Darkness Ethereal | K.TH

Scars Upon Scars

I wake up gasping.

Nightmares slowly release their hold on me as I rise, the bed hot under my body from all the tossing and turning I'd done during my sleep.

Had V put me here?

Heart racing from the dreams that had plagued me, I slip out of my room to smell the sharp, metallic tang of blood in the air. Something horrible crosses through my mind as my nightmares transcend into reality— the claws, the pool of crimson.

The bitter stench of alcohol comes in wisps.

"V...?"

Tears well in the corners of my eyes as shock numbs my voice, freezes my entire body into icy ashes. His skin is cold to my touch, eyes closed and relaxed— as if he was merely sleeping.

I don't realize he's awake until his lips curve into a satisfied smile.

The tears come harder.

When he looks up at me in surprise, I can barely find words as he takes my sleeve, his hand heavy with strain. Confusion is apparent in his expression as he grazes the back of my wrist.

"Why are you crying?" He asks, as if him lying there covered in blood was the most common thing in this damned world. "Don't worry, Cher. I didn't lay a hand on him— I did everything you asked of me."

My world shatters.

Tears drench my cheeks as I cry, pain overwhelming the surprise in his concerned gaze. Realization burns through me like fire, turning my insides to poison.

Because I'd told him not to hurt anyone.

Because I'd been so, so stupid.

"Cher?" His voice grows more and more confused as I cry even harder. He was so innocent— too pure for this cursed world. I can't imagine— I can't believe that I'd failed so miserably to protect him.

"What's wrong?"

My voice is so slurred with tears it's barely audible. "Everything. V, you should've protected yourself. You should've fought back. You shouldn't have—"

Let my damned brother go like that.

"But you told me to not hurt anyone," He says, tilting his bloodstained head to the side. My heart breaks just watching him with that childlike expression.

"You told me it wasn't okay to hurt people."

"Not when they hurt you." Every word is strangled, choked out of my throat. Everything I said now mattered more than anything. "Not when they hurt you. It isn't okay. This isn't okay, V. My God, you're bleeding so much."

I'm going to kill him.

I swear I'm going to kill him.

"Where did he hit you? Where— Where does it hurt the most?" My eyes blur as I scramble to retrieve the medical kit, hands trembling violently. I would never forgive myself for sleeping through this like an idiot while he got hurt outside because of me. I would never.

"It's not as bad as it looks," He defends against my doubtful stare. His eyelids are fluttering— a sign that he was going to faint anytime soon.

My lips squeeze together to keep from crying even further as I steal glimpses of his steady, dark eyes, his blood thick against my fingertips. I find bruise after bruise— cut after cut underneath the layers of crimson as I work my way through with the medicine I have in my hands.