KILLER. 🩸

40

"Packing." He answered abruptly, not bothering to meet my gaze at all.

"Why are you packing?"

"Because I'm going home." Again, another short and snappy answer.

"Aries, can you stop for a second? You don't need to do that. Talk to me." He didn't look up from his suitcase, he just carried on moving clothes from his drawers and closet into the case, pretending I didn't exist.

"Aries, stop." I clamped my hand around his forearm, veins had risen to the surface like he had spent a great deal of time clenching his fists.

He paused his movements and finally met my eye contact. He was holding back tears, they had clogged in his eyes making them all watery but he wouldn't dare let them fall. He screwed his lips up in anger and breathed rage through his nostrils.

"Do you know what I did?" He asked with a brutal tone. My only response was to nod and swipe away my own tear. "How can I possibly stay?"

"Aries, I know what you did and I understand why you did it. I'm not mad at you, it's what he wanted. You understand that don't you?"

He chewed on his lips to prevent any sounds from coming out because he knew as well as I did, his voice would crack and emotion would pour out.

"Aries, please stay. Your family needs you."

"My family." He laughed sinisterly. "I'm supposed to go look my family in the eye after what I did?"

"Aries—"

"I'm supposed walk beside his casket and sit there listening to eulogies about his life when I was the one who took it?"

"Yes Aries he—"

"Why did I do that? Why did he ask me to do that? Why? Why?!"

"Because he trusted you. He loved you. He knew you cared for him so much you would've done that for him in a heartbeat because that's what he wanted. You set him free from this Earth, from that mind disease, you did a good thing for him."

"No Scarlet." His voice finally broke. "I killed him." His voice wasn't the only thing that broke, he did. Those concrete walls he encloses around himself crumbled and came tumbling down by the tidal wave of his tears.

Instantly I scooped him into my arms, cradling his head against my chest as he sobbed vehemently.

It was like it had never ever happened before and now that the seal had been broken and his humanity had slithered out he couldn't stop it. The crying was endless, the sadness immeasurable.

"He's not here anymore, because of me. I need leave, I need to go back home and just get out of here."

"Aries, he was never really here anyway. Not the man you knew at least. He was often confused and lost. Unable to feed himself. Unable to use the toilet himself. His dignity slowly slipping away. He hated that, he hated feeling vulnerable. He wanted to die while he still remembered you, he still remember Lindsay and Noona. Right now you're grieving, you just lost your father. Please stay, grieve with your family."

...

The church bells rung out slow and steady and the congregation emptied out, paying their respects to the family. Aries didn't linger for their sorrows, he pulled me away from the crowd and set his gaze on me.

"My bag is packed and in the car."

"You're leaving?"

"I stay until after the funeral."

"The funeral has literally just finished Aries."

"Hence why I'm going." I rolled my eyes. "I have business to attend to and a whole load of anger to release."

"You're going after Lèon?" I sighed, my whole body weighed down by negative emotions. "How long will you be gone?"

"You still want me to come back?" My brow furrowed, of course I did. "But I promised you—"

"Aries, Miguel was an exception. That wasn't malicious. It wasn't murder. You simply just said goodbye a little sooner than anyone anticipated. So yes, I want you to come back. I want us to be together, start a life, together."

He stepped closer to me and swept a loose hair behind my ear. "Scarlet, I really do love you, you know?"

Surprise registered on my face at his words. I never expected to hear them from him,
even if he felt them.

"It's okay, you don't have to say it or feel it back but if loosing Miguel has taught me one thing, it's that life is too short and I shouldn't hold back on telling the ones I love how I feel."

"Aries, I love you."

He drew my face closer and softly pressed his lips against my own. I could taste the salt from his tears and I'm sure he could taste the same on mine. My hand snaked around his body tightly, anything to keep him anchored to me for that little bit longer because who knows how long we'll be apart. It was a goodbye kiss, emotional and devastating, both desperately trying to provide whatever comfort we can for one another.

Our kiss ended with our foreheads touching, neither one of us wanting it to be a true goodbye.

"I will get it done as quick as I can." He murmured softly.

I took a deep breath, knowing this was it.

"Goodbye Aries."

"Goodbye Scarlet."

And just like that I watched him get into the Vauxhall and drive away, never daring to move my eyes from the road even after he had completely vanished from my sight.