Chapter 1

~Mila's P.O.V~

It was my 19th birthday and after spending my morning sleeping in, I was officially ready to start the day.

I had just finished showering and getting dressed and was making my way towards my door when I suddenly overheard my parents fighting.

"We're not killing our daughter! Have you gone mad?!" my father yells, completely furious.

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, fear spiking through my veins.

What the fuck did he just say?

It's official...I've gone mad.

"We have to! Don't you understand?! We MUST! If we don't right our wrong, we are going to go somewhere far worse than we could ever imagine, and we will be there for all eternity! ETERNITY, PAUL!" my mother shrieks.

A shiver runs down my spine, but I step closer, pressing my ear against the door as to not miss out on a single word.

"You think KILLING our DAUGHTER is going to fix it?! She's why WE'RE in this in the first place! There's no going back from what we did, and you WILL NOT touch a hair on her fucking head. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" My father's furious voice turns into a roar.

I bite my lip to stop myself from making a sound, as my body begins to tremble with fear and my stomach flips upside down.

My mind is racing as I try to process what they are saying. So many questions are flooding my brain, and every part of me is praying that this is some fucked up dream.

I mean it had to be... right?

There was just no way that this conversation could be real right now... No way at all.

Pinching myself as hard as possible, I instantly hiss at the sting of pain, and my stomach sinks in realization that this is really happening right now.

"I will do whatever has to be done and I will go through you, if necessary." my mother retorts deadly calmly, promising him with each word she speaks.

I quickly back away from the door, with only one thought on what to do.

I had to get the fuck out of here and fast.

"Try, Rose. Just fucking try it. I will kill you just as fast. I will NEVER choose a selfish greedy bitch like you over her. EVER." my father retorts, his words just as promising as hers.

"So, you've laid your bed then, huh?" my mother hisses back at him.

"OUR BED HAS BEEN MADE!! FROM THE SECOND YOU THREW OUR SON OVER THOSE DAMN CLIFFS, IT'S BEEN MADE!!" My father screams, full of agony and hatred.

My heart breaks at the tone of his voice... until the words of what he has just said start sinking in...

You threw our son over those damn cliffs....

No... no... no...

It couldn't be...

The familiar image of the boy who was always filling my dreams.

Just a few years older... with the same striking traits.

Ezra

Everything was coming together, and it felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out, as rage, pain and sadness filled me to the brim.

The boy I was always told wasn't real and the memories always a figment of my imagination. It had always been him. My older brother, Ezra.

"ROSE, NO!" my father's sudden panicked scream, snaps me out of my trance.

A loud bang of a gun pierces through the air, causing my breath hitch in my throat.

Too scared to go and see who is in control of the gun, I quickly focus my attention on the only way of getting out of this house.

Rushing over to the window, I open and climb out of it as quickly and quietly as possible. Thankful for my many adventures of climbing out this window, I'm easily able to pull myself up onto the roof.

Realizing there's no possible way of getting down to the ground without breaking a bone, I turn towards the ocean that I have spent many nights sitting out here listening to. It's familiar sound of the crashing waves below fill my ears but for the first time, they don't soothe me.

Deep down I knew there was no easy choice. I was stuck and screwed one way or another. I either went back inside and faced my mother head on, jumped and tried to get away with a broken limb or jump off the same cliffs my brother had been tossed into.

At least you have a choice... Is all I can think, as my heart broke for the boy who never got to.

"Mila?!" my mother yells, from inside my room.

It was now or never.

So, without another thought, I suck in one last breath.

Dear Gods,

Please forgive me and reunite me, so that I may rest with my dear brother.

I finish my internal prayer before running and jumping with all my might.

The first few moments feel like peace, as if I'm flying, but as fast it starts, it quickly vanishes as my body begins to descend. The sound of the waves below grow louder as I near them, and before I know it my body is consumed by an overwhelming mixture of both pain and utter coldness as I hit hard into the rough waters.

My skin burns before turning numb from the coldness as my lungs burn with the need to breathe, but I do my best to try and stay calm despite the stress my body is going through.

With eyes shut, I let myself succumb to the pain as water begins to fill my lungs until I feel nothing more.

I watch as my life flashes before my eyes. The loving parents I once had, the friends, flings, first experiences, my happiest and most important memories, including the ones I had with my brother Ezra as a child.

As fast as they come, they quickly begin to blur, followed by a flash of bright light and a single word before everything turns to nothing.

Minnie