The sirens wailed, slicing through the stillness of the night, but to Sarah, the sound felt like the echo of a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Lewis's body, sprawled lifelessly on the floor. Her entire being was numb, frozen in place as the realization of what had just happened began to settle into her bones like cold iron.
Nathan had backed away, his face pale, his expression one of horror and disbelief. His hands were trembling as they hovered over his brother's body, as if he still expected Lewis to wake up, to stand up and shout at him like he always did when they fought. But nothing happened. Lewis remained still, blood pooling beneath him in an unforgiving pool of crimson that stained the floor and their lives forever.
"Call an ambulance!" Sarah shouted again, her voice cracked and strained, but Nathan didn't respond. He just stood there, his gaze distant, lost.
Sarah moved to grab her phone, but as she dialed the number, her fingers shook so violently that she could barely press the buttons. She needed help. She needed something. But deep down, she knew. There was no helping Lewis now.
"No… no, no, no…" Nathan's voice was barely audible, hoarse with the weight of his own guilt. He dropped to his knees beside Lewis, his eyes wide with panic. "What have I done? What have I done?"
Sarah's eyes flicked between them, her heart shattering as she watched the man she loved—her first love—break down in front of her, his pain becoming more real than anything she had ever felt. But at the same time, she felt a deep, suffocating bitterness stir inside of her. This was the man who had betrayed her, who had hurt her so deeply, and now he had taken the life of his own brother—the man who had loved her, the one who had always been there for her. And there was no coming back from this.
Nathan lifted his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes, trying to wake himself from the nightmare, but nothing changed. He wasn't dreaming. This was real. This was his brother's blood that stained the floor. This was his doing. And no amount of denial could erase the truth.
"Sarah, I didn't mean to…" Nathan whispered, his voice breaking as he turned to look at her. His eyes were filled with a mix of guilt and panic, as though he were waiting for her to absolve him, to tell him it was all a mistake, to tell him that there was a way out of this. But there was no way out. There was no way to undo what he had done.
Sarah couldn't find the words. She was frozen, trapped in a wave of overwhelming emotions. She had loved Nathan once, but that love had been ripped from her, shredded by the actions of the very man now pleading for forgiveness. And the man she had loved was now gone, leaving nothing but the brutal reality of what this family had become.
As the sirens grew louder, Nathan staggered back, his knees buckling as he collapsed onto the floor. His chest heaved with the weight of what he had done, and his eyes looked hollow, distant, as though he were watching the entire scene unfold from a place far away.
"Why did you do it, Nathan?" Sarah whispered, her voice trembling as she finally found the strength to speak. "Why? Was this how you were going to get me back? Was this how you were going to win me?"
Nathan looked at her, his eyes full of confusion. "I wasn't trying to—"
"You weren't trying to kill him?" Sarah spat, her voice growing stronger, though the pain still gripped her heart. "You weren't trying to prove some sick point by hurting him?"
Nathan shook his head frantically, his hands clutching at his hair in desperation. "No! I didn't mean for it to go this far. I didn't… I never wanted this."
But it was too late. There were no second chances here. The blood on his hands, the life of his brother gone forever, would never be erased by his excuses. And though she understood that Nathan's pain was real, it didn't change the fact that his actions had led to this irreversible tragedy.
"How could you?" Sarah choked, her voice a mixture of anger and sorrow. "How could you let your jealousy—your madness—destroy everything? Lewis loved me, Nathan. He always did. He was a part of this family, and now you've torn that apart."
Tears welled up in Nathan's eyes as he looked at Sarah, his breath coming in jagged gasps. His gaze shifted back to Lewis, the body of his brother, the man he had fought alongside for years. The weight of his actions crashed down on him like a tidal wave. He had killed his own flesh and blood. He had destroyed the one person who had ever understood him, the one person who had been there through everything.
"I… I never wanted to hurt anyone. Not like this," Nathan whispered, his voice barely audible. He reached out, his fingers trembling as they brushed against Lewis's lifeless hand. But it didn't matter. Nothing could undo the devastation he had caused.
The door to the apartment swung open just then, and two paramedics rushed inside, their faces grim as they assessed the scene. They immediately moved toward Lewis's body, their hands expertly going through the motions of trying to revive him, but it was clear. There was no hope. Nathan's brother was gone. The life he had once shared with both Sarah and Nathan was over, and nothing could bring him back.
"Time of death, 10:43 PM," one of the paramedics said quietly, his voice heavy with the finality of it all.
Nathan felt his heart stop as the words echoed in his ears. Time of death. He wanted to scream, to curse the universe for taking his brother away from him, but instead, he sat there, utterly broken. He had killed him. His actions, his jealousy, his rage—had taken Lewis's life, and there was no undoing it.
The paramedics moved swiftly, their work clinical, as they prepared to remove Lewis's body. Nathan remained on the floor, motionless, his gaze locked on his brother's form. His body was still, his face frozen in an expression of peace, as if the chaos of the world had finally been silenced.
But for Nathan, the chaos was just beginning. The reality of his actions was only just starting to settle in. His brother was dead. And there was no coming back from that.
Sarah stepped back, tears streaming down her face as she watched the paramedics work. But it wasn't the body of Lewis that she was focused on anymore. It was Nathan—broken, destroyed, and alone.
And as much as she hated him for what he had done, she couldn't help but feel a small part of her ache for the man he had once been.
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