Jessie wrapped her arms around herself, cursing her decision to only wear a light black zip up hoodie and a pair of gray sweatpants. She hadn’t realized how cold the nights had gotten now that summer was coming to an end. Glancing around the cemetery, she quickly checked her phone to see if there had been an answer. Nothing yet.
Sighing, Jessie walked closer to the headstone, pressing her hand against the top as she frowned softly. Tyler had been a good man. He hadn’t deserved what happened to him. He’d been taken too young. All of the people who died that night had been. But, as bad as it sounded, she was more concerned about Skylar than anything.
The death of his brother had done something to him. Not that she was surprised by that. She wasn’t — she was more hurt and worried than anything. Her sneakers seeped into the mud covering the grave, drawing her eyes to them as she pulled her foot up with a wet squelch. According to Skylar, Tyler wasn’t even in here anymore.
She wished that she could believe him. But she knew that people didn’t just come back from the dead. As as much as Skylar tried to convince her of it — and himself — she wasn’t willing to believe it without proof.
A sound behind her caught her attention. Jessie turned, relief immediately washing over her features. Someone was walking toward her, the moonlight catching on broad shoulders and the familiar dark hair. “Skylar,” she breathed, allowing her arms to fall to her sides. “Thank God,” she smiled. “I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind. Is everything okay? Why did you want to meet here, of all places?”
When the man walking toward her didn’t acknowledge her, the relief she felt faded almost instantly. Her brows knit in confusion and she squinted her eyes, wondering if maybe she had been wrong. “Skylar?” she asked again. “What’s going on? I’m worried about you. Talk to me. Please?!”
At that, the man stopped. For a moment, Jessie actually thought that she had gotten through to him. Then, he laughed. It sounded cold. Not like anything she had ever heard before. It sliced right through her and sent a chill up her spine.
“You’re worried about him?” the man asked. “You’re not worried about him.” He didn’t stop moving until he was mere inches from Jessie, close enough to touch, but far enough away that he wasn’t in her face. “That’s hilarious. We both know you’re only worried about yourself.”
As soon as his eyes landed on her, he knew Jessie was terrified. “You keep saying you only want to help him, but all you’ve done is tell him I’m the problem.” His head tilted to the side as he assessed her, waiting to see what her next move would be. “But you and I know the truth. You’re just scared. Scared that you’ll never be able to compete with me. Scared he’ll never want you more.”
Her frown deepened as she took a stumbling step back. “Skylar, what are you doing?” she asked, her eyes never leaving the man in front of her. “What has gotten into you? You’re scaring me!”
Another laugh escaped his throat, unable to contain it. “What’s gotten into me?!” he asked, his glowing blue eyes locking Jessie in place. “You really don’t listen, do you? Everything is laid out on the table for you, and still you won’t accept what’s right in front of your face!”
No — this was impossible. It couldn’t be. But those glowing eyes looking back at her, sending waves of panic and fear straight through her body, they did not belong to the man she loved. Those eyes were wearing his face, but they weren’t his. And the words that were coming from those plush, slightly cracked lips — Skylar would never speak to her this way.
So, that left only one explanation. But it was the one explanation that Jessie was having the hardest time wrapping her head around. They were in real life. This wasn’t a movie. It wasn’t a game. People didn’t just come back from the dead! Though how could she deny what was standing right in front of her? “Tyler?” she breathed, her voice barely audible as the wind kicked up around them.
“Someone get the lady a gold star,” Tyler bit out, clapping his hands mockingly. “I don’t know why this is such a shock to you! Skylar insisted that we tell you about me! Because he didn’t want to hurt your feelings! Not that you cared. You basically acted like he was crazy and went about your day. Bothering him every chance you got because you couldn’t stand the fact that he was with me instead of you!”
Again, he took another step forward, forcing her to stumble once more. Her knees hit the headstone behind her and she barely caught herself from toppling over. “T-Tyler, how are you here?” she stammered. “How is this possible? I don’t…understand. Please…I can help you, too. Let’s just talk.”
Anger caused his eyes to burn brighter. “I don’t need to be fixed!” Tyler bit out. “I’m here because he wants me here! Because he needs me here! Skylar brought me back with his blood! And our bond is stronger than ever. No one can break it. No one can come between us. Especially not you.”
When Tyler started yelling, Jessie flinched. “Tyler, I’m not…trying to come between the two of you,” Jessie tried to explain, holding her hands up in front of her to show him that she was not a threat. “I would never do that. I just…I’m worried about Skylar. He hasn’t been acting like himself. And I wanted to make sure he is okay. He…said you were the reason he’s been acting this way.”
For a split second, Tyler went completely still. The words hung between them, making the air feel thick. Then, his expression hardened. “Liar!” he bit out. He shoved her onto the ground, the sudden violence knocking the wind from her lungs. “He would never say that about me! He loves me!”
Jessie, winced as she tried to push herself to a seated position. Gravel and dirt dug into the skin on her palms, causing her shoes to slide in the mud as she pushed herself away from him. “I know he loves you!” Jessie tried again. “You’re his brother! Of course he loves you! But Tyler…everyone has a breaking point! Please…let’s just go get Skylar. We can all talk about everything together.”
Without entertaining the idea, Tyler reached down and gripped Jessie’s biceps, hauling her to her feet as if she weighed nothing. “No!” he answered. “You stay the fuck away from my brother!” With that, he shoved her back onto the ground, standing over her as his eyes flashed brightly with rage.
Seeing that this was not getting her anywhere, Jessie changed tactics. It was obvious that Tyler was not himself — at least not the man she remembered him to be. And she was smart enough to recognize when talking wasn’t going to save her. So, she did what any sane woman in her situation would do — she ran.
She set off toward the trees, knowing that there was a maintenance building back here that served as the cemetery’s main office. She couldn’t remember the man’s name, but she hoped to God that he had someone watching the grounds after dark. She couldn’t hear footsteps behind her, so she thought maybe Tyler wasn’t following. But she wasn’t stupid enough to turn around to check either.
Just a few yards into the woods, she could see the building she’d been looking for. And there were lights on inside. Relief washed over her as she pumped her already sore legs, willing her body not to give out before she made it to safety. She was almost there. Someone was inside. Someone could help her.
But before she could take three more steps, she was grabbed from behind and tackled to the ground. She let out an ear-splitting scream, hoping that it was enough to get the attention of whoever was inside. “Tyler, stop!” she cried as she rolled onto her back, shoving with all of her might at the larger man blanketing her body. “Please!”
The look on Tyler’s face was almost inhuman as he gripped her wrists, forcing her to stop attacking him. He had cuts on his cheeks from where she assumed branches had hit him in the face and his eyes were glowing so brightly she had to squint when she looked at him. “Tyler, please!” she tried again. “Let me go. How do you think Skylar is going to feel when he finds out about this?!”
At the mention of Skylar, Tyler grinned. “He isn’t going to care,” he assured her. His eyes landed on a large rock, fingers curling around it as he lifted it from it’s spot in the mud. “He loves me. He always comes back to me. No matter what.”
As she watched him bring the rock upwards, Jessie knew she had to act fast. One swift knee to the groin was her only defense. Tyler didn’t react like a man who had just been kneed in the crotch usually acted — no sign of pain, or discomfort at all, really — but it seemed to surprise him enough to make him faulter and drop the rock.
She hissed in pain when the sharp edge of the rock dragged across her high cheekbone, drawing blood. But she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she took the opportunity to shove Tyler once again now that her arms were free and scarmbled back to her feet. She just needed to get to that building.
Just as she was about to grip the door handle, a large, violent hand gripped the back of her neck, yanking her backward before thrusting her forward through the window, shattering the glass all around her. Slowly, she forced her broken body onto its side, then onto her back, coughing. Small shards of glass seemed to be embedded in every inch of her skin, each one sending a sharp sting through her body like a thousand tiny needles..
Her eyes ticked to the desk, desperately searching for another living person who could save her. But there was nobody there. The building was empty. The sound of crunching glass beside her had her blood running cold. No one was coming to save her.
**~~**
“Fuck,” Skylar bit out as he shoved his cell phone into his pocket. She wasn’t answering still. Fear slammed into him, but he pushed through it. Now wasn’t the time to start to panic. Right now, he needed to find Jessie and Tyler. Before Tyler did something he regret. And Jessie paid the price for Skylar’s mistake.
When he reached the cemetery, his eyes darted around the graves, searching for any clues. The text thread had been very clear — meet me at Tyler’s grave. I think we need to talk about everything that has been going on with me recently.
But they weren’t here! “Ty?!” he called out, hoping like hell his brother would hear him and answer. Only it didn’t happen. “Jessie?! Where are you?!” Still, no answer. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest, Skylar thought it was going to beat right out. “Tyler?!”
A blood curdling scream cut through the night air, dragging Skylar’s attention deep into the woods. His heart rate kicked up even faster, his head spinning with possibilities. “Jessie!” he called out, his feet moving on their own accord as he tore off deeper into the forest.
When he heard the sound of glass shattering, he knew exactly where he needed to go. He refused to allow his brain to come up with scenarios as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He was still too far away. There was still too much time for something to happen. But he refused to allow those thoughts to break his concentration.
He was going to make it. He had to.
**~~**
Although she was bleeding and her body felt broken and battered, she wasn’t about to give up. As fast as she could manage, she rolled onto her front, her hands clawing at the floor in a desperate attempt to gain traction as she tried to pull herself to safety.
There was a phone on the desk. If she could just reach it, she might be able to make a call. She could call the police and maybe hold off Tyler long enough for them to get there. After all, the police station was just a few blocks away.
She nearly cried with relief when her fingers brushed the leg of the desk. She’d made it. All she needed was one more push to get the phone cord between her fingers. Everything was going to be okay.
However, that hope was shattered when boots straddled her back. Fingers carded through her hair, tangling in the blood-matted strands. She didn’t even have time to scream before her head was wrenched sharply to the side. Something inside her neck snapped.
Skylar’s eyes were wide as he watched Jessie’s limp body hand fall to the floor. “No!”The scream tore from him before he could stop it. He stood frozen just outside the main building’s shattered window, staring at the woman he’d loved lying motionless on the floor.
Then Tyler turned. Their eyes met. And Tyler smiled. It wasn’t a cruel smile. It wasn’t even an angry one. It was a relieved one. Almost as if he’d been waiting for Skylar to show up all along.
“Ty…” Skylar breathed, slowly shaking his head. His eyes dropped to Jessie’s body before snapping back to his brother. “What…what did you do?” His voice broke. “Oh my God.” He stumbled backward, one hand catching against the side of the building. “What did you do?!”
Before Tyler could answer, Skylar was grabbed around the wrist by a new arrival, pulling him from the building. His eyes snapped up to find Venus. Her bright, glowing green eyes bore into him, looking almost frightened.
Moments after he was pulled from the building, Tyler stepped out, his eyes not leaving Skylar. “I did what I had to,” Tyler explained. “She was trying to take you away from me. She made you feel bad for wanting me. I fixed it.”
When Tyler reached for him, Skylar flinched. The hand on his wrist tightened, almost like a warning. His attention turned away from Tyler and landed back on Venus. He could see that she desperately wanted to talk. Good. He had some things to say to her, as well. “Stay here,” he ordered, eyes locked on Tyler. “Do not move. I will be right back.”
Panic slammed into him when his brother tried to leave. Had this been it? The final straw? Was he leaving?! No, Tyler hadn’t done anything wrong, dammit! “Sky,” he tried, reaching for him once more.
“Don’t touch anything,” Skylar ordered, his voice coming out sharper than he had intended it to. Skylar didn’t wait for a response. He turned toward Venus and allowed her to pull him further away from the building. Only then did he look back at Tyler. What the hell had just happened? How the hell had it gotten to this?!
Once they were out of ear shot, Venus turned to Skylar. For the first time since he’d met her, he thought he saw panic in those glowing green eyes. “You knew,” he accused, his voice soft, but hard at the same time. “You knew this was going to happen. Why didn’t you tell me?! I could have stopped this!”
Anger quickly covered that panic. “I did tell you,” she argued, her voice a low hiss. “I warned you giving him everything he wanted exactly when he wanted it wasn’t going to end in your favor! You didn’t listen.” She could see Skylar beating himself up, but they didn’t have time for that. The next steps were going to be pivotal.
Her hand moved to grip Skylar’s wrist again, eyes darting to Tyler to make sure he was listening to his brother’s command. He was. But she could see the hard lines of his body and the angry stare landing on her fingers where they wrapped around Skylar’s wrist. Tyler was barely holding his composure.
Skylar was mumbling to himself, but it was nonsense. “You need to take him home,” Venus instructed. His eyes snapped to her immediately. “You have to. And whatever you do, Skylar Briggs, do not make him angry. You need to act like everything is normal. Give him whatever he wants — don’t argue. I will clean this up and come back for you. I will explain everything. But right now, he needs you.”
“He needs me?” Skylar asked, his voice heavy with disbelief. “He killed my girlfriend!” He barely got the words out without his voice breaking. “He-He killed her. He took another person’s life. How-How am I supposed to…take him home and act like everything is normal? Nothing is normal!”
Jerking his arm to snap him back to the present, Venus hissed, “You will take him home and do just that!” She could see that he wanted to argue, but it died on his lips at her hard stare. “You need to listen to me. Do whatever he asks of you. You need to make sure he stays calm. I can’t explain it right now, but this is important. As soon as I’ve taken care of this, I will come back for you Skylar Briggs.”
Although everything in his body was screaming at him not to listen, Skylar nodded. After all, when the woman who is basically an expert at this stuff gives you a desperate handbook of your next steps, you don’t argue — you listen. “Fine,” he ground out. “I’ll take him home and pretend everything is normal. But you better come back.”
With that, Skylar turned on his heels and walked away from Venus. When he reached his brother, he did everything in his power not to look at the body lying limp on the floor. Instead, he shoved all of his emotions down where they couldn’t hurt him and went into survival mode.
His body was on autopilot as he reached for Tyler, cupping his face in his hands. “Your face is bleeding,” he stated the obvious, a small frown on his lips. “C’mon, let’s get you home and get you cleaned up.”
Tyler’s brows knit in confusion when Skylar cupped his face. The touch seemed to calm him down though, his body relaxing. “You’re not mad at me?” he asked, biting into his bottom lip. “You seemed like you were mad when you got here. I didn’t want to make you mad. I just wanted to fix it.”
Fix it. That was the second time Tyler had used that expression. There had been nothing to fix! Everything had been fine! He’d been trying to fix things after he’d made the mistake of allowing Tyler to go too far! And he thought he had after the whole shower incident! But apparently, he’d been wrong. So wrong. “Fix what?” he asked, swallowing thickly. “Nothing needed fixed.”
“Fix us,” Tyler answered, his glowing eyes locking Skylar in place. “She was trying to get between us. With her gone, we don’t have to worry about anything anymore. You don’t have to feel guilty for wanting me. She can’t hurt you anymore.”
Before he could say anything else, Venus was behind him again. Her bright green eyes landed on Skylar, the warning within them barely masked. “Okay,” Skylar choked out, nodding at his brother. “C’mon, let’s go home. Clean you up. C’mon.” With that, Skylar led Tyler out of the building and in the direction of the cabin.