Hazel melted the pain in her eyes. Cassidy was her new friend and her ashes were already floating under the ground in her head. Jack, on the other hand, was crushed. He was dying inside, he was hurt, he really loved that girl. He never talked about her with me. Maybe he had a good reason to hide it from me. He did tell me that he was seeing someone but that was all. Knowing Jack, he doesn't take anyone seriously. Sex was the only thing on his mind. Dating was the last.

Jack was a player. If you ask me.

Once upon a time, I was.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Jack." Hazel started and patted his back. "You should rest. When was the last time you had a good sleep?" Her question disturbed his inner peace. "You look tired."

"Yes, you do." I encouraged Hazel's words. "Jack, I need you to be strong. I know it's hard to lose someone you love. I'm here for you and we both know that I'm not going to leave your side no matter the consequences." I applied my brotherly love towards him. "I got you, Brother."

"Cassidy and I knew each other for about two months." He explained. "She got pregnant right away. I didn't really know her but she was a great lover and far from perfect. I loved her personality and she was the only person who understood me." He let out a long sigh. "She didn't deserve that. She deserved better." The guilt on his face reversed his true colors to a dark place.

It wasn't black and white.

His eyes were full of darkness.

"It's not your fault." I tried to delete his bad intentions from his selfish brain. "Stop blaming yourself. Look at me, Jack." He forced eye contact. "You can't protect everyone in the world. Life, itself, is unfair. I want you to know that."

"I'm next." His two words capitalized my affection and abused my pure love. "I'll be the one under the grave in a few days." His sadness grew from ice to heat. "I'll be dead soon."

"Don't say that, Jack." I tried to comfort him. "You're going to be just fine. We still need to find the letter." My words captured his full attention. "You admitted that you knew where it was. We need to find it and do something about the situation."

"I brought it with me." He revealed. "The prophecy is real, Hawk. I know you don't believe in it but you have to understand that I have to die in order for you to live. You're my half brother, from the same mother. It's dangerous for both of us to stay on this earth. It's a curse."

"Jack?" I replied. "I don't believe in our prophecy. Nothing bad is going to happen to you."

"Hawk," Jack stated. "I'm twenty-two years old. You're turning twenty-one in a few days. I can't risk it, it's too dangerous." His eyes glowed from a small distance. His side was out of flavor. "I can't control my powers anymore but you can."

How Jack? I can barely remember my nightmares. I had blood all over my shirt a few hours back, I had no idea how it got there. Now you're telling me that I can control my powers.

Please, tell me how. Are you out of your mind?

"What is he talking about?" Hazel injured her own thoughts. "Jack? Why are you saying all these negative things right now? Are you okay?" Her questions naturalized his deep emotions and contaminated his good intentions with bad vibes. "Are you going to die?"

"Hazel..." I interrupted, urgently. "Baby. I need to talk to Jack." I gestured, my eyes begged her lazy feet to start moving. "Alone..." My left brow drew her own path. "Please, babe."

"No, it's okay." Jack offered. "She can stay with us. She needs to hear the truth." His suggestion made a bad impact on me. "She's part of your world now. She needs to be ready for the consequences." His tone manifested the danger in his honest words. "There's something you need to know, Hazel."

Hazel was not ready.

"What is it?" Hazel asked, impatiently. "Why is my heart beating so fast? Are you really going to die? Please, tell me the truth." Her eyes greeted her soft cheeks with silent tears. Her mind registered her bad intentions through her head. "Am I in danger?"

Something like that.

"No, not at all." I rushed the words on my tongue. "Jack is going to be fine. He's not going to die. There's nothing to worry about." The lie between my lips was cruel and dry. I was worried about her and I didn't want her to break down in front of me.

.

"Read this." Jack handed Hazel an old letter from a few years back. "This is the prophecy. You should read it."

"Jack! What are you doing?" I said, under my breath. "Can she do that?" My eyes judged her fingers, opening the envelope from afar. "This is a private letter from our grandmother."

"So what?" Jack disagreed. "She's carrying your child, Hawk." He reminded me. "She has the right to know about everything. That's the rule."

"How do you know if it's alright?" I asked, confused. "Jack? Why do you have so many secrets? Why did you hide the prophecy from me? What's going on, brother?" The pain emerged in my voice, fighting the anger in my tone. "Do you think that's fair? Now, you're telling me that you're going to die in a few days. Why are you so selfish, man?" I let out a long sigh. "What am I supposed to do now? How am I going to live with this pain in the future."

Don't cry, Hawk. Don't cry.

Just hold it in. Hold it in.

"I didn't know where it was until a few weeks later." He guaranteed. "I wanted to tell you but I was shocked and scared to reveal the truth. It wasn't fair. I had to remind myself that you were always there for me and I didn't want to hurt you more." He sighed, sadly. "When I saw you at the hospital, I felt vulnerable. I wanted to save you and keep you away from this selfish world but the weakness in my bones was stronger than my own imaginations. I stayed up every single night and begged your eyes to open, worshipped your strong body to start moving. I love you, Hawk. I don't want anything to happen to you. I rather die than to lose a brother like you."

"Then why did you lie?" I condemned him. "Why are you hiding so many secrets from me? I am your brother for God's sake, we need to protect each other from danger." My broken voice captured Hazel's attention as she stopped herself from opening the letter. "You are selfish for thinking that you could protect me on your own."

"Babe?" Hazel croaked in my ears. "Calm down, babe. He just lost Cassidy." Hazel reminded me of his loss. "Jack loves you. You need to listen to him and try to communicate with him." She patted my back, gently. "Just hear him out."

"It's okay, Hazel." Jack played his guilty card. "I understand why Hawk is acting like that. He needs space and I am willing to stay away for now. I'll come back when you're calm, Hawk." He examined my body language, attentively. "Maybe you'll hear me out later."

Jack Walter! Why is it so hard for me to stay away from you? Why do you make me feel so guilty when you're the one with the secrets. I love you, Brother but it's hard to forgive someone when the same mistakes kept happening over and over again.

How do you want me to react when you're telling me that you're dying soon? How do you want me to feel when you're the only person that protects me from danger? You're the only person that I can trust, Jack Walter. You're my brother, my best friend. I don't want to lose a legend like you in my life.

You deserve my love and happiness. I'm sorry but I have to show you that you're making a big mistake by hiding secrets from me. I also want to protect you from the world. You're my blood and we'll stick together.

.

"Goodnight, Hawk." Jack's words enveloped me with pain and regrets. "We'll talk later."

"Are you really going to let him leave?" Hazel tried to change my mind. "Babe? Please, say something." She begged, miserably. "Jack, please just stay. It's too dangerous for you to go outside right now. You need a friend by your side, you need Hawk." She stared at both of us, ignoring my decision. "There are so many enemies out there. You need to be careful and reconsider."

"Hazel..." I refused to make eye contact, staring at the heavy view from outside. "If he wants to leave, let him." My words were harsh and powerful. I didn't mean my words. I wanted him to stay."Stop begging him to stay. He doesn't want to change his mind. He wants to keep secrets from me and put himself in danger. He wants to protect me and destroy his own self. He doesn't need help, Hazel." My jaw clenched as my teeth squeezed against each other. "He doesn't care about his precious life. Let him leave. Let him." I forced myself to agree with my evil self.

Jack was hurt.

And, so was I.

"I'm not hiding anything from you, Hawk," Jack drew his own lines. "You need to believe me and hear me out." He proposed. "I care about you and I'm willing to fight for your trust and love."

"Really?" I lifted my left brow, with a petty attitude. "Then tell me something..." I demanded. "Who is your real father? Why do we have so many scars on our skin? How did you learn how to hide them? Why did you lie about your mother's true identity?" My questions tormented his mind with severe detention from my harsh words. "Huh? Tell me."

"My father died in a car accident." Jack sat next to me and continued with his story. "His name was John Walter. Creator of lies and scars. The devil's brother." He swallowed his saliva, quickly as he splashed his upcoming words in my ears. "There's something else."

"What is it?"

"He used to molest our mother." He revealed, truthfully. "Multiple times..."

"Why didn't you say anything to the police?" I asked, angrily. "Why didn't you do something?"

"He knew our mother's secret. He was a cop." He groaned. "He was powerful, very powerful. He wanted to destroy us."

"You could've stopped him," I suggested an impossible act. "You were a."

"I did..." Jack flashed his previous experience. "I killed him that night."

"How?"

"On his way to work, I flipped his car upside down with strong pressure and killed him with my own hands."

"You didn't have to kill him."

"I had to." He summarized. "He stole the letter and hid the last page." His eyes were full of anger and weaknesses. "The letter isn't complete, Hawk." His words scared me to death. "Your existence is missing..."

"What do you mean by that?" I begged his lips to keep moving. "What are you talking about?"

"It means that we are both in danger." My rapid pulse examined my patience. "