13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Rune

My phone ringing on the nightstand startles me, I’ve been so lost in my head, I didn’t realize how much time has passed. I listen until the ringing stops, sighing in relief that it’s quiet again. Rolling over, I grab my phone and unlock it. The screen lights up and I see the missed call was from Cali. I take a deep breath and listen to the voicemail, expecting it to be an apology of some sort, but I’m confused when it’s silent. She must have pocket dialed me. Just as I'm about to hang up, I hear footsteps, it sounds like someone running. I end the call and pull up the app that shows me her location. It shows she’s at the cabin, but that doesn’t make any sense. I rush to my car, dropping my phone down the steps in the process. Glancing down, I see that the screen is shattered, so I don’t even bother slowing down to grab it.

The short drive to the cabin feels much longer than it should, my heart thrums with anticipation as I finally turn onto the long driveway. My heart falls entirely out of my ass when I see Karrion’s jeep tucked behind the house. There’s only one reason he comes out here.

“No… no, no, no, no, no.” I repeat, slamming the car into park and jumping from the car. The door to the cabin is hanging wide open so I run toward it, but stop short when Cali’s bloody face comes into view, her eyes are open, but I already know she’s gone. Karrion is straddling her waist, stabbing a knife into her mangled body over and over again.

“NOOOOO!” I scream, falling to my knees a few feet in front of the steps. I faintly hear a vehicle in the distance and for a brief second, I hope it’s one of my other brothers, but that thought is immediately replaced by an overwhelming calm as Karrion’s head snaps to me. A sinister smile spreads across his blood stained face. He pulls the knife free from Cali’s chest, wiping the blood off on his shirt as he stalks toward me, never breaking eye contact with me. “I’m right behind you, Sweet Pea.” I whisper, spreading my arms out and waiting for the inevitable. “I love you, brother, and I forgive you.”

He plunges the knife into my chest and I smile up at him. Pain blooms in my chest as I watch something in his eyes change. They turn soft for a split second before returning to the cold, dark hazel they were a moment ago. His hair falls in his face as he stares down at me, ripping the blade free and slamming it into my chest once more. I hear footsteps rapidly approaching before I see Alaric’s tattooed arm wrap around Karrion’s neck from behind. Wrapping my hand around the knife, I yank it free. “Stop.” I spit, “let him finish-”

“Maybe we’re just not meant to get married, Rune.”

Startling myself awake, I gasp, sitting up in the bed and looking around. “Where’s Karrion?” I rasp, my throat feeling like it’s completely raw. “Something’s wrong.”

“Son, you’ve been through a lot today, just lay back and rest.” Someone says, but I don’t recognize the voice at all.

“Where’s my brother?” I ask again, turning to look at the stranger, I realize I'm in the hospital. “I need a drink.”

“Your nurse is already getting you water, I need you to lay back and relax before you pass out again.” The doctor says, pushing against my shoulder to get me to lay down. I push his hand away, trying to swing my legs off the bed when everything goes black again.

“I deserve to die, just fucking kill me!” Karrion screams in Ric’s face. Tears stream down K’s face as he glances over at something on the ground.

“It’s not your fault, K.” Ric says, pulling his forehead against K’s. “I know it fucking sucks, but this isn’t your fault.”

“Then who’s fucking fault is it, Ric?” Karrion spits, pushing him away. “Cause last I checked, these hands were the ones stabbing my best fucking friend.”

“You can’t control it, Karrion,” Silas chimes in, “You love her, if you could have stopped, you would have.”

“Save it, Si,” K puts his hand up and swats the air, dismissing Silas. “I didn’t just kill my best friend. No, I killed my brother's fiancee, then tried to kill him.”

“Karrion!” I yell, causing everyone in the room to jump. “Where is he?”

“He’s not here, Rune.” Alaric says quietly, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Something is wrong, we need to find him.” I rush out, a dreadful pit burrowing deep in my stomach. “Where did he go?”

“Mr. Wicklow, how much do you remember of what happened?” Doc asks with a solemn look on his face.

“Is that really the best idea with the state he’s in?” Alaric questions, glancing between me and the doctor.

“He’s feeling like this because he doesn’t remember. He feels a sense of panic because he subconsciously knows what happened, and he’s trying to stop it.” Doc whispers quietly to my brothers. I’m probably not meant to hear what he’s saying, but I have really good hearing.

“Call the Quinn’s,” Alaric says to Silas, “she deserves to be handled properly.”

“Doc, can you step out of the room? I need to talk to my brothers.” I say with the last ounce of calm in my body.

“With all due respect, Mr. Wicklow, I can’t step out of the room, but you can speak freely here. I'm well aware of… well, everything. I'm one of the new doctors your father hired. My name is Doctor Callaway.”

“Great, nice to meet you doc.” I say quickly before turning to my brothers. “We need to find Karrion, something is seriously wrong.”

“Look, Rune.” Ric starts, wiping his hand down his face. “The bad has already happened. K couldn’t handle it and ran off. We haven’t been able to find him for six hours.”

“Did Lily come for Calista?” Swallowing the lump in my throat, I look at the ceiling to try and tamp down my emotions.

“You remember that?” Silas questions, looking between Doc and Ric before his gaze lands on me.

“I remember everything.” I tell him, my voice cracking as I speak. “I have this horrible feeling in my stomach.”

“He’ll come back when he’s ready.” Ric nods, his face a blank mask, but his icy gray eyes give away his emotions. “He said something to you as they loaded you into the ambulance. Do you remember what it was?”

“He told me to come for him whenever I'm ready.” I say, and a light bulb clicks in my head. I know just where to find him.