The Last One

One: Blocked

                “I didn’t know you were there, sorry.” He slid past him, eyes cast downwards in misery as he avoided his gaze.

                “I hope so,” Sam stalked him to the car; footsteps echoed his in sync as if it was a dance. “Dude, what’s wrong? Is it-”

                He turned abruptly and held up a hand to cut him off, although he felt more tempted to punch him squarely in the jaw, like he’s done in the past when he said something wrong. “Do. Not. Bring. That. Up.” A growl escaped his lips; the shock that it was actually him overwhelmed him, killing whatever part of him that was left thriving.

                “I’m sorry,” Blue eyes shone with the guilt of what he’d just done, of the words that almost escaped his lips to float in the stiff air around them, the silence piercing.

                “I know.” Without another word he turned on his heels sharply heading to his car. Ethan opened the door and slammed it closed; putting the key in the engine he drove away, not turning back once.

---

                Adrianna ran her fingers across the picture of a distant memory, the small boys face shining with joy as he stared at the camera that looked at him. His hair was the same shade as her dark brown hair that fell in curls to her mid-breast, the same delicacy of a piece of glass. Warm chocolate brown dyed his irises the shade of sweets, a hot liquid that swirled inside of his eyes, traces of golden caramel blended in.

                She looked at the other faces around her, tears streamed down their cheeks for the children that never had a chance. Pictures lined up above the graves of the young, small toys and trinkets being placed beneath them. Everyone says that losing a child was like losing a part of yourself, ripping it away from your warm blooded body and letting it bleed on the cold hard ground as their child’s heart stopped. Now, after ten long years later, she knew what they meant.

                Anger bubbled up inside of her as she looked at the people surrounding her once again; their faces became dryer each 365 days, each hour they slowly forget them, there existent fading away. How could they forget the memories she couldn’t? How could they forget the many personalities of their own offspring? Did they not care anymore?

                She shook her head, tears brimming her eyes as she stared down at her dead brother’s grave. He was four, four and not a day older because he was killed on his birthday. The pain ripped inside of her once again, shredding the only pieces of hope she ever had left. Although she lived, she felt dead, felt as if she should’ve been dead. That boy shouldn’t have saved her.

                “You okay,” A voice pulled her from her thoughts, strong and deep she turned to see the speaker and caught her breath when she did.

                Their faces matched each other’s, expressions just as dumbfounded as the one across from them. Light colored eyes stared in awe at the fact they finally found each other, the only person who would actually understand.

                “Adrianna,” Ethan whispered gently, a wave of relief flooded over him. He found her, he finally found her.

                “Ethan, right,” With a nod he step towards he cautiously, as if the ground would crack under him, sending him to the lower depths of hell. Her green eyes sparkled in the sun, pale features perfectly defined by the loose ringlet curls that encased her face. A small build held up her head, tiny shoulders, and little waist, everything in perfect proportion.  A black tight dress hugged the hourglass figure she claimed for herself, it was almost selfish that she kept them to herself while the rest of the world had to stare in jealousy at her beauty.

                “Long time no see, huh?” He leaned causally against a nearby tree, flashing a charmed smile that made her insides melt. Shaggy blonde hair fell down to just above the same hazel eyes she say so many years ago. Tan skin stood out against the black suit he worse, a perfect contrast of the colors. You could still see his flawlessly sculpted abs hidden beneath his white shirt. “How old are you now, sixteen or seventeen?”

                “Seventeen and you’re nineteen correct?” The words flooded out of her mouth as if she has had known him forever, best friends since a young age.

                “Yep,” His smile never faltered as he talked, his lips set as stone as he showed off his pearly white teeth.

                There was a silence for a minute, only soft muttering of voices filling their ears as they stared at each other. Never once did they look away, the eyes locked on each other’s as if their lives depended on it. And on some level it did, some level neither of them was aware of.

                “It was your father wasn’t it,” She whispered softly, the question only meant for her head but came out of her mouth instead.

                “Who killed all of them? Yeah, it was.” The dryness in his tone almost made her want to get a drink of water as if it was contagious. “He wouldn’t have killed you. He would’ve stopped, I knew that too, but he would’ve kept killing…would’ve murdered more siblings and destroyed family if I didn’t kill him…”

                “No one blames you; everyone thinks you’re a hero.” His façade changed quickly from prodigious joy to a grave expression as if something inside of him had been slaughtered. When he heard her a small smile appeared on his features, a horrid replica of the first one that was plastered on there just seconds earlier.

                The electronic beep from her phone made her glance dawn at her purse; she stuck her hand in and checked the message carefully. Green eyes held a terrified gleam in them; a scared appearance was being painted over her epidermis.

Wanna play a game? She re-read the text over and over again and soon responded to the blocked number.

No.

Well I do. Her heart pounded harder in her chest than the day she ran from the man who just tried to kill her. She didn’t want to play; she didn’t like games, not these types of games anyway. It’s called hide and seek. You hide, I kill.