“You know I never wanted it to end this way, Lily, honestly… I thought you’d go out with a bit more of a bang.” The blonde’s cold voice echoed through the darkened room.
“Yeah, well I honestly thought Elmo was real. Looks like we both screwed that one up.” The smaller blonde quipped back before she spit out a mouthful of blood. Beaten didn’t even begin to describe her right now. Bruised, cut, bloodied. Beaten but not defeated. Never defeated, she refused, even in death. She pushed herself up to one knee and then found herself shakily getting to her feet, shrugging at her brother when her hands went to her hips. “Are we going to get on with this, or continue with the very short list of things that you think you know?”
Before she had had the chance to react, Jackson had her around the back of the neck and he was dropping her to the floor once more.
“Don’t. Be. Such. A. Smartass.” Each word was punctuated with a kick to her already splintered ribs. The final kick had the girl yowling and rolling onto her back, just trying to find some position that didn’t cause her pain.
“Sorry, you must not have got that gene.”
This time it cost her another hit to the face and left her vision swimming in stars. When in the hell had he become so violent? Clearly he hadn’t been kidding when he said he was going to take his time with her, they’d been at this for nearly an hour already, and he hadn’t been holding back. He had been viciously beating the crap out of his younger sister for an hour and was showing no sign of stopping.
Lying on her back lasted for all of three seconds of relief before Jackson had grabbed onto the front of her shirt and dragged her up to her feet. She wasn’t attempting to be strong, or to hold back, to avoid giving him the satisfaction, she just… cared a lot less than she thought she would. She had known for a while that this was coming, knew he was after her and he was going to be the one that ended it. Now that it was here, she just simply didn’t care anymore, she almost welcomed it. At least this way she was done being scared, done constantly worrying and fretting over everything.
“Strong silent type, huh?
Lil managed a partial smile as she rolled her eyes and turned her head to the side to spit again. “Will you get off of me? Jesus.” Shoving her brother’s hands from her shirt, her eyes briefly glanced toward the blood on the floor. It was getting darker, she wasn’t seeing things, and she knew that last kick punctured something, she felt it pierce right after the sharp pop.
Swishing the copper taste in her mouth she sighed as she finally looked back up, having nothing but a wordless shrug for Jackson Graham.
He clearly wasn’t pleased with the rise he was failing to get out of her. Staring at her for a few, long moments he finally started moving backward. “Alright. We’ll play it this way. Still drowning, Lily-Bean?”
Lillian didn’t even have a chance to puzzle over what he meant when his fingers closed over the light switch but she instantly felt her throat closing up. Not the damned dark. Bastard. Honestly she had been hoping he had forgotten her ridiculous fear that held no real meaning what so ever. It was the dark, not fire, not a sword. Just the dark room. The dark room that now had ice coating her insides.
“Jackson. NO!” Despite her anger and previous defiance, she yelped out when she felt the hand seize her by her hair and drag her backward, legs splaying out as he literally pulled her across the floor. Oh how she would have taken being beaten to death, stabbed, shot, set on fire. Not the panic that came from being your own death. With drowning you had to make the choice to inhale, and when you did, you were the one ending your life, no one else.
“I’ll take that as a ‘Yes, Jacks, still drowning.” Unfortunately a wicked smirk was on the man’s face as he pulled her up onto her knees and easily spun her small frame around. Lil stood no chance, none at all as her face was forced down toward the tub.
A gasp ripped from her chest as she bolted up to a sitting position. Her hazel eyes popped open and darted around the room frantically. Tangled in sheets, panting for hair. The only water here was the layer of sweat she found herself covered in. There was no dying, and there was no Jackson. She had been dreaming. It was just a dream and she was still at the Academy, still very much without her brother, and still very much in bed with Doc.
Still breathing erratically, the girl tossed the blankets from her legs and slipped silently from the bed, hoping to avoid waking him. Mussing up her short hair as she tiptoed across the chilly floor of the room, she stopped on her way to the door only to slide his jacket over her shoulders.
Air. She needed air. Fresh air. Fresh air in an open space. A walk. She needed a walk. A walk - preferably nowhere near a body of water.
Sneaking from the room, she gently eased the door shut behind her and finally stopped her tiptoeing and resumed walking normally. Her breathing returned to pants as she stopped trying to hold it in to keep quiet. Her chest still fight tight, and she swore she could feel the vice grip on her neck forcing her face toward the water. Shoving her trembling hands into the soft, worn leather pockets she picked up her pace a little bit hurrying down through the school and to the yards.
Fresh air. A walk. Breathe normally. Ignore dreams and screaming conscious of a psychopathic older brother determined to kill you.
All a mantra in her head.
The same mantra that had been going for seven nights straight.