Page 101 of The Road to Ruined

"I guess it's not entirely your fault," he says. "I should have never answered the call. I assured myself that it was just like any other, but I was wrong. There must have been a sliver of humanity left in me after all."

"I don't know what that means."

"And then I became fascinated by the pretty, murderous thing that curled up in my psychotic, egomaniacal brother's lap like a kitten—"

"What—"

"Maybe I was even a little jealous, but I won't make that mistake again. The next time I see either of you, it'll just be to make sure you're really dead."

With his bag in his hand, he walks out the door.

His brother.Declan was his little brother—the one his dad chose to keep when men in gold masks came to his home demanding he hand over one of his sons to save himself. Declan got a new brother to love and protect and a life of privilege; Sebastian was raised in seclusion and extreme abuse to prepare him for a life of violence and blind loyalty.

Declan went to concerts and dreamed of being a rockstar. Sebastian was a child who wished for death.

"Sebastian, you don't have to do this!" I shout after him. "Don't go."

I pull myself up from the floor and step out into the hallway where he stands in front of the elevator, staring straight ahead, waiting.

"Sebastian, please stay," I sob, tears streaming down my face. "It doesn't have to be like this. We'renotmonsters."

"You'll see how wrong you are," he says calmly.

"I love you," I tell him, my lower lip quivering. "We could be a family."

The elevator finally dings, and the doors open in front of him.

"Look at me!" I scream at the top of my lungs before he steps inside. He actually turns, maybe just because there are others in the hallway now, and he's worried about what I'll do next. "I mean it."

His eyes are empty, his face emotionless when he turns away and steps into the elevator without another word. I stay there until the elevator doors close, leaving me with the handful of people lingering in the hallway, staring at me.

It could be worse. They could be taking photos or trying to steal my blood.

Sniffling, I wipe my cheeks and return to the room. I feel like a puppet moving around gathering my things and dressing myself—but my mind tells my body it has to move anyway, and so what else am I going to do?

I wait in the lobby for my sister and her friends, shifting uncomfortably in my seat as the waistband of my pants rubs up against the cut near my hip.

"Hey," Blakely says. "I didn't know if you'd be riding home with us or not with Sebastian here."

"Um, no, he, uh…he left early," I tell her, grabbing my suitcase and heading toward the parking garage.

"You look like you've been crying," she says. "I guess you saw the news."

"What news?" I ask.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Teagan…"

"For what? Sorry for what?"

She sighs, pulling her phone from her pocket and handing it to me. "They think those girls are dead."

I read the headline on the screen:Former Gods of Tomorrow Blood Cult Members, River and Hazel Pinault-Hollis, Suspected Dead from Apparent Suicide.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah," I lie. "Yeah, I just…need to sit down before I read this."

"Yeah, no problem," she says.

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