Distorted

On the table next to Seth was a small container. He picked it up and shook it, his smile never wavering. "Contacts," he said, as though I had just asked him what they were. "I've fooled a lot of people with these for a long time." He stood and came over to me, and without a word, gripped my chin with his hand. "Do you get it now, Kendall?" he whispered eerily.

"You're my brother."

He nodded and let me go. "It's so good to finally meet you. Did you enjoy the dreams? That was my present to you, to show you what I was capable of, what we could be capable of together."

I backed up. "You killed my friends."

"Friends?" Seth let out a less than sane laugh. "They weren't your friends. The doctor wanted to fuck you and that girl was the biggest cunt I had ever seen."

I didn't want to listen to him. John never would have done anything like that, and even though Cassie was a bitch, she didn't deserve what Seth did to her.

"They didn't deserve to die," I said.

He grinned. "Oh, but they did. You know they did. If you could, you would have killed them yourself. You're not as normal and sane as you think, darling. I just brought your inner demons out."

"Why them?" I demanded.

"There it is," he said softly, craning his neck. "You really want to know why? Because I wanted to. It had nothing to do with you at first, but when I knew they knew you, that just made it all the more exciting."

"You're sick," I muttered, glancing into the kitchen, hoping to see a light on in the hall. I didn't. My mom never heard my scream. I closed my eyes. "What do you want now?"

"Christian," Seth said, chuckling to himself. "I want him. You two dipshits ruined that for me the first time, but you're not going to do it again. By the way, how is the boy that I shot?"

My eyes snapped open.

"He'll be fine," I said, like I was carrying on a normal conversation with a friend. I frowned. "What's so special about Christian?"

Seth reached out and grabbed my hair, twisting it tightly around his hand, then let go. When he pressed his hand to his nose, my stomach churned. I finally understood. This really wasn't about me at all.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" I asked quietly.

"Aren't you?" he countered, looking at me with my own eyes.

I bit my lip. This whole thing was so fucking weird.

"You can't have him," I said, glaring. "I mean, Jesus, you killed his best friend to get to him. That doesn't sound like love to me. It sounds like an angry, bitter, psychopath."

A muscle ticked in Seth's jaw and I thought he might hit me. Instead he said, "You better watch your mouth. I would never hurt Christian. Did he ever tell you about his life before you?"

"His life before isn't important to me," I said, shaking my head.

His eyes gleamed and he smiled. "Did he tell you that he found his sister dead? It screwed him up so much that he reached out for anyone who could help him feel better. Anyone, even his own gender. We met at a club and the connection was instant. Every time he kissed me it was like an electric current ran through my entire body. So, you see, your boyfriend hasn't been too honest with you."

I shut my eyes and looked away from Seth. All I said was, "He never told me he had a sister."

"After their mom died, his sister killed herself. Christian found her."

"Why are you here?" It was the most important question, the one I forgot about, until now.

"To tell you the truth," he replied. "You deserved that."

"You're going to jail, you know." I smiled a little as I looked at him. "Even if part of your intentions were good, the rest weren't. Murder doesn't get redeemed just because you're honest about why you did it."

Suddenly, three things happened all at once. There was a shout, a slam, and a groan. I didn't have time to cover my eyes so I saw everything: Christian had come inside, had rushed at Seth, knocking him down. I could hear the cracking of bone on bone as they hit each other. When Christian finally stood, he was covered in blood. He limped toward me.

"How much did he tell you?"

Seth laughed from his spot on the ground, his face bloody. "I told her everything. I thought maybe she would take pity on me, since I just did it all for love, for you."

Christian whirled around and dug his fingers into his hair. "Murder doesn't mean love, Seth. You should know that better than anyone. You mom killed your dad and said it was out of love. That isn't how it works."

"Don't," Seth hissed, getting up. "You don't get to fucking talk about that. You don't understand!"

"I don't understand?" Christian snapped. "Shelly killed herself because my mom died and she couldn't bare to take care of me because my dad was useless. Things changed after she died, but they stayed the same, too. He's not my dad anymore. He's just not there."

Seth's eyes, the eyes we shared, were glassy as he came toward Christian. "Please," he whispered, his lips near Christian's ear, but his yellow eyes fixated on me behind his shoulder, "please just kill me."

I watched Christian's shoulders slump, then tremble. He was crying. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Seth and pulled him close; his eyes never left mine. There was a sickening noise and those wolf eyes widened, then started to shut. Christian continued to hold onto the dying body, and I could see the blood droplets on the carpet.

The knife fell with a soft thud.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into Seth's hair as he lowered the boy's body onto the floor. He turned his head, his hazel eyes on me, and came to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and laid his face against my stomach, his tears soaking my shirt.

I closed my eyes, fell to my knees, and held him. It would be hours before my mom woke and found us. But until then I would enjoy sleeping without the dreams. Without the fear. With Christian and his arms around me.

It would be hours before anyone would find us.