Page 112 of Her Dark Angel

“Trav, I swear to God, if you’re trying to scare me then you’re doing a great job.”

I’m met with silence. Not even a huff of breath as if he were holding back a laugh from wherever he could be hiding.

Nothing.

The door to his bedroom is closed. I know I should probably knock in case he is sleeping, but the logical part of my brain isn’t focused right now. Instead, I turn the knob and push the door open. It creaks on its hinges as it slowly swings open to reveal the vast room.

Before I can take a step inside, a bolt of lightning shoots across the sky. Its visibility through the window illuminates the room long enough for me to gaze at the outline of a body hanging from the ceiling fan. Unmoving.

It’s almost as if time itself stands still. My lungs deflate of any air, and my vision zeros in like target. All the air in the room settles at my feet, leaving me gasping as my fingers twitch at my sides.

That can’t be him. My best friend.

It can’t be…

A cold shiver sweeps across me as I rush toward the body with my heart in my throat. “No, no, no.” My fingers graze his arm and I’m met with lukewarm skin.

I was too late.

I hear something jingle and look at his wrist. The colorful beaded friendship bracelet I gave him when we were twelve hangs limp around his wrist, standing the test of time.

A strangled sob slips past my lips as I drop to my knees and stare up at my best friend, his face hidden in the shadows of the night. I barely register myself screaming his name until my voice grows hoarse and my throat dries out.

He doesn’t answer.

He never will.

His messy curls are limp and lifeless over his forehead, a stark contrast to how bouncy they always were on set. I used to love touching them—they were soft between my fingers and smelled like citrus.

But now, I can’t smell anything.

Nothing.

Another bolt of lightning strikes in the darkened sky, allowing me to meet his once bright green eyes that were always full of love and a zest for life. They were a constant reminder I had to keep pushing forward, that I had to keep fighting the demons to the very end if I wanted to continue to feel the love and support he gave with just one look.

One look that would turn my frown into a smile, and take away some of the pain I had cursing my heart.

Those same eyes are now dull and… empty.

With tears streaming down my face, and my body numb, I feel just as empty.

EPILOGUE

Hello,

If you’re reading this, it means I have been found. And for that, I’m sorry.

After everything I have been through in life, this is the last thing I want to do. But I had no choice. You gave me no choice.

Before I met you, I was a happy, carefree kid who loved life, music, and acting. But you took that away from me the moment you took me into that bedroom and stripped me of my innocence.

I was just a fucking kid, but that didn’t matter to you.

Once I finally found the strength to escape you, I was left with a massive black hole in my heart that no amount of self-therapy could fill. I tried everything, and I mean everything, to right the wrongs you committed, but nothing worked. I struggled a lot throughout the years to accept what had happened to me, to mend the broken pieces you left behind, and once I felt I had finally put myself back together, one phone call from my agent about you shattered all the hard work I had done.

Now here I am, writing this letter. A broken man with no more strength left in my body to fight the demons you created. I thought I was strong enough to live to see another day, to forget the memories of everything you did to me, but I’m not.

I never was.

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