Courting Tragedy

Courting Tragedy 10

10

Chapter Ten

I stared at him in shock; he killed their sister?! I didn't get that vibe from him, you know, the I-am-a-crazy-murder vibe. I shook my head.

"No way." I said firmly.

Gage sighed, his eyes searching the room landing anywhere but on me.

"He didn't murder her in cold blood, but he lead to her death. There's a story behind it, but it's long..." He trailed off.

I took his hand. "I have all the time in the world."

He smiled at me. "Not really. You have until tomorrow at 9 sharp."

I stared at him in shock for a second before regaining my composure.

"Well then, I have about 15 hours. I think that'll be enough time?" I asked, moving closer to him. I know I was being really brazen, but if I was going to be spending huge amounts of time with this guy, I'd like to know what he's all about, right?

He looked at me with a knowing look on his face. "I know what you're doing. But yes, it will be enough time. He killed her indirectly, because he was too lazy to do what he was told. He was supposed to be watching her, making sure she didn't come to harm. Emily was 16, rebellious and just figuring things out. She was under his care one night and he had invited some friends over to party, figuring that my parents would never find out." Gage gave a harsh laugh.

"One of his friends somehow got him drunk--and I don't mean tipsy, I mean fall over, throw up, completely incapitated drunk--and found out that he had a little sister upstairs." Gage's face clouded over, and I put my hand up to his cheek.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. I don't want you to hurt yourself because I'm curious." I said. He put his hand over mine and looked into my eyes.

"I have to. It'll be better this way." He sighed again and put my hand back in my lap. "The friend found my sister, and did some things to her that no girl--no person--should have to face. He raped her, he tortured her, and he strangled her. Then he fled like the coward he was. My brother found out the next morning, after he went in to wake her up for breakfast. He was hungover, but even that couldn't keep him from seeing the blood spattered all over her room..." He stopped talking and I looked up to see tears running down his face.

I put my hands up slowly, wiping the tears from his face, and he crushed me into a hug. I leaned against him, feeling him fighting the urge to cry. He held me as his tears finally broke free and soaked my shirt.

"I called him, even before I called my parents. I couldn't concentrate, and I thought he'd be level headed enough to help me figure out what had happened. I was wrong." I could hear Logan talking from behind me, and I turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

"I was nowhere near level-headed when he told me what happened. And it got worse when I saw the room. The blood... It still haunts me in my nightmares." Gage said softly, his voice thick with emotion.

"It was obvious who it was; his scent was all over the room, and he hadn't bothered cleaning up anything. I couldn't even think straight, the only thing running through my mind was what kind of person it takes to do this to a child, a beautiful little girl..." He looked up at me, his eyes pleading. "It took a monster. And I was a monster in return. I tracked him down, and I killed him. Even after I killed him, I didn't feel better. The life of a murderer wasn't worth the life of an innocent child. It was nowhere near as valuable as hers..." He was crying again, and Logan sat on a chair across from us, wiping his eyes.

"She would have been 18 on December 12. Every day it gets closer, and now it's only a few days away. It's like the pains back all over again. She was beautiful; so bright and bubbly and full of life... She looked a lot like you do, with your blond hair and green eyes. She was my favorite person in the world, and every day I miss her."

I stood up and backed away slowly, sitting on a couch across the room from him. I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them. We sat in silence for a minute before Logan spoke up.

"Emory? What's wrong?" I heard him moving closer to me, and I took a deep breath.

"Two years ago, I was found on the porch of an orphanage. The only thing I knew was my name and my birthday. December 12."