After the man pushed Phoebe towards me, I knew I had to try and keep her safe. I saw her stumble and quickly reached out to steady her. I pushed her behind me. The man can do whatever he wants to me, but hurting my twin is crossing the line.

"Hah, how cute," the man snarled. "The 'villain' trying to be the perfect, protective brother when someone threatens your sisters life."

Really? That's what he says?! And how does he know I'm a villain? What else does he know about us? My anger reached its maximum though. This lunatic needs to get out of the house.

"What do you want?" I asked him, but it didn't sound as threatening as I wanted it to be.

"What do I want? Hah, you wanna know what I want? I want to teach you both a lesson," was the answer I got. A lesson?! I swear he is going to pay for this.

I took a step towards him, wanting to pound his face in for even stepping foot in this house, let alone putting a gun to Phoebe's head. The gun that was previously pointed at the floor was now raised and I froze immediately. As if on instinct, I raised both my hands showing I wasn't going to do anything.

"Don't move. Don't do anything stupid or I'll make you regret it," the man said with clenched teeth, showing that he wasn't messing around and would use the gun if prompted to.

I ran through some options in my head if I tried to seize the gun from him. He could kill me, or Phoebe, or both of us. He could shoot a warning shot at the wall to scare me into not doing anything. Or I could get the gun from him and this would all be over.

I doubt he will kill either of us, and I'm okay with a hole in my wall since I'm a villain and nothing scares me; well nothing besides the dark, and a few other things I've never admitted to, but you get my point.

I made my decision and charged toward the man. But the second I moved a shot went off.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I immediately covered my ears with my hands, trying to stop the ringing. The man was staring intently past me, with his gun in one hand by his side. I turned to see where he shot, and what he was looking at.

But that what was a who. And that who was my sister.

Sprawled on the ground.

With a growing pool of blood surrounding her.

"PHOEBE!" I screamed, tears coming to my eyes. I ran towards her and crouched down next to her.

Her face was scrunched in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. After a closer look, I could see the bullet went into her leg, a few inches above her left knee. The seconds that followed while I stared in shock felt like hours. I didn't know what to do. I didn't even know if my sister was conscious.

Once I broke from my trance, I gently touched her shoulder. There was a slight twitch from her hand.

"Phoebe," I said very soothingly. "Phoebe, open your eyes." I didn't know what to say or do, so I started to run my hand up and down her arm. "C'mon, it's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay."

Her eyes slightly cracked open and she looked up at me. "Max…" came her weak, pain filled voice.

"Hey, shh, I'm right here. You're gonna be okay." I went and gently wiped her tear streaked cheeks with the pads of my thumbs. I then pushed her hair back out of her face. She just stared back at me, her eyes bloodshot and puffy and showing she was in pain.

I hate seeing my twin in pain, and for a while I forgot that the man that caused this was still standing behind us in the room. And when he spoke, the anger I felt earlier turned to hatred.

"Well I hate to break up this cute moment but I have things planned that I need to take care of." I finally took my eyes away from Phoebe's and looked back at the man. All I wanted to do was kill him. He hurt my sister and he has to pay.

"I hope you will learn from this. That bullet could have been a kill shot instead of just the leg. Next time I really hope you listen to what I tell you, or it will be worse than just the leg."

I was staring daggers into him. I really wish looks could kill right now, because he would be six feet under. But I can't focus on what I'm going to do to him when I get a chance right now. I need to focus on Phoebe.

I know if I don't stop the bleeding she could lose too much and bleed out. I also know that she could get blood poisoning if the bullet stays in her flesh for too long. But I can't do anything about that right now but hope we get out of here soon. All I can do is try and stop the bleeding.

"I need to stop the bleeding," I said to the man. I don't know what his reaction will be, but I know I can't just start doing something without him knowing, since he proved that if I make a sudden move he will hurt us.

After the sentence left my mouth, I wanted so badly to jump up and smack the smirk that appeared right off his face.

He chuckled. "Well it's your lucky day. I need both of you alive for now."

I figured he meant I could get a shirt to tie around Phoebe's leg, so I went to stand up. The minute I moved, though, the man took a step towards me and said calmly and simply, "No. Get back down. Tell me what to grab."

I stared at him for a second. Then knelt back where I previously was and told him, "Right behind you in the chair. One of those shirts."

He smirked, glanced back, and walked backwards, keeping his eyes on me. I wasn't going to do anything though. I need to make sure Phoebe will be okay before I plan something.

I took my eyes off the man and looked back at my twin. She hadn't moved, still laying sprawled on the floor on her side, and had been watching me while my attention was on the man before us. I gave her a small smile and grabbed her hand before turning back to the man.

He had grabbed the top shirt, a black v-neck, and walked back to where he was standing. He tossed the shirt to me and I caught it with my open hand. Without wasting any more time, I turned my attention back to Phoebe, forgetting the man once again.

I gave her hand a squeeze and softly said to her, "I gotta stop your leg from bleeding. This might hurt a bit, but I need to do this." She stared at me a second, but then squeezed my hand back. I took that as a go ahead to help her.

I laid the shirt next to me and put my hands on her shoulders. I carefully turned her so she was laying on her back. I then moved so I was next to her bleeding leg and grabbed the shirt. I put my hand under her left knee and slightly lifted it up, just enough so I could slip the shirt under it. Phoebe had let out a soft groan when her leg moved and I looked at her with a sympathetic smile, but her eyes were closed again, most likely trying to block out the pain. I then glanced at the monster who did this, who was just staring at me with his arms crossed.

I went back to work. Realizing I needed to wrap the shirt around my twins leg twice, I quickly wrapped it over the wound and lifted her leg again and slid the shirt under for a second time. I needed to make sure the shirt was tight enough, but I didn't want to hurt Phoebe more, so I pulled the shirt as tight as I dared and tied it, making sure the knot was two or three inches away from the bullet hole.

Phoebe let out a louder, pain filled groan as I tied it off. Once I finished I wiped her blood onto my jeans and grabbed her hand in both of mine and soothingly said to her, "It's okay. I'm done. I'm done, you're gonna be okay."

She finally opened her eyes again and looked up at me, a few more tears escaping down her face. Before she could try and say anything, the man spoke up.

"Okay, now that that is done, let's get things moving." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of rope. He wasn't holding the gun anymore, so I assumed he put it in the waistband of his jeans. "Now, get the girl up and move her to the wall," he ordered and pointed to the back wall, which is easily visible when coming down the stairs.

I stared at him for a moment, as if silently asking him if he was serious. By the look he sent back at me, I could tell he was. My attention went back to Phoebe, and I was about to put my arms under her legs and back until she grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"No…" she started slowly. She tried propping herself up on an elbow, so I quickly put my hand on her back, helping her. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a small whimper. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes and looked back at me. "No, help me walk over. You don't need to carry me."

I stared at her like she had two heads and told her, "It's easy for me to carry you, and it'll be easier for you."

The look in her bloodshot eyes told me she was serious, and I couldn't argue anymore after the man cleared his throat loudly, getting impatient.

I sighed, and grabbed Phoebe's arm with one hand and wrapped my other around her back, slowly helping her up. She stood on her right leg, with her arm around my shoulders and most of her weight leaning on me. I swear she's crazy for wanting to walk herself, especially since I thought she was going to pass out while I tried to stop her wound from bleeding. But I had no other choice. So now I helped her hop over to the wall, with her leaning to the right and having her left leg slightly bent so it didn't touch the ground at all. I kept a tight hold on her, because I was afraid she would end up falling over.

Slowly, we made our way over to the wall, with Phoebe only wincing occasionally. Once at the wall, I helped her turn and gently lowered her so she was sitting, legs out straight and leaning against the wall.

"Took long enough," the man grunted out. I turned to him and he threw the rope he had been holding at me. This time I didn't reach to catch it. It landed on the floor at my feet. "Tie your sisters arms behind her back," he instructed.

I gave him a look, but his menacing stare made me listen. I leaned down to grab the rope, then knelt next to my twin. "I'm sorry," I whispered to her. She just looked at me and nodded, putting her hands behind her back. She looked exhausted, and I don't blame her. It was already later at night in the first place and I can't even tell you how much time passed since all this started. Not to mention she was shot and that took a ton of energy out of her.

I took the rope and tied her hands together, trying to be gentle and not tie them that tight, but tight enough just in case the man checked. I looked back at where the man had been, but he was closer to us now, having moved silently through the room.

"Stand up," he ordered. I did. "Turn around so I can tie your hands." Once again, I did. The man pulled out another piece of rope and stepped right behind me.

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but without even thinking I went to jab the man with my elbow in the side, hoping to slow him down enough so I could take him down. As if he saw it coming, the man moved his arm down to block mine and shoved me hard into the wall. I grunted, and continued to struggle, trying to break free. It didn't work very well since the guy was pretty muscular, but I immediately stopped when there was a scream of pain next to me.

I looked to my left, down at Phoebe, and the man had his boot on her wound. Her face contorted, eyes shut, head against the wall, and breathing heavily, I could tell she was trying to block everything out, yet stay conscious.

I felt like breaking down right there. Whatever possessed me into trying to take the man down was completely gone now. And after a moment of me being still, the man removed his boot from my twins leg and tied my hands tightly together. After, he let me go and walked away.

I turned myself and watched the man walk towards the stairs. Right before he started walking up, he turned and looked at us for a moment. He finally stated, very simply, "Get comfortable. You're going to be here a while," then went up the stairs, leaving us trapped in my room.

I stood against the wall for a few moments, thinking about what all just happened. I was pulled from my thoughts by a strained voice calling my name. I slid down the wall and sat close to Phoebe.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. All my fault. If my anger hadn't of gotten the best of me you wouldn't be hurt and we might have found a way out," I told her, blinking back my tears.

"Max, it's okay. It isn't your fault. He would have done this no matter what we would have done. I don't blame you," came her response. She could tell me that a million times, but I will always blame myself.

Phoebe leaned her head on my shoulder. Neither of us said anything for a while. I finally looked at one of the clocks in my room and it read 11:36 pm.

"It's pretty late. You should get some sleep," I said quietly, trying to keep my emotions in.

I leaned my head back against the wall as Phoebe said, "I don't know if I can. Every time I blink I see him again, holding the gun to my head and thinking about what could have happened."

"Hey, nothing's gonna happen again. I won't let it. I won't do anything stupid and I will figure out how to get us out of here. You're going to be okay. I'm gonna get you out of here and you're gonna get your leg patched up and that monster is going to jail. We're gonna be okay." I don't know if I was trying to comfort Phoebe or myself, but it seemed to work for both of us. I got an okay and a thanks from my twin, and after a while I felt her breathing even out.

As I was sitting there, Phoebe's head on my shoulder, trying to fall asleep, I was trying to figure out a way to get us out of here. Coming up blank, I thought about how stupid everything I did was. I was the reason my other half is hurt, in pain, with a hole in her leg. It's all my fault.

Waiting for sleep to overcome me, I finally let the tears fall.