Skylar didn’t even bother locking the car as he climbed out of it, door slamming behind him. Luckily, Tyler didn’t lock the front door, so he didn’t have to worry about fiddling with that before he was inside the house. He took the stairs two at a time in his haste to get to his brother, desperate to make sure he was alright. The house was so quiet – eerily quiet.
“Tyler?” he called out as he hooked a left and burst through the door to Tyler’s room. Only, he wasn’t in there. Panic slammed into Skylar, his heart pounding in his chest so hard he could feel it in his ears. The bathroom door was open, so he knew Tyler wasn’t in there. Which left only one room. Quickly, he jogged the few steps to his own room, pushing open the slightly ajar door and peering inside.
Relief washed over him when he saw Tyler sitting on the bed. All of the air he’d been holding in his lungs rushed out, allowing him to breathe normally again. Tyler was fine. He was safe. From what Skylar could tell, there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. His back was hunched a bit, and he was just staring off into space, but he looked normal otherwise. “Ty?” he asked, moving further into the room to stand in front of his brother.
The relief he felt when he first saw Tyler vanished a bit, leaving a sense of uneasiness as he moved closer. Slowly, he got down on one knee, his right hand moving to grip Tyler’s bicep. “Hey, Tyler, I’m here,” he whispered, speaking as though he was trying not to spook a wild animal. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Ice blue eyes landed on Skylar as soon as he felt fingers on his bicep. Skylar – he came back. Almost immediately, the strong ache in his chest that had been plaguing him all night disappeared. “Skylar,” Tyler breathed, one hand moving to clutch his chest as the other shot out to grip Skylar’s shirt. He could feel his brother’s steady heartbeat under his knuckles where his hand fisted in the soft fabric of Skylar’s Henley – it was a direct opposite of the slow, almost non-existent beat of his own heart. “I don’t feel well.”
A deep frown came to Skylar’s lips when Tyler spoke. “What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes searching his brother’s face for any clues. His free hand moved to lightly touch Tyler’s other bicep, holding his brother steady. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Taking a deep breath, Tyler shook his head, fingers twitching against Skylar’s chest. “M-My chest…hurts,” he mumbled, stroking the skin along his heart. “I-I felt like I couldn’t…breathe.” His eyes locked on Skylar’s, staring deeply. “It’s getting better. Don’t leave me? Please…stay with me? Please?”
“Shh…” Skylar calmed, shaking his head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here.” His brother had been prone to panic attacks when he was younger. He’d thought that when Tyler started high school, he’d grown out of it, but maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe Tyler had just gotten better at hiding them from him. And it was no wonder Tyler was having a relapse! He’d been through so much in the last month, Skylar was surprised it hadn’t happened before now. “I’m sorry. I’m here now. It’s okay.”
It took a few more moments before Tyler could calm himself, allowing his fist to open and close against Skylar’s chest as he breathed slowly. Skylar came back. He kept repeating it to himself like a mantra. Skylar had left him earlier today, but when he texted that he needed him, Skylar came back. Skylar would always come back.
His fist finally uncurled where it lay against Skylar’s chest, his palm pressed flat against his brother’s heart. “Is there…” he started, swallowing thickly before he choked out the rest of his thought, “…something wrong with me?”
Again, Skylar frowned at his brother’s words. “What?” he asked, shaking his head adamantly. “No, there’s nothing wrong with you!” He was handling this better than anyone else could, Skylar was sure. If the roles had been reversed, Skylar wasn’t sure he’d have been able to hold it together. “You’ve just been through a lot, and your body is trying to process it all. You’re gonna be fine. And I’ll be here every step of the way. Doing whatever I can to help you.”
Skylar didn’t know the whole picture. He didn’t know that Tyler couldn’t feel pain. And that he hadn’t slept a wink since he came back. He didn’t know there was an ache in his chest every time Skylar left him. Unless he did. Unless he felt it, too. His eyes bore holes into Skylar’s searching for answers. He wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to push his brother. There was obviously a reason Skylar was keeping things from him.
Still, he needed to know. He was a curious person – he always had been. And he wanted to know everything he could about this ritual. “How did you bring me back?” Tyler asked, eyes pleading with his brother to answer the question. Up until now, they hadn’t really talked about it much. He knew that he’d needed a ton of expensive materials for something, but Skylar never said anything else. He never said he’d used magic. And Tyler wanted to know if even Skylar knew what he’d been getting himself into.
“I told you,” Skylar explained, trying to brush it off. “It was a lot of expensive ingredients and a little incantation. No biggie.” He didn’t want to talk about this right now. Tyler didn’t need to know everything that happened. He didn’t need that on his conscience. This was Skylar’s to carry. And it wasn’t like anything bad had happened! The ritual worked! And it worked perfectly! Tyler was back! He was here, and he was fine! Skylar didn’t understand why they needed to talk about this.
Frowning deeply, Tyler admitted, “I saw the book on your desk.” The look Skylar gave him had him quickly regretting his decision to tell him. “I wasn’t snooping, really! I just saw something on your desk that I didn’t recognize and I wanted to see if it was a new text book. And then when I saw the book, I saw the folders and the research too.”
His eyes fell to the floor, biting into his bottom lip. “Sky, you did black magic,” he reminded. “What if something had gone wrong? What if you’d been hurt?!” Again, his eyes ticked up to Skylar, locking in on his once more. “What if…I came back wrong?”
Anger pulsed through him at his brother’s words. Tyler had always been the more reserved one. The one who thought before he made a move. Skylar had been accused of being impulsive on more than one occasion. But he didn’t care! This had been important! This had been everything! And if he was met with the decision again, he’d have done it exactly the same! “You didn’t!” he yelled, unable to control his temper. “Nothing happened! You’re back! And you’re fine! And don’t sit over there and act like if the roles had been reversed, you wouldn’t have done the same damn thing!”
Now, it was Tyler’s turn to get angry. “I didn’t say that!” he argued. “But you always do this! You always jump into things before thinking! What if something had gone wrong?!” When his brother reminded him that it didn’t, Tyler jumped up from the bed, pacing the floor. “How do you know that?!” His fingers curled around the folder holding the many stories of failure. “All of these failures took time to fail! What if I’m a failure, too?! Are you going to be able to do what needs to be done if that’s the case?!”
Snatching the papers from his brother’s hand, Skylar threw them into the trash can next to his desk. “You’re not a failure!” he assured Tyler. “Why would you even think that?!” He needed to get this under control. This conversation was headed down a dark path, and Skylar didn’t want to take that road. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Should I be worried?”
Worried? Tyler had no clue. “No,” he finally answered, shaking his head. “I just…wish you would have told me.” He didn’t need to tell Skylar about everything right now. All it would do was scare him, and Tyler didn’t want that. “I worry about you, you know?”
A small smile came to Skylar’s lips at Tyler’s admission. “I know, dummy,” he assured his twin. “I worry about you, too. But you know I had to do this. There was no other options. I wasn’t going to live in a world without you in it.” His hand landed on Tyler’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I need my partner in crime.”
Partner in crime. Yeah, that’s what they were. From the moment they’d been able to walk. His hand covered his brother’s, returning the gentle squeeze. “I know,” he answered with another smile. He turned on his heel then, figuring Skylar would want some space after their little argument.
“Hey!” Skylar called out softly as his brother started to retreat. “You’d tell me if there was something wrong, right?” He figured Tyler wouldn’t keep secrets from him. After all, his brother had never done so in the past. Why would now be any different.
Another smile came to Tyler’s lips at his brother’s question. “You know I would,” he assured the other man before he headed out of the room. The sound of his own bedroom door closing seemed to echo throughout the unusually quiet house as Tyler stared into the mirror across the room, his eyes glowing a bright blue in the darkness.
*~~*
April 11, 2026 – 3:00 am
Heart rate: 25. Continues to drop lower.
Resp Rate: 10. Stable.
Temp: 96.9. Lower than average. Dropping.
No food intake still. Hunger response remains non-existent. When attempting to consume food for show, everything tastes lifeless.
Still no pain response. Knuckles have healed nicely.
Tyler eyed the large kitchen knife beside him, fingers wrapping around its handle as he lifted it. The blade caught the moonlight, glinting beautifully as Tyler pressed it to his palm. He felt nothing as he allowed the sharp tip to tear into his flesh, blood pooling around the silver and painting it a bright red. Emotionless, Tyler tossed the knife into the sink before he focused on his journal once more.
When skin is introduced to a sharp blade and split open, there is still no pain response. Remains normal now with multiple tests run for nearly two weeks. It is safe to conclude that after resurrection, subject does not feel pain.
His eyes hovered over the word subject for a few moments before he took his pen and drew a line through the end of the sentence he’d just written.
I do not feel pain.
Ocular irregularities have been more noticeable. Seen every time there is a reflective surface rather than just here and there. Increased intensity has not been noticed by others as of yet. Will continue to monitor.
Behavioral changes persistent. When Skylar is not around, I feel pain in my chest. The longer he is out of my sight, the greater the pain. Almost unbearable earlier today when Skylar suggested staying somewhere else for the night. Pain did not disappear until Skylar returned. Has been a dull ache since 12am when Skylar went to bed.
Learned today that the ritual used to bring me back required blood magic. Skylar bound us together by blood. This could explain the feelings I am having toward him. Unsure if Skylar feels the same way. More information is required to come to a conclusion.
I have not slept in 13 days. Not a wink. No tiredness noted. No hallucinations. No mood changes or delayed responses. No delusions or erratic thinking. No identity confusion. I am just me. The same as I was before dying. Only now I do not require the usual human necessities such as food or sleep. Will look deeper into this when given the opportunity.
Tyler laid his pen down and stared at the steps. Skylar was up there sleeping peacefully. Completely unaware of how hard Tyler had to work to stay in this damn chair at the breakfast nook where he’d taken up shop.
He’d been trying to work on school. He had a paper due at the end of next week, and he was really trying to focus. But his mind was elsewhere. It had been since he found all of that information in Skylar’s room. What did it mean? Was he going to slowly lose his mind and end up like one of those failures?
No. He couldn’t think like that. Skylar told him there was nothing wrong with him. And Skylar would know! He was the only person who knew Tyler as well as Tyler knew himself! If there was something wrong with him, Skylar would be the first person to realize it. And he would tell him. He wouldn’t leave Tyler in the dark just wondering. No way.
Shaking his head, Tyler tried to focus on his task. But again, he just couldn’t. His eyes ticked to the clock on the stove, letting out another sigh as he saw that it was now 3:37am. There were only about five, maybe six, hours left before Skylar woke up. And they were going to spend the whole day together. Skylar had promised earlier tonight that he’d spend the entire day with him.
What were they going to do? Movies were always an option. He had a few on his list that they hadn’t gotten to yet. Or the weather was getting nicer. They could always head out to the woods and take one of the hiking trails as far out as it would go. Or there was the ice cream joint a few blocks over that they would always frequent with their parents when they came home on Spring Break.
Oh…wait. It suddenly dawned on him that he couldn’t actually do any of those things with Skylar. If they went outside together, people would see him and start asking questions. That kind of made it difficult to leave the house. Unless they wanted to drive across the state and go somewhere no one knew them. But that was more of a hassle than it was worth.
Sadness settled in his chest when Tyler realized that this was his life now. He was trapped. Until he finished his schooling and Skylar was ready to make nice on those plans to get out of this small town, Tyler could never leave this house. At least not with Skylar. And leaving without him was risky because someone may notice that he wasn’t actually Skylar if he tried to pretend. He was isolated. Alone. Stuck within these four walls.
And what the hell were they going to do when their parents came back from their cruise? It wasn’t exactly like Tyler could live here and Skylar could go back to the dorms. Absolutely not. Wherever Skylar was, that was where Tyler needed to be.
Almost as if his body was reminding him of this, a sharp pain shot through his chest. Grimacing, Tyler pressed his fingers against his breastbone, silently willing his body to calm the hell down. There was no way he was even entertaining the idea of leaving Skylar. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. His body had made that extremely clear earlier tonight when his brother thought he was going to spend the night with Jessie.
Pushing himself out of his chair, Tyler padded to the steps. His eyes ticked to the clock once more on his way there – 3:45am. His homework would just have to wait until Monday before class because there was no way he could focus on it right now. All of these thoughts of Skylar had his brain racing and his body begging. He needed the proximity right now.
Skylar slept with his door ajar, so it was easy for Tyler to give the wood a soft nudge to reveal his brother’s sleeping form. His back was to the door and the blanket had slipped down just enough to reveal a sliver of his skin and his exposed shoulder. The weather was getting warmer, so Skylar must have forgone a shirt to sleep in this evening. The knowledge had Tyler’s cock stirring in his gray sweatpants.
He needed to get closer. Usually, he would hover just outside the door, but right now, it just wasn’t enough. Tentatively, Tyler took a step over the threshold, biting into his bottom lip as he watched Skylar’s sleeping form for any signs of waking. When there were none, he took another soft step, standing fully inside his brother’s room now.
The ache in his chest was gone again. Seeing Skylar always made it better. Touching Skylar was even better, but he didn’t want to spook his brother. That was something to think about down the road. Maybe ease his brother into the idea of letting him stay in here with him while he slept. It wasn’t weird. It was just closeness. He and Skylar had always been close. They were twins for heaven’s sake.
Slowly, Tyler made his way to the corner of the room farthest from the bed and leaned against the wall. He could see his reflection in Skylar’s broken mirror, eyes illuminating a bright blue in the dark room. What did it mean? Tyler wanted more information about this particular trait. If it was getting worse, Skylar was going to start to notice. And Tyler wanted answers so he could tell his brother exactly what was going on. After all, the two of them didn’t keep secrets from each other. Sure, they’d hesitate to tell the other person something if they thought it would upset them, but ultimately, they told each other everything.
Which is what Tyler was doing right now. He was collecting data and learning everything he could about himself since being back before he worried Skylar with the small details. There was nothing wrong with him, so there was no reason to upset his brother. Skylar had said it himself – Tyler was fine and there was nothing wrong with him.
His eyes ticked to the garbage can where Skylar had tossed all of those files earlier tonight during their little argument. He wanted those files. He needed to read up on all of those case studies and start making comparisons. But that was something he’d have to do while Skylar was distracted. Snatching them now might cause a lot of noise – the trash can could fall over, or Tyler could drop the papers – there were too many variables, and he didn’t want to wake the other man. Maybe he’d grab them while Skylar was in the shower.
Again, his body responded to the idea of Skylar being in the shower. With his clothes all off and his body dripping wet. The thought nearly had Tyler’s mouth watering. And his gray sweatpants were leaving nothing to the imagination. No – he couldn’t think like this right now. Blue balls were not something he wanted to deal with right now, and there was no way he and Skylar were going to move forward with any type of physical relationship right now. Tyler hadn’t even figured out how to ask him about the blood bond yet, let alone gathered up enough courage to actually act on it. So that was far in the future.
Pressing his palm into his crotch, Tyler silently chastised his body for reacting. Down boy. The time to push the boundaries of their relationship would come. All in good time. But right now, Tyler just needed to navigate through his research and figure out how to make Skylar stay with him. Because while he may have been able to drag his brother back home tonight, he knew it was only a matter of time before Jessie dug her claws into him again. And he needed to be prepared for when that happened.