Aaron had never imagined that killing someone would be so messy.

In fact he hadn't ever thought about what killing someone would be like in the first place. And he had never imagined that blood would be such a pain in the ass to clean. Simon's corpse laid pale and rigid on the floor, surrounded by a pool of crimson fluid that only seemed to further expand every time Adam and Aaron tried to mop it away.

Fuck, it stunk, like nothing Aaron had ever smelled in his entire life. His father's drunken breath was child's play compared to the metallic rotten smell of death. A putrid scent that made his eyes water and had vomit crawling up the back of his throat every time he took a whiff of it, one that clung to the walls of the room in spite of the wide open windows.

And unfortunately for Aaron, it didn't look like he'd be getting away from the scene any time soon.

Aaron didn't know how long they'd been there, silently squatting and soaking up the blood. He had carried (Y/n) upstairs when she'd fainted and laid her down in her bed. Reluctantly, he had tied her wrists back to the bed spots. He hated doing this, but after she had tried to escape earlier during the day, he knew he couldn't be so careless as he had been this morning.

Aaron's heart twisted painfully in his chest, bile rising up his throat as her words rang in his head.

'He raped me!' Aaron swallowed thickly, tightening his grip on the rag he'd been using to clean Simon's blood. The blood of (Y/n)'s rapist.

The idea of another man's hands on (Y/n) was enough to stir something dark and possessive inside of Aaron. But the fact another man had done it without her consent? It made Aaron see red. Every fibre of his being wide awake with white hot anger.

Maybe that was why he didn't find himself caring that much about what Adam had done. If it had been anyone else, maybe Aaron would have had more of a moral dilemma, Simon though? Death seemed too sweet of a punishment for what he'd done to (Y/n). For what he had put her through and what kind of a man he had been.

No, if anything Aaron found himself wishing they'd kept him alive a bit longer, if only to torture Simon until he begged them for the sweet relief of death himself.

"I shouldn't have killed him." Adam groaned under his breath, brows furrowed in a scowl as he kicked at Simon's body. "He deserved far worse for what he did to-"

Aaron turned to him, jaw tight. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked back down.

Adam couldn't finish his sentence. Because putting things into words would be acknowledging what this dirtbag had done to his sweet darling, and Adam simply couldn't stomach it. He couldn't stomach the fact someone had taken advantage of her like this. Couldn't stomach the fact he hadn't been there to protect her and bash Simon's face earlier.

Regret pulled at his heartstring as he gazed down at Simon's empty glassy eyes.

This fucker was lucky Adam's emotions had gotten the better of him, he was lucky Adam had killed him on impulse. This had saved him from a world of pain. But alas what was done was done, and Adam would probably spend the rest of his life fantasising about what he could have done to Simon.

More importantly, (Y/n) hadn't looked too pleased with his surprise, which struck Adam as odd. He had expected for her to be thankful that he had brought this scum to her for punishment. And wasn't killing the person who had hurt her the most outstanding proof of his love for her? There isn't any other person on this Earth Adam would kill for. He wasn't a psycho after all.

The only reason Adam had done this in the first place was to show (Y/n) how much he loved her and how intent he was on keeping her safe.

So why had she looked so... scared? Of him at that.

Adam would never dare hurt (Y/n). He'd never dream of it. He loved her so much, harming her was the very last thing he wanted to do! No... She was just confused. She just hadn't come around yet, but when she did she'd be thankful for what he did. And she'll realise this was all for her, that he'd done what he had because he loved her.

Yes, she was afraid now. Lost and confused. But this wouldn't last. Adam had done the right thing.

He had done this out of love.

Aaron swallowed thickly, eyeing Simon's body and repressing a gag at the gruesome sight. "What do we do with the-... With him?"

Adam scratched the back of his head, having already forgotten about the blood still coating his hands. He'd really need to take a bath after this, he hadn't expected to be showered in crimson fluid when he had sliced Simon's throat open.

"I'll take care of it." Adam said, "You go upstairs and make sure (Y/n) doesn't wake up alone. She might be scared if she does."

Aaron nodded his head. He knew the last thing (Y/n) would want when she woke up was to be faced with one of them, but he didn't argue. He wanted to be by her side more than anything, as selfish as it was.

So he left Adam to take care of Simon's body and silently went upstairs.

(Y/n) sat curled up in the bed, knees to her chest and face tucked in her arms. Violent shivers wrecking through her system and mind plagued by gore images of what she had seen.

They are fucking crazy.

Adam had killed someone.

I need to escape. I need to escape-

Adam had killed Simon.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-

A broken sob tore from her throat at the memory of Simon's life fading from his eyes, of his blood staining the floor and gushing out of his sliced throat. Blood, there had been so much blood. Too much blood. She didn't know it was possible to bleed so much. It had covered the floor and tickled the tip of her toes.

Simon was dead.

In any other circumstance (Y/n) would have felt a tremendous amount of relief, knowing that she wouldn't have to fear crossing his path anymore and that he wouldn't be around to hurt her again. Never ever. She might have even attributed it to some kind of karmic retribution or whatever.

But not in this case. Not when he had been killed right in front of her eyes by none other than the psychos who were holding her hostage.

Simon was dead and it was all her fault. She knew Adam would have killed Simon anyways, whether she had spilled her secret or not. But it was her fault still. Her fault for not listening to Esme, her fault for trusting Adam and Aaron, her fucking fault for going to Aaron after what had happened with Julian.

It was all her fault. And a terrifying thought struck her.

Would they kill her too?

They had assured her that she was safe and that they wouldn't hurt her. But what if she angered them? What if she accidentally crossed a line and they snapped? What if she never made it out of this hellhole?

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she hugged her knees tighter, burying her face deeper in her arms. She wanted to cave in on herself, to curve herself into a ball and make herself so small she'd disappear.

Was this how her life would end? After she had fought so hard to get her life back? How much more could she take?

She couldn't give up just yet. She'd been there for all but three days, she couldn't let them win so soon. She had to keep on fighting. But fuck, she was so scared.

"(Y/n)?" The door creaked open and Aaron hesitantly stepped in the room. He hadn't expected for (Y/n) to be awake so soon and honestly he would have preferred if that hadn't been the case. He couldn't stand the sight of her so panicked and afraid.

All because of them.

(Y/n) perked up, further backing herself up against the headboard to put as much distance between Aaron and herself as physically possible.

Aaron didn't know what to say, and he couldn't really blame (Y/n) for her reaction either. She had just witnessed Adam killing someone in cold blood, she had every reason to be scared. So for a moment Aaron stood in the middle of the room, silent and fidgeting. Until he eventually walked over to the bed and sat down beside (Y/n).

She didn't look up, too scared to meet his gaze or acknowledge his presence. Aaron swallowed thickly, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"I'm sorry." He said, hanging his head low. "I'm sorry you had to see this. But he won't be able to hurt you anymore. You're safe, (Y/n)."

"Plea-Please, let me go." (Y/n) sniffled, "Please, I won't tell anyone. I just want to go home."

She didn't even know where home was. She wasn't so naive as to go back to the flat she used to share with Julian and Stella but it's not like she had anywhere else to go either. This city was foreign to her and her mother's house was miles away from here. But wherever she went, she knew it couldn't be any worse than this.

Nothing could be worse than being stuck with murderers.

"We can't do this." Aaron said, looking at her with nothing but sadness in his gaze. "We love you, (Y/n). And I know you don't see it yet, but this is for your own good."

Hypocrite. Aaron knew this was truly less for (Y/n)'s good and more for his own. But part of him found comfort in the idea that this would eventually benefit her as well. As soon as she came to return his feelings, she'd see that there was no safer place for her than in his arms.

Yes, Aaron had to remind himself that sometimes, the ends justifies the means.