Bray stood over Erick, his breathing heavy as he glared down at Erick's bloody back. The large man was laying at his feet writhing in pain, begging for Bray to stop. The words had penetrated Bray's ears, they had registered in his mind but they did little to sooth the rage that was inside of him. They didn't change the fact that Erick had betrayed him; that he had stolen from him. The sight at his feet didn't change the upheaval that Erick had caused with in their family. All any of it did was make Bray believe that what he had already done wasn't enough. That belief was emphasized when Bray's hand tightened around the belt. He wanted Erick to suffer. He wanted him to understand that what he had done was unforgivable, but short of beating him, Bray didn't know what else he could do.
Behind him he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. It was Luke. He knew it was. It wasn't Lila's replacement. She'd made a dash for the door the second everything had imploded around her and he was sure that she hadn't looked back. Not that he really cared. Bray had picked her up for the sole purpose of emphasizing to Erick that Lila was long gone. She had done her job and in the morning when calmer heads prevailed, Bray would find someone new. He always did. Luke's hand tightened around Bray's shoulder, giving it a slight tug backwards. Clearly Erick had suffered enough in Luke's mind. Unfortunately for Erick, Bray simply didn't agree.
Never the less, Bray had a hunch Luke was right. He jerked his shoulder away from Luke, stepping over Erick's broken body as he put some space between him and them. A little distance would do them all some good, but especially Erick. The less Bray had to look at him, the better. He ran his free hand through his thick sweaty hair, clearing it out of his face. His composure was beginning to return. Bray's mind was becoming clearer. Slowly the rage was quieting. Finally, after a minute or so the belt fell from his hand, indicating that he was done. Behind him he heard Luke shuffle over to Erick. Bray turned his head slightly to see Luke helping his brother to his feet. The sight of it made him sick. In Bray's mind Erick didn't deserve the loyalty Luke showed him, he barely deserved to breathe.
"Leave him." Luke paused looking up at Bray. "Leave him where he lays." Luke nodded quickly letting go of Erick. They both watched him fall back to the hard floor with a thud. "He is a liar and a thief. He has broken our trust, or have you forgotten that?" Luke silently shook his head no. "But you still help him." Bray took a step closer to Erick, watching him shrink back slightly. "Why?" Luke didn't answer him right away, he never did. Instead he considered his answer for a moment and spoke when he felt he had the right one.
"He is our brother."
"Is he?" Luke nodded. "So you believe he still has a place in this family after today?" Bray's eyes dropped to Erick's face. "I didn't keep her, so why should I keep him? Maybe I should just send you back to where I found you. I'm sure they would love to know where you got to." Erick began to frantically shake his head no. He weakly reached for Bray's leg, but all that earned him was a hard kick to the ribs. "Keep your damn hands to yourself you fool!" Bray dropped to a knee, grabbing Erick by the beard so he would be forced to look at him. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Can you even understand all the trouble you've caused me?" Erick nodded. "She's gone because of you. She had to suffer because you couldn't listen."
"I'm….sorry!"
"Sorry?" Bray laughed. "Sorry doesn't mean a thing to me now. What's done is done." Bray leaned in closer, looking Erick right in the eye. "Her blood is now on your hands. I want to remember that. I want you to always remember that you made me do a very bad thing to a very good person today. Unlike you, she was a true follower to our cause. She deserved her place here. You don't." Bray roughly let go of him, slowly standing.
"Not true." Erick willed himself to get up onto his knees. He reached out, grasping Bray's apron with all the strength he had. "I'll prove it."
"Prove it? How do you expect to prove anything to me? I have no interest in anything you say. You're no better than those filthy sheep on the other side of the fence!" He flinched, but he didn't let go. If anything Erick gripped Bray's apron tighter.
"Penance." He desperately looked at Luke, repeating himself. "Penance." Luke glanced over to Bray, seeing that he had virtually no reaction to Erick's plea. Penance, atonement, contrition; it didn't matter how you phrased it, the concept was lost when it came to the likes of Bray Wyatt. "Please don't send me back. Please Bray. I'll be good from now on. I won't disobey you anymore. Please just let me stay. Please." Bray stood there glaring down at him, silent. He brought his hands up, wrapping them around Erick's wrists and forcing him to let go. Once Erick was free of him, Bray released him and brought the back of his hand down across Erick's face; knocking him to the floor.
"I will send you where I see fit." Bray looked over at Luke. "Lock him up out here for the night. I don't want him trying anything else." Luke nodded. "I'll make my decision concerning his fate in the morning."