| Ephemeral |

fourteen

"Alex!" I felt someone's arms yank me backward. "Get off!" I yelled, pushing the person off of me with enough force to send them into the side Ethan's bed. Theo's eyes looked up at me with shock, but I didn't care.

 "Hey, calm down!" I saw my brother's face appear in front of me, as he tried to shake my body back into reality. 

"You need to get her back in bed and get her more meds, or something," Theo spoke from behind Ryan. 

"Let go of me." I spoke to Ryan angrily. "Not until you calm the hell down," He yelled at me, making me look directly into his eyes. The look he was giving me was a look you would give a crazed animal. 

I took a deep breath and nodded at him. He finally took his hands off of my arms, and I looked at Theo for a second. 

I walked out of the room but stopped abruptly when I saw Grayson standing at the entrance of his room, looking into this one. His eyes were red and puffy, he was clearly crying. My heart broke when I saw the state he was in. We probably looked about the same right now. 

I walked over to him quickly and wrapped my arms around him tightly. "I'm so sorry," I spoke quickly, rubbing his back gently.

After a moment he wrapped his arms around me too. "It's no one's fault but Crimson's." He finally said, but I knew he was lying. His voice sounded low, and broken. I don't think I've ever heard him sound like that besides the night Ethan was shot. 

I pulled away and looked into his hurt eyes. "Are you okay? Last time I saw you, you were unconscious because of the poison." I asked, trying to change the subject before I lose my mind again.

"I'm fine," He responded, by the tone of his voice he sounded like he didn't care about the state of his health at all. 

"We need to get him back," I stated, pulling at the bottom of my shirt. "How?" Grayson asked in an unsure voice. "I don't know yet," I responded. "But we will. We won't give up until we get him back here." I spoke surely of myself. 

I gave him a slight smile before turning back to walk into my room. I closed the door slowly behind me, feeling everything at once. Forcing that slight smile to make him feel like everything was going to be okay might have been the most exhausting thing I've ever done. 

I walked over to my bed and fell facedown onto a pillow and cried. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. 

After hours had passed and the sun had set, I walked outside and looked at the stars twinkling down. We're still under the same stars, I thought to myself. I'll find him, I know it. 

-

Ethan

I stood outside in an unfamiliar setting and stared at the sky. Alex and Grayson had better be okay. "Man of the evening," Crimson came outside smiling at me. I looked back up at the sky and gripped the railing of the balcony tighter. 

"How do I know you actually cured them? How do I know you weren't bullshitting me and killed them?" I asked suddenly. I felt anger flowing through me at a fast rate. 

"For God's sake," Crimson groaned and pulled out his phone. He showed me what looked like camera footage of Grayson and Alex hugging before she walked into her room. She looked like she was about to fall apart as soon as she reached her door. I'm not there to hold her, or make her feel better. Her being upset is better than her being dead though. I felt a vein popping in my neck before I looked away from the phone. 

"How are you seeing this?" I asked puzzled. "There are hidden cameras everywhere in that 'safe house' of yours." He responded, smiling proudly. It was the Mortel house to start with so I guess that doesn't surprise me. 

"Looks like your brother is already getting comfy in your absence." Crimson raised one eyebrow at me, making me bawl up my fist.

"You said you had something for me to do, what is it?" I asked in an impatient voice. "Not something to do, more like someone for you to meet," He smiled before walking back into the house. I furrowed my brows before following him. 

We walked into a dimly lit room before he stopped. "Ethan, meet the reason your here," Crimson smiled, moving out of my way. My eyes went wide at the person sitting across the room.

"I've been waiting a long time for you to grace us with your presence," The not so unfamiliar man spoke as he took a sip from his alcoholic beverage. He spoke like he was teasing me, which pissed me off even more.

"You're supposed to be dead, you told Alex he was dead," I spoke between the both of them. "That was a fast-acting lie I had to tell her and you to make sure you left with me. If she knew Larce was alive then I couldn't exactly let her die and her clever little hypothesis would have worked." Crimson responded proudly, but I was enraged. 

"We have a lot to do Ethan," Larce smiled, making my skin crawl. "Have you ever taken someone's life before?" Larce asked me, making me tense up immediately.

"No." I responded slowly. "Good, that's the first thing we'll change." Larce's smile curved up more. There's no way I would ever kill anyone, ever. I will never be like him or Crimson. 

"Just for insurance, I have to bring Alex into this," He started, making me clench my jaw. "If you don't comply with anything I say, I will torture her until she is begging for me to kill her. Whether that's by killing off everyone she loves one by one, or slowing torturing her mentally and ultimately, physically." Larce threatened, making me step closer to him angrily. 

"Don't even think about touching her or anyone else I care about," I said between clenched teeth. "That's what we'll work on first. Tearing your emotional connections away from you so we can get to the real, heartless Ethan." He responded.

"You'll see what I mean later down the road," He smiled. "Goodnight, for now. See you in the morning for some training exercises." He raised his eyebrows at me, causing me to shake my head. 

"Take him up to his living space," He waved his hand at Crimson, giving him an order. As we walked out I scoped out the area. I will find a way out, or through them. If Larce wants me to kill someone, fine. But one day it will be him under the blade. 

-

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Wowza. I have a headache from all that... hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Love you all, I'll update again soon. 

xoxo,

H