Des' fingers tighten over Astraya's face, forcibly turning her so they lock eyes. She can barely see out of her right eye from where he struck her. There's a pressure in her head that makes her worry. He has a gun pressed against her neck, shoving it forward until it becomes a challenge to even breathe, and she hates to admit it, but part of her wishes he would just pull the trigger already.

The pain is almost unbearable.

"I want you to beg for it." His voice is gentle but the words are nasty as they strike her right in the heart.

She doesn't want to confess anything to him. Doesn't want to tell him that the walls are closing in on her and her dead brother's eyes are still watching her with that blank expression he's had on for weeks ever since she met Harry. The last time they cleared was when he was shot, and then they dulled and never came back. She doesn't want to tell him that she doesn't want his hands on her or his eyes trailing over her face, because that's somehow worse than having the gun pressed against her skin.

"I'll kill you if you want me to. No bullshit." He grabs the back of her head, pulling at her hair with an iron-grip to keep her in place as he nods and blinks down at where she is. "I know you want it. I can feel you giving up."

She opens her mouth but can't articulate her thoughts out loud. Something hits the door and Des whips his head back with a glare. Gunshots sound all throughout the large space and he smiles when the door opens, still casually keeping her bruised body up with his own. The gun is nearly suffocating her, and she tries so hard to push him away as a warning to him that she's close to passing out. She splays her hand out against his chest but he doesn't budge. After a moment, she allows her head to fall onto his left shoulder, closing her heavy eyelids and trying to breathe as much as she can to keep from fainting.

His hands go lower than her waist and she brings hers up slowly, feeling her way to his face. Her fingertips graze his smirking lips before moving upward, softly keeping them on his closed eyes before pushing them in as hard as she can. Something snaps beneath his eyes but she keeps shoving forward until a piercing scream breaks through his mouth. "You fucking-"

A gun is shot from directly behind him and she freezes like she was the one that was hit. He falls to the floor and brings her down with him. What bothers her, though, isn't that she lands on his chest, but that there's something warm and bitter on her tongue and face.

She tries to wipe the blood from her skin but her nails are sharp and she's just spreading the red around. The smell is so encompassing and disgusting and she feels stuck in her own body. Lucky for being alive but so unlucky to be lying between two bodies; one being her brother whose eyes remind her of Mona Lisa as they follow her every move.

She accepts this fate for a few seconds. Everything is quiet as she has this out of body experience, turning on her side with fresh tears in her eyes, and raising her hand to push Uriah's hair away from his bloody face.

The bullet hole in the middle of his forehead taunts her but she refuses to look at it.

I love you, she tries to tell him. The words don't come out and she shakes her head at how useless she is right now. I love you, Uriah. Her throat is burning now.

Someone makes a grab for her body and she's hauled up but doesn't attempt to stand on her own. Her eyes stay on her brother, lips still attempting to mutter the words to him.

Is she shaking? She moves her gaze to her trembling fingers with a frown.

"Hey," a soft whisper swims into focus and she doesn't push back when the person pushes her hair from her face. They're gentle but firm at the same time; familiar in a way that screams Harry. "Hey, I got you. You're okay, just going through shock."

Astraya feels her eyes widen. For a moment she can hardly see through the tears, let alone breathe. Her mouth feels numb but she thinks she should feel something because he's here and he's got his eyes on her. She falls further into his chest and his fingers take hold of her body for her. A hand comes up to wipe under her eyes and then the skin by her lips.

"I'm sorry about the blood in your mouth," his voice breaks through the ringing silence in her head.

She closes her eyes expecting to open them seconds later but ends up collapsing onto his chest.

◦

Harry presses her body against his as he holds her bridal style. His hands are still shaking from pulling the trigger on his father.

He already decided that he would kill him but that's not the way he wanted it to happen. The way he did it was impulsive. There was no ceremony, no sense of relief when he saw the body drop at his feet.

He feels senseless but his thoughts are out of control. If Astraya wasn't so close to passing out moments ago, he thinks he would have had a long talk with Des before he killed him.

He makes a turn down the hall and widens his eyes when he sees a familiar face running toward him, alarm clear in his features.

"Harry." Liam is breathing hard with blood on the side of his face. There's something dark in his eyes but nothing too hostile. If anything, he just looks a little shaken up.

"What are you doing here?" Astraya shifts uncomfortably in Harry's arms as he speaks, hands pressed firmly against his torso with her face stuffed against his shirt.

Liam glances down at her but is quick to look away. "Is she okay?"

"How did you know I was here?"

"Liam..." Astraya's voice barely even reaches him. He furrows his eyebrows and grows defensive all of a sudden, wondering why she would be mumbling Liam's name in a state of unconsciousness. Part of him is jealous.

The man in front of him shrugs, thankfully not picking up on her uttered words. He looks guilty all of a sudden. "Joshua told me you'd be here."

Harry pauses at this. Considers it for a moment, but he's smarter than most people think he is and refuses to be played as a fool.

He's trusted a limited amount of people in his lifetime so far, and those people include his mother, Joshua, Astraya, and Liam, and if there's one thing he hates more than anything it's to be betrayed.

"I told you to watch Astraya while I was out." He carefully sets her down on the floor against the wall. Heavy alarms are surrounding them now but he could care less. He makes sure she's still breathing before standing back to his full height and facing Liam. "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her?"

"Uh..."

"And you told me you would protect her with your life. You told me that."

Liam looks scared now. "They broke into the house, Harry."

"No they didn't," he pauses, furrowing his brows at how stupid Liam's mindset is before parting his lips with a heavy sigh, "because the doors were specifically made to keep intruders out. It takes someone from inside to open them in the first place, and you swore on your life you weren't going to let any-"

"Listen to me-"

Harry shakes his head dismissively. "You swore on your life. You know I take promises seriously."

"You don't understand."

"Nothing you say can make this work in your favor." He sizes up in front of him, fighting the urge to crack his knuckles. Liam's always been weak minded but fuck, he didn't think he was this weak. Weak enough to be a snitch for his father. His gun is out and aimed at his head but Liam's just as fast and has the tip of his own pistol pointing at Harry's chest.

The sound of a gunshot overlaps the incessant alarms.

[unedited]

(A/n: I'm working on the next chapter now since I know I'm late. Chapter seventeen will be the last chapter. I'm still deciding if I want to post an epilogue for this story but I guess it depends on how everyone reacts to the end.

Also, I've posted Skeleton Sailor, which is a story where Harry is Death and falls in love with Life. I'm really excited about it, so I hope you guys like it :)

Sending positive vibes your way! Have a great day/night.)