by Nora Shkodra
walking in silence.
“I went to see Trey,” he admitted quietly.
“What!” I exploded. “Why on Earth would you do that?” “Hey, don’t get mad. I went to tell him I didn’t want to be involved
with him and his gang anymore.”
“Oh,” was all I could manage “Why?” I asked him.
“Because, I know that you’re having nightmares because of it,” he
sighed. “How did you know?”
“Amber, you’re my twin sister, I know everything about you, you’re
my other half,” he said softly.
“That’s so cheesy,” I giggled.
“It really is!” Jacob agreed, laughing himself, and it felt just like old
times. When there was no Jodie, no Trey and definitely no gang. “So what did Trey say after you told him?” I asked, eager to know. “Told him what?”
“That you don’t want to be part of his gang anymore, of course!” “Oh that, yeah. He wasn’t too happy about it. Said something about
me owing him, but I didn’t really listen. I’m just going to stay out of his way.” “Well, what if he doesn’t leave you alone?”
I felt as though I was pressuring Jacob into giving me answers, but
he didn’t understand. I needed details; I had to know that he and I were both
safe.
“He will leave me alone, don’t worry.”
The fact that he told me not to worry, made me worry even more. I
didn’t believe him one bit when he told me Trey would back away. It was too
good to be true.
Promises Never Last, Right?
I was surprised, I really was. Jacobs’s promise of Trey leaving us alone hadn’t been broken. I didn’t think it would last at all. However, being left alone meant Trey was planning something big; he was just waiting for the right time to strike. That was my abiding thought and it was a nagging thought at that.
Everything I did was done half-heartedly; I kept all my senses alert for any signs of danger. I never left my house after dark anymore. On my way to and from school, I kept my head down. I was living in fear; Trey Smith was ruining my life by doing nothing. I wanted him locked up for it.
About two weeks later, after I spoke with Jacob, Jodie’s friend, Jaylin was raped.
As horrible as it sounds, I wasn’t as shocked as everyone else. Don’t get me wrong; what happened to her was horrendous, and disgusting in so many ways.
Jaylin was left traumatised, she was hurt in a way that could never be healed. I knew something horrible was going to happen sooner or later, it was only a matter of time. Since they got to Jaylin, Jodie and I knew we were next.
I had told Jacob my theory. He promised he’d do all he could to protect us. But, Jacob, who used to be able to fix things with just a hug, couldn’t fix this. Our situation was something much, much worse.
A few days after Jaylin’s rape and run incident, my Mum had driven
Promises Never Last, Right? me to her house.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered into her ear as we hugged. “It’s entirely
my fault; I shouldn’t have gotten you involved.”
“Amber, none of this is your fault. I wasn’t forced into helping you
and Jodie, that was my choice. The people who are to blame for this are Trey’s
pets. They couldn’t say no to their master.”
I was confused.
“How do you know it wasn’t Trey who did it?”
“Because, Trey is a coward; he doesn’t do his dirty work himself;
his puppets do. Plus, when the guy was whispering dirty things in my ear, it
didn’t sound like him,” Jaylin explained, in a flat tone as she continued to stare
into space.
“I’m going to find who did this to you. I swear I will. And, when I
do, I will have him locked up.” I was pacing her room then, small as it was. “Do what you want, I’m going to sleep,” she mumbled burying
herself under her covers.
I took that as a sign that I should leave, so I did, shutting the door
behind me. I made my way downstairs. My mother was waiting for me in the
car. I said bye to Jaylin’s Mum before leaving.
“Why are people so horrible?” I asked my Mum once I had gotten
back in the car. I rested my head against the cold window as she started the
car. The heavy rain outside matched my mood. Dark, dull, and glum. “I wish I had an answer for that, my dear. All I can say is that some
people choose to be, as you say, horrible.”
I allowed a tear to flow down my cheek. I was so negatively
overwhelmed, I couldn’t process anything. My feelings were all jumbled
up. I had lost myself, and I wasn’t sure if I’d find that teenage girl who loved
reading, writing, music, Adam and school.
Where was I? I was so far away from finding myself again, and
honestly, I had started to scare myself.
Chapter Thirteen | 59
Halloween Horror
October was coming to an end, and we all knew what that meant, Halloween.
Personally, I was dreading it. I don’t think kids dressing up and begging for sweets is a good way to have fun. Fun is painting, hide and seek, outdoor games, not forcing people to give you candy.
Anyway, since it was my turn this year, Halloween night had me sitting by the door, on a giant bean bag, with a book. Every time the doorbell rang, I’d get up from my comfortable position, look through the peep hole, and when I saw children, I’d open the door; listen to them chant ‘trick or treat’, then give them a snickers bar or whatever. It happened about 35 times, and I’ll tell you, I had been annoyed at least a trillion times. I know they did not come that number of times, but the 35 times still felt like a trillion times.
At around eleven that night, I was getting up from my bean bag; we hadn’t gotten any more trick or treats, so I had decided to pack up. Jacob walked past me, and headed straight for the door.
“Um, Jake, where are you going?” I asked him and he spun to face me.
“To meet Trey,” he replied simply. I gasped, my eyes widening. “Why, on Earth, would you go to meet that nut job?” I spoke slowly as I tried to keep my heart rate low.
“I am going to tell that piece of dog crap to leave you alone.”
“How did you …” I started, but he didn’t let me finish.
Halloween Horror “Amber, I saw his little notes in your room, in between the pages of your Hunger Games book,” he explained, putting on his shoes.
“Well then, I’m coming with you,” I grabbed my coat and threw on my shoes.
“No, you’re not,” he replied.
“Yes, I am, and you, can’t stop me.”
“Fine, but you do exactly as I say. I tell you to hide, you hide. I tell you to run, you sprint. Got it?”
“Yeah, okay,” I lied. Right to his face, and he didn’t suspect a thing.
We walked to the meeting place in silence. It was the alley at the back of an abandoned warehouse. I was shivering from the cold when we got there.
Jacob stopped abruptly and shoved me behind one of the dumpsters. I made no noise as I peered over the top of the bins. I saw Trey, and as Jaylin referred to them, his pets.
I stared at Jacob as he slowly approached them. My heart was pounding furiously in fear; I was afraid of what Trey was capable of.
“Well, would you look at that, little Jacob has decided to join the party,” Trey’s voice was slurred, he sounded like he was drunk.
“Leave my family alone Trey.” Jacob didn’t sound scared, his voice was full of determination.
“What? Where’s the fun in that?”
I shivered in disgust.
“They didn’t do anything to you, you have no right to treat them that way; to treat her that way.”
“Your sister made me lose my
girlfriend” he spat.
“No, you lost Jodie all on your own,” Jacob bellowed in return.
“Why don’t we ask Amber herself, once she’s done hiding behind the bin though?”
I gulped loudly, and with wobbly legs, I made myself fully visible.
Chapter Fourteen | 61
The Night from Hell
I shook my head at Jacob as he mouthed the word ‘run’ to me. Part of me felt guilty for not doing as I promised, but I had to be there for him.
“Kaden, grab her,” Trey ordered one of his pets. The dark skinned boy grabbed both my arms and pulled me to him. His knuckles dug into my back, and I winced silently at the pain. I shifted slightly, making the position a little less painful.
“So, Amber, tell your brother what you did to make me lose my Jodie.”
Trey was in my face making me even more uncomfortable. The boy holding me was breathing heavily, his breath hot on my neck, they both smelt strongly of tobacco, and what people call weed.
“All I did was save her from you. We both knew you two have never liked each other. You just want a reason to complain,” I spat, my tone bitter.
Suddenly, I felt a stinging pain on my right cheek. Trey had slapped me. The boy behind me had my body pressed against his, tears started to slide down my face. I felt violated.
“I told you not to hurt her!” Jake bellowed before thrusting his fist into Trey’s face.
“Let go of me, please,” I screamed, struggling in his grasp. Trey had gotten up from where he fell from Jacob’s punch and was watching two of his other pets straddle Jacob to the ground. They were punching him, and
The Night from Hell kicking his ribs.
“Oh, now baby, you’re coming with me.”
He started dragging me towards the back entrance of the warehouse,
screams erupted from me as I watched them continue attacking my brother even as I was being dragged and I was drowning in fear - fear for Jacob, and fear for myself. No matter how much I screamed, the dirty words being whispered into my ear were as loud as ever.
Once in the warehouse, he threw me to the ground and pulled my coat off of me. It was dark; I couldn’t see a thing. I struggled to move under his weight when I heard Trey’s voice call my harasser.
“I haven’t even started,” he shouted back.
“I don’t give a crap, we’re leaving.”
Kaden’s weight was off of me, and as I heard him leave, I leaned over
and vomited on the ground.
I felt dizzy, but stood up and started walking.
When I walked out of the warehouse, I saw my brother on the
ground, battered and bruised, in a pool of blood.
I dropped to my knees beside him, tears blurring my vision. “Oh my God, di-did, they s-st-stab you?” I croaked and he slowly
nodded.
I dug out my phone and dialled ‘999’.
“999, how can we help?”
“It’s my brother, he’s been stabbed and he’s losing a lot of blood.” The
words tumbled out of my mouth.
“Where is your location?”
I told them where we were.
“Ok, hang in there honey, we’ll be there very soon.”
I dropped my phone as the line went dead, and used both my hands
to cradle Jacob. I ripped my cardigan off and placed it over the wound to try and stop the blood from seeping out.
Chapter Fifteen | 63 “I’m so sorry, this is all my fault,” I whispered as my tears dripped onto Jake’s face.
“No Amber, none of this is your fault. Don’t ever say that. I shouldn’t have even gotten myself involved in this mess.
“It doesn’t matter; don’t worry, because you’re going to be okay. The ambulance will be here soon; they’ll wizz you away and fix you up in no time.”
“Amber, I love you. You’re my baby sister, and you mean everything to me. Don’t forget that, ever.”
Every word was forced and it was killing me inside, as well as him.
“I love you too Jacob; my big brother,” I replied, crying heavily.
“Tell Mum and Dad that I’m sorry, for not being the son they always wanted, and that I love them.”
“Shut up Jake, you’re the perfect son!”
“And Liz, tell her that it was always her. From the beginning, it was always...her.”
His body suddenly went limp in my arms as he uttered his last words, and took his last breath. His eyes were lifeless and dull, the spark in them had vanished, and as I heard the ambulance sirens, I screamed into his chest, because it was too late, his soul had slipped away. Swirling blue lights illuminated the dark sky as the paramedics pried me away from him.
“It’s too late,” I tried to scream at them, however my voice came out as a hoarse whisper.
I watched as the paramedics tried to revive him, and nothing happened. Soon, they gave up, because there was no point in trying anymore, he was gone.
“Time of death, 11:43pm.”
That’s what made it final, my soul had been ripped in two, and the last thing I remember seeing was my brothers body being placed in a body bag, before darkness overtook me.
The Aftermath
I fainted. I’m sure I did, because the next time my eyes opened, I was lying in a hospital bed. Both my mother and father were by my side. I wondered for a moment how they had found out since the police didn’t have their numbers. Common sense struck me as I realised they had gone through my phone.
“Mum, Dad?” I whispered, slowly sitting up. “Oh, thank God.” My mother sounded relieved as she helped me sit up.
“Jacob, is he, is he really gone?” I croaked, hoping they would relieve me of my pain and say they saved him.
My father closed his eyes, fending off tears; however they sneakily passed through his tightly shut eyelids.
I took that as a yes.
Tears streamed down my face as memories of the night before came rushing back. Trey’s dying voice, Kaden’s filthy words, the feel of his hands all over my body, Jacob on the ground covered in blood, Jacob apologising, Jacob’s lifeless face and limp body; time of death, 11:43pm.
“Amber, what happened honey?” my mother asked as she ran a hand through my hair.
“Emily, the police said not to ask her questions until they get here.”
Chapter Sixteen | 65 My father had stopped crying, but my mother and I were still human waterfalls.
I was crying, but felt nothing. I was empty.The life inside of me had been drained out. I was just numb.
Jacob and I shared a womb, so we shared a soul, when he died, I was split in two.
Later that day, the police came to see me, well, to question me. They told me I didn’t need to rush. If I wasn’t feeling ready, I didn’t have to talk about it, yet. Honestly though, the sooner I told them about Trey and Kaden, the better.
“Okay Amber, how about you tell us everything from the beginning?” PC Marco and his colleague Detective Marshall were sitting beside my bed. I had no idea why I was still in the hospital though.
“It’s really long,” I replied. I think I was kind of stalling.
“That’s okay, we’ve got time,” Detective Mia Marshall spoke, her voice soft and kind.
She was really pretty, with a nice smile and big brown twinkling eyes.
I nodded and looked down at my hands. With one big breath, I started to tell them everything, from the beginning; the very start. From that day in the park, to the moment my brother took his last breath. I told them everything. I told them about setting Trey up, and who raped Jaylin, and how the same guy tried to do the same to me. By the end of the whole thing, I felt like I had re-lived the past two months.
I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
Back Home
I was allowed to go home after the police spoke to me. They had immediately sent out a search party using the best detectives and officers to find the guys. It was a rape and murder case.
The moment I enter
ed my house I shot up the stairs and ran myself a bath. I wanted to soak myself in the hot water and wash away the terrors of the night before. To wash away Kaden’s dirty DNA, even though he thankfully hadn’t gone all the way, I still felt filthy.
I still had some of Jacob’s blood on me; I guess the nurses didn’t clean it off properly. As tears streamed down my face, I scrubbed hard on my skin, leaving it red and raw. I hugged my knees to my chest as I bawled into my thighs. I shook silently; shivering as the once hot water cooled down until it was freezing, matching the temperature of my soul.
With wobbly legs and a broken heart, I heaved myself out of the bath, and grabbed a towel, roughly drying my skin. I was red and blotchy all over as I put on my pyjamas.
When I went into my room, I curled up on my bed, and, for the first time in a long time, I prayed.
I prayed for my brother to rest in perfect peace, and that his soul is sent to a better place than the Earth could ever be. Heaven.
Chapter Seventeen | 67 I left my room and opened the door to Jacob’s. It looked the same as usual, his bed scruffily made, posters on the walls, gaming system cables all tangled. I walked in and shut the door behind me, and with teary eyes I threw myself onto his bed, sobbing violently.
My heart was thumping heavily in my chest, as it begged me to breathe, but I didn’t want to; I wanted to go with my brother. My human instincts kicked in, causing me to inhale deeply. I was drowned in Jacob’s scent, I breathed in and out, quickly, and soon his scent faded as my senses got used to it.
That’s when I started thinking of the future, of birthdays halfheartedly celebrated without my other half, without the other person to blow our candles. Going off to university alone, getting a job alone, my wedding without my brother, my children without an uncle.
I knew that my life would never be the same again. Maybe over time the pain of his death will slowly fade away, but I will never stop missing him. Everything I do will be in memory of Jacob.
As my tears dried up, I had this blinding pain in my chest, it was like there was a tiny pro-boxer, having an endless fight with my heart.
It was the pain of heartbreak. My emotions were out of control. I either felt everything or nothing, and I didn’t know which was worse.