Saved By My Step-Brother

Chapter 6 - Theo: "Be strong, brave and live on."

*August POV*

6 years ago

This was the first time I got my hands dirty, and I knew there was no way I could go back to being August. It all started with a man named Theo. I will never forget that name, and one will only understand at the end. The man Theo began haunting my dreams, and I could never forget his warm voice, with such generosity and care. The guilt still resides within the pits of my heart, and oftentimes reveal itself, but that I was forced to push away and refrain from facing. I could still hear him say, "Be strong, brave and live on."

After we lost the car, we walked for days, slept next to nowhere on a blanket and an emergency tent he always kept in his bag that could be folded into a small purse. He made me sit outside the tent for the first few nights, but later he apologized to me, kissed me, and touched me so gently that it was as if the memories of him hitting me had been mere dreams. He treated the wounds he had given me, interlaced our fingers as we walked, without showering or cleaning ourselves for days. He never once complained about how I smelt or how I appeared. However, I knew we were both filthy, but losing the car had caused this.

As we walked next to nowhere, there were many cars that drove past us. However, the road was usually packed during the days, and nights left it abandoned. Although walking was not always pleasant, he made it humorous, laughing and kidding around, pushing me tenderly in a teasing manner, holding me close to him in some cases. That was the time I learned the most about him.

"I got into this business right when I got kicked out of my home. Around eighteen years old; I almost got my family killed, therefore they kicked me out. My father was the worse, but my mother took me in afterwards. She was never home, and when she was, there were men coming in and out; she was always in the prostitution business, ever since we were kids. That's a story I wish not to talk about right now, but we fixed our relationship. It wasn't until after she died that I realized she cared more about me than my family ever did."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't you continue school?"

He scoffed, staring at me foolishly, "I hated school, I was never good at it. That was like attempting to make a fish climb a tree; it was simply not my cup of tea. But instead, I finally found the ocean, and this business revealed all the specialties I had; it was as if it was testing my ability to swim, everything was just instinct." He turned to me, and I nodded my head to let him know I understood. He continued, "I first had to do some things to be trustworthy."

"Like what?" I asked, not certain if I truly wanted to know that answer

He smirked, "Commit murder." As I widened my eyes, he sighed with a small chuckle, placing an arm around my shoulders, "It's not as if I had no emotions, it was really hard. I was depressed for a few weeks afterwards."

"Can I ask you something?" I murmured. When he nodded his head, I said, "How many people have you killed?"

He shrugged his shoulders, and a peculiar smile pulled his lips. "That would be like asking me how many people have I kissed."

My jaw dropped, and when he noticed how stunned I was, he began laughing, "At ease, I could never hurt you." The irony of that comment made me feel flustered.

However, during our walks, there were also times when his delusion would surface, and he would whisper to himself, as if someone else was standing beside us. Additionally, he would often burst out into cackles with such strange tune that I felt shivers and goosebumps on my flesh. Weirdly enough, he loved having intercourse at random places, such as while we marched next to practically nowhere; he pushed me down into the trees beside the rocks making the sidewalk, and pulled down my pants. However, his delusional became familiar, that soon people that were not like that seemed odd.

One of the attributes that caused my heart to warm, was his voice. He could sing, his voice reaching deep melodies where he had to belt, and high pitch notes where he sang from his heart and his soul. It was such a gorgeous voice, able to travel through different notes smoothly that when I closed my eyes, I could feel the water tickling in between my toes from the beach. It had such an affect on me, that it made him appear to be simply a child, and innocent as well.

Soon enough, during one of our nights, lights flashed in our direction. We stopped, and a car pulled over beside us, and we saw a man sitting in the front seat, one palm on the steering wheel as he rolled down the window. I felt my blood run cold when Dante's hand reached for his gun discreetly.

"You both seem so young. The city is still far from here; you need a ride?" he asked with concern, and Dante faked a saddened look.

He said in a shaky tone, "My sister here is very sick; she needs a hospital. We haven't eaten in days and we're left stranded by our parents with a few bags of our clothes."

The man immediately exited the vehicle, and raced around his car, helping us with the bags. He helped me first, and opened his trunk, "Please, get in the car. My twin toddlers are in the backseat, but I'm sure you both can fit. One of you sit in the front."

As he slammed the trunk, Dante secretly turned towards me, and his habitual smirk returned as he murmured, "Get in the front seat."

We both entered the vehicle, and my heart almost stopped at the two toddlers sleeping beside one another in the back seat, beside Dante. They were beautiful, with chocolat curls and chubby cheeks I wanted to pinch. Dante, on the other hand, examined them, rolled his eyes and scoffed. He had not a trace of sympathy in his heart, and as he faced the front and met my worried gaze, he shook his head.

"What are your names?" The man asked.

Dante was the one to respond, "I'm Dresden, and that's Holly."

The man smiled, "I'm happy I passed by you both today. I don't usually take this road, nor am I supposed to be on the road today, but there was an issue with my mother, their grandmother, where they were staying for the night so I needed to pick them up. My wife went to the hospital with my mother; she is in the ER right now."

Dante's face fell, false sympathy pulling his features, "I hope everything ends well."

He shrugged, "Yea, but she's very old. Even if it doesn't, Ive accepted it, and she had an amazing life and will always remain in our memories."

I turned again towards the toddlers, and he noticed me observing them sleep. He also glanced in his front mirror and smirked, "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

I nodded my head with a small smile, "Yea."

"Ella and Bella. Named after my mother and my mother-in-law. They are my hopes and dreams, my everything. By the way, do you guys need a place to stay tonight?"

Dante instantly inserted himself back in the conversation, "I can stay at the hospital with my sister."

That was when the man frowned, and examined my face a bit more. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, "She doesn't seem sick at all. I'm sure a warm bath would do the trick. Please, stay at my place."

Again, Dante declined, "That won't be necessary."

"I have a guest room. If she doesn't get better, I promise I'll bring you to the hospital—"

"I said no!" Dante screamed, and it caused the man and I to flinch, startled the sudden raised tone. Immediately, Dante shook his head and placed his palm on his forehead, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, it's been a hard few days."

The man paused for a minute, glancing at Dante before simply shrugging, "No worries." The vehicle fell into a silence with a bit of tension that it caused me to gulp, my grasp tightening around the straps of the bag I was carrying. Finally, it was him that restarted a conversation, "What are your ages?"

"I'm 20," Dante said with confidence, "She's 17."

"You both are very young. By the way, I did not introduce myself correctly, call me Theo." We both nodded our heads, and he cleared his throat, "Do either of you want something to drink—"

"f*****g hell," Dante hissed, "You're very annoying, Theo."

Theo appeared confused, and so was I. However, when I turned back, I understood immediately what was going on. His gun was c****d, aiming directly at Theo's head and so near that it was explode his brain entirely. I gasped in horror, and Theo seemed startled as well, but did not panic. Instead, he continued to drive, but I noticed his palms begin to tremble, and his face start growing sweaty. His first glance was to his daughters in the backseat, and Theo gulped. I was paralyzed in my seat, confused with what to do, and not certain if I should jump out of the car or stay seated.

A sinister laugh escaped Dante's lips, "We need the car."

The man slowly nodded his head, attempting to remain calm. "Would you please put the gun down?"

"Who the f**k do I look like, a f*****g i***t? I should shoot your kids right now for you saying this."

"Okay," the man breathed stressfully, "please leave my kids to live. They did nothing."

I felt my eyes swell with tears, and the man glanced in my direction, and the sympathy and remorse he sent me made me feel guilty and the tears overflowed, pouring along my face. He was worrying about me in this situation, when he was near death. A few minutes passed without anybody saying anything, not even Dante who held the gun, and I stared in front of me at the road.

Finally, Theo said, "You still don't want anything to drink?"

"I take it you mean that I'm supposed to drink your piss?"

"No," he said in fear, "I have water and sodas in the trunk—"

"So you think I'd let you get out of the car?"

"You can go get it yourself," Theo breathed, attempting to call the situation, "I'm just worried about you kids."

"Worried?" Dante whispered, and repeated once more, "Worried?! You don't even know me."

"I know," Theo sighed, "It's alright if you don't want anything."

Dante was confused, "What are you playing at?"

"Nothing at all, I just wanted to keep my offer from earlier."

"That's it," Dante snarled, tempered, "you're f*****g annoying—"

"Bella, Ella," Theo whispered, no longer paying attending to Dante who released the safety, "I love you both. Be strong, brave, and live on." They slept soundly, shuffling in their sleep but their eyes remained closed.

Dante smirked, and rolled his eyes before saying, "Nina, take the wheel." When I did not move, the tears blurring my vision, he shouted, "Nina! Do it now!"

"It's alright," Theo said, reaching for my palms and placing them on the steering wheel. He sent me a weak smile, "It'll be fine." It was as if he knew his fate, and he knew that there was no way he could get out of this situation alive. However, the calmness and the concern in his face as he grabbed my palms made my heart clench; he did not deserve the ending he received. He had been kind, probably something that was taught ever since his younger years, and the unfortunate rule of life had caused him to stumble upon a fish who merely desired to swim. Ever since this day, I could never return to be the same person I used to be.

The moment my hands reached the steering wheel, that was when the gunshot went off, and the only thing I remember seeing was globs of red.