Page 36 of Into the Light

He slowly moved his head in my direction, but I didn’t move my gun from its position.

“Yes, Boss. It is crystal clear what your position is on this . . . situation,” he snarled. Grabbing the gun, I tucked it into my waistband and, in one swift movement, retrieved the knife next to it.

I held his hand to the table and stabbed it right through the middle. Gasps reverberated around the room as Tommy screamed in pain.

“I don’t think I made myself clear. You are to stay the fuck away from her,” I gritted out. Then I glared at everyone else, whose eyes had gone wide and mouths had dropped to the floor. They needed to understand I was their leader and I needed to be respected. I was doing this for Ember and Ash. The two people who mattered most. My brother and his—mine—ugh, fuck, Ember.

I left the knife in his hand as I snapped at Pico to help me clean this up. Before we pulled it out and walked away, I looked back at Tommy.

“Call your girl. I need the products that will get her hair back to normal delivered to the house in the next ten minutes. If they aren’t, then I am doing this to your other hand, too.”

I headed into the kitchen, past the door to the basement, a.k.a torture chamber, and out the back.

I choked on the air in my lungs while staring at my hands covered in blood splatter and shaking profusely. I’d never acted like that before. Yeah, I’d been around a lot of fucking death, but always as the person watching, cleaning up, managing the cops, et cetera. I’d never actually been the one to deliver the blow, and even though I hated Tommy and Tana right now . . . I hated myself more.

I was turning into the one person I swore I’d never become because that person was ugly, horrible, disgusting. He was the devil in an Armani suit, and he also happened to be stepdaddy dearest. The one person no one was blaming for Ash’s death, yet they all should be because he was responsible.

“Hey, Ash?” I called out as I roamed through the house, but the silence was deafening. Normally, we would be home right after school, but I had gotten stuck at the math club, unlike him. Mr. Ortiz had strict rules keeping Ash away from after-school activities. Instead, he often had to shadow his father during business dealings. However, with Mr. Ortiz and my mom away on a trip since yesterday, Ash should have been home.

My phone displayed no texts from him, which only fueled my growing sense of unease. I couldn’t explain it, but something inside me screamed that something was amiss.

Climbing the stairs that led to our rooms, I reminisced about our newfound freedom as sophomores in high school. It meant we finally got our separate rooms in the west corridor of our mansion in the city. Although we had to share a bathroom, it was a welcome change. I could have my own space for books without enduring Ash’s early morning routine, which started at the ungodly hour of five.

Reaching the corner where our rooms connected, I noticed no signs of movement or sound. “Ash?” I tried again, but there was no response. I gently knocked on his door, pressing my ear against it in case he had company, a common occurrence when his father was away on business trips. Ash’s popularity at school, thanks to his striking appearance and charming demeanor, made him quite the ladies’ man.

With a growing sense of dread, I pushed Ash’s door open. What I saw on the floor shattered my heart into pieces. There lay Ash, surrounded by empty pill bottles, with tears streaming down his face. My breath caught in my throat as I rushed to his side. For the first time, my brother looked broken. I’d looked up to him the entire time we’d been brothers, but he didn’t look like the person I knew.

“Ash, what the hell is going on?” My voice trembled with fear and disbelief.

He looked up at me, his eyes red and swollen, and let out a choked sob. It was the first time I had ever seen my brother cry. It was a heart-wrenching sight that tore at my very soul.

“I . . . I didn’t take any,” he said between sobs. “But I wanted to. God, Rain, I wanted to.”

I sank down beside him, feeling helpless and overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. The reality of the moment hit me like a ton of bricks. Ash, the person I had always seen as unbreakable, the one who presented a façade of strength to the world, was hurting, and he was hurting badly.

For the first time, a chilling realization washed over me. I was scared for my brother. Terrified that the pressure, the expectations, and the suffocating grip of his father’s control had pushed him to the brink of despair. I had never seen him so vulnerable, so lost.

Tears welled in my eyes as I held him, to let him know he wasn’t alone. We were in this together, whatever “this” was. And no matter how daunting the journey ahead, I was determined to help my brother find his way back from the darkness that threatened to consume him.

I held Ash in my arms as he continued to cry, his body trembling with the weight of his emotions. The room felt suffocating, as if the walls themselves were closing in on us. The bottles of pills strewn about served as a stark reminder of just how close we had come to losing him.

Holding him, I whispered soothing words, promising we would get through this together. I didn’t know how, but I couldn’t let my brother down. He had always been there for me, and now it was my turn to be his rock.

After what felt like an eternity, Ash’s sobs began to subside, then he pulled away slightly, wiping the tears from his face with the back of his hand. His eyes met mine, and in that moment, I saw a raw vulnerability I had never seen before.

“Rain,” he croaked, his voice hoarse from crying, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep living like this.”

His words sent a chill down my spine. I knew he was talking about his father, about the suffocating control and the relentless pressure that had been crushing his spirit for years.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said, my voice filled with determination. “We’ll find a way to get you out of here, away from him.”

Ash nodded, and a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. It was a small spark, but it was enough to reignite my own determination. I needed to get us out of here. It was the one hard truth.

“When we get to Isles, everything will change, but I need you to hold on until then.” Ash looked up at me, his eyes locked with my own gaze.

Although we shared no blood, we’d spent every single day together dodging the responsibilities he had, and when he got in trouble, I’d help pick up the slack. Because of my position, or lack thereof, in the family, I knew I had to help him when he needed it because his dad would never suspect it was the two of us. We spent countless Saturday mornings remaking his bed over and over until it was to Mr. Ortiz’s satisfaction. At the end of the day, it was Ash who helped me. He kept me company—gave me a brother. Gave me a purpose in this life, and after today, I knew I needed to give him that back. I needed to protect him. I would not fail him.

“Earth to Rain,” a familiar voice said, and I blinked away the thoughts I was lost in.

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