Colton's Miracle ✔️

25. Unconditional Love

(TW: mention of abuse, violence and murder) Read with caution.

Colton:

Everything just stops the second her words make their way to us, even our breathing, and I know Lily can see the horror in my eyes when she briefly looks at me.

She watched her own sister get murdered by her father. And she was only fucking thirteen years old.

"The shock must have overridden my pain, because next thing I know I'm jumping on him, tackling him to the ground and off of Anne. He was a lot stronger though, because in less than five seconds he had me lying on the floor exactly how he had her, right next to her body. I could feel the warmth of her blood mixing with mine, soaking my pyjamas while I lied next to her, recieving a punch after the other." Her eyes shut briefly, the coldness momentarily getting replaced by so much agony that aches my soul.

"I've never prayed harder to die like I did that moment. I stopped fighting him, I just stayed there watching my sister's lifeless eyes while he tried his hardest to slowly end me. One more punch and I was going to pass out, I was sure, but then he chose a different approach. He started choking me instead." Her small hands travels to her neck and she gently caresses the soft skin.

I don't know if I can fucking take anymore.

Her words, her memories, are absolutely killing me. But this isn't about me. This is about Lily and the heavy burden she needs to get off her chest. So no matter how much it fucking destroys me, I will listen to every word she needs to say even if she talks all night.

"God, I wish he hadn't." A sob escapes Lily's throat. "Because that somehow made my survival instincts kick in and I started clawing at his hands, his arms, his face. But when nothing worked and when I was barely still breathing, my eyes fell on Anne one last time. And then I saw it. The knife."

My eyes shut on their own at the realization of what Lily is going to say next. When she doesn't speak I open them again to see her watching me, waiting for me to lock my eyes with her crying ones so she could say the last piece of her truth.

Her eyes don't leave mine for a second as she speaks. "So with the last ounce of consciousness in me I reached over, pulled the knife out of my dead sister's chest, and I plunged it right into his."

No one talks or even dares to move a finger for a long minute as the meaning of her confession sinks in.

"I can still feel the heavy weight of his body when he collapsed on top of me. I no longer had any strength in me to move or push him away. So I just lay there, in a pool of mixed blood, holding my sister's hand and praying that when my eyes finally close they'd never open again."

*****

Lily:

Colton's eyes are fixed on me, his chest heaving with every tight breath and I'm scared to know what he's thinking right now.

I look at Ali who is looking at me with pain and shock alike. And then I watch Dave who deeply sighs, as if he's glad that my story is finally over.

I never wanted them to know the truth, never wished to speak it again. But this had to be done. Whether they walk away or not, I'm still grateful for all the love they've given me in the few months I've known them. And I'm glad that I'm finally able to breathe without the heavy burden of those secrets squeezing my lungs.

But my eyes seek Colton's again, because I will be anything but glad or grateful if he leaves me. I don't know if I can survive without Colton anymore, because he has owned every piece of my heart. He is my first true friend, the first person to ever make an effort to have me in his life. He is the first person I ever felt comfortable enough with to willingly share some of my past.