Page 45 of Tainted Love
Black_rose13
Message not delivered.
Well played, Elias. But if you think you can block me and it will be the end of our game, you really don’t know me as well as you think. Unlike you, I will never give up what I want. I put my body on the line for those I love and that’s the difference between us.
You give up on people way too easily. Will it be the same this time?
Chapter 26
Elias
MY STOMACH CLENCHES as I turn onto the street he told me. It’s been six years since I spoke to him. Six years since we stood there soaked to the bone in the pouring rain. Standing over the grave of a ghost who has now come back to haunt me. I need to know I’m not going fucking crazy. I need to know that he remembers what happened that night, the same way I do.
Pulling up outside the address Benny sent me, I find it’s a group of four slightly rundown looking single-story flats. Ironically, he lives only fifteen minutes from my old apartment. I check my phone to confirm the unit number. It is the one at the front with the chipped paint on the front door and the boarded-up windows. The yard is overgrown and there is a rusty swing set which appears long unused. A bike leans against the side of the flat next to a purple kid’s scooter.
I’m about to climb out of my car when my phone rings. Glancing down at the screen, I see Oli’s face.Shit.I clear my throat before answering.
“Hey.”
A snort of laughter greets me. “Really, Eli? You can’t muster up a better greeting for your favourite sister?”
“Don’t tell Attie that.” My lips tug up into a smile.
Oli makes a dismissive noise. “Oh, please. I had to share a womb with you, surely that gives me extra credit. What are you doing?”
Sitting outside the house of a demon from our past.“Nothing, just about to meet the boys.”
“Is everything okay? You sound weird.”
“I’m fine. Just … tired.” I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing I could confide in my sister. But I can’t, because as far as she knows, Jas ran away. That was the report which was made to the police. It’s the lie I’ve had to live with for the past six years. If I told her the truth now, she would never look at me the same way again. “How are you? When are you coming home?”
She sighs. “I can’t come home, Eli. Not yet.”
“Why not, Oli? We’re your family. Whatever you’re going through, we’ll help you.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“What’s going on? What did that arsehole do to you?”
“N-nothing.” The pain in my twin sister’s voice damn near kills me. “Please, Eli. Leave it alone. Leavehimalone. I … I’m fine. I just need some time and space from?—”
“From what? Christ, Oli, if he hurt you … please tell me. We won’t let him get away with it.”
“W-we?”
“Me, Ash, and Kill.” She lets out a muffled sob and I clench my fist. “Come home, Oli. Please. We’ve all got your back. The fucker won’t breathe another day if you tell us what he did to you.”
“I love you, Eli,” she whispers. “I’m sorry.”
The line goes dead, and I shout a curse, slamming my hand against the steering wheel. My chest tightens. Betweenmy sister, Bea, and black_rose13, I’m twisted into knots and I feel like I’ll never untangle any of them.
Pulling up Asher’s number, I tap out a message.
Elias: Find out what that fucker did to my sister. I’m not messing around. I need to sort him out so she can come home.
Asher: What happened? Is she okay?
Elias: Just get me answers.
