♡ chapter 25 - Rose ♡

            No," was the only word that fled my lips. I couldn't think properly, I could function. My emotions were too conflicted, too overbearing and I desperately needed to sit down before I dived over the balcony railing.

            So I sank to the slab of concrete holding me high above the rest of the city. A hand pressed to my forehead as I tried to process the information she had just given me. She could very possibly be lying, yet the look in her eyes didn't give the impression that she was so.

            If this was a joke, it was a cruel one.

            "You're lying," I finally managed to say, daring to glance up at her.

            Her eyes hooded, she clasped her hands together. "I'm so sorry, Rose. I know it doesn't seem true, but I would never lie to my only daughter."

            I didn't have time to mouth back a sassy comment, my brain on the verge of exploding and my heart on the verge of shattering.

            "Tell me," I demanded. "I want you to tell me every single detail."

            And so she did.

            But first she sucked in a sharp breath, then averted eye contact. "Marcus was with Viola—Harry's mother—at the time we met. He knew of my powers and he knew he wanted them. But he had swooned me, blinded me from his true intentions and I was almost positive he had loved me." She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and I realized where my bad habit had come from.

            "Viola was pregnant with Harry two months before I had found out I was pregnant with you. Hence why you are so close in age. I didn't know what I was doing, but I panicked. So I found a new husband to see if my life would settle back into normalcy. It did, for the most part, until Marcus had come back to me.

            "He wanted me for my gift, and that's when I first decided to tell him about you. And well, he wasn't exactly thrilled to find out he would have a third child—a daughter. Marcus was always the worst when it came to finding woman weak, and that's why he didn't trust me to ever be on my own. So he took me, and that's why your father—"

            "Imposter," I cut in, but my voice was timid.

            "—had told you I ran away," she finished without acknowledging me. "You see, Rose. I loved you with everything in me, but I couldn't stay without risking you to be in danger. And that is why Marcus so badly wants you now. He finally knows what you're capable of."

            I rubbed my temples, a headache beginning to form. "I guess it makes sense, but... but..."

            I was at a loss of words. We both know I was only fighting against the truth, a giant explanation I didn't want to believe in. How could Harry be my brother? Perhaps a half sibling, but we were part blood related nonetheless. And I kissed him.

            And I kissed Jessie, by force, but still.

            Cringing, I felt the sudden urge to puke. Incest was horrible. Granted you needed to have sexual interaction for that to happen, but even the thought is mortifying. Not only do baby have deformations due to some cultures believing in incest, but it dumbs them. It disabled their intellectual abilities and makes them mentally retarded. It's an awful thing, and it's sad that some cultures have grown to find this normal.

            Water welled in my eyes, but my mother was quick to comfort me. "Oh, dear. I can't express how sorry I am, but you need to know the truth before you decide to spend the rest of your life—or however many years—with him."

            Nodding slowly, I sniffed and refused to cry. "I know. I just... I don't know what to say..."

            Mom gave me a weak smile, pushing some of my hair off my shoulder. "I'll always want what's best for you."

            I didn't reply.

            And then within seconds, two guards were in the doorway, ready to take me back to my imprisonment where I would soon face reality.

♡ Harry ♡

            "Daniel, put your back into it!"

            "I'm not exactly in the best of shape, if you hadn't noticed," he snapped back followed by a disgruntled groan. "Shit, why is this stuff so heavy?"

            I rolled my eyes. "They're called bricks protected by magic, do you expect them to just fall off?"

            "Well, yeah. I mean, that'd be nice."

            After multiple more tried to pry the brick out of place with the little hole giving us access, the sound of the door at the end of the hallway clicked open. Daniel muttered profanities as he stumbled backwards, and I could hear him collide with the floor. As for me, I swiftly paced back over to my makeshift bunk, planting myself there and playing with the ring on my finger as if I'd been doing it all day.

            And that's when I saw the same two guards holding Rose on either side, guiding her back to her cell.

            My head perked up, my heart leaping with it until I got a good look at her. She looked like a wreck. Her eyes were slightly puffy, but overall she just looked exhausted. As if she'd been running a marathon all day and it nearly pissed me off considering I had no idea what they did to her.

            After the guards had left, Rose sat on the bunk and pulled her knees to her chest. She didn't dare glance over at me; all she did was stare at the wall. I frowned, my eyebrows pulled together. Had they brainwashed her? Tortured her? But I don't see any bruises and she's in one piece...

            "Rose," I whispered, glancing around the bars to make sure the guards were gone. "Rose, look at me."

            She didn't budge.

            "What's wrong with her?" Daniel asked from his cell beside me, his voice muffled due to how low he was speaking.

            "And why are you asking me that?" I snapped back, fear bubbling inside of me when I looked back over at her. She was still sitting there, looking like a lifeless rock. Almost robotic. "Rose, are you okay? What did they do to you?"

            But that's when I got a microscopic glimpse of a tears gliding down her cheek, and then she buried her face in her knees.

            My heart sank, along with the little bit of happiness I had in me. I had no apparent reason for being happy except for the fact that I got to see her. But seeing her like this was like a punch in the face. Like I had failed my one job to keep that bright smile plastered on her lips. Like I had failed to keep her happy, to keep her safe.

            And that feeling fucking hurt.

            "Rose, please." My voice was quiet, just loud enough for her to hear as I continued to stare at her head, hoping she'd look up at me. "Just... tell me something. At least tell me you're okay."

            A slight silence, a small hesitance, and then a mumbled, "I'm fine."

            Groaning, I let my head fall back against the wall. "I didn't say to lie to me. Did they tell you something about me? It's probably all lies, Rose."

            "Yeah," Daniel perked up. "The Council is almost as backstabbing as Marcus is, Rose. You can't believe them."

            "Please, Rose. Just stop crying. I don't like watching you cry and now I sound so fucking desperate I could rip my hair out. But I just want you to look at me, at least?"

            Another silence before my heavy sigh filled the air.

            But then I wished she hadn't spoken at all.

            "You're my brother." Her voice was so low, so quiet that I was practically positive I had heard her wrong.

            My breath caught in my throat and I forced out a little laugh. "Rose, what the hell are you talking about?"

            And then she busted.

            "We're siblings, Harry!" she shouted, standing to her feet and looking me in the eye. "Your dad got my mom pregnant and we're siblings. We're blood related, Harry."

            I felt like she had just stabbed me, and I stumbled back as if she had pushed me although she was across the hall in a completely different cell. Daniel had let out a low whistle of disbelief, but I couldn't find words to say at all. Was this a joke? It had to be. There was no way I would fall in love with my... I shuddered.

            "I don't find this funny," I told her, my eyebrows etched together.

            Rose heaved both hands through her hair. "I'm not being funny. I'm not joking, Harry. My mom is fucking alive. She's alive and she told me every single detail of why she left in the first place."

            My heart seemed to have faltered and I had to place my palm on the wall to steady myself as Rose dropped her head.

            "We can't be together," she whispered.

            But I wouldn't believe that. If it's true, I might as well hang myself right now because I can't imagine a life being away from her. Of course I wouldn't engage in any form of incest, but I wouldn't be able to keep myself from loving her. It would be too difficult. I wouldn't be able to look at her without falling in love all over again. And if being siblings is tearing us a part, what's the point anyways?

            "No," I finally said.  Suicide was not an option and too far-fetched at the moment. "I don't believe that, Rose."

            "She was telling the truth."

            "Do you know?" I rose an eyebrow. "Did you show you any proof? A DNA test? A birth certificate?"

            Rose hung her head once more and muttered, "No."

            "Then I won't believe it until I see evidence." I stepped closer to the bars, cursing them for keeping me from holding her. "I don't care if we're siblings—well I do, but there's no proof to say that we are. I don't care if the Council doesn't want us to be together for some God forsaken reason. I love you, Rose. And if loving you is a sin, then I must be the biggest damn criminal in the world."

            You kind of already are.

            I couldn't believe I had the balls to actually say all of that just now, but I was finally speaking to the real Rose. I was finally telling her everything like before she had taken off her bracelet and got us into this shit. It wasn't fully her fault, but we could still be safe at the cabin if she would've kept her bracelet on.

            But then you wouldn't have found out how much of a great kisser she is.

            Not the time, subconscious. Not the time.

            "Aww," Daniel said from his cell. "Harry, you have a heart."

            I gritted my teeth. "Shut up, Daniel."

            "That was legit the cutest thing I've heard since The Fault in our Stars, so would you mind repeating it? I need something to record it or write it down or—"

            "Daniel."

            "Okay, okay. I'll stop."

            Rose peered up at me after a long moment and all the air got knocked out of my lungs. I loved when she looked at me. It made me feel like I was finally important in someone's eyes. Like I was more than just a pathetic criminal that did anything to keep themselves alive. Like I was more than just a sadistic bastard. Like I was actually worth ofsomething. Like I actually deserved her.

            Even the tears in her eyes couldn't stop me from being overjoyed when she whispered the four words I've longed to hear since my confession, "I love you too."

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A/N: Okay, so not in ANY WAY am I supporting incest, clearly. It is unnatural, but you can't blame some cultures due to them (sadly) growing up to think it's right. However, this story is not revolved around that so please don't dwell on it. And let's just say, I think we all know who the liar is here. No spoilers! Love you all (: xx

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