Warning: this chapter may contain sensitive themes such as domestic violence, self-harm, suicide and strong language. This may be triggering for some readers, so caution is advised.
"Be always gentle,
every heart hides wounds
that never bleed"
- Alexandra Vasiliu
One More Mistake
Chapter sixty-two
â± A soft knock on my door wakes me up from my nap. I slowly get up and everything comes back to me as I see the duffel bag at the edge of my bed filled with clothing and a mess on the floor. Another knock and I'm reminded that I'm locked in here and I know there is no way it is Bruce. I notice the shadow underneath the door, then I hear a whisper.
"Thea" his voice was familiar and it didn't take long for me to know who it was.
"Kace?" I voice out.
"Yes it's me, can you open the door?" he said in a gentle voice.
I quickly got up from my bed and stupidly try to open the door.
"He locked me up here. Is there a way for you to open the door for me so I can get out of here" I ask as I knock on the door, afraid that he is going to leave. I hear shuffling on his side.
"Let me find something to open the door, I'll be back" he said, his footsteps fading away. I clutch the doorknob a bit tighter, hoping he can help.
As I waited for him to come back, I noticed that it had turned dark outside. I walked across my room and picked up my phone from my bed and checked the time.
Rory was going to get here any minute, and I still was locked in here. There was no way I was going to stay in this place, I didn't care what I needed to do to get out, I was going to let myself be treated this way.
I pocket my phone and start to zip my bag and hang it over my shoulder. That's when I hear heavy footsteps coming down the hallway which don't sound like Kace.
The door opens a second later, and standing in the doorway is Bruce with a smug grin on his face. The keys to my room in his hand, hanging and showing them off to me like it was some prize.
"Did you really think it was going to be that easy?" I lock eyes with Bruce but notice the figure behind him. I shift my glance and notice Kace lingering in the back with a disappointed look on his face. His eyes meet mine for a second before he looks away but I saw what he was trying to tell me. He was sorry.
When I look back at Bruce, he is smiling at me like he won and I lost in the game he had full control of.
"You can go to hell" I say, my voice low but clear. He laughs loudly, his head falling back.
"I'm not staying here" I speak again, ignoring the nasty feeling that's coming to me. Something felt off but I firmly believe that it has to be because of Bruce. It has to be.
I grip my bag and make my way towards the door but I don't make it far enough. Bruce blocks my way out with his body, also blocking out Kace's concerned eyes. He stands less than a couple feet away from me, and I hate how I look up at him. His smile doesn't leave but it does falter just a little when he looks down at me. And for a second, I wonder what he saw on my face.
"Why keep me locked in here? What do I have that you want so badly that you're even forcing me to stay here? Is it my inheritance? Because I seriously can't think of anything else. If you really are so desperate for it, you can keep it" I spit out but he doesn't even flinch. He still holds my stare but with some kind of hatred towards me. He loathes me.
"I already have it with me, Thea." he sighs then and turns his head towards Kace.
"Get out" he says to him, unbothered. I stop breathing for a second, fear kicking in. Why did he want Kace to leave?
Bruce doesn't wait for Kace to reply before he turns back to me and his smile is long gone and replaced with a cold look that makes me believe that he was faking it.
"I just really love seeing you suffer" he says to me and then pushes me back just enough for me to stumble. He is just about to shut the door but I run and I hold the door with my hands. There's only a small opening and I lock eyes with Bruce. His voice is flat when he speaks.
"You really don't want to provoke me. You won't like the outcome of this" his eyes were so cold and I knew he meant what he said. But I didn't care, I wanted to leave.
"I'm not staying here" I said, ignoring the sudden fear rising on my chest. I knew what he was capable of but I was not going to back away.
He doesn't say anything and he lets the door go, and I was now able to open it again. He looks at me, and sees the determination on my face.
"I'm sick and tired of your manipulation, your tricks and games. It's over, I will never allow you to control me ever again. I'm fucking done" I meant every word.
Bruce stays frozen in the same spot, and doesn't say a word to me. I take this as my chance to walk towards the door, and he actually lets me this time. I notice Kace still outside my room, his eyes full of something but just when I'm about to reach him his eyes shift and widen. He takes a step to me but before I can react, I feel Bruce's hand tightly on my upper arm. He does not let go.
He flips me around and then he pushes me hard. I fall to the ground with a thump.
"You aren't fucking going anywhere, do you understand that? Or do I need to repeat myself once more?" He yells, hovering over me, his face so close to mine. Before I could say anything, I see a figure pass by from the corner of my eyesight. Then Bruce is pushed back like the way I was, but he didn't fall like I did. I wish he did.
"Don't you dare take a step closer," Kace says, his body covering Bruce. It doesn't fully register in my brain that Kace was standing in front of me to protect me from Bruce. He's angry because of what Bruce was trying to do to me. He was standing up for me for the very first time from him, and I didn't know what I should feel but I knew I felt something so warm. It's been so long since someone has been on my side.
I don't even even recognize him. He looked pissed off.
I quickly stand up and run out of the room. I don't get to hear what Bruce tells Kace. I just run and don't dare to look back. I'm almost down the stairs when I hear footsteps behind me and a hand holding my shoulder. I was ready to hit them with my elbow but when I see Kace, I breath out. He shakes his head at me, yet we continue down the stairs, but of course it doesn't take long for Bruce to catch up to us.
I don't plan to stop but Kace holds me in place. But he stops because of what Bruce told him.
"Are you willing to put her" Bruce points at me like I'm not worth nothing. "Over your own daughter?" he asks, his steps slowing down as he sees noticing that I'm not planning to leave. I feel Kace tense and he lets me go in an instant.
I stay frozen in my place. Daughter... Kace has a daughter?
"You sick fuck..." Kace starts.
"Oh no, I've had enough of you. You either shut your mouth or you'll never see your daughter again" Kace doesn't fight back, he doesn't say anything. He hesitates before he just walks away. I nod my head as he glances at me. Then he disappears.
Bruce smiles at me.
"You truly don't have a heart, why would you ever threatened him with his daughter?" I asked, giving up with the hope that someday he was going to change. He was cruel, and heartless, he was never going to change.
"Just say it, I know you're thinking it." he says instead.
"If you already know what I think of you, what's the point?" I spit out to him, picking up my bag and finally walking away from this place.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Far away from you! I'm don't wanna be here anymore, I never wanted to be here in the first place. Just let me go!" I yelled, turning around to face him. But that was a bad mistake because when I did so, he slapped me across the face.
My head flew side ways, my hair covering my face. I grabbed my cheek, but soon flinched away when I felt a sharp sting coming from my cheek.
"You aren't going anywhere" I hear him say, now standing so close to me.
I pull my hair away from my face, before wiping lips. I looked at my hands and found fresh blood on them.
"Does this make you feel good? Watching me bleed, and be in pain?" I asked, showing him what he had done to me. He gets a good laugh out of this.
"It makes me feel better than good, I'll tell you that" was all he said, before pulling me and taking me back upstairs. I realized that it was impossible for me to just walk away from here. He wouldn't let me go. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever, not as long as he was alive.
But I wasn't going to make it easy on him. I grabbed the railing from the stairs and didn't move. Just when he was going to turn to me, I heard a clicking sound come from behind me. Bruce already knew what it was before he even turned around. But I didn't. So when I turned around to see what made Bruce slightly tremble, I knew that whatever it was I knew I wasn't going to like.
The gun that was held before me made another clicking sound. I shut my eyes then but I still caught sight of who was behind it. I knew but I couldn't believe it. It was him, I saw his figure, his fingers that held the gun, his index finger on the trigger ready to shoot. It was Sterling but I couldn't... no.
"Thea, get away from him" his voice is shaky but still clear and determined. I open my eyes and finally see what I didn't want to see. Sterling locks eyes with me for a second, the gun in his hand trembling.
I do what he says and step away from Bruce but he holds me tight. I hear him grunt.
"I'm not letting her go until you put the gun down" Bruce tells Sterling but it's almost like he doesn't hear him. Instead, Sterling walks a step towards us and points the gun on Bruce's forehead. I step back from both of them but yet again I'm in Bruce's grip.
Sterling notices and speaks.
"Let her fucking go" and in that moment I swear I don't see Sterling. My brother. My best friend. My person. He's just someone else and I hate how I'm afraid of him. My mind races and I try to think of the moment he became this person. His eyes looked so burned out, and lifeless. And I wanted to just fix it, everything. This wasn't Sterling, this was somebody else who wanted revenge and nothing else. My brother wouldn't do this, he wouldn't point a gun towards somebody and want to kill them. He just wouldn't.
"Let the gun go" Bruce says, his voice calm and if it weren't for the small crack of his voice, I would have believed him. Before either of us can react, Bruce pulls me close to his chest and holds me in front of him. As a shield.
I struggle but he holds me tight.
"I know you won't hurt her, Sterling. Now put the fucking gun down and we'll talk" Bruce says in a low voice.
Sterling let's a frustrated groan. He backs away from us a step but doesn't take his eyes away from us.
"I don't want to talk, but you know what I really want to do though?" Sterling doesn't let a beat pass before he speaks again. "To fucking kill you, that's what I want to so fucking bad" he spits out, venom clear on his voice.
"Sterling," I whisper his name, but he hardly hears me. I could hardly hear myself.
"But that's the thing, Sterling, if you do kill me, she won't be able to look you in the eyes again. Because all she'll see is a murderer who did not only kill her sister but her uncle too. The only family she had left, and you were the one who killed them." Bruce was cruel with his words, he knew how to use them and knew who to aim them at.
Sterling turned to look at me for confirmation and I noticed the way his eyes flickered. Then he straightens and looks away from me. I didn't know what he saw, it might have been my fear, or the way I flinched when he locked eyes with me. I don't know what it was but I wanted to tell him it wasn't true. I wanted to tell him so many things, so fucking much but the only thing that came from me was a question.
"Sterling, what are you doing?" I asked, my voice low and shaky. His large brown eyes glanced at me, and he slowly shook his head.
"Hate me all you want, Thea. But I'm not leaving until he lets you go and I..." kill him is what was left unsaid. I struggle once more to get out of Bruce's grip, but he doesn't let me go.
Sterling eyes go hard.
"Sterling, what are you doing?" I ask him again.
This time he answers me.
"I'm doing the one thing that I should've done a long time ago" his eyes were just getting colder. Unrecognizable.
"Put the gun down, and I'll let her go." Bruce once again says but this time I see Sterling consider it.
"Please" I say this time, and his eyes jump to mine. I wanted Bruce dead more than anyone else but I knew this wasn't the right way. I just knew it wasn't right and I wasn't going to let Sterling get his hands dirty.
Sterling slowly points the gun downward and I feel Bruce's grip loosen. I took this opportunity and ran out of his arm. I feel Bruce trying to catch me but I see Sterling walk towards him and hold him in place with the pointed towards his forehead.
Bruce clenches his jaw and holds his hands upward, staring up at the gun.
"Don't do it" I tell Sterling but he just looks at me and smiles sadly at me. I knew then that no matter what I would tell him, he wouldn't change his mind. It wouldn't matter if I begged him on my knees, he had his mind set and I wasn't going to change it.
"What do I have to lose? I have nothing anymore" he was saying this from the bottom of his heart, he said it like he believed it. My heart ached but I couldn't blame him. I had treated him horribly and I was convinced that I never wanted to see him again but I knew that I still cared for him. He was a big part of my life, and no matter how hard I tried to hate him I knew that I just couldn't.
"You have me-" I started but he cut me off.
"Don't" he started, shaking his head.
When he looked at me, it felt different this time. He looked at me and I knew he was in pain, like he was breaking bit by bit right in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it.
Why haven't I looked closer before?
"I lost you a long time ago, I lost everyone I loved a long time ago. The moment I left that night, months ago, was the moment I lost everything and I know it was all my fault. I blame myself all the time but it still hurts, Thea." I noticed his eyes becoming blank yet glistening with tears.
"We can still fix it, you don't need to kill him for us to fix it. I can help you, I swear I won't leave you alone this time. Just don't kill him. You aren't a murderer"
"Yes I am, I killed our sister, that makes me a killer" he says, stepping closer to Bruce just to demonstrate what kind of person he was. Bruce is still but flinches by the harsh movement from Sterling.
I don't say anything else, afraid if I say one wrong one, I would fuck up everything.
I felt tears running down my cheeks, but I tried to keep it together. I take a step towards him but he quickly tooks a step back, his hand lifting up to stop me from getting any closer.
"Don't get any closer" I stopped walking towards him and raised my hands.
"Okay, I won't get any closer just please drop the gun, don't shoot him." I begged, staring at his hands which were still trembling. He was afraid, I knew that but I'm not understanding why he is doing this. It won't fix anything.
"Why are you defending him, Thea? All he does is hurt you, look what he did to you just now. How could you tell me to stop after everything he's done to you?" He asked, his eyes dropping down to my bruised up cheek.
"I'm not defending him, I'm defending you. I'm trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret. I know that you want justice but this isn't the right way" He wiped the tears from his cheeks with his free hand before looking away from me.
"He doesn't deserve to live, it wouldn't be fair" he started to hold the trigger, ready to shoot.
"I know, god I know it wouldn't be fair but Sterling, this is not the way. Just stop and listen to what I'm trying to say" I say desperately, trying to get him to hear what I'm trying to say.
My heart started to race when he slowly turned to face me.
"He'll get what he deserves. But you don't need to get your hands dirty for him to get it. Sterling please listen to me, and drop the gun" his tears streamed down his face, and just as he was about to bring down the gun, Bruce goes after him.
But just as quickly as Bruce tried to attack Sterling, he was just as quick to react. Everything happened so quickly that I didn't have time to make out what happened.
A loud gun shot echoed around the house and I stared at both of them. They were still standing but I noticed Bruce looking down then soon enough I saw Bruce's body fall on the floor with blood coming through his shirt.
"No" I heard sterling say, staring at the blood coming out of him.
"Sterling what did you do?!" I yelled, taking large steps towards him. I wanted to take away the gun from him before he would do something else but just as I was about to reach him, he pointed the gun towards me.
I stop on my tracks, raising my hands. Tears suddenly pouring out of me, and this time I couldn't stop them.
"Don't come any closer" he said, wiping the tears. I stare at Bruce, and the blood that's coming out of him. I shut my eyes.
This can't be real, no. I won't accept it. No. No.
"Sterling, drop the gun and let me help you" I said, trying to hold in my sobs. I open my eyes but when I look at him, he doesn't look okay. I took another step towards him but he backed away.
"I said to not come any closer" he says but he doesn't do anything to stop from walking towards him.
"Or what? You'll shoot me?" I asked, taking another step.
He didn't respond and when I was so close to him, he pointed the gun towards himself. I stopped and I realized that this was what I was afraid of. I wasn't afraid of him but afraid of what he might do with himself.
"Don't come to me" He says and I don't know why but I got the sense he also meant something else by that.
"Why not? I need you" I cried out harder. Never have I felt so scared in my life, never.
"I fucked up, Thea. I fucked up, again" he said, shaking his head, his eyes wandering towards the body just a couple feet away from him. And I wondered what was going on in his head. I didn't know but I wish I knew, I wish I knew a lot of things.
"It was a mistake, an accident, they happen." He looked back at me.
"Don't make excuses for me, I shot him and I killed him, just like I killed our sister" he said, gripping the gun harder.
"No" I whispered quietly, wishing that this was all just a nightmare.
He nodded.
"I'm not a good guy, Thea. And I won't let you try to make me into one. just accept it" he said silently.
"No, I'm not going to accept it because I know who you are and I know you are not a bad person." I say firmly.
"Then what is this, thea? How could you explain all of this? I'm not a fucking good person, I'm a murderer, and you should be afraid of me"
"What?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"Ever since I met you, all I tried to do is protect you. I always that thought that I needed to protect you from others but the person who I should've protected you from was me. Because I was the one who has hurt you the most. Ever since that night, I haven't been the same. It replays in my head everyday, and I regret it. I could've done something, anything and maybe she would have still been here. I know everyone wanted it to be me instead, and not her. I wanted that too, you know. She didn't deserve any of that, but I did. I'm the horrible one, she wasn't. It should've just been me!" He said, his finger near the trigger.
I took a risky step towards him.
"I need you sterling, please don't do this to me again. Please, stop. You can't leave me again, you can't make me go through the pain, again. Because I wouldn't be able to survive"
"You asked me earlier why I came back here." He started, ignoring me.
His eyes dropped down.
"When I left, I left because I couldn't take the pain. I thought by leaving it would hurt less but it didn't. It got worse and every second of everyday the pain would get worse."
He looks at me and the most painful expression passes his face.
He's broken and all this time he was yelling for help. He wanted me to help him but all I did was push him away.
"Thea, I wanted to hurt myself when I was there" he said and I sobbed silently. I tried to imagine him being alone trying to deal with the fact that his sister was dead and believing that he was the reason she was dead. He was alone in this and did everything in his power to keep going. Everyday he was fighting with some part of his brain that just wanted to quit.
"The only reason why I wouldn't do it, would be because of you. I wanted to come back because I thought that feeling would go away as soon as I had everyone I love around me." He looked at me and I finally saw all of the baggage he carried on his face. He was drained and he couldn't fight anymore.
"I was wrong, whenever I would see you I would see her and remember that night all over again but all I wanted was to forget it. " He stopped, sighing deeply.
"I can't do it anymore, I can't live like this anymore. With the pain, the guilt, and the self-hatred it hurts me so much to a point that I would do anything to make it go away." he silently sobbed, closing his eyes.
"It hurts... so much." He wipes his cheek. "And it's loud, I just want it to stop more than anything".
There's no words for me to describe what I'm feeling. Watching someone I know and love then watch them break, knowing that I can't do anything about it. It's unexplainable but it's nothing compared to his pain.
"I can help you" I whisper, hoping.
"There's nothing that you could do or say to make me not feel it" his voice was flat.
"I know, I know" I repeated, and repeated trying to reach out to him but he was just too far gone.
"I'm just as broken as you are but the difference between us was that you knew how to handle it and I didn't."
"Listen to me- "
"I love you" were his last words before I heard another loud gun fire.
I felt myself die with him that night.
I closed my eyes shut but I heard his body fall to the floor and the gun fall as well.
I heard him died. I didn't need to see him to know that he was actually dead but I didn't want that truth. I wanted the lies where I hear him walk to me and hold me. I wanted him to talk to me and tell me it's okay, so I could know that he was still here. So I could finally open my eyes.
"Sterling?" I say his name, and I expect a response. Either his voice, or his movement but it was silent. It was so very quiet. But I waited for him to say something. I waited and waited.
It never came.
"Sterling?" I call out to him again, with my eyes still closed. I say his name again but quietly, just in case he calls my name so very lowly.
He doesn't respond and I completely just break. I hit the floor with my bare hands and I didn't stop. I wasn't planning to stop but cold hands grip mine and for a second I think it's Sterling but I remember how his hands were always warm.
It wasn't him.
I fight and thrash but a body holds mine close and just keeps me hidden. I keep fighting but give up and cry.
"Thea," He says in such a gentle voice but I don't give him attention. I just want my brother back, I just want him back.
"Look at me" I feel his hand on the back of my head. For one fearing moment, I believe that I will never be able to open my eyes but he speaks to me again.
"Thea, please look at me" he begs and I finally open my eyes and look at him. Rory wipes my tears and holds my stare.
"He's gone, Rory" I sobbed. He held me once more and I let it out.
He was gone, and he wasn't ever going to come back to me because this time he was dead.
He was gone forever.
THE END
I'm an absolute mess, can't believe it's over and I can't believe I actually got to finish it. I just wanna say thank you for sticking with me throughout this journey. Thank you for reading and voting and also for inspiring me to keep on writing!!
Also, the characters aesthetic are already up, I know I'm a little too late on that but check those out if you're interested. There's also going to be an epilogue coming up as well! Anyway thank you again for everything!! <33