Twin Tormentors By RARE

Chapter 66 LEIGH-ARI The nauseating stench of burning flesh had reigned through the night in Dark Woods, making my bones clutter and tremble from underneath my skin. | had known this day was to come, | had known very well that he was going to pay for all he has done, and | wasn't against it! Lorik had it coming! The only thing that unsettledthe most was what his death might do to my boys. | feared for them that they will lose themselves, for as much as it was so weird and very hard to believe, Lorik was their father! Yes they didn’t have the best relationship but the blood ties, that blood running through their veins was Lorik’s, and as much as | wanted to sweep the issue under the rug and be glad he was out of their lives, | was scared.

Scared for them; but mostly, scared and terrified for Verzi.

| didn’t even want to being to think what he was going through when he ended Lorik’s life. (This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com)l didn’t want the details, should he want to share with us how he did it then we'd sit beside him and listen. But if it was something he wanted to carry to the grave, then we were going to let it be.

Right, when my mind was reeling with thoughts that madewant to yank the hair from my scalp, the door was pushed open, and in cEnzo, he walked straight towardsand knelt down, placing his head on my lap. He didn’t look sad, the matter of fact, it was the opposite. H e was light on his feet, so light one could take that as excitement. But | knew that somewhere deep within him, he was sad. Sad that their father wasn’t the one they had hoped and longed for, sad that he died even before feeling they could feel the warmth of the fatherly love, sad that his brother went through all the torture all by himself and he didn’t do anything to help. Even if he didn’t show it, I just knew it was there.

Lorenzo was one hell of the strongest figure in this triangle of hearts and emotions. He was the anchor that glued us down, that kept us from grumbling. Had it not been for him and his calm demeanor, the way he goteven when | didn’t get myself, the way he always let himself be the vulnerable one while in fact, he was the strong glue that held us together, all of these madelove him even more. He was so strong, carrying all of our tears and troubles, without grumbling or even complaining for a single second, he was our anchor, our fortress, one place | knew we would find peace without the fear of being abandoned, left alone to fend for ourselves.

“I am so sorry,” | called out; | wanted him to know it was okay to feel sad, | wanted him to know that it was really okay to feel weak. He couldn't hold us forever, he needed to be saved too, he needed to be cared for too, and right about now, now when he didn’t think he needed the shoulder to lean on, | offered it! His hair was so smooth and soft in my hands, and | gently massaged his scalp as he leaned further into my lap. The door suddenly busted open and in cVerzi. He looked so battered, so tired and so done with this world. My heart broke when | got to see him fully; his eyes were blood red, his face very swollen. | didn’t have to ask but | knew very well that he had had a good episode of ugly crying. The little boy inside him was well out on display, making him so exposed, so innocent, so pure, and free of all the troubles of this world.

Enzo and | tore up from where we were seated and met him halfway. To anyone who'd be watching, it may have looked like we are just meeting him halfway and it was just that. But to us, it was deeper than that, we didn’t just meet him halfway through my bedroom, we went to get him, to get him from the evil world and brought him with us. And just when | thought everything was just too much, he went in by shredding every single piece of clothing from his body, baring himself before us. (This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com)The silent plea in his actions was all loud and clear. | heard his heart calling out, asking us to take him as he was. He stood in his full glory in front of us, eyes snapped out for us to see deeper into his soul. For the first tever since we met after being parted from him for a decades plus, | didn’t see the tattooed monster with scars covered by ink. In front of my eyes stood a boy | once knew very well; that boy who had a huge grin whenever he cto my house holding whatever insect he found for his collection. The boy whose laughter was so funny you'd just laugh alone. The boy that was just so mild you couldn’t help but fall in love with him. The boy whose smile was enough to brighten up the whole world. | saw him; Verzi. My best friend who lived just across the street.

There was nothing left to be said; just to welchim.

| opened my arms and he came. He didn’t even waste a single second, he cto me, to us, and | pulled him in.

| held him so dear and listened to the rapid drumming of his heart. All along, his heart had lacked rhythm, beating with uncertainty and uneven beats, portraying the sufferings that laid low within the core of his being, deep where no one could reach. | had cried the first | heard it. Such a tormented heart, such a tormented soul.

And for the first time, it had a rhythm. He was free, free of all the pain that chained him down, free of all the demons that haunted him in his sleep. He was free. Our anchor cin and hugged us, sealing us in with a warm embrace that lifted the entire burden from our shoulders. We connected in ways | never fathomed; the little act caused the electricity to shoot in my blood, sizzling with it to all parts of my body. The connection | have never fathomed formed, | morphed into them, and they morphed into me. (This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com)l becthem, they becme.

And | couldn't ask for more. When all was said and done, there was one thing that remained, one thing that was going to seal the three souls, one thing that was going to be a signature of this divine, sacred moment.

And that was making love!