Absent Spark [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

XVI

I collapsed on the ground, Will still holding onto me. There was a buzzing sound, all I could focus on was Brooke's dead body. His corpse. I could faintly hear Anna calling my name and Will whispering something in my ear. But it didn't matter. Brooke was dead, nothing else mattered. No one else mattered.

"Grace, you have to get up," Will said softly. "You have to keep fighting. For Brooke."

For Brooke. Keep fighting for Brooke. Avenge Brooke.

"You," I said shakily, standing up. "You killed Brooke."

"Yes, I did," Phantom smirked. "It was fun."

I walked forward, and looked my brother's killer straight in the eyes.

"There's a price for taking my brother's life." I told him, stepping forward more.

"There is?" He said amusedly. "And what is that?"

"Your life."

My voice was no longer shaking. It was even, cold and hard. It was menacing. I smirked.

"And it's going to be fun."

His eyes went wide, and I placed my hand on his chest. I sent the most powerful wave of electricity I ever mustered through him. Phantom shook as if he were in a seizure, he screamed for mercy. But I didn't stop. I kept going, I screamed right back at him, crying.

"You killed my brother! You deserve this!" I sobbed and I screamed.

His body went slack, and I finally stopped. I checked for a pulse, but I found none. I had achieved my goal. Phantom was dead. I turned around, facing Black.

"Are you next?" I asked harshly.

He sucked in a quick breath, and teleported out. I went over to the machine, and fried it with my electricity. I pulled and ripped at the wires, I punched and shattered the screens. When I was done, I turned around shakily. The first thing I saw was Brooke's body.

I collapsed on my knees, next to Brooke. Expect this time I wasn't crying or screaming. No, I just looked at him, staring. His throat was crushed, blood trickled from his mouth. Will placed his jacket over his face.

"Grace?" Anna asked hesitantly, coming over to me.

"I'm okay." I whispered, wiping away my tears with shaky hands.

"You're not okay," Anna shook her head. "Grace it's okay to admit that you are not okay."

"Strong, I have to be strong." I told her.

She pulled me to my feet.

"I think you've been strong for long enough Grace." She said softly.

Her eyes looked at me, I could tell she saw what I felt like. A small, broken girl who had lost everything. Her parents, her brother, everything. A broken girl who was all alone.

"That's what he said to me." I whispered.

A single tear slid down her cheek, and she enveloped me in a hug.

"I think it's time to go home." She told me.

"I don't have a home anymore. Brooke was my home."

"You can stay with me."

"Not yet. I want to go to my house for a while." I told her.

"Okay."

She let go of me, and I turned to Will.

''Will you bring him home? I don't think I-" I stopped, choking up on my words.

"Of course." He nodded.

Will speeded us to my house, and he went back to get Brooke. I walked collapsed on the couch, and Anna sat next to me.

"You might have to go to an orphanage after awhile." She said softly.

"No," I shook my head. "I have an aunt and uncle and a cousin in Texas. I'd go there. But I'm not going to, I can keep this quiet for two years, until I'm eighteen."

"Grace, I don't know."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving." I said stubbornly.

"Okay." She whispered.

I pulled my legs up to my chest, and rested my chin on them. I sat there, numb. I wasn't sad anymore, I wasn't angry, I wasn't scared. I was numb.

It was so much worse not feeling anything at all.

"Do you want me to stay the night?" Anna asked, pulling her up in a ponytail.

I nodded, and rested my head on her shoulder. Will would be here soon.

We buried Brooke in the backyard the next day. We buried him under the maple tree where our tire swing hung. We couldn't give him a proper burial, because that would alert child services. This was the best we had.

"I'm so sorry." Anna whispered as I sat next to the tombstone Will had got.

It wasn't one of those sorries people say when they don't know what else to say. It was genuine, sorrowful. Brooke had been like an older brother to her, she was sad for his death just like me.

"We'll leave you alone for awhile." Will said.

I nodded, and they both went inside. Once they were gone, I sat down, careful to avoid the new patch of dirt that he lied under.

"You were always worried about me getting hurt," I said quietly. "But look at us now. I'm not the one dead."

My voice was growing thick.

"I know it hasn't even been twenty four hours, but I miss you so much. I don't know how I'm going to carry one without you. I'm not letting the government take me away from you, I'm not. I'm staying here, with you.

I don't want you to leave Brooke, you were all I had left. I know you're in a better place, with mom and dad. But now I'm all alone, sure I have Anna and Will, but they're not you. They're not the brother who played tag with me when we were kids. Who taught me better than anyone to control my powers. Who would take care of me when I sick. Who would go to the ends of the earth to protect me. You protected me until the very end.

Brooke, I love you. So don't go, don't go Brooke, I need you. I need you. Please, don't go."

I collapsed into sobs, shaking on my knees. They racked my body, tearing themselves out of me. I cried for hours, mourning the loss of my brother, my best friend.

And I couldn't take it.