Darker Than Sin (BoyxBoy) Book 2

Chapter 20

"Speaking of those two, can you tell me where they are? Or big scary, SEXY Ghost will have to bring out the SCALPEL!"

"I'm not WORKING for him, he's my SAVIOR! I have no idea why he would want you, you're too far gone!"

"OH, I WONDER WHY HE WANTS TO SEE ME? IT'S NOT LIKE HE WANTS TO KILL MY WHOLE FAMILY! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO SUCK HIM OFF SOMEWHERE ELSE AND KEEP ME OUT OF IT!"

"EW, NO! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN SAY THAT? I DON'T DO THAT TO HIM! SHUT YOUR DISGUSTING, FILTHY-"

Aren's words were cut off by my fist connecting with his jaw, knocking him out cold as he staggered back, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, and fell to the ground. His head smashed against the hard concrete, Malachi flinching in response as he watched the blood begin to gather around his head.

"Did... did you kill him?" He asked me with wide eyes, his voice quivering at the sight. I shrugged my shoulders, nudging Aren with my foot.

"I don't know. I got tired of hearing him. You're right by the way, kid. You're not too bad.'' I said to him. He looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "He's fucked in the head, the whole house is. I don't know what the big man does to get them whipped like this, but it's definitely not real."

"So then help me. Get me out of here if you believe me, you wouldn't have hit Aren if you cared! You don't have to kill people-"

"Alright, you lost your cool status." I said, cutting him off mid-sentence. Hearing that literally makes me want to rip off my skin and hang myself with it. Oh Ghost, you don't have to kill anyone! Just help me real quick and then I'll turn you in to the police!

"I said I AGREED with you, but the difference is I DON'T CARE. I don't care what happens to you or to your family." I started, taking hold of the baseball bat that sat against the wall next to us. His eyes widened at the sight, tears welling up in his eyes again. I threw the bat over my shoulder, bringing myself back to eye level with him.

"You're going to tell me everything I need to know. If you tell me, I'll let you go. If you don't, I'm gonna kill you."

"How can you do that? How are you so okay with taking the lives of people that don't deserve it? You told me you agree with me-"

"Yep! And that's where it ends. Don't try to find anything good In murderers kid, you're just gonna get disappointed!" I exclaimed. I placed a firm hand on his shoulder, Malachi flinching in response to the contact. He closed his eyes, almost like he wanted to imagine he wasn't there.

I noticed that a lot of people did that before I killed them. Their faces would soften after they closed them, almost like they were in a totally different place.

I liked ripping them out of that place. to bring them back to reality where the truth hurts and everybody is fucked up, including themselves.

"Now, if you're done fighting with me... Tell me where Gabriel is. It's not gonna be good for you if you don't."

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Current day

James's POV

"I got Julia to lay down finally. You'd think she'd be tired from the car ride home..." Papa mumbled, making his way down the flight of stairs. The three of us sat at the dining table in silence, anticipating the talk my papa wanted to have with us. He mentioned on the way home that there was something important he wanted to ask us, but it couldn't be in front of Julia.

He sat down next to my dad, wrapping a comforting arm around him before pulling him into an embrace. He hugged him back, his shaky sigh filling up the emptiness of the quiet room. He looked exhausted, to say the least. He had dark purple bags under his eyes and he was slumped over more than usual.

He hasn't talked to me a whole lot about my grandma's death, besides that she was murdered. He was blunt and told me how they did it, but couldn't bring himself to tell me why. I figured it had something to do with my grandpa, as it always traces back to him... but why do it in that way? Was he trying to tell us something? Do they even know why they killed her? It made me sick to my stomach.

"I wanted to ask you guys to do something. With Miranda's death, we have to be more cautious." Papa started, breaking me out of my train of thought. "We are going to start doing checks every night around the whole house. Lock the doors, lock the windows, and close the curtains. The lights are all going off."

"Gabriel, I called the jail yesterday. They said that Michael is in his cell rotting away. Maybe it's somebody else from the church-" My dad started.

"Luke, come on! You just said it yourself! And even if it isn't your father, SOMEBODY killed your mom. Why are you so against all of this? Why are you ignoring the truth?" He said, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"DO YOU THINK I WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT? DO YOU FUCKING THINK THAT I WANT TO RELIVE IT? THEY ALMOST KILLED YOU BECAUSE OF ME! IT WAS ALL BECAUSE I CHOSE TO LOVE YOU, AND NOW OUR KIDS ARE INVOLVED!" He snapped, ripping himself out of my papa's arms. Avery and I couldn't help but flinch at his words, jumping up from the table as they both started screaming at each other.

They didn't fight a lot. They didn't like fighting in front of me and Julia, plus they generally didn't have disagreements... besides when dad wants something and he doesn't get it. Even though, this argument was different. Their fights are usually them against the problem, but this one...

This one felt like dad against everyone else.

"THEY ARE FUCKING CRAZY! IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT, DUMBASS! IT'S GONNA BE YOUR FAULT IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"

Dad's face softened at his words, his angry eyes replaced with sad ones. Papa tried to reach out to him to apologize, but he was already on his way up the stairs. He didn't look back as he slammed the door to their bedroom and locked it behind him.

"I didn't mean that, I just need him to be more serious about this..." he mumbled, to us, bringing his hand to the back of his neck. "I didn't know he took the blame for all of that."

"I would leave him alone for now. I could talk to him later if you want, papa." I suggested. He nodded his head in response, crossing his arms across his chest before letting out a tired sigh.

"Starting tomorrow, we are going to start shooting practice. Michael apparently has help on his side, whoever it is. We will get a few more guns to keep with us around the house. I'll get your dad to go, he just needs time to mellow out."