anguish, I wished them the kind of torture that made them scream and pray for death. But death would be too easy, no, they didn’t deserve death.

They stole her from me.

They took her beautiful, peaceful soul and ripped it away.

“Sophie… please,” I rasped, my shaking hand brushing her dark locks back from her face. “I can’t do this without you.”

I wanted to hear her voice again, the soft sound of it soothed me. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone, of how she would fight for me, and how strong she was. I wanted to hear her tell me it would be okay. That she wasn’t gone. That my world wasn’t about to stop spinning on its axis, and I wasn’t about to be thrown into the dark abyss.

But that was coming, it was eating away, breaking me down by the second.

I knew she was gone.

It was as though I felt her leave me.

I was alone and suddenly so cold like my veins were filling with ice, like my body was shutting down.

The world around me started to blur, and I could hear Ava calling my name, but it seemed so far away like I was falling off the side of a cliff, just waiting for the thump at the bottom, hoping it would kill me.

It never came.

And all I could think was, so this is hell.