{Jeff}

"Who's that?" BEN asked me as we sat watching a girl pulling herself up onto the dock and out of the lake. I shrugged and he held up a knife. I shook my head and continued to watch her. He huffed and stood, walking out into view.

"Who are you?" he called. The girl quickly wrapped her arms in strange bandages and ran, pulling on her clothes and carrying her shoes.

"Let her go," I called.

"Why?! She's seen us! She'll tell everyone!" BEN growled.

"No, she didn't see you, she was looking at her phone. She was yelling about being late for school," I snapped. We wound up heading back to the mansion in silence.

{Storm}

After the unmentionable things I received for being late, I was finally allowed to go to bed. I watched as the minutes ticked by. Finally midnight played across its red screen. I quickly crept through the house, past my drunken father and out the door. Once outside, I ran through the woods, fast and far. I soon ended up at a hill where I sank to my knees and bawled my eyes out. I suddenly, felt a presence above me.

{Jeff}

It was the girl from the lake, I realized, that was doubled over on the hill. I pulled out my knife but I didn't get the same feeling I get when I'm going to kill someone. I walked up to her, silently. I lifted my arm back, ready to kill her. She tilted her head back and I saw that she was crying.

{Storm}

The man above me looked surprised because his smile turned into frown. His arm went slack, as did the grip on his knife. He still had it held up but it wasn't as threatening. He stumbled back a single step but held his confused/surprised look.

"Kill me," I begged softly.

{Jeff}

She breathed two small words that would normally have me killing her. I put my knife away slowly and made sure that my hood was up still. I bent down and touched her shoulders. I shook my head and stood up, gently pulling her with me. I lay back in the grass and looked up at the moon and stars. She followed my example and we laid there. Hours later, she looked at her watch. She made a move to stand but I sat up and caught her arm. She flicked her head to the woods before looking up at the stars, at me, then at my hand. I looked at the stars, then patted the ground with one hand. She nodded and gave me a small smile. I released her arm and she walked off into the woods. I watched her go until she got to the tree line. She gave me a soft smile and waved. I held up a hand as she left.

We hadn't spoken, only watched the time pass by. We watched the sky change slowly.

{Storm}

The next few weeks passed slowly, with me meeting the mysterious man each night. Those weeks turned into months, those months turned into years, until two years had passed by. It was my not-so-sweet sixteen. I got nothing but the usually abuse but much worse. When I finally limped down to my basement room, I found a white rose with grey and black edges. It still had thorns on it. I smiled at its beauty. I found a note tied with a white ribbon attached to it. It read: "Beautiful but dangerous." Beside it laid a beautifully crafted knife. The blade resembled a flattened shark tooth, color included. The hilt of the dagger was somewhat amusing. It had sparkling green thorns circled around the guard and the grip was brown with green and gold leaves and red flowers. Etched in the blade was a wolf howling at the moon. It fit perfectly in my hand. Suddenly, the door to my "room' banged open. I cowered in fear but held the knife behind my back. A man that came every now and then to… I shivered at the thought. His name is Tawny Smith. I trembled as he lunged for me. I acted on instinct and pulled out the knife, I slammed it into his chest and twisted. He died slowly. His blood dripped down my hand and plipped onto the floor. I quickly pulled it out and looked at the knife in my hand. My hands were covered in his blood. I finally understood; the man had given me these gifts to do one thing; save myself from this living hell. I slipped my jacket over my shoulders and called forth the demon within me, bringing forth my anger and hatred. When I opened my eyes again, I saw the world through different eyes. I picked up the rose and walked up the stairs, twirling the rose between my fingers as I held my knife. As I climbed the stairs, I took one last look at my room before touching the necklace around my neck. It was of a turtle. I closed the door on the dead man and realized I was ending my old life. I walked through the house, towards my parents' room. I towered over my father and held the knife to where its blade lay along my arm. He woke with a start.

"You little, Bitch! What do you think you're doing?!" he yelled at me. I cupped my hand over his mouth and leaned down over him, my lips positioned by his ear.

"Shh… It all ends here. This is the end for you. I never loved you, you never loved me. Good-bye, Father," I whispered, plunging the knife into his collar bone. I tore it down his body, spilling his guts before cutting a symbol into his temples. They were wings. Angel wings.

"See you in hell," I said, smiling at the thought. My mother walked out of the bathroom and I killed her the same way, cutting the wings into her temples. When I walked away, I listened to her body hit the floor with a sickening thump. I looked at their room and seen a picture of my brother and I. He had his arms around me and was smiling, one eye closed. We were laughing and I had my hands on his arms. I don't remember that day…. It was so long ago it seems. Now, my brother is gone. He was killed. He committed suicide. I loved him. I slipped the photo into my pocket and went up to his room. I found took off the turtle necklace and laid it on the pillow. A single tear fell from my eyes.

"I'm sorry, brother," I whispered before walking out of that cursed house. I walked into the wood until I came to his grave. His guitar still lay against it, covered in leaves. The necklace I had left there still sat on top of the tomb stone and his motorcycle still lay propped up against it, now covered in vines. I cut the vines off the bike and sat it up on its kick stand. I put his necklace around my neck and strapped the guitar onto my back before putting on his old goggles. They fit me perfectly. I tucked the flower into my pocket where it would be safe and mounted the bike. I turned it on and sped through the woods, up the hill, and beside the man who I hadn't spoken to in the two years I've known him. My jacket was splattered with blood, as was my shirt. My hands were caked in drying blood and the knife was still dripping. He nodded at me with a small smile while I hung my goggles around my neck. He took my hands as I stuck the knife in my pocket and flipped them over, palms up. He brought them to his lips and kissed each palm in turn. I smiled and he touched my face. I flinched but his touch was gentle and reassuring.

"Pain… That's all you've known all your life… You've survived where no other human could… You didn't fight it at all, you let the darkness take you slowly… You welcomed it… You're like me in that way… I'm glad you survived… You never lost hope, even as they broke you down further and further… You were able to rise back to the top on your own… You're a fighter… You're alive… You survived after the fall… You are strong…" he said. I don't know why, but I trusted in his words. I trusted this man whose name I didn't even know. I did the one thing that felt right to me; I hugged him. I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around his back, and rested my head on his chest. He tensed at first before hugging me back.