Chapter 12:

Natalie remained in her place. Her face was frozen in fear. All the color drained out of her skin leaving a white shell. Damion looked into her bloodshot eyes.

"......how......what?" Natalie managed to get out before Damion burst with rage.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Damion's face was red from anger and Natalie collapsed on the ground. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at him.

"Why did you leave me there? Was I not good enough for you?" Damion asked his balling mother.

"...I....I.....I tried to make him stop.....but he wouldn't let me...." Natalie said through sobs. Tears were rolling out of her like a waterfall.

"I don't give a shit! At no point should you have abandoned your own kid!" Damion yelled. Tears were rolling down his face as he yelled.

"I....I didn't. You're dad did....he.....he was planning on getting rid of both of you...but I said for him not to take you two......but he took the first one he caught sight of.......which was you Damion.......and Elijah......your dad.......he......he died the night we were going to bring Damion back home........but it was too late.....and I tried to get you back Damion I did......but.....I........I couldn't...." Natalie explained in sobs. Damion looked at Elijah who's face had turned pale. His heart sank to the floor and his stomach opened a pit to swallow every last good emotion he had whole.

"Why would dad not want us? Why would he want to get rid of Damion and me?........he got rid of Damion first.....and that could've been me......what the fuck is wrong with him?" Elijah thought to himself.

"....But you're back now.....I can finally have you!" Natalie said walking over to Damion. She reached out to give him a hug before he pushed her away.

"Do you honestly think that after seven years, I'm going to act like nothing happened? Are you fucked in the head?" Damion yelled. Natalie was taken aback and she stared at Damion who was shaking his head.

"Damion please-" Natalie pleaded.

"Please what? You said dad took me away, and you let him. You went four years without me before you decided to get me back. Four fucking years. Is that how long it takes before you care? What about after dad died. You never came to get me. You waited until today where I came to you. You were never going to do shit and don't lie to me!" Damion yelled again. He began to step back and Natalie began to cry even more.

"I'm sorry Damion. Please forgive me." Natalie pleaded again. She was on her knees.

"Damion. Can you hear me out for sec?" Elijah asked as Damion turned to look at him.

"What?" Damion bitterly asked.

"You might hate mom, and really I don't blame you. But can you at least give her a chance. Even if you never forgive her. You can hate her for the rest of your life. But at least let her try and prove to you that she can be good to you." Elijah tried to reason with Damion.

"She had seven years for that. Why should I expect that she's suddenly going to change?" Damion asked with anger in his voice.

"Yeah, she was an asshole before. But how can she prove to you that she's different now if you won't let her?" Elijah asked. His heart was pounding, and more than not he wanted to slap Natalie for knowing that his dad was going to get rid of him too. But he wanted to give her another chance, and he knew that if Damion gave her a chance too, everything would be fine.

"I'm not forgiving her." Damion said crossing his arms.

"I'm not saying you have to. I'm just saying that you can at least let her try and gain your forgiveness. Even if you never do. Just let her try." Elijah tried to reason. Damion sighed and released dropped his arms to his sides. He turned to look at Natalie who was staring at him with hope.

"I'm not forgiving you.....but I guess I can let you try." Damion said looking down. Light filled her eyes and she hugged Damion. He refused to hug her back, but she didn't care.

"You're finally mine." she said shakily then tearing herself away from Damion.

"This is.....draining." Elijah said putting his hand on the back of his neck.

"Yeah it is. You're gonna stay right?" Natalie asked Damion. He shrugged and sighed.

"Well I'm not going back to my grandparents so yeah I'm staying." Damion looked at Elijah who slightly smiled.

"Well since you're staying, you can stay in Eli's room for tonight. I'll start to put the bedroom together tomorrow." Natalie said putting her hands on her hips.

"Alright. Night mom." Elijah said grabbing Damion by the arm and began to pull him up the stairs.

"Night boys!" Natalie said trying to be as happy as possible, but all Damion gave was a slight wave as they headed up the stairs.

Elijah grabbed some blankets and made a pallet on the ground for Damion. He borrowed some of Elijah's pajamas and the two decided to play some PlayStation before they went to bed.

"the guards are so annoying in this game." Damion complained while playing a one player game called Skyrim V.

"Well one, you're a dark elf which already makes you a target. And two, when you steal all of whiterun, you're gonna get attacked by guards." Elijah pointed out laying on his bed while watching Damion play.

"Whatever." Damion said rolling his eyes.

"Well you go ahead and play, It's past midnight and I'm gonna be a complete asshole tomorrow if I don't get some sleep." Elijah said beginning to pull up the covers.

"Oh...well I'll go to sleep then too." Damion said saving his game. As soon as Elijah closed his eyes, he could hear the faint sound of music. He stayed still to see if he recognized the song.

"Now the day bleeds."

"Into nightfall."

"And you're not here to get me through it all."

"I let my guard down."

"And then you pulled the rug."

'I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved."

Elijah recognized the song as 'Someone you Loved' by Lewis Capaldi. Then he noticed Damion was listening to it with earbuds.

"Hey Damion." Elijah whispered to him and he looked up and took out his earbuds after pausing his song.

"Yeah?" he asked in confusion.

"You're listening to a love song.....before bed?" Elijah asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh c'mon. Like you never listen to music before bed." Damion asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. But not Someone you Loved." Elijah teased which made Damion roll his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed." Damion said rolling on his back and closing his eyes. Elijah smiled and turned the other way.

His thoughts consumed him, and for once they didn't make him feel horrible. He had a brother. Someone he could get close to without being scared because they were just a friend. He smiled at the thoughts, but that suddenly changed.

Elijah jolted up in his bed. He saw the glowing white eyes of the creature staring at him in the darkness of his room. They stared at each other and the creature began to walk towards him. Elijah looked at the creature, but by now he wasn't afraid of it. It gave him answers. It stared down at Elijah who looked at it with a stern face

"What?" Elijah said with a strong voice. It smiled at him. It reached it's long fingers towards him and grabbed his head like before. The piercing pain shot through him, but he refused to scream. He was placed in another dream-like memory.

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Elijah and Damion walked out of the big doors of the room, but was quickly stopped by a voice.

"You shouldn't do that." Natsuki said as she sat up on her light pink bed. Damion rolled his eyes.

"Natsuki. We'll be fine. And besides, your only here because your Noah's cousin. Not because you're related to Eli or me." Damion said looking at her with a smirk. Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"It's an invasion of their privacy. Besides, why would you want to go snoop on your parents anyway? All of our parents are boring. Just stupid lawyers." Natsuki said crossing her arms.

"Lawyers are one rich. And two we're weird ass kids. Now leave us alone would ya?" Damion asked and Natsuki frowned.

"Fine. But if you catch them doing something you don't want to see, don't come running to me." Natsuki said grabbing a light pink Manga book.

"Yeah, I don't think we will." Damion said almost dragging Elijah out of the room. The two started to walk down the long hallway with a maid passing every now and then.

"You didn't have to be mean to her you know." Elijah said walking along side of Damion.

"I wasn't being mean to her. She was just being argumentative. Besides, why do you care if I'm being mean to her or not?" Damion asked and Elijah shrugged.

"Being mean is being mean. Would've said the same thing with anyone else." Elijah said looking down.

"I find that hard to believe. You've had a crush on Natsuki since you met her." Damion said letting out a smirk.

"That....th-that is not true!" Elijah stuttered and then suddenly turned red.

"Yep. That's why you're the color of ketchup right?" Damion teased Elijah. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's just not talk about this." Elijah said as they reached their parents bedroom door.

Damion looked over at Elijah and put his finger on his mouth telling Elijah to be quiet. Elijah nodded and Damion slowly opened the door. It was dark and you could barley see anything. Damion slowly slid through the crack of the door and Elijah soon followed. They tip-toed through the gigantic room and the stood still for a moment. A small light was shining through the cracks of a door next to them, and they nodded at looked at each other and began to sneak towards the door. They reached the door, Damion nodded for Elijah to go first. He smiled and peered through the small keyhole of the door. Elijah's stomach turned and his eyes began to spin. He screamed on the top of his lungs and lunged backwards. He was drained of color and all he saw was the image imprinted in his memory. He crawled backwards and hit his back against the king sized bed. He shivered and was rocking back and forth.

"What? What did you see?" Damion asked. He went over to Elijah and shook him. Elijah didn't talk or even look at Damion. His eyes were focused on what was in front of him, but all he saw was the image.

Inside the room was his dad laying on the bed without a head and his arms and legs were torn off and scattered across the floor.

"Eli! Eli talk to me! Elijah!" Damion yelled continuously shaking him.

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"What the fuck!" Elijah yelled when he snapped back into reality. His mind was still focusing on that horrific image. It wouldn't go away and it was sending chills down Elijah's spine.

"What?" Damion asked jumping up from his pallet. Elijah was in a cold sweat and was panting in his bed.

"I-It......it came into the room and....it....showed....me something.....tha-that I can't get out of my head." Elijah stuttered. Damion looked at him confused.

"Wait. That...that thing was in this bedroom...like....right here?" Damion asked spinning around in search of the creature

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm scared about." Elijah said, shivering in his place.

"Then what?" Damion asked sitting on Elijah's bed, still a little scared from the creature being there.

"It.....it was an image..o-of.......dad dead with his limbs cut off and scattered across the room he was in....and...and.....his....his....head....wa-was......gone." Elijah said. He clenched his eyes, but that made it even worse.

"That thing showed you that?" Damion asked with fear in his voice. Elijah nodded.

"Listen. It's just fucking with your head. It's not real." Damion said, but Elijah didn't completely believe him.

"I-I.....I don't know whether to shrug it off.....or...or to believe what I saw. It....it's not the first time it's shown me something o-of truth." Elijah stuttered. Damion raised an eyebrow.

"Something of truth? What do you mean by that?" Damion confusingly asked.

"That thing is how I knew you were my brother." Elijah stated. Damion looked at him in surprise.

"But.....but how?" Damion asked.

"It's been showing me these almost....flashbacks of a world where things were different. Like, Noah was my cousin....but that's impossible since mom and dad were single children.....and Natsuki was Noah's cousin.....but not related to me or you.....and you were my brother. Which that turned out to be true.....but we were in this huge mansion, and our parents were lawyers. They were extremely rich and....I don't know....but it seemed so real." Elijah explained looking away from Damion.

"Well it's like.....three in the morning so we should probably just go back to sleep and ask mom in the morning." Damion suggested and fell back onto his pallet.

"Okay." Elijah replied with a shrug and laid back on his bed. The image was imprinted in his memory and he couldn't get it out of his head. After about an hour, he finally was able to fall asleep, but it wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.