❝ She was one of the mysterious ones.

Beautifully damaged, ruthlessly scarred.

Dropped from heaven into the hell of her past ❞

I could see the questions floating inside the depth of his hazel pools, but he did not utter a word and I was beyond thankful for that.

Letting out a sigh, I tried to elaborate the tragedy of that incomplete tale "It actually all started with me..."

Not meeting his eyes, I gulped down the anxiety. At this point, I had nothing to lose, except maybe him.

"In high school, there was this guy name Dylan, who was so weird and seemed peculiar. I had never met him, though, but still felt him staring at me with uncanny smiles or following me. It was creepy, because I had never talked to him or we didn't share any classes or anything in common. So why that?"

I still remembered his chilly green eyes all well or his hair like dark and deep forest, at night.

"At first, I though it was just my imagination, he could be looking at something else or you know, being in a same place as me all the time, could be a strange coincidence. But, one morning, when I went to my class, just like always earlier than other students, I found a bouquet on my desk. Again, I thought it could be a mistake or something, when in reality, I was little frightened to face the truth"

Aren't you always?

"It continued for few days, the flowers appearing on my desk and I always threw them away or just put it on someone else's desk, but one day, when I entered the classroom, the flowers weren't there, it was him. Dylan was there on my seat, when he didn't even attended that class. Although, when I asked him, what he was doing there or wanted from me, he didn't said anything and just left the room. Little did I knew, that he was planning something else"

"You know, what he did? What he had planned?"

Again, Ethan just sat there beside me with silence being his only answer, because he knew, that I didn't needed his words, just him. His simply mere presence by my side.

Hence, I answered my own question "He proposed to me! He bent down on one fucking knee, in front of the whole school, asking me to be his. What nonsense was that? I barely knew the guy. Of course, I refused and to be honest, I was narrowly managing myself those hard days and a relationship was a no go, nobody needed that mess. So yeah, I said no"

"I thought, it was not a big deal, he would get over it, but oh how wrong I had been. You see, being a popular and social one has it's own consequences, especially when you get turned down by someone, in front of the whole campus. The news or should I say, the new gossip spread like wildfire, but he didn't care at all. He still used to smile at me in hallways, sneaking glances, which just got on my nerves more and more"

"But, then a week later, I came to know that Claire and Dylan started dating and I was shocked to my core. I could never imagine it and she didn't tell me either, guess, when did I come to know? When she invited him at our house for dinner"

My jaw clenched, when the picture of him with Claire burned my vision, how the warm summer day, suddenly turned cold and stiff. Seeing my inner battle, Ethan rubbed his thumb over my hand calming me down as I exhaled.

"There was something so suspiciously concealed in his eyes and that smirk, I knew, there was something deeper in his stares, something meaning so much more, than what he showed. But Claire was on the cloud nine, you know? I don't know, what it was about him that she liked, but she was happy with him and I knew it the second, she introduced me to him so enthusiastically, which made me doubt, if she knew about his proposal? Maybe she knew, maybe not"

"But I discarded all the negativity and tried to focus on the good things for her sake. She loved him, that silly girl and anyone could see it. They looked great together and genuinely contented, but I never realized, there was a whole new story behind it all"

I expected myself to cry or fall apart recalling every dreadful incident of my life, but I felt numb. There were no tears left or energy to feel any kind of emotion, just dry and robotic voice. As if I was reciting a chapter, I knew by heart out loud.

"It was weekend and just like always, Dad took us to the pool. It was our own Hughes ritual. Claire loved swimming and the water, which is why, it confused me, when she declined to join us in the pool. I thought, there could be any cause behind it, maybe she was not feeling it, but I knew better. If there's anything, I've learned and believed in my life is that, ever little change in someone's behavior has very big reasons behind it"

"And that's why, later returning home, I cornered her, demanding answers and that was her biggest weakness or her strongest aspect. She could never lie, she would always end up spilling everything"

A small sad smile quirked up my lips as I thought of her guilty yet innocent eyes, but suddenly, it disappeared. Because, what happened after that was not something, I liked to think about.

"So, when I asked her in a more forceful manner than usual, she didn't even bother to lie or hide. She just took off her top and let me see the answer myself. There were marks... Slight purple marks and swelling in some area, red scratches on her body and I lost it. That douche bag was hurting her! I don't know, what was his plan or what he was trying to do. Trying to make me feel bad by hurting my sister?"

"I told her, she needed to leave Dylan. How dare he touched my sister? He was just playing her--"

Taking a moment to regain control, I inhaled a good amount of air, before continuing "But, she was in too deep, Ethan. She didn't listen to me, saying that he didn't meant to hurt her, that he's just rough with his touch, what the fuck? She was a fool for making idiotic excuses for his behavior, but even a bigger fool to think, I would believe her. I may wanted her happy, but if that happiness was turning toxic, then I just needed to take that shit away from her."

"So, when she didn't listen to me, I decided to confront Dylan. You best believe, it was a violent meeting. I told him to leave Claire the hell alone and threatened to report him to cops for his rough treatment, but guess what that fucker did instead?"

I met Ethan's eyes harshly, which was already fixed on me with patience and understanding as I gritted the next words out "He fucking confessed his love! Can you believe it? He said that he loved me and would leave Claire at any given second, if I just accept him"

"Those love laced words were like acid on my skin and I wanted to kill him to think of Claire as trash. Although, I didn't know how to respond. At first, it felt like a good idea, maybe if I agree to be with him, then he would forget Claire. But, then, I thought of her and how devastated she would be. She loved him, after all"

Ah, Love, the most easiest way of self destruction.

"So, I punched him. Cursed him to hell and back, telling him to leave me and Claire, both of us alone. I hated the lone idea of being with him and he for sure as hell, didn't deserve Claire. I thought, I was doing the right thing, but it all backfired"

My breathe caught in my chest, when I added the next part, muttering "I should have known. Nothing in my life had gone right or the way I wanted it to go. There was always hope, just not for me"

"Later that day, Claire came to me and I thought, it worked. That she was finally done with him, but I never expected the reaction, I got. I don't know, what bullshit he fed her, but she was angry, not at him, but me. She was crying. The anger was clear as water in her voice and eyes and I remember thinking, in that moment, how similar it looked with her mother's"

"She told me that she knew, I told Dylan to break up with her, to leave her, betray her and it didn't make sense. She thought, I was trying to get in between them? Is that how lowly she thought of me? She was enraged, completely mad at me. Blaming me for the unknown, telling me that I was trying to steal her happiness? I knew she loved him, but I didn't expect her to react like that"

An ugly feeling settled inside me, he would know. Slowly, slowly, every part of me was revealing and I was terrified to see his response. A part of me was more than satisfied to tell him, whatever goes in my head and what caused it, but a part of me was, as I mentioned earlier, terrified.

"You know, I've been told so many horrible things in my life, some of them, I couldn't care remember. I was used to it, just an another sick part of my routine, but what she said that day etched my mind, never leaving it for a second. Her words, that simple sentence was craved on the walls of my brain"

"I wish, you were never born"

"I had never questioned myself, until then.. I just couldn't help, but think, can I really do nothing right? Am I really that bad at just.. existing? Does it really means nothing?"

Suddenly, a lonesome tear trickled down my cheek as I stared at the empty air thriving on my soul. Ethan was quick to pull me in his embrace, murmuring softly "Shh.. you were just trying to protect her and you tried your best"

I quickly pushed him away, fighting back "But, it wasn't enough! Do you know, what happened after that? She left the house. You hear me? She left us and went to live with Dylan, while I was acting like a distressed weakling because of what she said, to even bother stopping her."

"Although, Dad was fuming, but he was worried for Claire. He told me, that it wasn't my fault, but Mom never gave me a chance to forget that. When she found out, that before leaving, Claire was with me, that we got into a fight, she assumed that Claire left because of me. And somehow, it was the truth"

Some of those memories seemed unclear, but the feelings and the suffocation remained just the same.

"It was the most hideous month of my life, there was always a bleak gloominess in the house. Although, Claire would drop to meet Mom and Dad every now and then, but it was not the same. It felt forced and we only shared one or two awkwardly formal sentences, we never actually talked. I missed her so much and everything about her, without her, I was alone. She was the only one who knew about Mom, who would stand up for me, ready to fight her own mother"

"She was so close to me, yet so far. I thought, I lost her and that she would never want to be with us now... Until one day, she stumbled at our door, once again"

I closed my eyes, trying to erase the picture of that abominable sight of her. Without even realizing it, my fingers tightened around Ethan's and he knew, I was barely there. Holding on.

"You don't have to do this, Snow" His calm and comforting words were like soft falling raindrops, over the drought of my heart.

I shook my head, then slowly opened my eyes as if anticipating something terrible. "I still remember the sickening feeling, I got, when I saw her. Her eyes were blood shot and swollen, there were wounds and marks, that seemed awfully familiar. She looked completely.. bruised and damaged"

A torn sound vibrated against my throat, begging to be let out as I drowned myself, reliving the painful memory of my long lost sister and her misery.

"Sh-she couldn't even walk properly and I was the one, who held her, taking her in, straight to her bedroom, which was barren and arid without her there, because she was not ready to face our parents yet. Because, she didn't wanted to. I helped her undress and showered her, trying to wash away her suffering with tears in my own eyes and all the while in between, she sobbed in my arms, asking me to forgive her, letting out strangled apologies"

"But, what she didn't know was that, I forgave her the second, those hurtful words left her mouth. Because, I believed she didn't meant them. I forgave her, because I knew that she was just stuck in the mist of Dylan, that she had no idea, what was happening around her, what she was even saying. After all, people tend to lose themselves in wanting something too much"

"So, I told her the exact thing. It was all okay, I didn't care about anything, except her. She had nothing to be sorry for."

I still feel it sometimes, the lingering sensation of her crying in my arms, like a ghost, after she told me everything that happened.

Gulping down the lump in my throat, that was blocking my words, I dared to utter the next sentence.

"She told me, she and Dylan got into a huge fight. He even raised his hand and then, kicked her out, when she told him that, she was pregnant"

That was it, that did it for me. The tears spilled down my cheeks, stinging like burning wax as I let out "Yes, she was pregnant with his baby, bu,t when she told him that, he flipped. Telling her, that couldn't happen, that it was all a joke went too far. It didn't mattered to him anything, he never wanted Claire, in the end. And when she tried to persuade him, confessed her love finally, what did he do? He kicked her out, telling her to never contact him again"

"Her tears couldn't stop, Ethan. She looked completely shattered and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't protect her"

"I decided to tell my parents all about it and they too were shaken. Mom was completely broken, thinking, she couldn't be there for her daughter and Dad... he went crazy. It's like, something possessed him, he was beyond angry, as if he just couldn't wait to kill Dylan, but I calmed him down. I calmed both of them down, telling them to think rationally and then, plan to do something. But, I didn't know, that there was someone else in the house, planning a murder too"

I wiped the moisture from my cheeks, looking at his blurry face and told him.

"She had come to my room, in the middle of that night. Waking me up from my deep slumber and laid down beside me, whispering the secrets we shared and all the beautiful moments. She said, how much she regretted wasting so much time without me and how she always wanted to have a same room. She said, that if only she had listen to me, maybe things would've been different. She talked about her baby and admitted, how confused and aimless she felt. She spent her time, patiently talking to me as if making up for the lost time, trying to fill the void. She told me, every single detail about her and her life, looking over even the tiniest memory of our childhood, as if trying to make me learn all that in one stroke. As if trying to tell me not to forget her..."

"And when, I was about to fall asleep, she so gently got out from the bed and kissed my cheek, murmuring the words, I never thought would be her last"

"Good night, Winni. You'll always find me in your dreams, sleep well"

I haven't had a dream since then, only nightmares and somehow, I find her in them too. Etahn's body was against mine, providing a armor of my own as I buried my face in his chest and disclosed my regrets.

"I shouldn't have let her go. I should have stopped her the moment, those words felt like her last goodbye. Why didn't I do it? Hold her close to me and tell her how much she meant to me, that it would be worth it, in the end? But no, I slept. I fell asleep not knowing that, she too was planning to sleep, but unlike me, she was planning to sleep forever.. That was the last time, I saw her cheerful face, heard her voice , felt her presence , the last time, I saw her alive"

"Because, she didn't wake up the next morning, laying lifeless on her bed, from god knows how long. I saw it, there was blood on the floor and hauntingly painted on the sheets, blood dripping down her slitted vein. She was dead, Ethan, can you hear me? I wasn't there to save her from herself, she must've felt so lonely that night, standing so close to her death. She died, my angel sister.. She killed herself and the baby"

As the words came to an end, sob after sob escaped my mouth. Trembling under the mercy of my unmourned grief, I broke down in his embrace and just like that... the last string of my control, holding the pieces together, snapped too.

I am really sorry for taking so long to update and thank you everyone for sticking by my side and being patient, you guys are amazing. Hope you are satisfied with this chapter and again, if there's anything you'd like to ask me or want me to explain, comment down.

And no, don't think that the story is done, because, there are still so many revelation waiting to happen ;) Watch out! Also, the chapter is unedited, so expect some mistakes, yeah?

Thank you so much for reading this story and being here to support me, I have no words to describe my appreciation, except that I love my readers!

Take care everyone. Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love :)

Love, Zee..