His gaze turned steely. "Until they got you that stupid fish, and you spent all your time reading to it, or feeding it, or talking to it. it was a stupid fish, Cole. I am your brother. Your twin.” He spat onto the forest floor as if the disgust had left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“So I got rid of it, and then you remembered me again, and went back to playing with me. But then you saw that kitten in the pet shop, and despite me saying I wanted us to share a puppy, you insisted on getting it, and you named it yourself. You didn't even ask me what I thought, Cole.” Pure hatred shone in his eyes, and I couldn’t unsee it, not for the rest of my life.
“So it got what it deserved. And I made sure you saw it, so you knew not to make the same mistake again."
He paused, and I dared myself to look back. One of the officers was missing. I turned my attention ever so slowly to Hans, trying to see if the policeman had managed to get behind Hans. I couldn't see anything, the woods as empty as they were before.
"Things were good again. They were good again, Cole. We were brothers in the best sense of the word. Until Monica came. Frigid bitch deserved more than what I managed to do to her. And this one," he ran a finger down Ella's cheek, staining it a dark gray, "got your attention. You never learn, do you, Cole? I don't like to share. And you never seem to want to share your stuff with me, either."
"Hans. Ella...we can share her, man. You and I, we can each have a piece," I found myself saying. Anything, just to get us out of here, safe. "She thinks you're hot."
Interest gleamed in Hans' eyes, and I felt a ripple of relief run through me. I had gained some ground with him. We were going to be alright.
He smiled. "Too late. It's too late, Cole. You never did appreciate the things people did for you. That I did for you. You were always self-centered, Cole. And always will be."
Everything happened so fast I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. One moment, Ella was slumped onto the ground, Hans pointing the gun towards her. The next moment, Hans dropped to the ground, gun pointing upwards, and a police officer stepped from behind the tree. Hans wouldn't go without a fight, however. I watched as he swung his leg to trip the guy, and managed to get back up and began throwing punches into his face. I ran towards him, just as several shots rang out, and saw that Hans had fallen backwards.
I couldn't describe the broken, gaping emptiness that grew and grew as I watch the wet, bloody patch spread rapidly on his shirt. His mouth gaped open, and his eyes slid to look at me. He smiled, a crooked, shit-eating grin, one so familiar to me that my heart ached, before he went completely still.
Chapter 27
Ella
There was a low, steady humming sound somewhere near my ear, almost like that of an insect buzzing, but my exhaustion was too complete for me to bother investigating. My mind whirred with half-formed thoughts, most of which I couldn't make heads or tails of. Thirsty - need water - burning pain. Then: early afternoon - better visibility - throat too raw. But after some time my brain had stopped worrying, and a sort of peace had overtaken me, so that when I next emerged, coming up for air, I realized I wasn't sitting on the damp, mossy forest floor anymore, but was instead lying supine on cotton sheets, the humming nearby taking shape further, the smells reminding me of chlorine and something equally clinical. I opened my eyes, and took a while to register the white ceiling, the steady drip, drip of the IV machine next to me. I was still thirsty, but no longer wanting to claw at my throat. My eyes adjusted further - it was dark in the room - a hospital room, with a sofa on one end and several chairs against the wall. My mom, nodding off in the corner, looking older than I had ever seen her before. Guilt - guilt overtook me, because I knew I had made her age like that overnight.
I tried sitting up, but found myself too weak, my arms useless by my sides. Cole, and Hans. The forest. What had happened? My last memory was of a twin's furtive glances at me, yet not approaching me. My muffled shouts through the gag as I grew more and more tired. I couldn't remember anything else. Exhaustion pulled me under again, and I closed my eyes and let it sweep me away, back into that almost peaceful realm, where I continued chasing half-formed thoughts.
***
"Ella."
I opened my eyes, and my immediate reaction was to scream, my body jerking in fright at the face in front of me.
"It's Cole," he said quickly, even as his mouth tightened. "Ella, it's me. I...I just needed to see for myself that you were alright."
The knitted brows and frown were reassuring. It was Cole. "Where - where's Hans?"
In the morning - or maybe afternoon - sun, I could see his face tighten, his eyes turn glassy. He shot from the chair and mumbled sorry before leaving the room. The sudden movement made my head hurt, even as I stared at the door, wondering what had transpired in those moments I had lain unconscious.
***
Marcus was waiting in his Lexus outside the automatic hospital doors. I couldn't read his face, although he appeared to try and smile at me. He had only visited once in my week-long hospital stay, and my mother hadn't volunteered any information as to why that was. I tried my best not to limp towards the car,
