In the arms of evil

Accepting the devil

I drive to the last place Troy was seen at. Sammy tried to stop me, but there's hardly anything he could've done when I near enough ran him over.

Speeding down in the dead of the night, no one is on the road. The pale moon beams down on the ocean as the waves crash upon the sand. Blood will be spilt tonight. Who's? I do not yet know. I can only pray I get to Colton before he gets to Troy. I'd die of heartbreak should any harm come to him. I love him more than life itself, and if I lose him, I won't survive.

The car skids onto a dirt road through the forest. Troy's been living here? It's remote and empty. The only sound comes from swishing branches in the wind accompanied by the trickling of a lake. I see it. Coltons bike. Please don't let me be too late.

Turning the car off, I take in a deep breath. "You can do this. You're strong Brooklyn Peterson. You will not fall today" I say to myself. Grabbing the gun, I exit the vehicle and begin to make my way towards a cabin, praying Colton is alive in there.

The door is unlocked when I push it open and there is a single lightbulb flickering, hanging off the ceiling. I can barely see a thing in here. The floor boards creek as I take another step, and that's when I hear it. Someone groans awake. But it sounds like they're in pain. "If you're gonna kill me Troy, just get it over with. Just don't hurt her." Colton? It can't be... I turn the light from my phone on to see a tied up and bruised Colton on a chair in front of me. My heart feels heavy seeing him in such a state. This is all because of me. Because he was trying to protect me. "Baby?" I gasp, running to his aid. "Brooklyn?" His eyes shoot open in shock. His face is full of cuts and is turning purple. Seeing him in such a sight rips me apart knowing this is because of me,  because he felt he had to do this alone.

"No baby... you need to get out of here" he mumbles as I untie him. Once he's free, he stands quickly, almost falling to his knees. He's so weak. "I'm not going anywhere" I say through tears, running my thumb over his split lip as I hold him up. He looks down at me, eyes shedding tears of their own, falling and colliding with mine. "Never leave me again. Or I swear I'll kill you myself" I joke, pointing up at him. He chuckles and pulls me in for a tight hug. "I'm sorry sweetness. I just wanted him gone." That's when my mind flicks back to the reason I'm here. "Colton... where is Troy?"

An hour ago, Coltons pov:
I could feel her getting up out of bed. Once I could hear her leaving the room, images of her from earlier invaded my mind. Seeing her so broken... broke me. I can't let this go on. I need to stop him. He needs to die. Tonight. I have to make him pay for everything he's put her through. He is my own personal demon Brooklyn and I share, and we can't ever truly move on together if his heart still beats.

I grab a pen from the nightstand and a piece of paper from her desk, write her my final goodbyes and leave a lingering kiss upon the letter with shaking hands. Leaving her has never felt so heartbreaking. "I'm sorry baby. Forgive me." She'll be safe after tonight. I promise.

Leaving through the window, I give one last glance at her through the living room window as I start up my truck. Sammy will watch her when I'm gone. She'll always have someone to protect her. And she'll be happy again. Even if it's not with me. I breath in, shaking my head at the thought of going back inside. No. I need to do this for her, I owe her that much at least. "I love you baby. So fucking much" I mutter as I give her one last look. I take her in. All of her. The way her messy brown curls fall down past her chest. The way her brown irises glow when she's by the lit fire, and the way she smiles, how plump her rosy lips become. The dimple she has on her right cheek, and the way she pulls the sleeves of her sweater over her hands when she's talking about herself. She's so innocent. The perfect embodiment of love and hope. It remains in my mind vividly as I drive down to kill my baby brother. To kill the man who destroyed her.

Once I arrive, I see the cabin he's said to be sighted in. "You die tonight brother." I get out the truck and begin stalking up slowly to the cabin. Its covered in vines and red roses. Everything beautiful grows in Nantucket. It suits her, I think. She blends in so beautifully here. I should like to take her on the pier one of these days, should I make it out alive. All this beauty... makes the reality of tonight all the more sweeter. With him gone, she will flourish.

I scope around, making sure there's no one wondering around here. Once it's all clear, I open the door slowly, gun in hand, ready to take the life of my brother. "Took you long enough." That voice. It haunts me now, because I am his creator. The reason he is the way he is. If it wasn't for me becoming apart of this world, Troy would never have stepped foot in it. I made him into the monster he is. It is my responsibility to put him down.

I turn slowly as the light washes the room in a warm white light as if I'm on my way to meet my creator. He looks haggard. Skinny and pale, as apposed to his once tanned and athletic build. Drugs will do that to you though. "You know... I never pegged you as one for taking your brothers girl" he laughs. "But she's got a sweet spot to her, doesn't she? Such a shame she's not obedient." My fists clench as he talks about her. Like she's some dog he can beat and treat like shit. "No matter, brother," it comes out mockingly, "I'll have her back to how she was soon enough. Afraid to leave; to believe she's worth anything more than what I gave her." Thats when I pull the gun out from my waistband. He eyes it and smiles. "Ohh..." his eyes flick up to mine. Darkness twirls within them as an evil grin marks his face. "So you're here to kill me? How sweet. Such a shame really. I wanted you to be alive for what I'm going to do to her. I guess you'll just have to watch her scream from hell" he huffs. As I pull the gun up to kill him, the room goes dark. It's already night out, so I can't see a thing. I shoot as the lights go out, but I don't hear his body thump to the ground. Shit.

I take a few steps forward in the dark, only to feel him wrap a wire around my neck, causing me to drop the gun. "Sorry big brother. But I'm not dying tonight. You are." With that, my eyelids grow heavy and everything falls into darkness.

I awake to find myself tied to a chair and a light flickering above me. "About damn time" he huffs, getting up from the chair in front of me. He comes up beside me and begins plowing into me with heavy fists. It burns when my skin splits and blood pours out, but it only fuels my hate for him when I hear him laugh in that sadistic tone of his. He stops for a split moment, and when I flutter my eyes open painfully, it's only to see him coming over with a wooden bat, crashing it into my ribs. "Stop! God dammit Troy please... enough." I hate myself for begging. I'm stronger than that. Truthfully, I was afraid. If I died here, he would be free to get to her. I needed him dead before I hit the ground.

He throws the bat over his shoulder, and pats my shoulder. "It's okay. I'll be back in a sec. in the meantime, think about me and her and how I'll ruin her." He chuckles lightly as he leaves the cabin, leaving me in agonising pain. I have to fight this. I can't let him win.

Present, Brooklyn's pov:
"Colton where is he?" His eyes grow wide before he grabs my hand, pulling me out of the cabin in a hurry. He doesn't stop. "Colton wait" I pull my arm free from his, which even in his current beat up state, was hard to do. "Slow down baby" I whisper, caressing his hand. He shivers at my touch. Oh good, what has he done to you? I stroke his face with the back of my hand, leaving gentle kisses over his lips.

"We need to get out of here. I'm in no condition to protect you right now, Brooklyn, and if he comes back..." he shuts his eyes at the thought. "If we don't end this tonight... we'll be afraid for the rest of our lives." My words catch his attention as he slowly opens his eyes to face me. But upon doing so, I only get his gentle eyes for a few moments before they light up in fear as they gaze onto something behind me. Before I have time to react, Colton is already shoving me behind him, using his body as shield. "What's wrong?" I ask confused.
That's when I hear a twig snap and feel the glimmer of something shinny reflect into my eye from the moonlight. My eyes follow Coltons to see Troy... pointing a gun at us, smirking proudly as the moonlight shines its purity onto the barrel.

My eyes grow wide, and suddenly, every moment I have experienced with Troy bury me under. It's too much, and for a second, I can't breath. But then I feel Coltons hand grip mine protectively, and that's all I need to turn that ember inside me into a raging fire. "Miss me baby?" Troy mocks, cocking his head to the side. "Leave her alone Troy. Don't hurt her... please." Hearing him beg breaks the last piece of innocence within me. "I love you" I whisper into Coltons ear, pressing a kiss there. Troy's eyes become red as he watches, but Colton is caught off guard. That's all I needed to break away his hand from mine and push past him. "Brooklyn no!" Colton lunges forward to me, but I back away. "He won't hurt us anymore baby. I promise." I'm ready to die. For love and all he has given me.