6. Fatal Leap
6
Fatal Leap
A lexa froze, mind and body. But she recovered soon enough as every instinct in her protested against the feel on Brandon’s lips on hers. She pushed him off her with all her might and he stumbled back.
“What the heck?” Alexa fixed him with a fierce glance that wavered with disbelief and shock.
Brandon stared back, unfazed by her rejection, his chest heaving. His eyes dropped to her lips and then back to her eyes. The light in them scared her, every instinct telling her to run. But Alexa held her ground.
“It’s what I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
“What?” Her voice was a mixture of shock and reproach.
“I’ve desired you for a long time, Alexa.”
That caught her off guard.
She couldn’t comprehend the situation. He was Cassie’s boyfriend, and she had always believed he loved her. The line between him and Alexa had always been clear—he was family, and Alexa saw him as nothing more than a brother.
She shook her head in disbelief. “I think you’re drunk. You should lie down for a bit—”
“I’m not drunk, Alexa. You know I don’t drink—Christian principles and all.” He rolled his eyes.
“Oh, Christian principles?” Alexa barely withheld the urge to scoff. “So cheating on your girlfriend doesn’t fall into that category?”
“It’s not like I’ve always been cheating on her.”
“Do you even know how Christian principles work? You don’t have to commit the act to be held accountable for the sin; the desire of your heart alone will do it. So yes, Brandon, you are and you have been cheating on my sister!” Her eyes flared at him, and her blood began to boil. “How dare you! I thought you loved her; we all did!”
“Calm down. I’m going to break things off with her when she returns.”
Before Alexa could even think about it, her temper rose and she slapped him across the face. Brandon’s head whipped to the side by the force of her strike and satisfaction washed over her.
“I think I deserved that,” Brandon muttered, holding his cheek and refusing to show his pain.
“Yes you did, and that’s for my sister,” Alexa spat. “And for your information, if there’s a tiny little part of you wondering if I’ve ever felt something toward you more than platonic and brotherly love, I’d like to enlighten you that you’ve been wrong. And right now, all I feel is disgust. How could you do this to her? My sister loved you! Why did you have to toy with her feelings when you realized your desires for her were no longer there? Even now, just some moments ago, when you bid her goodbye! Why couldn’t you have broken things off with her earlier and save her from this heartbreak?”
“You wanna know why?” Brandon’s voice rose and matched Alexa’s as they glared at each other. “I wanted to be close to you . I couldn’t break things off with Cassie yet because I was in love with you and I wanted to keep close to you. It was the only way. I knew you would hate me to the core and wouldn’t want anything to do with me if I had dumped Cassie!”
“And what makes you think I want to do anything with you now?”
“Because if you won’t, some of your sister’s pictures will roam around social media.” A dangerous glint entered his eyes.
Alexa recoiled. When she spoke, her voice shook, even as she tried to put on a brave mask. “What are you talking about?”
Brandon smirked. “I have her nudes.”
Shock paralyzed her. Brandon’s amusement only grew.
“If you don’t do as I say, your precious older sister, the famous fantasy author that she is, is going to be in big bad trouble,” he sang.
No, this couldn’t be true. She couldn’t believe him. Her sister wasn’t a fool; her dear Cassie… Cassie who taught her the importance of purity and modesty in dressing… No, her sister would never do such a thing. And like always, no one, repeat, no one knew her sister like Alexa did.
“You’re lying,” she nearly growled. “My sister isn’t a fool to climb into your bed or send you her pictures. Nice try, Brandon.”
Brandon laughed. “Oh, Lexi. Who said she climbed into my bed or that she sent me something? Do you know I’ve been to her bathroom a handful of times? I have a spying friend there.” He fished out his phone from the pocket, tapped and scrolled through it, before asking, “Wanna see?”
If it wasn’t for how she had been brought up, Alexa would’ve called Brandon a hundred names by now. Rage poured out of her, and she hated him more than she hated Jude. In comparison, her hate toward Jude was so small to the actual deceitful snake in front of her.
She swung her hand in the air to strike him again, but he caught her wrist and pulled her against his chest. His eyes darkened with lust again; and once again, in comparison, the lust she’d seen in Jude’s eyes was so small to this.
Alexa raised her other hand to hit him, but he pocketed the phone and caught it as well.
He pressed her back to the counter, locking her body with his in a way she couldn’t move even her legs. Her efforts to knee him in the groin were futile, and when she tried to slam her head to his, he leaned away.
“Now, now, pretty doll, listen carefully. You have time until Cassie returns, to make your choice. I don’t expect you to date me, but I do expect something from you. When your time is up and you haven’t given it to me, what bad luck it’ll be for your sister. But if you agree to my wants, I swear to delete the pictures. The condition is never to tell a soul about this; if I learn you’ve told this to anyone, whether or not you agree to my wants, I’ll release the pictures. As long as this is between the two of us, everyone is safe.”
He finished with a wicked grin, and Alexa felt like gagging. “You’re a world-class jerk.”
“Thanks to you, Alexa, because this is all for you.” He began to lean closer. “Now, tell me. I know you love your sister so much that you would do anything for her, especially to save her reputation. Do we have a deal?”
“What do you want with me?”
Brandon tilted his head, looking at her as if she were an idiot. “What does a boy want to do with a girl?”
Alexa’s eyes widened in horror and her stomach churned. “For heaven’s sake, you’re a Christian!”
“I care so little about that title; Cassie knows, I thought you did too.”
Of course, she did, but she hadn’t expected this from him. There were people out there who weren’t Christians but lived decent lives. Alexa couldn’t bring herself to live a sinful life, even though she didn’t want to be considered a Christian anymore. But this … Brandon…
This was so out of hand.
And why did this have to happen in her already broken life?
She felt so helpless. Her sister’s life was at stake; she couldn’t take any risk. She couldn’t tell Cassie, she couldn’t tell Daphne, she could definitely not call the police.
She was on her own.
The only option there was, to give Brandon what he wanted. But Alexa would kill herself before she did that. She didn’t trust him, not anymore; who knew he even would keep his word after she did as he said? What if he continued to take advantage of her with this?
“Why the long face, pretty doll?” Brandon’s crooning voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped and tried to push him off her. “Back off!”
Brandon persisted, and his hold on her became more insistent. His face neared hers, and Alexa protested louder with words and stronger with her actions. But she was no match for his strength.
“Just tell me—”
Suddenly, with a yelp of surprise, Brandon was ripped off her. Alexa’s breath hitched as she watched him fly backward by an unseen but violent force. He landed across the kitchen with a thud and held his side, grunting in pain.
Alexa looked around the kitchen with horror-struck eyes. There was nothing or no one else but the two of them. Unless…
Unless the third person was invisible.
Her heart raced. The Lightning Knight.
Whom else could it be, jumping in for her defense, again?
Unspeakable relief washed over her, his presence feeling like gravity in the storm. Alexa’s eyes darted all over the room brimming with gratitude; wherever he was standing, he should know how grateful she was.
It felt so surreal and fiction-like, but Alexa believed with every ounce of her body that this was real. She felt the truth of it in her heart and soul, down to every cell in her body.
Any trace of her fear of him—not that she had—vanished. Even if he was an obsessed stalker, all she felt was gratitude.
“What was that?” Bandon rasped. Alexa glanced over to him and saw him looking around him with an incredulous expression.
“I have no idea,” she replied, sounding too casual for someone who didn’t know. “Probably my dad’s ghost or an invisible knight my sister has hired to keep me safe.”
Brandon glared at her despite wincing in pain. “I’m serious, Alexa.”
“So am I,” she said and walked to him. He wouldn’t be able to do anything to her now; the Lightning Knight had made sure of it. Alexa smiled down at Brandon with newfound courage. “Better watch your back next time.”
Despite twitching in agony, he smirked up at her. “You too, pretty doll. We have a deal, remember?”
Alexa grounded her teeth. “Get out of my house. If you come back, you’re done for.”
Brandon chuckled and tried to push himself to his feet. After a lot of grunting and slow movements, when he finally got on his feet, Alexa took a step back by instinct. His smirk widened. He stepped toward her like a panther, but before the third step, he was yanked back by the same violent force.
And this time, Alexa saw it.
An invisible hand gripped the collar of Brandon’s shirt from behind and held him off. She saw the fabric being clenched.
He’s still here. Her heart sang.
Brandon jerked and looked around him again. When he turned back to her, she tried to keep her expression neutral.
He shook a finger at her. “I don’t know what game you are playing, Alexa. But, Monday is your deadline. If you won’t agree to my deal before that, you’ll live all your life regretting the chance you had to save your sister. I will leave for now, but I will be back. Be ready.”
With that, he stomped out of the kitchen past her, not even touching her, only to stop at the foyer and call back, “Oh, and reminder; don’t tell anyone. You don’t want to find out what will happen next.”
The front door banged shut. Alexa hurried out of the kitchen to make sure Brandon had really gone. She saw him getting into his car that was parked behind Cassie’s on the street and drove away.
She locked the door and slumped against it, and the tears she didn’t know were there began to flood out of her eyes.
What was she going to do?
Then she remembered it. She wasn’t alone.
He is here .
“Lightning Knight,” she began, partially feeling foolish to talk to an empty room even though she believed he was still there and partially brimming with hope. “I know it’s you; who else could it be? And it seems I should ask for your help now. I don’t know what to do. If you’re so keen on playing my knight, you might as well want to save me from this. Because I’ve never felt so helpless before. Please, if you’re still here and listening, please help me like what you did with Melissa. Or, in any other way. Just… help me.”
* * *
Brandon hadn’t returned… yet . Cassie was convinced he was staying with Alexa. Daphne didn’t find anything amiss about her, with how good at pretending Alexa was.
Alexa didn’t remember ever living in fear. She even dreaded using her bathroom, wondering what if Brandon somehow had a camera in there too, and used the rarely-used common bathroom downstairs instead.
The deadline dragged closer and Brandon kept sending her messages every day, reminding how little time she had before Cassie returned. As though she didn’t know already.
There hadn’t been a sign of the Lightning Knight either.
Alexa had looked out for any sign of him being around, with hope and eagerness, but everything had been perfectly normal since that day. And she couldn’t help but feel disappointment and dread.
Maybe he wasn’t there, after all, when she asked him for help. Maybe he left as soon as he thought her threat had left the house; maybe he didn’t stay for her meltdown. But, if he helped her with Melissa—who wasn’t a threat at all—when she hadn’t asked or even wanted it, wouldn’t he be helping her when she was in real danger?
Alexa failed to understand him—or it , whatever this Lightning Knight was. One thing, she was sure, the world she was living in wasn’t the kind of world she had thought it to be. Something supernatural was out there like she read in her books, and one of them had somehow collided with her own life.
But where was he when she needed him?
Several times, Alexa considered contacting the police or the organizations that advocated for women and children. What if they could arrest Brandon for his attempt at sexual assault? She did have his messages as evidence after all.
But…
There were buts and what ifs in every loophole she tried to find.
What if it got out of hand? Could she trust the authorities with hers and her sister’s lives and their reputations?
What if Brandon found out? What if, when he realized he was going to jail, he released the pictures in revenge?
How could Alexa ever stand such a thing happening to her sister? How could she take risks when it was the life of the one person she loved the most hanging on the edge?
She felt like she was going mad, her head was going to explode. Tomorrow was the deadline.
Brandon would drop by today, to pick her up for church, like he had been doing since their dad’s passing. Alexa decided to leave early in Cassie’s car. It made her sick with disgust that she had thought of him accompanying them to church every Sunday as sweet. He had just wanted to stay close to her.
John was the earliest member at church. When Alexa found him there, her relief knew no bounds, even though she knew it was only temporary .
John’s honest and straightforward forest green eyes tempted her to spill her troubles. Alexa imagined his fury when he found out what Brandon had done. He had never once shown a trace of likeness toward Brandon, least of all approved of him dating his best friend. This would enrage him. When it came down to Cassie and Alexa, he had always been fiercely protective.
Above all, Alexa trusted him. But she reigned herself in. She couldn’t tell him as desperate as she was.
Alexa kept an eye out in the crowd when people began filing into the hall, for a particularly gorgeous face among them, but he wasn’t there. Disappointment seeped into her stomach.
Was it her fault Tristan didn’t come today? She wanted to see him badly. She didn’t know why, she just… did.
Throughout the worship, her eyes searched the crowd, all while keeping her gaze away from where she knew Brandon would be. By the end of the service, Alexa’s disappointment gave way to some sort of sorrow. And it was the most confusing feeling of all.
After the service, she stuck to John’s side on purpose to avoid Brandon. Not that it stopped him from approaching her and telling her it was time to go. Alexa mustered a brave look and met his eyes, and told him she was staying a little longer, that he may leave.
His eyes darkened over; nevertheless, he pasted on a smile and left.
John didn’t fail to notice something was off between them. He asked after the matter the moment Brandon was out of earshot. Knowing she couldn’t tell him nothing was wrong—he was the last one she could fool, after Cassie and Daphne—especially when Alexa was never someone to arrive at church early or leave late, she told him they had a fight. Just a fight. About Cassie.
And before she left, Alexa made him promise not to breathe a word to Cassie about it.
Now, as she sat on her bed in her room, back were all the ill feelings. The smallest sense of comfort she had found in John’s presence was all drained now.
If she gave in to Brandon’s want, she could save her sister. But giving in wasn’t an option. And Alexa wasn’t a cheap quitter. The very thought made her want to gag.
She was drowning, with no one to pull her out of it. The more she tried reaching to the surface, swimming against the crashing waves, the weaker she felt. If only she could stop fighting and let the waves push her down…
Come to think of it, what will your sister think when she realizes her boyfriend, the man she loves, preferred her sister to her all this time? She will hate you.
Alexa recoiled at the thought. She couldn’t stand it if Cassie hated her, let alone looked at her with anything but fondness.
But… But, they were sisters. They had sworn to love each other till the end, no matter the odds.
And this wasn’t Alexa’s fault. It was Brandon who desired her.
That might be right. But when Cassie realizes that she wasn’t enough for Brandon, that he saw more worth in you than her, that you were the better choice than her, that he was faking it all… She will hate you.
“No!” Alexa shot up to her feet, running her hands through her hair wildly and pacing the length of her room. “My sister loves me! She will never hate me! ”
Oh, but she will. You have two options to save yourself from her hatred and her from Brandon’s clutches. Give in to his wants.
“That is not an option, and I’m not bending to his desires. Forget it!” Alexa snapped to the cold, venomous thought nagging at the back of her mind. “There has to be another way. There has to be…”
You want to save your sister?
“I will go any lengths to save her, with no second thoughts, no hesitancy. I will do anything for my sister.”
The only other way is to steer yourself out of the way.
Alexa paused in her tracks.
Your sister’s reputation won’t be tarnished. Brandon will be arrested and will spend his life in jail, away from Cassie or any other girls, dare he try this again. He is a twisted, sick monster; he will try this on other innocent girls as long as he roams free. Going to the authorities with your case is risky with your sister’s life at stake. This way, you can bring justice to all.
Alexa’s knees gave out. She sank to the floor.
If you live, you’ll ruin your sister’s life. If you live, you’ll live to see her hatred of you, her comparison of you, her envy, her jealousy. As long as you live, it will be the constant reminder that she’ll never be good enough, that everyone else will prefer you to her too. But if you’re no longer in her life, she will miss you, respect you abundantly, keep loving you despite what your existence in her life has caused her. You love her, and your sacrifice will save her and Brandon’s future victims.
Alexa’s breaths grew ragged as she stared into space, and the words sank into her. They filled her head, reached every corner of her mind. Though somewhere in her heart she knew she shouldn’t do this, it felt like a distant, forgotten hum as the cold words filled all of her, giving her a sense of peace.
The thought of death felt peaceful.
Maybe that’s what she must do, especially when it would do a lot of good. She couldn’t allow Cassie to loathe herself. Alexa would rather die than let her sister feel it because of her.
A sudden determination took over her.
Alexa shot up to her feet and wiped away the tears she hadn’t realized fallen. She grabbed her journal and pen, and began scribbling letters for Cassie, Daphne, and John.
It was hard, so hard, to say goodbye to the three people she held close to her heart. They’d hate her for this, but they would understand eventually.
It took her an hour to write only three letters, expressing her love and gratitude to each person, especially Cassie, to whom she had to disclose additional details like Brandon’s threat, instruct her to move on with her life, stop friend-zoning John and give him a chance at romance, tell her future nieces and nephews how their auntie Lex loved them even before they existed, to name one of her daughters after Alexa, to bury her body next to their dad’s, where to find her body, to never stop writing, to write a book about Lightning Knight as a handsome young man who defends a girl he secretly admires and dedicate the book to Alexa, to never forget how much she loved Cassie…
Alexa was sobbing by the end. She didn’t want to do this, but she had to. The thought of leaving Cassie literally killed her soul .
She closed the book, kept the pen between the pages, and placed it back in its place. Cassie knew where she kept her journal. When they learned about her death, Cassie would hunt for it. She hoped.
Alexa had a destination in mind, and she would mark the place where they could find her body. She took one of her ribbons, a red one, and chose the black and white feather earrings Cassie had gifted her a few years ago. She hitched each of them to each end of the ribbon and clutched it in her hand. Then she looked at herself in the mirror.
The girl who stared back was a broken teenager; lifeless, hopeless, abandoned, lost…
The kindest thing you could do, the gift you could give her , is this. Death is peace, and everything ends with it. Living this life is an eternal torment; you’re freeing yourself by doing this.
Alexa didn’t waste another second. She grabbed the car keys and stepped out of her room. She stopped at the top of the stairwell, glancing at the frame on the wall to her right. Her eyes watered as she walked near it, a picture of her and Cassie with their dad from five years ago.
They looked so happy.
She lifted her fingers to her dad’s face. The tears spilled. The ache returned tenfold.
“I know you wanted me to live a happy life, Daddy,” she whispered. “But that’s the point. My life is anything but happy, and it has reached the edge of its misery. I’m so sorry, but I have to do this for Cassie; I’m doing both of us a favor. If I live, it will destroy our lives, but if I die, at least she gets to live.”
Alexa dropped her hand, wiped away her tears, and descended the stairs. Once reaching down, she looked around at the photos hanging on the walls around her before walking out of the house.
Tears poured down her eyes like a stream as she drove to her destination. Her hands gripped the wheel tight, and the red ribbon with her feather earrings was threaded through her fingers. Halfway through the drive, she dialed Cassie.
She wanted to hear her sister’s voice one last time, and put it on record so Cassie could listen to their last conversation one day too.
“Hey, sweetheart!” Cassie’s enthusiastic voice rang through the speaker.
A painful smile pulled at her lips and the next stream of tears flooded out of her eyes. “Hey, sis.”
Cassie’s enthusiasm dropped. “Lex, are you alright?”
She had to play this right. “Yes, of course! Why should I not be alright?”
“I thought I heard you sniff. Are you sure?”
Alexa forced a laugh. “Oh, it’s just a stupid cold. I’m alright, except I miss my big sister.”
“Aw, me too.” Alexa imagined Cassie’s face softening with a melted expression. “I wish you were here. Orlando is amazing. I’m gonna bring us here one day. Oh! And, I’ve got something for you; spoiler alert, it’s a surprise.”
Alexa snorted a laugh and shook her head. “You do know how to surprise others.”
“That I do, don’t tease me, little girl.” She imagined her sister’s eyes narrow playfully. “I didn’t tell you what my surprise is.”
“Sure,” Alexa said sarcastically. “Because, even if you didn’t tell me this, I know my sister; you would bring me at least a candy.”
“See, that’s my point,” Cassie said, and they laughed.
Alexa’s heart squeezed over; she loved her sister so much. And to laugh with her one last time, even though it was through the phone, meant so much to her.
“I love you, Cass,” Alexa blurted out. “You do know you’re the best big sister a girl could ask for, right?”
“Well, you’ve told me that over a billion times by now, so I’ve begun to realize it.” Cassie chuckled, and her voice dropped into a gentle murmur. “I love you too, Alexa. And when I return, we’re gonna snuggle up with hot chocolates, popcorn and pizzas, and have a Harry Potter marathon. What do you say?”
“Perfect,” Alexa said with a huge dose of fake enthusiasm, her heart breaking. Could she do this to Cassie? Would her choice make Cassie’s life easier or harder at the worst?
Cassie is better off without you. The moment she learns about Brandon’s feelings for you, everything is going to change. So take the chance while you have it.
“What are you two up to?” Cassie’s voice pulled Alexa out of her thoughts. She winced inwardly that her sister thought she was with Brandon.
“I’m driving, actually,” she said. “I suddenly felt the desire to drive around the town.”
“I’m going to buy you a new car soon.”
“Come on, Cass. It’s not like I’m that in need of one. You drop me at school in the mornings and I return with Daph; I’m not desperate, trust me. I just wanted to drive… that’s all.”
“Either way, I’m dead set on it. And once I’m set, you of all people know nothing can change my mind. ”
“That I do. And being your younger sister is the biggest honor I’ve ever had.”
“Likewise.” Cassie sighed, and Alexa heard her smile. “Oh, Lex, Gracie is calling me. Would you mind if I call you back later?”
“Oh, yes, sure.” Alexa’s heart shattered; she wouldn’t be able to answer that call. “I love you billions.”
“I love you gazillions.”
Alexa slowed her car. She had reached her destination; the secluded bridge in Harmony Hills. She called Daphne, but her best friend didn’t answer. Daphne’s younger cousins were visiting for a week, so it was no surprise she would be busy. If they weren’t, it would’ve been Daphne staying with Alexa instead of Brandon. And none of this would’ve happened.
What if none of this happened?
There’s no point in wondering about what ifs . You’re wasting your time.
Alexa placed her phone on the dashboard, got out of her car, and locked it. She placed the key under the car as she had written in her letter to Cassie, before walking over to the bridge. She unthreaded the ribbon from her fingers and tied it around the railing where she stood, exactly at the center.
Alexa took a deep breath.
Alexa, don’t do this.
Do it, Alexa.
Alexa, you are loved.
You will be hated all your life by the one person who matters the most to you. Do you want that?
Alexa, your sister will never stop loving you for one second. So have I .
You’re nothing, you’re worthless, you’re a burden, your existence ruins your sister’s life, you’re a curse, and you’re a disaster. Do this and all this ends, and you free your soul from eternal misery.
Alexa, you are beloved, you are worth—
Alexa placed her hands on the rails and hoisted herself over them in a crouching position. She eyed the water below and closed her eyes.
—you are more than you know, your life is only beginning, you’re strong, you’re beautiful—
One… Two… Three…
Ignoring the gentle voice in the back of her head, Alexa leaped. She fell through the air, and waited for the sensation replaced by the water’s embrace.
But it never came.
Two arms wrapped around her mid-section, the weight of another body upon her. And the next second, her feet found gravity.