Darn Stupid Brother You Are

(Angel's POV)

Sleep eluded me again. I felt the pull of the darkness that wrapped around the center and an unsettling chill made my skin crawl. The nightmares were getting worse. Every time I closed my eyes, I found myself back there, trapped in those hallways with faces staring, shadows flickering, and that constant whispering. It wasn't just about the center anymore. I could see glimpses of Hendrix-tied up and bleeding, his eyes begging for something I couldn't understand. But tonight, the dream had been different. There was blood, so much blood. It pooled and dripped from the walls and stained my hands. And Dr. Joe...his face twisted into a monstrous grin as he held a scalpel to Hendrix's throat. "You think you can save him?" he taunted. "You're just as trapped as he is." And then, the scalpel dug deeper and Hendrix's scream pierced through me, snapping me awake.

My heart thundered in my chest as I sat up and felt the sweat cold against my skin. I glanced around and made sure the girls were still asleep. There was no way I'd wake them up again. I needed air, needed to clear my head before this madness swallowed me whole.

I slipped on my jacket and quietly left the dorm.

The night was cool and the breeze carried a sense of calm that felt out of place in this nightmare. I wandered aimlessly until I reached the old gazebo, hidden behind thick ivy and forgotten bushes. It had become a sanctuary, a place where I could think and breathe and feel something other than fear.

I wrapped my arms around myself and replayed the nightmare, feeling the pressure of it pressing down on my shoulders. What if this was all a warning? What if...?

800

(Hendrix's POV)

I couldn't sleep either. The treatments were taking a toll on my body and made my muscles ache and my mind buzz with endless thoughts. And then there was Ava-always Ava. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her smirk, heard her threats, and remembered the documents we'd found. She was in this, deep, and I felt like a fool for not seeing it sooner.

But above everything else, there was Angel. Her face, her laugh, her warmth...they haunted me. Even now, I could still taste her on my lips, feel the way she clung to me. And it wasn't right-I knew it wasn't-but how could something that felt so wrong feel this damn good?

I needed to clear my head. Maybe a walk would help, maybe

And then I saw her. Sitting by the gazebo, her hair catching the moonlight, looking so small and fragile. My chest tightened, and I hesitated, but my feet moved on their own, drawn to her.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked, trying to sound casual, but my voice felt heavy with unspoken words.

She glanced up and her eyes widened slightly before softening. "You can join me if you want,” she whispered. I sat beside her, and the silence between us felt thick with tension.

For a moment, we just sat there and stared into the darkness, letting the night wrap around us. But I could feel it-the way she trembled and the way her breaths hitched. Something was wrong. "Angel," I began and turned to face her, "what's going on?"

She shook her head, and tears formed in her eyes. "It's nothing."

"You're lying."

She sniffled and wiped her face roughly. "I... I had this nightmare," she choked out. "About the center, about you. And it... it felt so real." Her voice cracked and she broke down, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't shake it, Hendrix. I can't..."

I didn't think. I just pulled her into my arms and let her sob against my chest. Her pain became mine, and every tear cut into my heart. "I'm here," I murmured and held her tighter. "I'm here, Angel. I won't let anything happen to you." "But what if you can't stop it?" she whispered and her fingers clutched my shirt with a desperation that made me worried. "What if this place swallows us whole, and we're lost forever?"

I pulled back just enough to look at her and brushed my thumb over her cheek, catching the tear that wanted to fall. "It won't," I said and tried to make my voice sound stronger than I felt. "I swear to you, Angel, it won't. I'll drag us out of here if I have to."

"But how do you know?" she pressed, her eyes searched mine, pleading for answers I didn't have. "How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not," I admitted and my voice sounded rough and raw with emotion. "But I'd burn this whole place down before I let it take you."

Her breath hitched and her gaze dropped to my lips for just a second, a second that felt like a lifetime. "Why do you make me feel this way?" she murmured as if confessing a sin. "Why does everything else disappear when I'm with you?" "I wish I knew," I breathed and leaned in a little more, and every inch closer made my pulse pound harder. "But when I'm near you, Angel... God, I just-everything else fades away."

She swallowed and her hands trembled against my chest. "This is dangerous," she said, but her voice sounded so soft that it felt more like a plea than a warning. "This new you...you... you scare me, Hendrix."

"I scare myself," I confessed and pressed my forehead against hers, our breaths mingling, teasing. "But I can't stop... I don't want to stop."

Her eyes fluttered shut and her lips parted, as if waiting for me to close the distance. "What if we get caught?" she asked, but it was a whisper; I could hear her fear tangled with hope.

"Then we get caught," I answered and my mouth moved inches from hers, my voice barely more than a growl. "But if this is a mistake, it's one I'm willing to make. Are you?"

She hesitated and for a heartbeat, I thought she'd pull away. But then her fingers slid up and tangled in my hair, tugging me closer. "Kiss me," she whispered and her voice broke. "Before I change my mind."

The moment our lips touched, everything else disappeared. It was like the air had been sucked out of the room, leaving only the taste of her and the feel of her against me. I kissed her with a desperation I didn't know I had, my hands roaming

up her sides, pulling her even closer. She tasted like warmth and sweetness, like every forbidden thing I had ever wanted but never reached for. Her hands fisted in my hair, tugging hard enough to make me groan into her mouth.

I pulled her into my lap, her legs straddling me, and the moment she settled against me, I couldn't stop the low growl that escaped my chest. "Angel," I groaned into her lips, the feel of her pressed against me almost unbearable. "You're driving me insane."

She pulled back just enough to look at me, her eyes half-lidded and her lips swollen. "Good," she whispered with a hint of a smirk. "Maybe I want to."

"Is that so?" I murmured, sliding my hands up her thighs, over the curve of her waist, feeling her shiver under my touch. "What else do you want?"

"I want..." Her breath hitched as I rolled my hips up against her, her body arching in response. "I want you to make me forget. Just for a little while."

"Then let me," I growled and captured her lips again, harder and deeper this time, pouring all my hunger into the kiss. She moaned into my mouth, the sound vibrating through me, and I swallowed it down, tasting her, devouring her. My hands slid under her shirt, fingers tracing the smooth, warm skin of her back, feeling the way her muscles tensed and then relaxed under my touch.

"You're so warm," she panted and her breath felt hot against my cheek as she nipped at my jaw and tugged my shirt up over my head. "Why do you feel so good?"

"Maybe because you make me feel alive," I whispered and let my lips move down the column of her throat, tasting the salt of her skin. "Maybe because I've wanted this for so damn long."

She shivered and her nails dug into my shoulders as she tilted her head back to give me more access. "Don't stop," she breathed and her voice quivered. "Please, Hendrix... don't stop."

"I couldn't if I tried," I growled and let my teeth graze her collarbone as my hands slid lower and gripped her hips. I pulled her against me and felt the heat of her even through our clothes. "God, you're driving me crazy."

"You're the one who's driving me crazy," she shot back and her eyes blazed with a heat that matched my own. "You make me feel like I'm on fire."

"Then burn with me," I whispered against her skin and slid my hands under the waistband of her skirt, feeling the soft skin there and teasing her. "Let me make you burn."

Her lips found mine again, and this time, it wasn't soft or hesitant. It was wild and needy, as if she couldn't get enough of me. I felt that same hunger coil tighter inside me and it pulled me deeper, making me forget everything but the taste of her and the feel of her moving against me. And as we kissed and clung to each other, I knew one thing for certain.

There was no going back now.