Chapter 395

Olivia

When Alvin’s light went out, I felt as though the universe was caving in on itself.

I couldn’t even begin to describe the feeling of pain and agony. Here was my childhood friend, the person who I had been torn away from at fifteen, and we never even had a chance to fully reconnect before his light was snuffed out right before my very eyes.

I was angry. I was sad. And I was broken, in that moment.

But then I heard it; Nathan’s voice, calling to me from the top of the basement stairs, urgent and frantic.

“Olivia, watch out!”

His urgent warning was a lifeline when I needed it the most, a jolt that snapped me back to reality just in the nick of time. My instincts kicked in, and I rolled to the side with every ounce of strength I could muster.

The air rushed past me as the rock intended for my head whizzed by, narrowly missing its target. My heart pounded like a drum in my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins.

I scrambled to my feet, my breath ragged, and my eyes locked onto the figure of Jenifer, sprawled on the ground. She seemed weakened, disoriented by the earlier confrontation. And then I saw the rock that she had had in her hands; it went rolling across the floor, having missed its mark.

“What the hell?!” I shrieked, my voice hoarse from sobbing. “I spared you, Jenifer! And this is what you do in return?”

Jenifer said nothing. Her face was twisted into a mask of pure fury, and she scrambled to her hands and knees, snarling like a feral animal.

“I’ll kill you!” she hissed, her voice full of nothing but madness. “I’ll kill all of you for what you did!”

“Watch out,” Nathan said, his voice trembling ever so slightly. He had closed the distance between us in a matter of moments, his form like a rock beside me. But we had no time for reunions; he looked around frantically before grabbing a pile of ropes off of a shelf, then descended on Jenifer, who seemed to have given up.

What really took me by surprise was the way she just laid there, the way she did nothing as he tied her hands behind her back and her ankles together. I couldn’t tell if she had decided that enough was enough, or if she was just biding her time.

When he was finished, Jenifer let out a choked curse under her breath and let her cheek fall to the floor. Nathan and I fell silent as we looked down at her, laying beside the body of our dead friend.

“Alvin…” he whispered, his own voice hoarse.

“He came back,” I replied. “And now he’s gone.”

Both of us were frozen for several moments, too shocked to process everything that was happening.

And then, as though our bodies sprang into action, we suddenly turned toward each other and collided in a tangle of arms.

“I’m so sorry, Liv,” Nathan murmured into my hair as he held me tightly, his hands running over my body as though he was trying to make sure I was uninjured and make sure I was real all at once. “I’m so sorry. I failed you.”

“No, no, you didn’t fail me,” I whispered, cupping his face in my hands. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

Nathan and I locked eyes, and an unspoken understanding passed between the two of us. There was so much that each of us wanted to say, and yet at the same time, there was still so much to do.

And at least we had each other, although I didn’t know how or why Nathan was standing in front of me just then.

But then, just as a glimmer of hope had begun to flicker in the darkness, a new threat emerged. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, and my heart sank as I saw Jenifer wriggling out of her makeshift restraints.

She was agile and desperate, fueled by a sinister determination.

“Nathan!” I cried out, my voice filled with urgency, as Jenifer started to make her escape. We couldn’t let her slip away again, not after everything she had done.

Before Nathan and I could fully come to our senses, Jenifer was bolting up to the door with an unprecedented speed, although she was a big clumsier now from the fight. She scrambled up the steps, almost on all fours like a cat.

Nathan and I exchanged brief glances before we chased after her. I took the stairs two at a time, lunging for her, but I missed her ankle by a hair’s width as she wriggled through the basement door.

We burst into the living room to see her headed for the back door.

All at once, it finally hit me and sent me reeling; I had been in the basement of Alvin’s old house all this time. I couldn’t believe it, but it all made sense now. But I didn’t have the time to linger on it, not with Jenifer on the loose.

“Oh no you don’t!” I cried out, lunging after her again. Nathan darted forward just in time, blocking the exit. I blocked the front door.

Seeing that her only reasonable exits were blocked, Jenifer whimpered and made for the stairs. With a nod, Nathan went after her.

What I heard next could only be described as a cacophony of noise, like trying to catch a feral cat. There was grunting, hissing, spitting, and the sound of glass breaking.

And then, finally, Nathan descended the stairs with her slung over his shoulder.

“Let me go!” she screeched, pounding her fists on his back.

With a sigh, Nathan gently set her wriggling form on her feet. He held her firmly by her arms, and no matter how hard she tried to escape, it was no use; Nathan was too strong for her, and it was clear that whatever magic she had stolen from the witch had abandoned her now.

“It’s not fair!” she sobbed angrily, her voice cracked and haunting through the decrepit house. “You don’t understand what I’ve been through!”

She fell to her knees on the floor, a pathetic heap of hair and nails. Nathan and I exchanged glances as we stared down at her.

I stopped a few feet away from her, my chest heaving with exertion from the chase. I could see the torment in her wild eyes, the darkness that had consumed her mind. But my sympathy was overshadowed by the knowledge of the pain she had inflicted upon us—upon poor Alvin.

“Nathan, we can’t just let her go,” I urged, my voice trembling. “She’s dangerous, and she’s hurt so many people.”

Nathan stepped forward, his expression conflicted. For a moment, I was terrified that he would let her escape, that his love for his sister would outweigh the need for justice.

But then, to my surprise, he knelt down beside Jenifer, wrapping his arms around her trembling form.

My heart ached as I watched them. Nathan held her tightly as she sobbed and screamed, and he did what any loving big brother would do.

He just held her, rocking her back and forth.

“It’s okay,” he murmured into her hair as he rubbed her back. “We’re gonna get you help, okay?”

I stood there, torn between anger and empathy, unable to tear my gaze away from the scene in front of me. Jenifer’s actions were unforgivable, but the pain etched on her face was undeniable.

The darkness that had consumed her suddenly seemed like it was out of her control, the product of a deep and horrible torment that she never should have had to endure from such a young age.

“You don’t understand,” she murmured, her sobs fading. “You don’t understand…”

“I know,” Nathan said gently. “I know I don’t.”

Suddenly, the distant wail of police sirens filled the silence. A few moments later, the red and blue lights shined through the windows, illuminating the scene in front of me. It was a strange juxtaposition, seeing Nathan holding his tormented sister within those lights.

And it was, in an even stranger way, one of the most beautiful moments I had ever seen.