Page 3 of Forbidden Knots

I was always the troubled one, the one who needed all the attention, who demanded so much from Mom and Dad. In the end, it took them from us, and it breaks my heart that I didn't see it then. I see it now—Sophie needed them more than I ever did.

She still does.

After they died, she wanted to join them. She tried to drown herself, to cut herself, and each time I saved her, she hated me a little more. I had to take her away from everything, from the memories that haunted us. With the little money our parentsleft, I got us a house inLa Maddalena, hoping for a fresh start, hoping we could finally be a normal family.

But nothing is normal with us.

"How many times have I told you not to lock this fucking door, Sophie?" I screamed, banging on the bathroom door, knowing it wouldn't help.

"And why the fuck do you care, Tristan?" She flung the door open, shouting, "You never cared."

"That's not true," I said, stepping inside and closing the door behind me.

She looked at me with her big brown eyes, tears already drowning her, making her choke as she spoke. "I miss Mom," she cried, "and Dad's clumsiness."

She sat down, her hand falling limp, the razor clattering to the floor from her grip.

"Again?Fuck,Sophie! When are you going to learn this isn't what they would want? They wanted us to be happy." I grabbed the razor and smashed it against the shower tiles, the plastic shattering under the force.

I knelt in front of her, wiping her tears away. "Can't you go out, meet a friend?"

"What friends?" she chuckled bitterly. "Can't you just let me be, and we'll both be at peace? You can go back to your life and forget all about me."

"You're the only thing worth fighting for in this family, Sophie, and I won't let you go," I said, brushing a few curls out from under her pink bucket hat.

"And if you have no friends, go out and make some," I said, pulling her up by her hand and dragging her out of the bathroom.

"I hate you, Tristan," she shouted, stomping to her room. "You always know how to ruinmyday."

I rolled my eyes so deeply I could see the back of my skull. I followed her, making sure no other stupid ideas crept into her teenage head.

"Sophie," I leaned against the door frame, trying to hold the door before she could slam it in my face. "I'm trying my best."

"That's the problem," she said, hitting me with a pillow. "I lost my father, and instead of acting like one, you should be a big brother for once." She shoved me and closed the door.

I leaned my forehead against the door, my hand softly slamming the frame—a quiet, but painful, hit. Everything I did was wrong, and everything I said was never enough. So, all I could manage to say was silent, "I lost them too."

I turned around and walked to my bedroom. The sun today was especially hot, burning my skin as its rays fell upon me. Ever since we moved here, my skin had darkened to a typical Italian tan, and my dark hair helped me blend into this small town. But what frustrated me most was that in this house, there was no breeze of fresh air on a hot day nor the air conditioning we had back in Chicago.

I walked inside my bedroom. The paint was peeling off the walls, and the house was old, needing so much work. But taking care of Sophie never gave me a chance to fix anything.

I pulled off my shirt, and as it slid down my body, I noticed a reflection in my window. Our new neighbor across the street, a girl Sophie's age, was watching. I couldn't see her clearly, just the soft curls of her blonde hair and her hand at the white lace curtains shielding her from my view.

Something told me to stop, to not make her feel watched, but a soft smile curved my lips. She was hiding, probably thinking I saw her. She awoke something in me—a curiosity.

I wanted to know who she was, and why she was there.Was she escaping something, just like us? Was she afraid? Did my look scare her?

I was one of those men born with different colored eyes—my left eye was deep green, and my right was deep blue. Almost the same, but different enough that every time I saw my reflection, I saw the monster others had created.

Kids can be cruel, the meanest people on Earth. I remember my first day of school; they called meFrankensteinbecause of my eyes. They mocked me, saying my mom and dad built me in a lab. Those hurtful words drove me into the shadows and taught me to fend for myself when my mom didn't know how to comfort me, and my dad couldn't fight the bullies anymore.

So, I became a bully.

In my fear for myself, I made everyone else fear me. That led me into so much trouble until one day it all disappeared when I had to become the light for Sophie, who was drowning in her own darkness. I always thought my family was cursed and that I was the reason for it.

But I knew darkness and evil existed. Ghosts and curses of our past haunted us only because we allowed them to. In the end, we were just humans. Monsters are just hiding under our beds.

Sophie entered the bedroom, breaking my thoughts. She wrapped her arms around me, catching me by surprise. Just before I could hug her back, she stepped away.

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