Chapter 72//BONUS CHAPTER: DANIEL POV
I walk around the familiar room, memories flooding back to me of some of my childhood memories.
Dust was setting on all the surfaces in the room.
I didn't even know why Elliott, has a desk in his room, that boy's never studied a day in his life.
I sigh, Elliott and I were meant to go to university together. Go to frat parties. Do stupid stuff but that was all gone now.
I didn't even attend the first day of university, as soon as Elliott I died I dropped out of the course.
It was something I was only doing because Elliott had persuaded me into it. It wasn't my dream, but I didn't want to let Elliott down, and I also couldn't stand the thought to him moving away.
And then with Cress, she attended the first few months, but things got hard for her. She was an 18-year-old girl who was pregnant and the father was no longer around.
She told me one time that a group of guys in her main class was saying a load of bullshit to her. I made sure they would never look at her the wrong way again.
She was so happy with Elliott, happier than I had ever seen my sister. Now she was quite, she never laughed, she never smiled.
Everyone was here for her though, through her whole pregnancy thing and from what I saw there were a lot of complications, she still pushed everyone away.
She was definitely better than when it first happened, but she was still in a really bad place. Then there was her baby. Their baby.
I never expected to care about the child let alone, what, love it?
It was unnerving how much River looked like Elliott. I guess the baby was the only thing holding Cress together. She was so protective of him, not letting just anyone hold him.
I slump down on Elliott's familiar bed. His mom had moved to New York. That seemed to be the place everyone moved to when they're life was a fucked up mess. Elliott had a key to my house as did I for his house. It's just the way it was.
I don't even know why I was here right now. I texted Jack telling him that I needed to get something from Elliott's room and that part was true but why was I still here.
Maybe I wanted someone to talk to, maybe I wanted to talk to Jack.
No, I wanted to talk to Elliott and I'm sitting here waiting for him to come through the door grinning abut something stupid he's done.
11 months, that could be considered a long amount of time. Then why wouldn't this hurting feeling go away? Why can't I just get over his death? Why was it still killing me?
I stare at the door, come on Elliott your out there somewhere. Just come home, man.
"Come home bro" I plead out loud.
I stand up fast and kick the bed knowing I was being ridiculous, he was gone and there was nothing I could fucking do to bring him back.
Fuck sakes it should have been me that stood in front of Cress, my life is worthless compared to theirs.
Elliott did something I should have done.
I regret every fucking argument Elliott and I ever had. Every fistfight we'd gotten in to cause now I have no one. I never realized how important Elliott was, he was my friend, my best friend.
When instead he was so much more, he was a brother; he was someone I'd turn to. He would always come to me asking me advice.
I roll over to look under Elliott's bed, I pick up the loose floorboard and look under it.
There was a small velvet case. I take it out and hold it in my hand.
I open it and look at the rings on the inside.
Elliott not only bought the engagement rings. He bought the wedding rings too.
Inside the hospital room, I asked him if he wanted me to set up some sort of wedding, anything for him. To complete his dying wish. To marry Cress.
He said he didn't want to leave her a widow, he refused it but I knew he wanted to.
Everyone thought Elliott was a bad guy. They didn't realize how much of a good person he was at heart. He was passionate about certain things and when he loved something he loved it wholly.
The money he gained from being in the gang was what he used to buy the rings, that much I knew. He didn't want to just use his dad's money, though his dad had more than enough of it.
There were so many little things that Elliott did, that no one knew about.
When he told he wanted to marry Cress he valued my opinion as no one else ever did. He told me if I refused to let him marry Cress then we wouldn't marry her. Of course, I would never have said no.
Everyone pities me now like I'm some sort of broken guy. I was shattered but I didn't want them to see that.
Maybe that's why I was lashing out at people more now.
I look under the floorboard, to find Elliott's lighter, and I smile. His mom would have killed him if she ever found out he used to smoke.
I remember when Elliott went to New York for 6 months, I visited him 4 times, Except no one knew about it. Elliott also came back twice. I urged him to stay but he didn't want to.
He said it was too soon.
I hear a clatter and look up out my daze. Jack wasn't supposed to be home until much later tonight. I leave Elliott's room clutching the ring in my hand; I slip them into my back pocket.
I look into the living room and I see someone standing there. Someone young and tall, he turns around to look at me.
For the tiniest second, I thought it was Elliott, with those blue eyes, but it wasn't.
It was Ryan.
He was a fucking snake. He's ratted us out every time to Aaron if Ryan had not been feeding Aaron information about us Elliott would still be alive.
"Daniel, just who I've been looking for" Ryan grins. I glare at him, disgust written all over my face.
"You're not welcome in this house" I snarl at him. The room was dark but I could faintly make out his figure as the moonlight shone through the window.
"This isn't your home either" Ryan replies playfully.
"What do you want from me Ryan, you've taken the most important thing from me" I sigh.
"As did you, you took my cousin's life, you got away with it. No jail sentence, no punishment. Aaron always said you were the most useless one, but I guess he was wrong. I always knew he was wrong. Elliott was the most useless one, he cared about other people too much but you Daniel. You can be ruthless"
"Why have you confronted me here Ryan, why not when I was at home. You want revenge, you're not going to get any"
"Why, I wouldn't want to scare my little nephew?"
My hands are in tight fists as soon as he mentions River.
"I'll be damned before I let you touch him" I snarl at Ryan.
"Who's going to stop me? You? Not once I'm done with you"
It glistens in the dark, the blade sharp and deadly.
"Something about you Daniel, that I've always hated you a little bit more than the rest. And you're a godfather now, looks like they'll have to give your place to someone else" Ryan smirks taking a step forward.
"Ryan you don't want to do this. Just go away, leave my family alone. Leave Cress alone, she's suffered so much already"
"Ah, little Crescent how's she holding up? It really made me sick the way Elliott and her loved each other. He really adored her, stupid boy. Love ruins you. I honestly thought she would kill herself to be with him. I'm a bit disappointed"
He was even closer now. One swift moment and it would be over.
I move fast to push him backward, as the blade clatters out his hands, as he struggles with me and we both end up on the floor.
"I see it in your eyes, Daniel. That hopelessness, maybe I would be doing you a favor"
"Fuck you" I swear to slam him into the floor.
I despised him for inheriting his dad's eyes. They were just like Elliott's, except colder no love in them.
I hold him by his shoulders against the floor as he knew he was beaten.
"Enough Ryan, no more bloodshed. I've had enough"
I see something glisten past me as Ryan aims the blade for me. I moved backward fast hitting my head off a wall. I hiss in pain, as my head spins.
Everything was moving around me so fast, the blade lay in front of me and Ryan looks at it too as we both reach for it.
It wasn't my intention for it to happen. I didn't want anyone to get hurt.
I get to it first and lift it first and somehow Ryan plunges into it.
Terror runs over Ryan's face.
I pull the blade out straight away as it clatters to the ground before me.
I stand they're stunned and drop down to my knees in shock. No this can't be happening again.
Ryan falls into my arms, as I look at him in alarm. No, this can't be happening. I didn't mean to kill him, not again.
Even though killing Aaron was what he deserved. It was still blood on my hands and I could never erase that thought from my head.
I murdered someone.
I couldn't deal with any more burden on my head.
"You loved Elliott didn't you?" Ryan chokes.
I look at him appalled not knowing what to say. I didn't know what to say because I didn't even know the answer myself.
"There was a time Dan, when I thought we could be friends, but you were so dedicated to Elliott. You hated me because he did"
I think about that a bit harder. No man I hated you cause you were a cunt.
"And maybe there was a time when I thought I had feelings for you"
Dead.
I take him off my lap as I walk around the room running both my hands through my hair, thinking. So many things running through my head.
Feelings?
He couldn't possibly have liked me. He liked girls. He liked Aribella.
Something twisted inside me at the thought of my half-sister.
If I went to jail for this, they'd never let me see Cress of River.
I punch the wall. I fuck up everything. I was such a waste. But Elliott made me a better person.
I'd be better of dead, I was useless to my dad, I was useless to Cress. I'd fucked things up with Winter, and she's moved to Austria anyway. The one person I cared about was gone
I look at my blood stained hands and know it's over for me, I give up.
*
"Have you reached a verdict"
"We have your honor. In the case of the Daniel Dawson, we the jury find the defendant..."
I look up at Crescent as she sat tightly clutching on to River. Alec had his arms around her, holding her so she wouldn't fall apart.
She looks me dead in the eyes, her eyes rimmed red.
"...Guilty of murder in the first degree"
That was it. It was all over.
It was one word over another. No other proof and I lost because the law is wrong in many ways and this is one of them.
I see her screaming and crying as she rushes forward but everyone holds her back. Emily was clinging on to the baby for her.
"Daniel, don't leave, please" Crescent begs.
"I'm sorry Cress" I mouth in her direction as they take me away.
She rushes forward, hugging me one last time, as one of the men force her away from me.
Maybe I do regret killing Ryan maybe I don't. Maybe I could have been more careful that night. Maybe I wanted Ryan to die, no one will ever know.
What I do know is I know now that maybe, just maybe I have repaid Elliott for saying my sister instead of me saving Cress. And maybe finally I owed Cress this much. Her and River's safety. More than anything I pushed Elliott into the gang. I also never stood up for Cress in school. I owe her this much, I would only cause more havoc in her life.
River no longer has a threat against him, Elliott's child was safe.
It was like we were little kids again as she clung on to me like a child.
I was being torn away from my twin. Her brown eyes telling me not to go.