Zie

“Oh shit!” I gasp before I can help myself.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Peony sobs as the paramedics stretcher Kaiden into the back of the ambulance. She’s barely standing and I don’t blame her.

It’s…horrific.

I’ve seen my fair share of bloody crime scenes, but this is…indescribable.

My stomach twists and churns as I’m wracked with guilt. I didn’t get here as quickly as I wanted, as I should have, because The General held me up. Motherfucker, it was like he knew there was an emergency and he wanted me kept out of it.

“No, no. I’m sure it’s fine,” I hastily try to reassure her. “It probably looks worse than it is.”

I’m lying. I’ve never seen anyone live after such a chaotic mess.

I pull her into my arms, not giving a shit who sees us, as The General and Axel’s father arrive with Kaiden’s dad. The coward must have gone running to them for backup the second he was done stabbing his son to within an inch of his life. I glare at him.

Where the fuck is Axel and why isn’t he answering his phone?

“There was so much blood, Zie,” Peony whispers.

“Shh, it’s okay. I know. I can see.” I stroke one hand through her hair but it’s tangled and sticky with drying blood. Actually, given how tightly she’s grasping on to me, my clothes are likely to be covered in almost as much blood as hers.

“W-what?” She pulls away from the crook of my neck and frowns at me.

“You look like a crime scene, darling.”

“I…I…” Her face crumples and she starts sobbing once more.

“Get her out of here, Zie,” Axel’s dad snaps. “The police will be here soon and they don’t need to be dealing with a hysterical teenager. They make unreliable witnesses.”

The threat in his voice is clear but Peony either doesn’t pick up on it, or doesn’t care. She starts shouting between hiccups and sobs and I have to admit Axel”s dad is right; she is hysterical.

“Good! I want to talk to the police! I want to tell them what h-he d-did!”

All three fathers shoot me murderous looks and I quickly start dragging Peony away from the scene.

“It’s fine. Let’s get you cleaned up. You can’t go to the hospital anyway, not looking like that.” She won’t be going to the hospital, not when the police will be stationed outside Kaiden’s room waiting to interview him the moment he wakes up. She’s too emotional, too unreliable right now. But I’ll do and say anything to keep her safe, so I drag her home, promising we’ll tell the police what really happened later.

It wouldn’t matter even if we did. Our fathers own everyone in this town and the neighbouring cities. There’s no chance Kaiden’s dad will ever have to pay for what he’s done…not even if Kaiden d—

No. I can’t think like that.

I turn my focus back to Peony. Her mum is due back from work at any moment and she doesn’t need to know what’s going on, so I pull her round the back of the house and use the rear entrance.

As soon as we step through the door, Peony starts trembling like crazy and she releases a massive breath.

“You need to take your clothes off, right here,” I tell her, leaving her standing on the back door mat as I hunt through the cupboard under the kitchen sink for bin bags.

“What?”

“You can’t risk traipsing blood all through the house. I’m going to bag and then burn everything you’re wearing, and you’re going to go shower. At least twice. Pay special attention to under your nails, around your hairline, under your chin and in your ears.”

“You’re talking like you’ve been in this situation before,” she murmurs. I don’t tell her that I have, many times. I just urge her to hurry before her mum gets home.

She doesn”t even question why I’m going to burn her clothes. But I know Axel’s dad and how he likes to operate. He’ll need a scapegoat for tonight and I won’t let Peony be it. Even if it means defying him, I’m going to give her an alibi and protect her with my life.

“I’m going to run the shower while you strip. Check your feet are clean before stepping off the mat, and then make a dash for it. I won’t look, and once you’re done, I’ll take care of your things.”

She swallows, nods, opens her mouth then hesitates. “Zie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you…” Her cheeks tint. “Will you stay with me while I shower? I don’t want to be alone. Can you get rid of…things later?” She doesn’t meet my eye but I can already see the blush colouring her neck.

“If that’s what you want,” I reply cautiously.

“It is. I don’t want to be alone.”

“But your mum—”

“Is pulling another all nighter. That”s why I went over to Kaiden’s in the first place.”

I nod my understanding. It makes sense. The pair of them hate being alone, and they’ll often spend the night together when Peony’s mum is working all night. Kaiden’s parents barely give a fuck where he is or what he’s doing…except when his dad needs an outlet for his alcohol-fuelled rage.

“I’ll run the shower, knock when you’re ready so I can close my eyes,” I say, then leave her to get ready.

Upstairs, I crank the shower as hot as it will go, solely to steam up the room – namely the mirrors and the glass shower screen – as much as possible. I wouldn’t dream of leaving Peony now she’s asked me to stay, but she must really be traumatised by tonight’s events if she’s not even considered the fact that I’ll be in the same room as her while she’s naked.

Peony knocks on the door just as I’m adjusting the shower so that it doesn’t scald her, and I promise once again to keep my eyes closed as she enters.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” she calls softly a minute later. I’m so attuned to her that I hear her even over the shower. I open my eyes and can just make out her silhouette through the steam on the glass. We may have been secretly…dating I guess…for a while now, but things between us have been pretty PG. Still, I know how much her body has changed over the years and even more in recent months. The blurred outline of her body through the glass is tantalising and if my brother didn’t just almost die at the hands of a sadist tonight, I might be tempted to do more than peek and take our relationship to the next level.

“Zie?”

“Huh? Sorry, did you say something?”

“I just asked if you could grab the nail brush out from the drawer by the sink for me please.”

“Sorry, I was miles away.”

I quickly grab the item for her and pass it over, my arm getting wet in the process.

“Is blood always this much of a bitch to get off?” she complains.

“Sometimes it’s worse. Depends how long it’s been dried on.” I hastily apologise for my over-honesty when she shudders at my statement. What the fuck is wrong with me? I need to keep my mouth shut.

Peony isn’t cut out for this world. I finally see what Axel has been saying for years. While he’s been pulling away, accepting his destiny, I’ve been fighting mine, using Peony as a life raft to save myself from sinking into the darkness of what my future holds.

Peony may have been our past, and my present, but she can’t be our future.

“I should go.”

“Please stay,” she begs, stepping past the shower screen and standing before me in her full blood streaked, naked glory. Her eyes are wide, wild and terrified. “There’s so much blood and I can’t…I can’t get it off, Zie. Help me. Please?”

Swallowing hard, I nod once. Fuck. Even covered in blood she’s beautiful. I don’t hesitate to step into the shower, fully clothed, and take her in my arms. “Let me. I’ll get you clean. I’ll fix this mess, I promise.”

I’m not just talking about the blood anymore.