"...And you took my best friend, Nick. You're not going to take anything else from me. I'm done."
It was pitch black outside, and William continued to run with me slung over his shoulder. "William, stop!" I screamed. "Where are Anthony and Malice?" I asked while beating his back.
And then? Then the explosion happened.
Hot flames lit up the sky as metal groaned and power blasted into William and me, sending both of us into the hard ground. Debris soared past us, and a piercing ringing sound filled my ears. I rolled back and forth in agony and went to scream, but no sound escaped my open mouth. William was crawling on the dirt toward the flames.
I dug my fingers into the ground as I tried to orient myself. The blast was too strong. Too powerful. Every last nerve ending in my body was buzzing like the wings of flies.
No one could have survived that.
William scurried to his feet and placed both palms to his ears. I tried to tell him to back away from the flames, but he mouthed something at me. I stared in confusion as he held a palm up, as if motioning for me to wait, before he started running toward the blazing fire.
I writhed in so much pain, the ringing in my head was too loud. Time passed, but then it didn't. The flies were swarming me, comforting me, telling me to go to that dark place where I was safe with the unknowns. I silently sobbed as heat kissed my cheeks. Another blast. Sirens in the distance.
Bzz.
Bzz.
"Juliet!" Anthony yelled. How did he get here? My head hurt so bad. He pulled me close to his chest and held onto me. His face was bloodied, and his finger was sliced open, but he was okay.
Plumes of smoke surrounded us. I choked on the suffocating air and searched for shadows.
The ringing was still drowning my senses. The flies buzzed peacefully.
The last thing I saw before blacking out was a towering man, cradling someone in his arms and staggering toward me.
31
I pressed my cheek against my soft pillow and moaned. My throat was dry, and my bones were stiff and sore. The ringing in my ears was gone, but it still felt like I was holding my head under water. Every sound was muffled. Head throbbing, I slowly sat up and looked at the nightstand beside me, thankful to find two pain pills and a large glass of water. I reached for the medicine and took it, eager for the pain to go away.
I felt disoriented and confused but also relieved. The skin between my lips and my nose was covered in oil that smelled like lavender, a calming scent completely unlike the disgusting decay I was forced to experience at the warehouse.
I wasn't wearing the same outfit as before. Someone had put me in pink, silky shorts and a thin tank top. There was a bandage on my temple, and my hair had been brushed and braided. It was obvious that I had slept through being changed and washed, but I couldn't remember anything after the blast.
The blast.
The explosion.
Where were the others, had they survived?
Not even the flies buzzed at that thought.
I needed to call Grams. It freaked me out to think I could have died and she would have never known what had happened to me.
I didn't recognize the bedroom I was in. Gray walls, brown hardwood floors, ornate furniture that was both bulky and designer. It was warm and luxurious. I sat up and looked around, pulling the soft duvet all the way up to my chin. A noise at the bedroom door drew my attention, and I watched as the knob twisted and William walked through the threshold.
"You're awake," he said in a scratchy voice.
I rubbed my eyes and took in the sight of him. He wore gray sweatpants that hung low on his hips and no shirt. There was a white bandage wrapped around his left forearm and a cut above his eye. He looked relatively okay compared to the intense blast. "Where is everyone?" I asked. Are they alive? I wanted to ask but was too afraid to.
"Anthony took a sleeping pill and passed out in Nick's bed. He didn't want to sleep in his dungeon today." I vaguely remembered Anthony holding me after the explosion, but was still relieved to hear that he was okay.
"And Malice?"
"Nick is out looking for Vicky. We had a GPS device on her, but it seems she removed it."
I shook my head. All my emotions hit me at once. "How could she do this to us?" I asked, my voice saturated with grief. "We could have died." I was thankful to only have a few scratches and a head wound, it could have been so much worse.
William looked stuck between wanting to comfort me and keeping his distance. I supposed we still had a lot of unfinished business between us, but even with all the regret, I needed him. His strong, stoic presence. His quiet comfort. His confidence. I wanted someone to hold me and tell me that everything was going to be okay.
After a slow exhale, he walked to my side of the bed and sat next to me on the edge of the mattress. "The blast knocked Nick out. When I ran back, Anthony was trying to pick him up. They were right by the door."
I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth and stifled a sob. "Oh my God."
William ran his hand through his hair and averted his eyes. "The most fucked up part of it was that I debated leaving him," William admitted. "I was willing to let my jealousy kill my brother. He was just lying there. The flames were about two seconds from wrapping him in a hug, and I...I hesitated."
It took a lot of honesty and trust for William to share this with me. I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a brief moment before speaking. "But you still saved him, William." I cautiously placed my hand on his thigh. "That's what matters the most."
We all had dark thoughts, intrusive impulses, and greedy desires. It's what we did with them that made a person.
He turned to look at me. "What matters is that you're safe. I was so scared when I heard that you were taken. All I kept thinking was that we never got our chance. I never apologized. We never made up."
I inhaled that lavender scent before leaning forward. "I'm glad you're safe, too. We still have a lot to talk about, though. I care about you, William, but you hurt me."
William crawled on the mattress and moved until he was lying next to me. I lay back and twisted so that we were face-to-face. He stroked my cheek and stared deeply into my eyes. I was always comfortable with my secret stranger. Maybe that's why I never felt weird sharing my soul with him listening. I always knew on a soul-deep level that I could trust him.
"I've always had to share, I've always been second. He was the heir, I was the spare. I couldn't handle the idea of him actually wanting you. I thought you'd be like everyone else, just a toy for him to play with and toss away," he admitted.
I still needed to talk to Malice, his very brief declaration in the warehouse was reassuring, but I still felt like we were on ice that was about to crack. I wasn't sure if I was a toy or something more.
"William, you never fought for me. All that time..."
"I know. I know," he rushed out. "I should have tried harder. You were just this high school girl fighting to take care of her grandmother, and I was the extra brother to a deadly empire. I didn't think I deserved you. I saw how happy you made Vicky, and I didn't want to mess that up for her. But after yesterday..."
"It was scary. We almost lost everything," I whispered.
He stroked my arm. "You know what stopped me from leaving Nick to burn alive out there?"