“Edward, go calm down. If you can't then let it run. Far away from here,” Vincent commanded.
Edward took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes visibly counting to ten. It didn't work. That acrimony had hold of him. He opened his eyes and looked at his baby sister. At the fire that burned in her stony eyes. Arguing with her was pointless. Edward let loose a scream of rage that made all three of them tense. Ellie closed her hand around the grip of her gun. Reese coiled, ready to spring the moment Edward made a move toward her.
Edward took off running toward the trees. He gave Vincent and Ellie a wide birth as he went. Reese didn't breathe until Edward disappeared into the tree line. Vincent blinked his eyes. The ghost of Reese appeared in front of him. He laughed cruelly at Vincent. “He's losing it, just like I did,” the apparition said.
“Let me go, Vincent,” Ellie spat. She pushed against him.
His Beast slithered just beneath the surface. It didn't matter how much he fed it. It was always hungry. His rage burned. It threatened to swallow him alive. Vincent was losing his hard-won control. He fought a bloody battle against his temper, against Reese’s ghost, and the Monster within him. It was all too much. Vincent tried to breathe past it. He let her go so suddenly Ellie stumbled back a few steps. Reese's hand at her back was the only thing that kept Ellie from falling to the ground.
Vincent's head spun. He stared down at her. Vincent watched the ghost of Reese touch her hair. “Get away from her,” Vincent growled.
“What, are ya afraid she missed me?” the ghost asked with a wicked grin. “I'll bet she has. I'll bet when she closes her eyes she longs for me,” the apparition mocked in a sing-song voice.
“She's mine,” Vincent cried. He opened his eyes wide. The Beast made a surge for control in that moment that took every ounce of will for Vincent to fight. Vincent closed his hands into fists so tight his knuckles went white. Blood dripped to the grass at his feet. His razored claws bit into the flesh of his palms. His body shook. The fight was all-consuming. A fact the ghost of Reese used to his advantage. While Vincent fought against his Monster, the ghost shoved him aside. He locked Vincent inside the darkness of his own mind.
Ellie looked up at Vincent ready to yell at him. The expression he wore stopped her. His face was white, a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. His eyes closed. Her anger was replaced with the worry that shot through her. “Vincent,” she said, her voice low, careful. “Baby, are you okay?”
Reese -the real Reese- looked up at him. “Vince?”
Vincent screamed. Shoving his arms through the bars that held him locked away in the shadows of his mind. He won the fight. His Beast did not rush forward. It didn't rip Ellie to tiny shreds. But he’d lost control of his body, none the less. The ghost in his head took control. Vincent sank to his knees inside his murky prison, defeated.
A small smile slipped across Vincent's lips. He opened his eyes slowly, opening his hands. The black razors oozed back into his flesh. The colors were so bright they nearly blinded him. His eyes fell on Ellie. “I'm just fine, sweetheart, just fine,” he said.
“She will see right through you,” the apparition of Vincent told his body.
Vincent took a step forward reaching for Ellie's hand. “Ya forgive me?” Vincent’s body asked sweetly, touching his fingertips to the bruise on her wrist.
“Yeah. I shouldn't have lost my temper. I know how hard it is for him to keep his.” Ellie plucked the crushed hunk of metal that was her old Glock off the ground. She shook her head. “I can't believe he did that. Damn it, I liked that gun,” she complained.
“Don't worry, you're a better shot with the Heckler anyway,” he said giving her a wide smile.
“El, come on see that it's not me!” Vincent's image said, hovering next to her. “You got to know it's not me,” Vincent cried.
The smile on Vincent's face widened a touch. He reached out with his other hand, brushing the hair out of her green eyes. He leaned into her, his mouth closing over her bottom lip. The phantom of Vincent screamed out in rage. Ellie pulled back. “Ugh! You know I hate it when you kiss me covered in blood and guts,” Ellie groused, wiping at her lips.
“Sorry,” Vincent's body said. “I just wanted to taste ya.”
“Well, how about you taste me after you've had a shower,” Ellie told him. The beginnings of a smile drew across her lips.
“I can do that.” Vincent's head swiveled to Reese. “Dibs,” he said giving Reese high eyebrows.
Reese didn't fight him. He scanned the tree line. Vincent took off jogging toward the house. Ellie watched him shaking her head. She took in a deep breath, looking at Reese. “It was an argument. That's all, Reese.”
“Yeah, all it was,” Reese said. He hesitated a moment before following her inside the house.
Vincent sat in the corner of his tiny black cell. His knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them. The other voices in his head screamed at a deafening decibel. While his body whistled happily, lathering the blood on his chest. He made sure to get every splotch, washing his hair twice. “I've really missed her ya know,” the spirit of Reese told him.
“Fuck you,” Vincent said, his voice sullen and angry.
“She's right. I'm sure her kisses will be so much sweeter when this body’s clean,” he mocked, stoking Vincent’s rage.
“I thought you loved her?” Vincent growled angrily. “How could you do this to her, pretend to be me?”
“Well, how many more chances like this will I get. Ya have kept me locked away in that dank little cell for how long?” The specter of Reese said, his face falling into ever-angrier lines as he spoke. “After all I've done for ya. I saved ya. I took that pain. I took that agony for ya.”
“You're right. You saved me. Don't hurt her.” Vincent’s eyes crashed and swirled. “Don't do this to her. I'm begging you,” Vincent cried.
“What makes ya think I’d hurt her? All I’ve ever wanted was to keep her safe. Safe from ya,” the ghost growled.
Ellie looked over at Reese lying across her bed in nothing but his underwear and dried blood. He watched the episode of Criminal Minds playing on her laptop like there was going to be a test at the end. She elbowed him in the ribs. “Look at you, you're flaking all over my bed,” Ellie complained playfully.
“All ya got to do is shake the blanket,” Reese said without looking at her.
Ellie sighed. Her face settled into a frown. “Reese,” she said. He looked up at her. “I'm worried about you.” Reese blinked those amazing eyes at her. He was never one to hold back.
“I thought we was leaving?” he asked, point blank.
Ellie’s shoulders slumped. “You saw the look she gave me.”
“She's blind,” Reese countered.
“Exactly, that makes it worse. Anna's afraid, and she has a damn good reason to be,” Ellie said.
“Yeah, first and foremost you're brother.”
“Not nice,” Ellie said, her frown deepening. She slapped him on the shoulder.
They both looked up when Vincent appeared in the doorway. His hair wet, dripping down his back. Ellie gave him a smile. “Your brother is being mean to me,” she complained.
“Believe me, sweetheart, that wasn't even close to mean,” Reese said, slipping off the bed. Ellie watched him. He moved like silk in water, his every move full of unearthly grace. He walked over to Vincent, stopping to look back at her. “Your girl is worried about me,” Reese said.
“That’s because she’s an angel, always worrying about fools she can't save,” Vincent's body said. Reese looked at his little brother. His eyes narrowed slightly. Reese shook his head and heaved a heavy sigh.
“Tag, little brother, you're it,” Reese said, pushing past him, headed for the bathroom.
Vincent scrunched up his face, licking his lips. He stepped inside the room padding barefoot to the end of the bed. Ellie closed her laptop and blinked up at him from her mountain of pillows. The phantom of Vincent rushed toward her. He fell to his knees at the side of
the bed. His hand lay over hers, just to sink through. He moaned.
“You seem, I don't know. Happy,” Ellie said. That gaze of hers was like a weight that made the ghost of Reese hesitate just a second.
“Ain't happy a good thing?” he asked her.
“Yeah, it's just not usually you're style,” Ellie said, tilting her head on one side. “Especially after an argument.”
“I love ya,” he blurted out.
The phantom of Vincent growled at him. A low trickling sound that slithered through his own head. “Stay away from her. I'm warning you.”
The ghost of Reese smiled. “What was it ya said to me? What are ya going a’ do hallucinate at me?” Vincent’s body climbed onto the bed walking on his knees toward her. The towel around his waist loosened and fell away. He came down over her laying a kiss on her mouth. Ellie returned it this time with an enthusiasm that made the figment of Vincent scream and slash at him ineffectually.
“Damn you!” Vincent screamed, tears springing to his eyes. It was no use! She couldn't hear him. She couldn't see him. The ghost had complete control.
He kissed her again. Ellie’s hands came up to touch his face, the side of his neck on the other side. He pulled back a few inches to stare down onto her face. “Much better,” Ellie said with a smile.
“Yeah, ya kissing me, that's much better,” he said to her, but his eyes were all for Vincent's apparition, stalking back and forth next to the bed.
“Maybe the G-man is right. Both of us seem to be picking up on Reese’s slang.” Ellie began to laugh and he leaned in fast with a quick kiss that silenced her.
“I've wanted this for so long,” he told her.
“What since yesterday?” Ellie asked jokingly. Her smile spread widely. His hands slid into her hair. He breathed her in deeply. The look in his eyes was so raw. Ellie stared at him from inches away. “I love you.” Ellie smiled. “So what are you waiting for? Make love to me.”
“Gladly,” Vincent's body said.
Chapter 37
The open front door creaked in the breeze. Reese stared out the open windows watching them. He loved the way her cut-off jean shorts cupped her ass. Her red tank top hugged her body. It was barely long enough to cover the inner-pants holster she kept at the small of her back. Edward had been nagging her for months about not wearing it in the house. Ellie stood her ground. Told him it was her good luck charm.
Ellie went running past. Edward put his arm out at the last second grabbing her by the waist. He pulled her laughing into his arms and twisted her, holding her upside down over the ground.
“This is not what they mean by tackle,” Ellie grumbled happily.
Edward was in good spirits, an easy smile on his face. His dirty-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Long bangs fell into his eyes. They nearly reached his chin. He held the ball in one hand pointing in the direction he planned to send it. Reese hated just how happy Ellie looked. A wide, brilliant smile spread across her lovely face. Her laughing eyes danced as she threw her shoulder into Edward. He even went down with her tackle. The two of them fell into each other’s arms laughing. In that moment Vince’s blindness made perfect sense to Reese. Killing Edward was never the problem. Vince just couldn’t hurt Ellie like that.
Charlie slipped the two of hearts between the pages of her book and sat it down on the table. She flashed Reese a smile. Charlie was worried. Worried about Anna, about the baby, she was worried about Ellie, Vincent. Hell, she was even worried about Reese. And he could feel it like icy fingers playing across his spine. What was worse is she didn’t know why. On the surface, all of them seemed happy. There was something happening deeper.
“Are you okay, sugar?”
Charlie’s warm voice always pulled a smile from Reese. Her genuine concern tickled him. He couldn’t believe how much he’d come to care for her during these months. His eyes darted back out to Ellie and Edward.
“Vincent wouldn’t let her be alone with him even just to paint if he was worried,” Charlie said taking a sip of her lemonade. Reese looked at Charlie in a whole new light after that sentence. “Don’t be so surprised. All of us can feel it. Even Anna can feel it. Edward tries to hide it, but he is struggling with the infection. To be honest,” she said looking over her shoulder at Edward. “I think it’s worse for him.”
Reese narrowed his eyes at her. “How do ya mean?”
“His blood still shows whatever it was Bennet infected him with.” Charlie fidgeted with the two of hearts. “I think he has all the problems you guys have, plus a few of his own.”
“That need to kill.” Reese looked down at her. “Ya ain’t afraid of him?”
“Of course I am,” Charlie answered honestly. “But the truth of it is, I’m afraid of what you can do. I’m afraid of what Vincent can do. I also love you both. I can’t treat him differently.”
Reese smiled. He got up off the couch. Leaning in, he laid a kiss on Charlie’s cheek. “Don’t ya worry none. My little brother loves ya, Charlie. I'm rather fond of ya myself. We won’t let nothing happen to ya,” he assured her.
Charlie smiled sweetly. “Never had a doubt in my mind.”
The smile hearing that caused chased him up the stairs. It wilted when he caught sight of Vince. He stepped into Ellie's bedroom. Ellie stared back at him in a hundred different colors, a thousand different poses from every surface. Vince even added a few more paintings on the walls themselves. Reese flopped down on the edge of the bed and watched him for a moment.
The burns on Vincent’s shoulder were almost gone. Only a splotch of pink spilled down his back. His hands were covered in drops and drips of color, up to his forearms in some places. It dried in his hair making large swaths stick out at different angles.
“Vince. You’re going to have to talk to me eventually.” Reese sighed, letting his eyes wander the portraits. “Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”
Vincent shot him an angry glance over his shoulder. “Why don’t I believe you?” he growled.
Reese’s brows furrowed. “What the hell has got your panties in a twist, huh? Even our little blond angel thinks you’re being a dick.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed. Reese picked up on the little flare of fear. “Why did you call her that?” Vincent’s voice was almost panicked.
Reese frowned in confusion. “I heard ya call her that the other day.” Vincent’s face changed. His expression told Reese everything he needed to know. Realization hit him like a fist. Reese plastered his lips together. “The personality took over didn’t it?”
The look of anger in Vincent’s eyes was barely caged. “You’ve always said she’s your angel.” Vincent’s words dripped with acid.
Reese frowned at him. “I ain’t him, Vince.”
“Yes! Yes, you are don’t you get it?” Vincent’s right eye twitched.
Reese took in a deep breath. He came in here to avoid a fight with his brother, not start one. Reese forced his tone soft. “What happened to your frilly bag of control tricks, huh? Did she realize it?”
Vincent’s face shattered. All that anger just fell away. Despair threatened to drown Reese. “No.” That one word held such sorrow. “That’s how you took her to bed.”
Reese stared at him not quite knowing what to say. He looked at his little brother with pity. That voice in Vince’s head was his fault. Not just because it was supposed to be his. Reese lost it. He abandoned Vince when he needed him most. All the hurt Vince had been through for decades. Reese should have been there. He should have stopped it.
“It’s ya, Vince. It’s your body. It ain’t like she went off and fucked-”
“You? Is that what you were going to say?” Vincent growled. He went from desperate sorrow to barely controlled anger in a word. Sometimes Vincent was that mercurial.
Reese couldn’t stop the scowl or his answering anger. He shot to his feet. “I ain’t him, Vince! Maybe if ya didn’t hide everything from her she would a’ known what to look for, and that shit woul
dn’t a’ happened.”
The latter part of that put Vincent in his place. His shoulders slumped. “I was doing so damned good. Then all this Edward bullshit.” Vincent shook his head unable to even look at his brother. “It puts me on edge. The more edge, the easier I go over it. The easier it is for you to slip through the goddamned cracks.” Vincent’s chest caved in. “I had to watch.” Vincent’s voice broke with the emotion in that admission.
“What?” Reese’s brows knit in confusion. He sat back down on the edge of the bed. “What do ya mean?”
“I can see everything. Hear everything. I just can’t feel it.” Vincent took in a hitching breath. “I had to watch the look on her face. A prisoner inside my own goddamned head,” he growled, tears shining in his eyes. Vincent pressed his fingertip into his temple so hard blood dripped down the side of his face. “Screaming. Begging her to realize it wasn’t me.”
Reese had been told. He read the doctor’s notes. None of them said a damned thing about what Vince felt when that personality was in control. He sighed. Reese’s face settled into compassionate lines. He stared at the pain his little brother was drowning in wanting to comfort him. He just didn’t know how.
“Vince,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. He was sure Reese didn’t know what he was doing to him. But it was damned hard not to blame him sometimes. “I tried it once,” Vincent admitted. Reese looked the question at him. Vincent’s eyebrows knit together. “I tried to pretend to be you once. Ellie saw right through me. My girl knows the voice in my head better than she knows me.”
“Vince, that’s because ya don’t show her ya. Ya keep so much locked away.” Reese shook his head. “How is she supposed to know ya if ya don’t let her?”
“She would never love me,” Vincent croaked. “She thought I was a monster, Reese.”
“Ellie’s loved everything you’ve shown her so far,” Reese argued.
“Because I do everything in my power to act like you!” Vincent cried. “Do you think I like eating animals? Do you think I like taking every smartass comment her goddamned brother throws at me?” Vincent snapped pointing at the door. “I want to rip his fucking throat out! I’ve wanted to since before we rescued him.”
Shed some Light Page 32
