The Step Brother

Chapter Three: Nightmare Come to Life

She laid there, as still and stiff as the long since dead, frozen in chilling fear, waiting.  Waiting for him to decide what he wanted.  He was in control, he was always in control.

Hundreds of possibilities of what lay ahead slashed through her mind, all ending in terror and destruction.  Fear, the unwelcome demon, wrapped it clammy hands around her throat, choking her of her sense and heightening the feelings of helplessness and distress she'd carried around since that fateful night.

He stood there, as silent and tranquil as death, peering down at her with eyes that seemed endless.  They held heavy promise and a dark possibility that dug a never ending void inside of her soul.  In those eyes she found a determination and such strong emotion that the fire of hope inside of her went out like the flame of a candle in a fierce storm.  He would get what he wanted, just as he always did.  That had always been a trait of his that she had admired, his determination and refusal to back down until he got what he wanted, but now living with the consequences that it brought, she could only feel revulsion and shame.

She prayed he couldn't see her eyes in the darkness, as she could see his.  She didn't know what he would do if he found her awake and defenseless, laying there for the taking.  Still she couldn't close them, she would never leave herself vulnerable to him again.

He turned unexpectedly, and like a ray of light breaking through the darkness, she thought he was leaving and taking his dark possibilities with him.  Only instead of venturing out of the darkened room, he sat on the edge of her bed, closer than she ever wanted him to be.  He was breathing heavily suddenly, his breaths coming out strained and forced, sounding like whispered words in the otherwise silent night.  Her heart was hammering inside of her chest, painful and quick; she knew it would be tearing its way out of her chest at any moment. 

She could feel the warmth of his body, through all the layers of material that sat between them, scorching her skin, and reminding her of the frigid inferno that had let loose inside of her that night so long ago.  Having him so close, having him in her bed, so warm and alive, was a twisted reminder of the never changing past.  His sensual lips slid open then, his ragged breathing transforming into a voice that was both silky and rough at the same time, both tempting and revolting, familiar and foreign.  She had forgotten how much she had missed his voice as it sliced through the silence she had so hated as a child, forgotten what it felt like to get comfort from a few murmured words in the dark.  His voice made her ache, with both a longing for the past and for her memory of her sweet Nick, and filled her with a disgusting, putrid fear that was always bubbling just under the surface, never leaving, never giving her peace.

At first she could not understand the words that were flowing out of his mouth, could not hear them over the pounding of her own heart.  His voice, his beautiful voice, was so soft in this moment, gentle almost, but she knew what lay beyond all the pretty words and soothing whispers.  She fought to understand him and his words, fought so hard against her own screaming heart, because she had to know, had to know what the monster in disguise had planned for her next.

"Eliana," he was whispering into the empty air above them both.  It was her name upon his lips, falling from them in a seemingly endless repeat.  The way he said her name sent chills down her spine.  He called out for her in the dark with a such a desperate longing, such disbelief and greed.

"Eliana, Eliana, Eliana," he continued to whisper, each time her name passed his lips, his voice became darker, stronger, more deranged.  With each passing moment she felt the precariousness of the situation, felt the insane desire falling off his golden tongue as he repeated her name over and over, testing it out, calling out to her and for her, remembering the way each vowel rolled off of his tongue as he had spoken her name in the past.