Darkness Falls (The Darkness Duet #2)

Chapter 43

Avery

K yler and I wait at the edge of the woods, next to the car, watching the flames deep within the trees. As soon as the bombs went off, he pulled out some sort of drone connected to an app on his phone with video footage to check the scene. From what I saw on the screen, everything is decimated.

It all seems to be contained in the area behind the walls of the compound. Someone looking at it from where we stand would have no idea that it’s anything besides a wildfire. I'm sure the authorities will be here to investigate the smoke soon.

He didn't have the drone out for long because it couldn’t fly directly over the compound due to the heat. The camera angle and zoom on it were enough for us to confirm there was no movement and nobody got out alive. Kyler did three full circles around the area as further confirmation.

I should feel bad for the people that died, but I don't. If they were part of Rogue, they deserved it. If anything, they got off easy with the quick death, and I hate that I even have thoughts like this because I'm not usually a violent person.

When we get back, I have to plan my parents' funeral. They wanted their ashes spread around the country, and I’ll have to honor their wishes. Anger threatens to overtake me, but now’s not the time.

The smoke billows through the trees, and I grow more and more anxious the longer we’re here alone. Kyler assured me that Callie, Seb, and Barrett were far enough away from the bombs that they weren't affected by the blast and that they should be here any second. I can't help but pace, similar to how Kyler was earlier.

I have to tell her everything as soon as I can. How the hell am I supposed to do this? A small figure appears in the tree line before becoming more clear.

"Cals?" I choke out, and we both run to embrace one another in the biggest hug.

She wraps her arms around me, squeezing tightly. "I'm so sorry I got you into this mess, Avery."

When she pulls back to look at me, I notice tears running down her face. I reach up to wipe them away, smiling at her reassuringly. She doesn't need to worry about what I went through. She’s been through her own shit. Mine is for me to process. Eventually, I’ll lean on her when I’m ready, but for now, I don’t want to talk about that. There are more important things for us to discuss.

"We need to talk," I say. I have to tell her the truth about her parents, about me, about everything.

"Okay, but not here. We need to get somewhere safe." Callie looks over her shoulder just as Seb and Barrett emerge from the tree line, carrying an unconscious Damien with them .

“What the fuck?” I gasp

The guys drop Damien on the ground near the back of the car and quickly tie his arms and legs together before placing tape over his mouth and lifting him into the trunk. The next thing I know, I’m ushered into the car and forced to wait a little longer to talk to Callie. Part of me wants to just drop it on her right now, but I feel like this needs to be a moment for just the two of us.

I glance at her. "We need to get back to Braxton Falls and check on Reese. She might be in trouble. I told Kyler already, but if we could make it a priority, that would be ideal. I’m worried," I suggest, realizing she doesn’t know who I’m talking about.

"Who is Reese?" Callie asks, clearly confused.

"Umm, that’s complicated. We just need to check on her. What if he hurt her?" I can't help the panic in my voice. I'm not sure why I care about this girl as much as I do. She was a random hookup, but there's something about her that I can't help but be drawn to.

"We have a bit of a drive, but we can stop there before we check on Natasha if that's okay. Just point me in the direction when we get close," Seb says from the front seat.

"Yeah, sure."

“No, wait. We have another stop to make before we go back to Braxton Falls,” Callie says. “We need to go to Mary Mayweather’s house. Take the next left. ”

I lose myself in thoughts of my parents and the fact that I was chained to the floor, letting myself spiral for a good portion of the ride. Part of me wants to be back in Reese's arms, which makes no sense at all. She comforted me and made me feel safe in a way that very few people have after just meeting them.

A hand touches my shoulder, bringing me back to the moment. "Hey, seriously, are you okay?" Callie asks with a furrowed brow.

"I don't know," I admit. "Pull over."

Seb pulls off to the side of the road; a moment later, I push the door open. I can't breathe. We are smack dab in the middle of the backwoods of Tennessee, and I'm bent over with my hands on my knees on the side of the road. I must look like a crazy person.

Callie gets out of the car, leaving her men inside, and walks over to rub my back in an attempt to calm me down. This is completely ridiculous. I just need to tell her and stop worrying about how she’s going to react. She's my best friend, but I'm so worried she's going to hate me for never introducing her to my parents.

"What's going on?" she asks, and I know this is the moment I have to lay everything out there.

"I need to talk to you, Cals," I say, and she nods at me but gestures back to the car. "Seriously, we really need to talk."

"Okay. Do you want to talk here or go somewhere? Tell me what you need." She tries to calm me down .

"CALLIE! You're not listening." I yell. "Would you stop! I just need to get this out."

"Okay, yeah. I'm sorry. What's going on?"

"My parents are dead," I say and watch as concern fills her face. My stomach drops as I try to process what I'm about to tell her. "I don't really know how to tell you this because I'm angry at Damien for taking them from us, from you. You should have been able to meet them. I feel so fucking guilty." Tears pour down my face, and I can't control my body as it begins to shake. "If I was nicer to him, he wouldn't have taken it out on them. You could have gotten to know them. I'm so sorry."

She grips my shoulders and peers at me. "Avery, it's okay. None of this is your fault. This was all Damien, and he will pay. I will personally make sure he does."

"You don't understand." I sob.

"No, Aves, I don't understand."

I take a step back. I need to create some space between us. "My parents. Their real names were Elizabeth and Martin Stone. I swear I didn't know. They didn't tell me anything about their connection to Rogue until I met with Reese after Damien killed them. She's a lawyer, and our parents helped her mom escape Rogue. I guess she felt indebted to them and promised to relay everything to me if anything ever happened to them."

"I'm sorry. You're going to have to say that again. Did you just say your parent's real names were Elizabeth and Martin? That's..." she trails off. Her eyes are wide, and her mouth hangs open, full of shock and disbelief.

"We're sisters, Callie."

Her hand comes up to cover her mouth before she looks back at me with tear-filled eyes. "Sisters?"

"When my parents, I mean our parents, died, they left a letter behind. It explained everything from how they went into hiding from a secret society named Rogue because the leader burned their house down and killed their first child, my sister, you. They didn't know I already knew about Rogue and what you told me."

"They thought I died?"

"Yes. They thought you were caught in the house fire. When Rogue assumed they were dead, they just let the world believe it so they could start over. They changed their names to Sage and Stanley Pierce and never looked back. When Mom got pregnant with me, she put a few things into a box. Apparently, it has proof about who I am and my connection to Rogue if I ever wanted to find the place."

"What sort of proof?" she asks, still trying to process this. She's taking it much better than I thought she would.

"I don't know. I didn't get a chance to look inside. Damien grabbed me when I got home from sneaking out of Reese's house after sleeping with her. It was…”

"Wait? You what?"

"That's not the point. We're sisters, and our parents are dead. You could have met them, and I'm sorry I didn't make it happen. Maybe if they had seen you, they would have known who you were, and everything could have been different." Tears blur my vision, but Callie shakes my hands.

"Avery, we're sisters?" Callie questions once again. "Full-blooded sisters?"

"Yes," I say with trepidation.

She wraps her arms around me again, squeezing so tightly I'm afraid she might break something. "I knew you were different from that first day you found me crying in that alley."

"We always joked that in a past life, we were related. I guess it's not a past life."

She pulls back and looks at me, her face twisting with a mixture of joy and pain. "How did they die?"

I go over exactly what Damien told me, how he cut brake lines in the car and then stabbed our father. She winces when I tell her Damien followed them through every single stop sign and waited for our mother to crash the car. I watch her face intently as I go through the details, and she stays silent, listening and soaking up every word.

My father had to be in so much pain and so scared. I'm thankful they died on impact in the car, but it doesn’t make this any easier. Damien would have tortured them if they lived. I think about how they were likely holding hands, and I can’t stop crying. They always held hands. My mom was probably telling him that everything was going to be okay, and my dad was likely more worried about her.

"I want to tell you about them, but it hurts too much right now," I admit.

"That's okay. I don't blame you, and I'm not upset with you. I've lived my whole life without knowing them, so I can't grieve something I never had. I'm more concerned about you and whether or not you're okay. You lost two of the most important people to you. Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here to listen as your best friend and sister."

I push her away in a joking manner and smile. "That is seriously so weird."

"It makes sense, though."

"Does it? We’re so different. You refuse to date women, and you don't have nearly enough color in your wardrobe." I smile at her.

"Excuse me, I've got three men. I think I'm covered." She laughs and grabs my hand.

"Wait, all three now?" My eyes go wide. "Did you bang the grumpy one too?"

We both burst into laughter at the same time and hug each other again. I push her back and nod to the car. "Okay, let's see what your boyfriends have to say about this. Kyler knows already. I couldn't resist telling him."

"They're going to be just as excited as I am. You were already family, Avery. The only thing that's changed is the fact that we share the same blood."

I take a deep breath, relieved that things went the way that they did, and slide back into the car. My word vomit gets the best of me before I can stop myself. "Callie is my actual sister. My real parents were her bio parents. They thought she died in the fire that Rogue thought they died in. Spoiler, they lived, changed their names, and had me, but Damien killed them before he kidnapped me. Okay, we’re all caught up now."

I look over at Callie to see her close her eyes and shake her head. Barrett whips around from the passenger seat and wrinkles his nose at us. It's like my words are slowly seeping into his brain, and he hasn't fully figured out what to say yet. Sebastian sighs and turns to look at us. He looks back and forth between the two of us before his eyes settle on me.

"If I'm going to be expected to make sure you don't end up in someone's basement again, you're going to have to learn to have better situational awareness." Barrett sighs.

"Hey, asshole. I'm aware of things."

Seb looks over at Callie. "Does she even know how to use a gun?"

"I'm sitting right here! Yes, I know how to use a gun. Do you want me to prove it to your grumpy ass?"

"Knock it off, all of you," Kyler says, grinning.

Callie looks over at me and squeezes my hand. “We’re going to get through this together.”

I smile at her, feeling the first bit of hope I’ve felt since finding out my parents were dead.