For Your Sins [bxb]

Prologue

First chapter up. Excited.

This was going to be a mistake obviously. My body shivered under large North Face jacket that had been thrown over my frame. Despite its size, my fingers still twitched due to the cold and I held my arms across my chest to feel warm. Perhaps it was because my body had been dumped in water that was about colder than the North Pole for about ten minutes. Any more than that and my body would have probably shut down. At this point I wish it did.

My legs were tired from walking six miles. I had money for a bus but something in me was too scared to take one. It would have provided me with a place to sit and relief for half an hour but fear got the best of me. I felt safer walking alone rather than on a bus full of eyes. There was no telling who was who.

The wrong eyes could be watching. It was all over, but I was still scared of the world.

My destination came into view much to my relief. The large Victorian house that I hadn't been to in over ten years stood powerful and intimidating as ever. From what I recalled, it hadn't changed much. The walls were still painted yellow; the front porch still had the white rocking chair with chipping paint. This was the mighty house that had scared me in my youth with its elegance and size.

Now I couldn't be bothered about what I saw on the outside.

Because it was the inside, the very heart of it that mattered.

The core of a building.

Incidentally, the core of this very building was rotten to the core.

I walked up the porch to the doorstep and knocked faintly on the door. My body was weak and tired otherwise I would have knocked harder.

I repeated the action; still no answer. Frustration was starting to cloud my senses. I didn't want all of this to be for nothing. I wasn't going to waste my life making sacrifices only to come out empty handed. Never again.

I knocked harder.

"Coming!" a female voice shouted from inside. I breathed in relief.

A woman answered the door. She was 5'6, had long bouncy curls falling down her shoulders. Her face was familiarly oval shaped, large brown eyes to add. There were crow's feet around her eyes, barely noticeable. I'd only seen it because I had a keen eye. She's aged well. She was still as beautiful as I'd remembered. Too bad she was the rotten core of this house.

"Hi Janelle." I spoke after a few seconds.

Her mouth opened but no words escaped.

I could see that she wanted to ask who I was but was afraid. She recognized me but didn't want to believe it.

Not that I blamed her, I couldn't believe that I was alive either.

"Watson?" She asked unsure.

"In the flesh." I replied. I tried for a smile.

Janelle immediately moved forward jamming our bodies together for a tight hug. The last time I'd seen her I was when I was 7 years old and the height of midget. Now I was tall enough that our shoulders touched. Her hair smelt of cinnamon and sugar. She'd been baking. My stomach grumbled.

"I have so many things to say." Janelle remarked when she finally pulled away.

"There are."

"Come in." She dragged me into the house. It was warm and comforting. The smell of freshly baked goods permeated throughout the house all just to remind me how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten a single meal since the day before yesterday. There was a coup in my belly. How I hadn't fainted before I got here was truly a miracle.

Janelle led me to the living room where I sat on one of the expensive couches. I couldn't remember if it was here the last time I'd visited but I doubted it. I knew that Janelle had a habit about of redoing the interior design of her house every few years. Mom used to complain about it and how it was a waste of money. Later in my life, it became much obvious that these ramblings were because she was bitter and angry at the fact that she couldn't even manage to fix our central heating, let alone spend money on lavish things.

A few months ago, I would have been nervous about sitting in a place like this worried that I'd ruin the couch with my wet clothes. Elegance in general ruffled me. Now I didn't care. I'd recently become used to the finer things in life. Whether it was a conscious decision or not was yet to be discerned.

Janelle appeared a few moments later with a blanket in one hand and a tray of cookies with juice on the other.

"You're shivering dear." She handed the blanket to me dropping the tray on the coffee table in front of me.

"It's cold." I answered unhelpfully.

Her look was blank "Did you jump into a pool?"

I curled my lip "Something like that."

No use telling her that I was submerged in a tub full of ice cubed water by a crime lord quite intent on ending my life. I ate the cookies as though my life depended on it. My body cared less about taste and more about sustenance which was why I barely chewed before swallowing. If Janelle was disgusted by my behavior, she didn't show it. She just sat, legs crossed and watching me. Studying me. As though she expected my eating habits to give away whatever secrets I was hording. She waited until I'd almost finished everything before speaking.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Not at all." I answer truthfully. "But you already know that don't you?"

Janelle was silent. She did know.

"Willy went missing."

"Heard that one on the news."

If I didn't love my sister, I'd have probably killed her by now because her selfishness caused this whole chain of events to occur. My life would have probably still been the same boring shit hole it'd always been if not for her.

Love was a strange thing.

Yet, I was grateful to her in a way. My life had changed in ways that I couldn't imagine. I'd seen things that could not be unseen. I'd met a man who rocked the very foundations of my world. For better or worse was something still undecided.

"Why are you here Watson?" Janelle folded her hands uncomfortably.

"Because I need help." Was my honest answer. She pressed her lips into a thin line "You all swore that you'd never see me again."

"I was a kid. It was my mother speaking on our behalf." The scene was still vivid to me. Mom had shouted here in this living room about how Janelle was dead to her forever. Then I hadn't know the reason for it. I still didn't.

"Do you know why?" now this was her real dilemma. It was a shame that I could make her squirm more. "Not yet but I'm quite close to finding out. You should be happy since that's not my main priority now."

"What is?"

I took another sip of juice "Would you like to hear a story?"

Janelle shrugged her shoulders "I suppose. Is it necessary?"

"Somewhat. You'll know why I need help."

"Ok then."

I licked my lips leaning back on the couch. My jacket was off and I was swaddled in blankets. My heart bled. "This is the story of how I almost died."

Hey guys I'm trying something new.

Hope it is well enjoyed.