Contrasting Similarities

"Levi!"

"Rose!" I yelled on top of my lungs. I've never been so desperate and in pain.

Wiping the tears away from my cheek with the back of my shaky hand, I continued to run in the darkness.

I couldn't see anything around me.

It was a dark alley. The only sounds I could hear was my panicked breathing and the soft sound of water flowing.

There was a river nearby.

"Rose!" I called out again.

"Help!" She yelled again.

I ran towards the source, stretching my hands forward, in case I'm about to run into something.

"God please," I cried, pathetically when I couldn't find anyone.

"Oh, you want to yell for that bitch," A male voice yelled, followed by a sickening thud.

I turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt.

Rose was laying on the ground, while he stood towering over her, drunk and out of his mind.

"Leave her alone, Lucas!" I yelled as I stood a few feet away from him, panting heavily.

His drunk self turned around to face me. The only light in the alley was the one street light right above his head. The light made darkness to appear under his eyes, due to the shadow.

"The bitch is here." He let out a maniacal laugh.

"Leave her alone," I said, enunciating each word.

He stopped laughing and stared at me through red puffy eyes.

He turned around towards Rose again, almost tripping and falling down in the process.

"What a piece," He muttered, sickening me to my stomach.

"You're out of your mind, Lucas!" I yelled, gathering every ounce of courage I had in me, which wasn't much at that moment.

He ignored me and moved his hand towards the unconscious girl.

I sniffled and looked around, trying to keep my panic in control.

My eyes fell on that particular thing on the ground. Clutching the rock in my hands tight, I raised it above my head and another thud was heard.

He let out a shriek of pain, before falling to his knees beside Rose.

I choked back a sob and threw the rock aside.

"Rose!" I cried weakly, taking her into my arms.

My hand reached her head and I felt the bump on her head. It won't be too bad.

She'll be awake as soon as the drug he gave her wears off, which must be soon.

----------

Rose stirred awake just when the house came into view.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking down at her. My arms were shaking as I carried her bridal style towards our house. My legs were burning from running so much and it felt like there was very little air left in my lungs.

"Put me down. You shouldn't be carrying me," She muttered weakly.

"You're not in a state to walk. Are you okay? Do we need to see a doctor?" I asked, looking at her.

She shook her head.

"I'm fine. Besides, we don't have money."

"I could always steal," I mumbled, thinking about the 'secret' place where Lucas hid all the money.

"Where is he?" She asked. I looked down into her eyes then looked away.

"He ran away after I hit him," I said, frowning.

"What if he's home?" She asked, showing the fear that made me furious.

"He won't be dumb enough to come back here," I said, in a cold tone.

"Okay." Rose said, being the sweet baby she is.

She put her trust in me a long time ago. By that I mean, every decision, everything I do for us, she never questions it. And she will never need to question it.

Thankfully, I have not failed her yet and I never will.

Kicking the door open, I entered the house. One look around and I immediately wanted to curl up and cry.

How did it come to this?

I kicked the door close and moved forward.

"The lock," She said, pointing behind me.

I sighed and started moving towards the living room instead. Laying her down on the couch, I pointed my index finger at her.

"Don't move," I said, before walking away.

The dimly lit hallway did nothing to help with my anxiety.

So much could've happened today. So many things could've gone wrong.

He could've scarred her forever. I couldn't have lived through the guilt. I promised her with my life.

After hearing the click of the lock, I trudged back towards the living room.

Every breath I took was painful. My ribs felt like they were contracting, squeezing my heart painfully. Squeezing my lungs just enough for negligible air to reach them.

Every step I took made my body scream for rest. My head pounded like a bitch and I just wanted to close my eyes and get away from everything. Every small piece of twisted shit life has thrown at me.

This was enough.

I was the shield. Yet it came to this. Yet it got so worse that it affected Rose.

Moving back into the living room, I saw her laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

She wiped a tear away when she saw me approaching.

"Do you want to eat something?" I asked, standing beside the couch, looking at her with a smile.

"No. Can I sleep in your room tonight?" She asked, timidly.

"Of course. You shouldn't be asking that," I said, smiling wider to assure her.

My smile must be brighter than anything because she smiled a little herself. But I was getting destructed inside. That look on her face. That fear in her eyes. That was something I never wanted to see nor did I ever wanted to imagine.

I bent down and slid my arms under her knees and back again.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and clutched tightly.

"You're tired too, Levi," She muttered, guiltily.

"Yeah. But I'm not hurt," I said, reassuring her. "You're hurt and you can't walk."

I climbed up the stairs, which was harder than I expected. Much harder.

The door creaked when I opened it. Rose opened her eyes when I put her to bed. Her face was tear-streaked and her unshed tears shone in the dim moonlight entering the room.

"I'll be right back," I said, softly, watching the storm of panic raging behind her unbothered front.

Walking slowly to the bathroom, I shut the door softly.

As soon as I heard the soft click when it locked, I let go. I let go of everything that was gathered inside, letting the tears fall.

My legs gave out, making me sit in the middle of the bathroom, with my head in my hands.

I cradled myself back and forth while biting into my hand to stop the sobs from escaping.

It's getting painful to breath.

After about one minute of crying, I stood up from the floor.

Grabbing the edge of the sink tight in my hands, making my knuckles grow white, I stared at my reflection.

The girl staring back at me was pathetic, who couldn't even take care of her only family after promising them with her life.

All this twisted shit should not have reached Rose. Yet it somehow did.

'

Amira

Levi

Verlice

,

I

promise

I

will

protect

you

till

my

last

breath

.'

Splashing the cold water on my face, I took a deep shaky breath in. I closed my eyes, letting the cold water soothe me.

The tear-streaks will not be visible now, at least.

Wiping my face dry, I made my way out of the bathroom, watching Rose struggle to keep her eyes open.

She looked at me approaching and closed her eyes, releasing a long almost unnoticeable breath.

Trust.

Another dagger dug into my chest. How could she trust me again?

I laid under the covers on the other side of the bed, maintaining distance between me and my twin.

Rose sighed every few seconds, making me aware that she wasn't getting any sleep.

"Should I lock the room door too if that helps?" I asked, turning my head towards her. She shook her head.

"I'm okay," She said, softly.

God! Her voice was so soft and babyish. That makes me melt every time. Every worry fades away by just hearing a word from her. Just a look at her innocent face and everything seems to look all heavenly.

"Levi?" She mumbled, snapping me out of my thoughts. I hummed in response.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked, softly. "Where will we go? We can't live with him anymore. It's not safe and we don't have anyone else to live with."

I clenched my jaw.

"I don't know, Rose. We'll just stay here until I find a way."

"They'll find out and throw us in foster care, if he doesn't return."

I stayed silent at that.

"I'll think of something. I will not leave your side no matter what happens or where we go." She nodded.

"I won't either," She said, weakly.

Lucas James Verlice is our step-brother.

My Mom, Lily Ellison, married my step-dad Elijah Verlice, two years after she got our custody and moved away from our biological father. We were seven when she got married and we were five when she got our custody just after divorcing our father.

She died when we were twelve. Leaving us to live with her second husband and his son.

Our step-father died when we were fourteen, two years ago. That left us in the custody of Lucas, who was nineteen at that time.

He's twenty one now and still unemployed. I don't know how he got our custody.

We haven't seen our biological father, after the divorce, which was when we were five. Leaving us in the care of our Mom and our five brothers in the care of our father.

We haven't seen them either. We don't know how to contact them now and they never tried to.

Lucas fucked me up. And he will surely pay for it. That's all I ask from God. To make him pay for whatever he did and however he affected us.

I jumped when a hand touched me. Now sitting on the bed with my hand to my heart, my gaze snapped to my side.

Rose was flailing her arms around.

"Rose!" I rushed towards her. "Rose, wake up."

I shook her a little with one hand, holding her hands in my other.

"Rose!" I said, louder this time.

Her eyes snapped open.

"Levi!" She said, which came out more of a gasp.

"I'm here," I said, in the best soothing tone I could muster. "I'm here."

She started crying.

"It felt so real," She said. I know.

"Calm down, Rose. Take deep breaths. I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you," I soothed.

"Can you hold me?" She asked, timidly, holding back her tears.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded shakily. Letting go of her hands, I leaned back a little, to settle myself beside her.

I wrapped my arms around her, as she buried her head in my neck, wrapping hers around me.

I breathed out a sigh and rubbed my hand on her back.

I'm glad she slept but damn that bitch for giving her nightmares.

The sound of a door opening in a distance made me go cautious. The creak was almost inaudible, hence Rose didn't hear it.

"Rose," I whispered, ceasing my movements.

"Hm?" She asked.

"Will you be okay if I go check the locks once? It'll just take a minute," I said, watching her tense up a bit.

She complied as always. But this time she didn't want to.

"Okay," She said, pulling away slowly, trying not to show the hesitance in her tone and movements.

I nodded and moved towards the edge of the bed.

I just took two steps towards where I calculated the door was in the dark room, when we both froze.

Footsteps.

There surely was someone in the house.

"Go hide in the bathroom," I ordered, keeping my volume low.

"But you-" My head snapped towards her quickly. Rose swallowed and nodded.

"Okay," She said, getting up and rushing past me towards the bathroom.

After I heard her shut the door, I moved towards my desk chair and picked it up.

The silence was deafening. My breathing became rapid and heavy and my racing heartbeat didn't help with the ringing in my ears.

The door to the room creaked open, still not letting any light in. The hallways didn't have any lights now, for some reasons.

The door was opened fully and I braced myself, clutching the chair tightly, ready to attack.

What I was met with was a beam of light as it fell directly on my face.

"Bunny?"