Bad Blood ~Rewrite~

Twenty-Six

The living room was dark. Shadows of various memories fluttered around the apartment, threatening to crumble Caitlyn's sense of protection. She sat silently on the couch and started intently at the stain in the carpet - the spot where she nearly died only a few months ago. She closed her eyes as she hugged herself tightly, trying to push all of the bad memories away. It was well past one in the morning, but she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, a memory she wanted to forget seemed to attack her; whether she was remembering Nick or imagining what he was doing to Thomas, she couldn't get away from the dark thoughts.

A sudden clatter sounded from the hallway outside of her apartment, causing her to jump lightly. She looked up toward the door and slowly stood up. She crept her way toward the door and peered out of the peephole, just in time to see a figure disappear into the apartment across the hall.

"Thomas..." she muttered softly, hurrying into the hall and across to his apartment. The door was cracked open lightly, and she stopped to pick up a small golden necklace that had fallen in the doorway. She pushed her way into the apartment gently and glanced around.

"Tom?" She asked softly, moving toward his bedroom. "Thomas, are you okay?" Water was running from the bathroom, and she could hear stifled sobs from beyond the closed door. "Tom?" She whispered, knocking gently before pushing open the door. He heart fell as she saw the man she loved sitting in a heap on the floor of his bathroom, sobbing into his hands. She sat beside him and put a gentle hand on his back, causing him to jump lightly. "What happened?" She whispered. Thomas shook his head as she pulled him into a tight hug. He lay down on his side and buried his head in her lap as she gently played with his hair.

"I can't keep doing this," he muttered as the tears continued. "I-I can't keep d-doing these awful things..."

"Hey, it's okay... everything you do, you do to protect your sister-"

"That doesn't make it right!" He shouted, looking up at her suddenly. His brown eyes were glossy as tears continued to streak down his face. "They make me so horrible things to ruin other people's lives... sometimes I wonder if it would just be better if I refused and let them kill Ava..."

"You don't mean that," Caitlyn whispered, putting her hands on either side of his face and using her thumbs to brush the tears from his cheeks. She shook his head and looked down again.

"She's been suffering for nearly eleven years now..." he muttered softly. "I don't even know what she's like anymore. I've forgotten what she looked like before all of this without the dirt and bruises that she's always covered in whenever they send me pictures of her... I don't even know for sure that she is alive... I mean, look at Dylan. He thought your sister was still alive for over a year. Why is all of this worth it? I can't hurt more people for them..." Caitlyn pulled him into another tight hug, feeling his ragged breaths against her chest.

"We're all doing our best to stop them from hurting anyone ever again... we just have to keep trying." Thomas sighed softly and pulled away to look at her. There was a silent desperation in his eyes as he stared down at her. He rested a hand softly against her cheek and let out another sigh.

"I-if you knew all of the things I've done..." he muttered, glancing back at the ground, "I don't think you'd want to be around me anymore..."

"Nothing you could say or do would ever make me not want to be around you," she whispered. He scoffed slightly and looked back up at her. She leaned in and connected their lips, feeling his breathing calm beneath her touch. They pulled away slightly and rested their foreheads together. "I was worried Nick was going to kill you..." she muttered slightly. "He seemed so angry-"

"Tonight wasn't about killing me," he muttered softly. "I think he's trying to turn you against me." Caitlyn let out a deep breath before standing up. She grabbed Thomas's hand and pulled him up with her.