Deadly

Wild.

Tenn's PoV

"You left him behind."

"I didn't want to leave him, listen to me-"

"No. You betrayed him. You betrayed me. This is all your fault."

My eyes widen. Ash has a murderous look in his eyes. The wounds he's left on my body from previous episodes start to sting as I realize that he'll probably kill me this time. "Ash, Steph told me to run. I couldn't save him and us. He wanted us to get away."

He shakily reaches for a knife on the side of the table, not that he needs it. "Shut up. Shut up, Tenn. I'll kill you."

"I didn't have a choice!" I protest, but I'm afraid it's in vain. Ash steps closer, his pupils dilated. He's nearly foaming at the mouth. His teeth are bared like an animal.

"There is always a choice. I'll kill you. I'll kill you for Steph." He raises the knife, and his wild eyes are no longer locked with my own frightened eyes... I follow his gaze and realize he's staring at my already scarred throat.

I swallow nervously. "Ash... put the knife down. We can talk this out rationally, okay?"

My words strike a nerve. He suddenly throws the knife with deadly accuracy and speed. It takes off a lock of my hair and stabs into the wall next to me with a jarring thunk.

"I'm tired of rational. I'm tired of it. I want blood. Your blood." Without moving, he sends invisible blades at me, and I gasp as one hits me in the gut. Not deep enough to be lethal yet, I think, but enough to cause some serious damage.

I start to cough up blood, spluttering and choking. A few droplets of blood splash onto Ash's gaunt cheeks. "A-Ash... please, I'm sorry. I t-tried to save him, I did..."

He grabs me by the neck and slams me against the wall. My eyes are wide and full of panic as he starts to press a few of his fingers into the sides of my throat, restricting oxygen. He looks up at me, our proximity now making the few inches' height difference very evident. "Stop making excuses."

I don't bother trying to pry his fingers off of my throat. Instead, I gently cup his cheek with my right hand. My eyes are more sad than afraid now. I notice there are a few tears in the corner of Ash's eye, and I wipe them away with my thumb.

"Don't touch me, you monster." He squeezes harder with his entire hand. I start to choke, and I grab both of his wrists. I'm too weak to remove his hands, but instinct requires me to try. Disgusting gagging sounds come from my throat as blood and saliva trickle down my chin.

He lets go of my neck with one hand, and with the other he throws me down. As I start to fall to the ground sideways, I hit my head on a shelf with a sickening cracking sound. I curl up and clutch at my head, trembling.

"You've gone too far this time, Tenn. I won't stop myself from ending your pathetic life." Ash stands over me. The only light in the room is coming from the moonlight pouring in through a window behind him, and his face is covered with shadows. It's all I can do to make out his eyes, his haunting eyes that are devoid of all traces of love. I know he means his words, with deathly integrity.

"I'm sorry, Ash. I'm sorry. I'll save him, I'll bring Steph back, I promise," I begin to ramble. I don't dare to look up at him.

Ash gives me a sharp kick in the stomach, right where he stabbed me only minutes earlier. I spit out more blood, and it splatters all over his shoes and pants. "I'm going to bring Steph back, right after I kill you."

"I thought we were brothers," I whispered, biting my lip as I try not to scream.

"What did you just say?" His voice is explosive with fury, and he shoots more invisible blades at me, leaving deep cuts on my arms and my ribs, tearing my shirt.

"I love you, Ash! You're all I think about, all I care about! I've taken care of you since we were kids, we've taken care of each other!" I shout the best I can. "I've let you beat me and abuse me, I've let you do whatever you want to me! And why? Because I want to save you. I want to keep you safe."

His eyes widen, but they don't soften in the least. In fact, my little outburst only seems to have made things worse. "If you love me, you'll let me kill you. This is the only way I can continue. I have to end you. I'll never be able to live if you stay alive."

"Don't you dare say that. I'm the reason you're still alive in the first place." Anger starts to boil in my chest, the steam of it rising in my throat and escaping through my mouth in the form of words. "All those times I could have just let you die, and yet here we are."

"Stop feeling sorry for me. That was then, this is now. You're nothing. You're nothing to me, you're nothing at all. You're worthless." His face expresses disdain, and his voice is dripping with disgust.

I grit my teeth and clench my fists. "I'm worthless? You can't even live on your own! The only reason you eat three meals a day is because of me, I have to convince you to get out of bed in the morning!"

"I'll have the proper motivation once you're dead," he snarls viciously, and I feel drops of spit on my wrists.

I sneer and start to push myself up, wincing with pain a bit. "You really think that? Let's say you actually do kill me. What then? You can go after Steph on your own, but you won't get far without me. I heal your wounds, because you're too reckless to avoid getting them. You'd be shot and killed before you even got to see Steph." I roll my eyes. "I'm not the one who's nothing."

Suddenly, Ash grabs me by my shirt and yanks me to my feet, pressing me against the wall. "Shut your mouth, you revolting parasite." One of his invisible blades slashes my cheek, and it stings horribly.

I laugh despite the pain. It's a humorless laugh. I sound cold, colder than I ever have. I feel like my heart is freezing over. "I may be a parasite, but you're the host. You'll never be rid of me, even if I'm dead."

His eyes widen, and I see a mixture of pain, anger, and fear. He knows I'm telling the truth, but there's no doubt he's trying to deny it. "Shut up." A flurry of blades starts to slash at my ankles, and I feel them slowly moving up my legs as if I'm being lowered into a blender.

"You'll never be able to live without me. I'll haunt you for the rest of your life. Might as well spare the trouble and just keep me alive. Maybe then, I'll have mercy on you." A light smirk dances across my lips. My love for Ash has twisted me into something horrible. I really am a monster.

"Enough!" He swivels around and shoves me at the side table next to the couch. I stumble backwards, knocking it over and falling onto the floor. The vase on top of the table falls and breaks on my skull, scratching my face and nearly taking out my eyes.

I'm dazed, and Ash uses that to his advantage. He grabs a wineglass from the kitchen counter and slowly walks over to me. He steps over me, one foot planted on either side of me. I'm barely able to process what's happening... I don't think to move out of the way before he crouches down.

All I can do is stare up at his hollow eyes as he smashes the wineglass on my head, and darkness starts to creep around the edges of my vision. All it takes is a swift punch in the side of the head from Ash, and I'm out.