Castle

Chapter 40

FORTY

No one moved as the reality of the situation sank in. The only sound heard were coming from the unknown wild animals of the night deep in the woods.

“Noooooooo...” Devin shrieked at the top of his lungs, “No. No. No...Daya...oh god...”

She lay on the floor, her eyes staring lifelessly ahead. Scarlet streaks painted the pink and yellow roses behind her. Truly a macabre scene.

Devin thumped the ground with his fists, wailing loudly, and pushing the gushing blood towards her as if putting it back into her body. He grabbed her body and rocked, “Daya...Dayana! Wake up!” He was bordering on hysteria.

He’d killed Dayana unknowingly.

Wait a minute...

Why was she wearing a complete replica of the maroon gown I was wearing?

It made sense now. Dayana probably entered the garden maze to stop Devin, and Devin knew what I was wearing. He’d mistaken her for me and shot her.

He didn’t know that it was his sister!

Devin leveled his eyes towards me. Now they held a maniac glint. “It’s all your fault she’s dead!”

I stood frozen on the spot, and then logic came to me as I realized I needed to get away from him before he killed me for real this time.

I scrambled in the opposite direction, going deeper into the maze

But his hand jutted out as he yanked me, and I crashed to the ground. A bolt of sharp pain shot through my arm. I was pretty sure I’d broken my arm by now. Ignoring the pain, I made my way out of there.

Devin reached for his gun again when Castle tackled him, sat on top of him and powerful fists came raining down on Devin. The two were wrestling against each other for dominance. Blood covered their faces as they continued to struggle.

“I will kill you!” Devin shrieked. His visceral need for vengeance made him a dozen times more lethal. It fueled his aggression. “If I’d just killed you that day, none of this would have happened! My baby sister would still be alive…” He let out a low moan as he continued to pound his fists into Castle.

“Let him go!” I jumped into their fight to pull him off Castle, but he swung his arm so hard, I fell to the side.

Devin’s hands came around Castle’s neck as he tried to choke him. His teeth gritted and his face contorted like a man who’d fallen off into the dark side. Castle gasped for breath. He was fighting for his life, trying to get Devin off of him.

He was going to kill Castle!

“Stop! Please…” I cried.

I looked around for something.

Anything would work against him.

“You destroyed my family!” Devin screamed, a loud wail of frustration.

I spotted a gardening spade left there at the corner by the gardeners. I saw Devin pull out a jackknife from his pocket and he was ready to plunge it into Castle.

I knew I wouldn’t make it in time. It’s something you realize at that crucial point of time that Castle’s death was apparent. I wasn’t fast enough.

I picked it up and made a run towards him when another gunshot reverberated, stopping me dead in my tracks.

Who’d done that?

I spun around to look.

In the darkness surrounding the maze, I saw a small form standing at a distance, tears streaming down his face and his hands shaking visibly.

Chandler was holding a gun.

A spot of blood began spreading on Devin’s shirt. He clenched it, staring at his youngest brother in bafflement. “What the fuck, Chandler?! How dare you!”

“You killed Dayana, and now you’re trying to kill Castle, who gives me two thousand dollars for a monthly allowance! You gave me a hundred. I can’t go back to that!” Chandler burst out.

“You little shit!” Devin swore, frustrated. “Put that gun down! Now!”

He raised the knife again to stab Castle when another bullet penetrated his body.

This time in his neck.

It was excruciating to watch a man die no matter how much you hated him.

Chandler had fallen back with the force of the gunfire, and that’s when Theo appeared out of the shadows, wearing pajamas. “What’s this ruckus all about?” He asked sleepily and then his eyes registered the horror in front of him. “Fuck!”

No one attempted to help Devin as he choked, spurting out blood.

We just stood there watching.

Castle pushed Devin off himself and walked to where I was standing. “Are you alright? I thought he shot you!” He said, his fingers threading through mine. He was glad I was okay. I touched his bloody face and tried to wipe the blood off it.

“Call 911.” He told Theo, reaching for Chandler and taking the gun out of his hand.

Chandler, having realized what had happened, asked, “Why isn’t he moving?”

Castle didn’t answer, and pulled Chandler in a hug, turning his face away from the scene. “You shot him to save my life. That’s what happened here.”

Chandler was deathly silent.

The way I saw it, this was poetic justice.

“Hello, this is Montgomery’s residence. We need help.”

The funeral took place in the family’s chapel near the cemetery.

Who would have thought this would happen? There were two white coffins lowered into the ground which were supposed to be for me and Castle. Chandler hadn’t cried one drop. He looked like a broken doll.

Castle had injuries on his face, and people who we didn’t even know were in the house paying their respects and discussing the horrific events. They looked sorry for the brother who was going to be killed by a money-hungry half-brother.

Chandler had opted out of the funeral all together. He wanted to be cooped up in his bedroom, reading comics, and Castle hadn’t pushed him to attend. He’d told me to let him be. I’d seen the sadness seeping in the child’s eyes and I knew he needed time to grasp everything. Devin had given him shooting training since he was ten for in cases of emergencies to defend himself. The irony of that was kind of sick.

Grandpa Hugh was also downstairs. Winston stayed close to the old man, but Hugh didn’t seem to care about what was going on. He was going on and on about something. Theo and his girlfriend Ivy were huddled in a corner and I’d seen him hug her close, intimately close, as she consoled him. No matter how evil Devin was, he was still his brother.

“Are sure you don’t want anyone to stay here with you?” I asked when I went to Chandler’s room to check on him.

He had the haunted look; the child had killed his own brother. He was trying really hard to act tough.

Chandler sniffled. “Millie, am I going to prison?”

I closed the door behind me and came to his bed, where I wrapped him in a hug. “No, of course not. It wasn’t your fault, Chandler. Devin would have killed us. You saved our lives.”

His large emerald eyes stared up at me, and the similarity with his brother was disturbing. He would grow up to look like Devin, but we would make sure he was a better man, one who didn’t live with greed but spread love.

“You promise?” He asked with his pinky out.

I nodded, “I promise.”

“Is Castle sending me to boarding school? Devin told me he was going to.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t let him.”

He raised his pinky again. “You have to double pinky promise me.”

I tangled my pinky with his again. “Double pinky promise.”

He hugged me again suddenly, and then a loud wail filled the silence. I held him to me until he had no tears left. He needed someone to give him a bit of maternal love and attention, and I could become that someone.

I went to look for Castle later but couldn’t find him inside the house. Then someone told me they’d seen him walk outside.

Finally, I spotted him. He was sitting by the lake all alone, staring at the serene water ahead. He had taken off his blazer jacket, and sat wearing a dark shirt and slacks, a few buttons open at the collar and tousled hair. Even with the injuries on his face, it gave him a rugged look. It would have been inappropriate, but I had the sudden desire to kiss him.

I sat down beside him and we stared at the lake wordlessly.

He offered me a flask. “Want a sip?”

I smiled, taking it from him. I took a gulp, and the alcohol burned my throat. I handed it back to him.

“I should have tried harder to help him,” Castle told me.

I placed my hand over his. “He was beyond help. You can’t feel guilty about this.”

He nodded, taking another sip. “How’s Chandler holding up?”

“He cried.”

“That’s good. He shouldn’t bottle up his feelings. He likes to act tough.”

“He was worried you’d send him to boarding school, said that Devin used to tell him about it all the time.”

“Well, you should have told him he won’t be attending a boarding school. He’ll be going to a military school instead.”

I stared at him in horror. He looked back at me and we burst out laughing. After he recovered, he said, “Devin liked to threaten him with things like that to keep him in line, and I don’t think that’s a very effective method of disciplining a child. Things are going to be different from now on because I’ll be in charge.”

“I know he was your brother, but I’m not sorry about what happened. You almost died!”

He didn’t answer, and we sat in companionable silence.

“She came to me that evening.”

I looked at him in question.

“Dayana.” He said, “She told me Devin wouldn’t make a move unless I give my word that there would be a truce. And you know what? I told her yes. I told Dayana that I didn’t want violence and I was ready to let it all go if they moved out of the family house to another one. We co-exist no matter what, so I gave her an ultimatum, and she agreed.”

“Then what happened?”

“Instinct, I guess. I knew Devin was hell-bent on killing me.” He closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was trying to find the courage to speak. “I knew what Dayana was wearing. I gave you that night-gown on purpose.” He turned his gaze on me. “I got my sister killed. Isn’t that fucked up?”

I closed my hand around his. “You did what you had to do.”

He picked up our linked hands and kissed my knuckles, tears streaked his face. “I promise you, Millie. I won’t fail you again. I will love you like you deserve to be.”

I inched closer to him and put my head on his shoulder. “I’m glad it’s over.”

“Yeah, me too. This is going to be a new beginning.” He smiled warmly, “You’ve tolerated a lot of shit on behalf of my fucked-up family and I’m going to make up to you for the rest of my life.” He sneaked a glance around to make sure no one was looking and then brought his lips down on mine.

It’s as if he could read my mind.