Storytime

Chapter 14~ Entanglement

Illeya POV:
Stars. The most wonderful things. So bright. So hopeful. So... Optimistic. They lighten the sky and make it a spectacle I am proud to look upon.
I take a deep breath in as his fingers brush through the strands of hair draped over my shoulders. He laughs a little and for a moment, it's almost as if he loves me.
But I sob as I hear the sound of my bones snapping and me being drawn away from the beauty drawn in the sky.

When my eyes open, I feel grass against my cheeks. My whole body aches as I twist my head to look up. I end up lying on my back, facing the man who almost killed me. And the face I see explains everything. The face I see does my dad a favour. The face I see relates back to everything I knew in the other world.
"That whole story, with Ryan, it wasn't true, was it?"
"Oh it was true. It was very true. Well, I adapted a few parts to make it so you felt sorry for me but it was true."
"Why did I ever trust you?"
"Because I was all you had. And you knew that, didn't you?"
"I just... I thought someone finally cared. I thought I could finally have the uncle is always dreamt you to be. But no. Everything I wish for is too good to be true."
"I think there may be one good thing to come out of this."
"And what the hell would that be?"
"You get to meet your brother."

Josie POV:
As I expected, I see what I am afraid of. The space around me is empty. The chair beside my bed has no occupant. There is no sound. There is no love. All of it tells me she is either dead, injured of gone. I know which one is prefer.
The doctors swarm around me but I don't listen to a word they say. I just cry. They ask me if I'm in pain, if I need anything. I say yes, I am in pain. I say yeah, I do need something. Someone. They ask me what pain it is. All I can say is words are not enough to describe it and I couldn't explain it if I tried. They ask me if there's anyone I would like to call. I say yes, but they won't answer. They can't answer. I tell them to prepare the bed beside me as I know it will soon enough have an occupant. The pain in my chest is indication enough that she is in a lot of pain. And not just emotionally this time.

They query everything I say. They think I'm delusional. After all, I've been in a coma for weeks. They don't tell me how long it's been. They already think I'm crazy and they think it would send me over the edge. No matter how hard I try, I can't convince them that I'm okay, that my mental state is completely fine. It's just the overwhelming sorrow I have for her that lives inside of me.

More psych assessments. They never give up. They ask me all these stupid questions. But the one I always stumble on is the very last one. A simple one that I should be able to answer in a heartbeat. But how can I, when the one that I love is out there, in more pain than I could ever be, suffering at the hand of a guy she barely knows? Or maybe trusts more than anyone. I don't like to imagine who might be torturing her. I don't like to imagine him as the person she trusts the most, or the least. I don't like to imagine him at all. But I can't help envisaging him. Him, who I've never met not heard anything about but know means a lot to her. Him, who is the only one there for her in this world but the smile he wears couldn't be more fake. Him, who fakes his love for her for his own pleasure. Him, who could be killing her right now and doing her dad a favour. Him.

Illeya POV:
He emerges from the corner, that sinister smirk he always wears on his face once again. On the inside, I recoil, driven to back as far away from him as possible. On the outside, I am frozen. Frozen by fear. Frozen by anger. Frozen by the screams building up in my throat. Frozen by the tears piling up in my eyes. Frozen by shock. Stunned into silence, into paralysis. Because it can't be him. It can't be. After all the things he has done to me. After all the things he's done to her.
Oh god please not him.
All my worst nightmares stand before me in the form of a teenage boy, wearing a grey tinged blue shirt and jeans, along with a grey hoodie with white tassels.
He's just a boy.
He's that boy.
Seeing him, I lose myself all over again. If this is who Ryan truly is, then I wish I'd never found out. If this is what my Uncle has hidden from me in both worlds, then I don't want to exist anymore. Not with him. Not with them. This world has become worse than I ever imagined it could be. Not just because I'm in pain. Not just because I love the one person I can't. Not just because I have nothing. Not just because my family wants me dead. But because I can't escape from here. Because I can't escape from the place that's meant to make me understand something. Something I can't figure out. If I'm meant to understand it, how can I if I can't even figure it out? How? It's a question my mind cannot answer, as much as I wish it could. And I am tired of trying to always figure it out. I am tired of trying to understand. It's over. I'm over. And Ryan? Get the hell out of my life.

"Meet Ryan."
"Ben..."