The Hero Killings

14

Asher sat in the tub while Carter scrubbed him clean, he was covered in innocent blood. Asher stared at his bloody hands, he hadn't hardly touched the dead, yet the blood stuck to him like he had played in it. Asher looked to Carter with sad eyes. "Why did you kill them?"

"You looked scared baby, they had you trapped against a tree."

"Not them."

Carter set the wet towel on the side of the tub. "Who?"

"My parents. Why did you kill them."

"Asher I-"

"Why did you kill them and not me."

Carter stopped dead in his tracks, "Asher I would never kill you."

"Why! Why wont you! Do it please..kill me I cannot keep being the reason people I love die, and even people who I dont know who are just around me die! You should have killed me, you should have.."

Carter got on his knees beside the tub, his brow furrowed confused. "Baby people arent dying becaus of you."

"Yes they are! Alex, the hunters, my friends are all dead and somehow I lived, my therapist and his wife, my parents, my...my..my sister."

"Baby you did not get your sister killed, your uncle did that, it isn't your fault. You were a child."

"It is my damn fault! I cried and I screamed and I put up a fight and so he locked me in the closet and..and thats when he..when he used her and he was angry and I caused that! I should have died, he should have killed me! I should have died as a child! You..you. I got her killed! It was my fault!" His body was shaking, his eyes were sad, tears were dripping into the tub. "My parents are dead because of me..."

"No I did that." Carter said caressing his cheek. "I killed them."

"Because of me!" Asher yelled in his face. "Why though.why!"

"Asher I..I was angry, I blamed you I thought you had taken Valery and my baby and I was angry."

"So you should have killed me!"

"No, I could never..even then I couldn't. I thought about it for a long time, but even then I couldn't. I did kill them in hopes of making you hate me, making it easier for me to not want you..but then when I saw how broken it made you..how sad you were...it drew me closer to you. I needed to protect you..I...I needed to..it made me want you more when I was trying to make you hate me..I..I could never kill you."

Asher stared at him. "You were trying to make me hate you?"

"Yes, I was." Carter stated. "You are not the reason they are dead, I have never meant to hurt you. I know I messed up, I know I should have..shouldn't have killed them. It was rage, okay. I was angry with you, and myself. I was angry that I had let you get away, that I had..that I had feelings for you I couldn't understand. I thought it would make it easier to be with Valery and not worry about you. I thought it would make me not need to keep my eyes on you, but I was wrong okay. Fuck, I love you..and you..you cant think about yourself like this. You are not a killer Ash, you have a good heart, you love and you are all the good in this world."

"I have blood on my hands," Asher replied. "They are dead because of me."

"No. It was my choice to kill them, Max's too."

"I...I have killed people though. We are serial killers."

"What kind of people are they."

"Rapists, child predators."