Chapter 43
SKYLAR
The absolute worst possible thing someone could say to me is, “I told you so.” If your failure wasn’t enough, here, take a gut punch for your stupidity while I bask in your sorrows.
Why am I like this? Why is it that the one trait I inherited from my father was complete and utter stubbornness?
As if inheriting anything from that man wasn’t bad enough, here, take stupid fucking choices and a hard head.
It’s almost like I should have seen this coming.
How many more people needed to tell me not to do this before I listened?
I hate being wrong, but more than that, I hate being tied to a fucking chair just like I do to my victims, which is where I find myself now.
In the same basement I used to torture and kill the men my father wanted me to marry. Oh, how the world comes full circle.
I’m relatively unharmed, for the most part. I have both legs, both arms, and nothing is hurting except for the ropes binding my hands behind me, putting a strain on my shoulders.
All in all, I’m okay.
For now.
The sound of the basement door opening echoes down the stairs, along with heavy footsteps.
It’s not my father. No, he never comes down here.
He would always send Diego or someone else to come find me.
For a man that is president of his motorcycle club, he despises getting dirty.
Lucky me, this basement is all dirt. Or unlucky me, because the man that appears in front of me is no doubt the biggest fucking man I’ve ever seen.
Perfect.
“Has anyone ever told you that you look like Andre the Giant? Because damn, my man, you could be related.” A slap to my face is his only response.
I guess my little comment was not taken as a compliment.
My cheek stings from the impact. He didn’t take it easy on me, despite being a woman and all.
I guess I can’t blame him. If he works for my father, I guess he’s heard of me at some point.
“Right, don’t talk about your looks. Noted.
” I spit blood on the floor, right by his feet.
The coppery taste in my mouth makes me want to gag, but I hold back.
Show no weakness to these men. I learned at a young age they thrive on people’s weaknesses and enjoy their torment.
I sit up straighter and center myself, taking in a deep breath before I speak again.
“So, are you here to carry out my father’s orders and kill me? Or will I be graced with his presence anytime soon?” He says nothing. I expected nothing less. However, when the basement door opens once again, I’m not prepared for who I’m greeted by.
“S-Seven?”
How is this possible? I’m seeing a ghost, surely.
“Hello, Skylar, or should I call you sis? Miss me?”
Once Seven gets down the stairs, Andre leaves us alone.
I can’t control the tears that spring to my eyes, slipping over and cascading down my cheeks.
He’s alive. My twin brother, the only person I’ve ever loved.
That is, until Saxon. My emotions have gone haywire.
I’m crying, smiling, confused, and frustrated that I can’t get out of this fucking chair to go hug the man I thought was dead all these years.
My brother is alive. He’s here. He’s come for me.
“How? How are you here? I saw you die?” I’m choking on my words, the flood of all that I’ve been holding back thundering to my chest and making me lose myself.
He smiles at me, a smile I never thought I’d see again, his beautiful teeth reflecting the little light we have down here.
I watch as my brother puts his hands in the black slacks he’s wearing.
I’ve never seen him dress in anything other than jeans, but here he is.
Black slacks and a white button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
“Hurry, untie me before someone else comes down here. I know an exit in the corner, and we can get out of here.” I’m pulling at the ropes around my wrist and waiting for my brother to help, but he’s not moving.
Standing tall, where the light shines down on him, his lips curl into an evil grin. A grin I’ve never seen from him before.
“Seven, what are you doing we ne—” I stop, cutting myself off mid-sentence.
My entire body freezing as if Medusa herself just turned me to stone.
Reality slaps me in the face harder than Andre’s hand moments ago.
This isn’t my brother. Not the same one I lost that fateful day all those years ago.
As I stare into the eyes of the person in front of me, it becomes painfully clear this is not Seven. This is not my brother.
“People say we look alike, but I don’t see the resemblance.
You know, I thought you were smarter than this, sis.
You were safe where you were. Why didn’t you just stay with him?
But no, instead you came right to us. Alone, even, making this all too easy.
Stupid, stupid girl.” If I thought the pain of losing my brother hurt, this is a whole new wave of despair, penetrating my heart from all angles.
Every ventricle is pierced and bleeding within me.
Betrayal is a bitter taste against my tongue, and out of all the billions of people on earth, I never expected this. Not from him.
This is soul crushing, an all-consuming pain that’s sharp and makes me feel like I’m burning alive.
I let my head fall forward, not able to look at him anymore.
How quickly happiness can turn to misery in a matter of seconds.
A future with my twin. A life I imagined within a minute has just been burned to ash as the fantasy disappears before my eyes.
The energy that was once buzzing inside me, filling me with hope that my brother and I could escape this together, has been stomped on and reduced me to my lowest. I’m nothing. The pain is too great, and I don’t have the will to fight it anymore.
The room starts to grow darker, and the sound of my brother’s footsteps ascending the stairs is all I hear before I ask the one question I need an answer to.
“Why?” I’m surprised he hears me, my voice a mere whisper laced with betrayal so unbearable it hurts to breathe.
“I’m not who you think I am, Skylar. I don’t remember the boy and girl we once were.
All that’s left of them is whatever Mom and Dad told me the moment I woke up in the hospital.
You should have just stayed away. I’ve been told you’re a real pain in the ass.
Just know you probably deserve what’s going to happen to you. ”
“Seven, what are you talking about?” I whisper.
The door closing behind him is what scatters me completely.
I’ve lost. I’ve failed. I don’t care anymore.
This ache inside me is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and instead of pushing it away, I welcome it.
I allow the pressure to suffocate me, gripping the last remaining pieces of my heart before it crumbles into a million tiny pieces, leaving me empty.
I don’t care to survive this; I wouldn’t be able to live with this pain anyway.
I just hope they hurry up and end this soon.
I have nothing to live for anyway. The tears are hot sliding down my cheeks.
I’m hyperventilating, and my vision is blurry.
Just when I’m about to pass out from my labored breathing, I see his face.
His beautiful, stoic face that’s constantly scowling.
His dark eyes, and his lips when he says I love you.
Saxon Wilder said he loved me once, and even when I know this is how I will end, at least I will go knowing he loves me. Someone loved me once, even just for a moment.
He loves me.