Milo stood glaring at Zach's door. Had he insisted more, had he pushed more, none of this would be happening. Progress had been slow but he'd been forgiven since it was still progress. Zach's attack on Dylan had changed everything for the worse.
Dylan was following through on his refusals to watch the videos. This was making everyone, Milo included, uneasy. It never took this long for the ritual to happen.
Hurry up, a hollow hiss rang out.
Milo stiffened in terror. "Of course, Bughuul," he choked out. It seemed like Zach was going to have to take Dylan's place, much to Milo's disgust.
"Get up," he snapped. When Zach didn't move, Milo sneered at the boy. He pushed the boy out of the bed. "I said get up."
Zach sat up and glared at his unwanted visitor. "What do you want?" He asked angrily. "Here to push me down the stair for hurting your little toy?"
Milo clenched his teeth at the blatant insult. Whether it was at him or Dylan he didn't care. "I will if you don't hurry to the cellar," he replied tersely. "You have some videos to watch."
Before Zach could say anything else, Milo disappeared. He let out an exasperated groan as he pulled himself back onto the bed.
"He will push you down the stairs you know," Catherine said.
Zach to keep himself from jumping in surprise. "What," he said dumbly.
"If you don't go, he'll force you down. He's really impatient you know," she continued. "He also doesn't like you. You should be happy he was forced to make the switch."
Zach rolled his eyes and got up. "I hate you all," he grumbled walking past her.
She idly laughed as she followed him down to the cellar.
This was going to be fun.
Dylan gave up on trying to sleep for the night. His body still ached from when Zach had hurt him. He rolled over to see Milo standing by his bed staring out the window. Dylan was surprised to see him there. He hadn't expected Milo to show up again. Not after the previous night's refusal to watch the videos.
"There's still time, you know," Milo finally said.
Dylan merely watched him curiously. It wasn't often that Milo spoke to him without facing him.
"Your brother had three left, but if you go now, he'll be forced to step back and let you finish the one you have left."
"I already told you," Dylan replied sitting up. "I don't want to watch those movies anymore."
Milo expression became strained for a second before returning to normal. It was so quick that Dylan was sure he imagined it.
"Please," Milo whispered.
Dylan was shocked at what he was seeing. The usual smugness that Milo wore was gone; replaced by regret and sadness.
"You can still reclaim your right even if Zach watches them all. Since you were my- our first choice, he'll be forced to step back. You can survive!" Milo continued.
"Milo, what are you talking about?" Dylan asked worried. He's never seen Milo so uncontrolled like that. If something was worrying Milo, that meant it was serious. "Survive what?"
"When he finished watching them, he'll do anything to make sure you all leave this house," Milo said. "And when you do, he'll kill you."
Dylan took a shuddered breath. Zach would never do that. Sure Zach was mean to him a lot, but he'd never go so far as to kill his brother. Right? "A-and if I watch them?" He whispered, voice laced with fear.
"Then you can be safe! You can get revenge for all the wrong that's been done to you," Milo insisted. "You can get revenge on your brother for constantly treating you like dirt. You can get revenge on your mother for watching and doing nothing as your father constantly beat you. You can finally get revenge on your father for all the pain he's put you through!" He grabbed on to Dylan's shoulders. "You can finally be safe with us."
Dylan never realized until then how truly cold Milo's hands were.
He reached up and grabbed Milo's hands. "I'm sorry," he said removing them from his shoulders. "I'm not strong enough."
Milo pulled his hands from Dylan's grasp with a look of hurt clear on his face. "Just," he said trying to regain his composure. "Don't leave. Don't change houses. If you don't leave, he'll be forced to take retribution on Zach."
Dylan frowned at how strained Milo's voice was, how hurt he looked.
"Just don't leave," he repeated before disappearing.