Chapter 34

She sighed, taking off her scrunchy and letting her ruby red hair fall over her shoulders. She had just finished cleaning the house, as she always did after school to help Akira's mother.

"Thank you sweetheart. But you don't have to do this."

"You've got a lot to handle. Least I can do is help."

"Thank you."

Maya smiled. Her own mother passed away a couple years back and as you can imagine. Her and her step-mother weren't exactly the best of friends. Her own mother never judged her friends even if they didn't exactly come from a good background, some even with a slight criminal record. Her own mother always seemed to understand where they were coming from. Maya remembered stories her mom would tell her from los barrios in Puerto Rico, the gang life that she grew up with. Beautiful brown hair, greenish-brown eyes; Akira's mother was so much like her it almost hurt.

Her heart broke a little bit more each time she saw Ms. Night hugging her legs tightly on the couch. It was guilt. She was guilty. She took her daughter away from her. All she wanted to do was to bring back her happiness.

A vibration felt on her left leg. "Hello?"

"Maya?"

"What is it Ny?"

"Have they called Akira's mom yet?"

"No......wait who is 'they'?"

"How have they not called yet?!"

"Nylai! Who is 'they'??"

"The record company, the police, SOMEONE!"

"Why would they......."

"They're getting him. It's all over. They found him...they...."

"What?!"

"BILL KAULITZ HAS BEEN CAUGHT!"

..............................................

"Owwwww! Fick!" she said, as they both stumbled onto the floor.

"No complaining! There is no time!" he said, taking her by the hand and bringing her upstairs.

'Listen to everything me and Bill say'.

Together they were alone on the top floor of the house, a nearly empty bedroom. Doors closed and locked, windows shut, curtains down. Every once in a while you could hear cars rushing by the house. His nerve trembling increased with every heartbeat shared between the two. He felt it. This was it. This was his ending. Like a child in her mother's arm, Akira nestled on his chest. His breathing was fast, but she could still hear the song in his breathing. Every inhale was his struggles, his obstacles, his battles. Every exhale was his victories, his dreams coming true.

She felt the teardrops from Bill's eyes slip onto her head. His fingers were stuck to her hair, but that was what he wanted. They had limited time. They had to make it last. "Why didn't you leave when you had the chance? You could have been far away from here by now,"

"I'm not going anywhere without you."

"But they don't know I'm here. Why didn't you leave when you had the chance?"

"You said people leave you whether they want to or not. I'm not like those people. I'm here to stay."

"Couldn't you have just come back for me?"

"Nein."

"But......"

"Nein!"

"Why not? I could have lived a few minutes without yo........." She could feel him giving her a glare. That was a lie. And they both knew it. He didn't leave because he didn't want her to suffer.

"There's no turning back now."

.....................................................

From the moment he stepped out from his car, reporters shouted one hundred questions every second, cameras were flashing all around him. All he heard was "Tom! Tom over here!"

He lowered his head, pulling his sunglasses closer to his face. ripping as fast as he could through the crowd. Inside the supermarket there was a tense feeling. It might have been the silence there was compared to the loud commotion from outside.

Caution tape surrounded the whole area, police men walking around back and forth with those annoying walkie-talkies they used. 'Why didn't they just use god damn cell phones?'

Tom slowly walked up and down several aisles. With all that pride he had, he just couldn't let anyone witness him breaking down. He wiped a tear beginning to fall out of his eye with his sweater and let out a heavy sigh. No one told him yet, but Bill was not in here.

He took a peek at the registers; the police were interviewing two girls at front. For a slight second, he envied them. They got to look at his brother, and he didn't. He was still in mystery to where he could be at this very second.

"He should be nearby. Police say he couldn't have gotten far."

"They spotted him hours ago. He could be anywhere by now."

"Those two girls at front, the witnesses, say Bill was here alone. Akira had her operation done days ago and I doubt she can see yet. How far away do you think Bill would be?"

He turned his head, not letting Yicelle see the smile that was creeping over his face. His little brother wouldn't go anywhere without that girl. "You're pretty smart, ya know that?"

"I didn't get a scholarship because I'm stupid."

"Umm...I kinda got you kicked out of school.....didn't I?"

"No....i guess I'm just gonna have mega homework when I get back." He pulled her close, giving her a hug for no apparent reason. "Tom....I think you might want this." She said, holding out a cell phone.

"A phone?"

"Ande's phone."