Three years ago
I TAKE two steps at a time toward the school’s rooftop. Ari likes to meet here because it’s away from other students.
She has a weird relationship with people. Some days, she wants their acceptance. Other days, she just wants them dead.
It’s how her brain works, her shrink told us. You just have to adapt to her and try not to antagonize her.
My head is still fucking mush after her revelation yesterday. I saw her talking to Reina near the pool in the morning, and that’s probably why I’m tense. Or it could be because I’m still damn pissed about Reina and that cocksucker.
And yes, Alexander took care of him. The school got word today that he’s moving states, or probably countries. Alexander has a knack for dealing with people and making them disappear.
It’s what he does best beneath all the legal talk and the sharp suit.
Then, there’s Reina.
Fucking Reina and her cold shoulder and stiff attitude. One day, I’m going to fuck it out of her.
One fucking day.
I jam my still bandaged fist into the wall to release the energy. I can’t talk to Ari when I’m in such a volatile mood. She’ll sense it and let it affect her.
Opening the door, I stand there for a second and inhale a deep breath. The afternoon sun has turned orange in the distance. It’s weird for Ari to stay at school this late, especially since she doesn’t have any club activities to attend.
I find her sitting at the edge with Jason. My nostrils flare upon seeing him.
I don’t like that motherfucker.
Not only is he hanging around my sister, he’s also trying to get his goddamn claws in Reina.
The only reason I haven’t rearranged his face and had Alexander relocate him to a third world country is because of Elizabeth.
Upon noticing me, he throws one last glance at Ari. She nods once, and he stands up and heads to the exit. He doesn’t make eye contact as he pushes through the door.
“Ari.” I try to hold on to my patience as I stride to her. “I told you not to hang around him. There’s something weird about—”
I freeze in place when Ari stands up abruptly. Her feet hang on the edge—the literal fucking edge.
Tears streak her pale cheeks, eyes bloodshot and red. Her white dress and black hair fly in the air behind her. The wind is so strong, it shakes her tiny body.
“Ari…what are you doing?” I try to keep my voice level, try not to freak the fuck out.
I approach her slowly.
“Stop.” She holds up both her hands and I stop, my heart beating so loud I barely hear the whistle of the wind or her loud sniffles.
“Ari. Come down, baby sis. We can talk about this, okay?”
She shakes her head frantically. Her leg slips off the edge and I swear my own heart slips out of place as well.
“It’s over, Gray.” Her voice is so emotional, it guts me.
“Nothing is over, Ari.” I reach a hand out. “Come here. We’ll work it out, okay? Just you and me.”
Her bottom lip trembles as she stares between my hand and the ledge.
The school is five stories high; if she falls, she’ll fucking die.
“Don’t look there, Ari.” I try to approach her but halt when she glares at me. “Come to me, please. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it. I’ll fix it all.”
Ari’s had gloomy moods before and often asked me what the point of life is when she was younger, but she never once attempted to take her life.
Not once.
This must be on a different level than anything else that has happened to her before.
“I’m so sorry, Gray. I can’t do this anymore.”
“Ari, let me help you, please.”
Her teeth chatter. “You’ll help me?”
“Absolutely. I’ll help you with anything.”
“But you can’t change a person’s heart, Gray.” Fresh tears well in her big eyes and fall down her cheeks. “I…I told Reina I loved her. You know what she said?”
Fuck. Fuck!
“Come here and tell me, Ari, okay?”
She shakes her head, her leg pushing back. I freeze an arm’s length away from her.
“She laughed, Gray.” A sob rattles in the air as tears fall down her neck and soak the hem of her dress. “She laughed at me and asked if I was serious. She said my brother and I are so fucking delusional and made fun of me. Why did she make fun of me?”
Reina did that?
Fucking hell. That’s the speech she reserves for her haters, not for Ari.
When this is over, I’m going to deal with her. She of all people knows how fragile Ari is. She should’ve rejected her softly, not been a bitch about it.
“I’ll talk to her,” I tell Ari. “We’ll fix this.”
“Don’t lie to me, Gray!” she yells, her neck straining with tension. “You can’t fix it. You’re fucking in love with her. I can see it in your eyes no matter how much you try to hide it. How do you expect me to live with someone who made fun of my feelings while my brother is in love with her?”
“I…” I clear my throat. “I won’t be anymore. I promise, Ari. I fucking promise, so come down.”
“Really?” She sniffles. “You’ll really hate her?”
“I will. Anything for you, Ari.”
I’ll cut my heart to pieces and stomp on it if I get to keep Ari. She’s the only thing I have, the only person I can call family.
I did everything to take care of her. If I lose her after Mom, I don’t know what will be left of my life.
She’s so young and deserves another chance at life.
She deserves the world.
“Anything?” she asks hopefully.
I give a sharp nod.
“Then don’t forget this, Gray.” Her face turns stone-cold as the tears and sniffles and sobbing disappear. “Make Reina pay for my death.”
And then she opens her arms wide and jumps backward, her dress flying behind her.
“Nooooo!” I roar as I close my hands, but all I catch is air.
I run to the edge, staring down.
The world pauses then.
Everything fucking disappears as I’m slowly gutted by the sight below.
Ari lies on the ground, her head smashed, blood flowing beside her and down her white dress as her vacant eyes stare at nothing.
A roar rips from me as I drop to my knees. “Noooo.”
As I kneel there, I realize something.
Ari isn’t the only one who died. Today, I died with her.
