Strolling Into the Night

Caleb sighed, dialing his wife's number and pressing his cell to his ear before he shut his eyes; well-knowing that the next time he'd see his best friend, he'd probably come in swinging.

Anna moved her fingers into her curls, feeling sick to her stomach as she stared at her son's still face, "She doesn't remember," she whispered, "But when she woke up, he was on top of her. Dead."

Eliya lay back on a chaise lounger, her eyes closed, slowly counting backwards from ten when there was a sharp vibration in her slacks, her eyes snapped open and she gave an apologetic look to her shrink before picking up, "Hey baby, what's up?" she breathed.

Kiran shook his head as he dropped his gaze back to his son's still form, "I'll kill her." he muttered, more to himself than anyone in the room.

Caleb pinched the bridge of his nose, "Sorry to disturb you, babe, but I need you to get to the hospital," he breathed, not waiting for her to ask before he answered, "Tessa might have killed Jason Hawthorne."

Anna swallowed hard, "Caleb wouldn't let you near her after this," she whispered, not waiting for him to say anything, "We should get him out of here."

Eliya blinked slowly, "I'm coming." she said, not waiting for him to say anything as she hung up, she shook her head at her shrink and started out the door, seconds before she disappeared to her daughter's hospital room, "How did this happen?" she breathed, moving towards their little girl as she studied her husband.

Kiran nodded, "I'll take him, go home and take care of Kira and Peter." he whispered, glancing up at her.

Caleb gave a slight shrug, "We don't know," he breathed, unsure of what else to say on that matter as he frowned, "But I need you to be here if either Silas or Kiran shows up. If there is one thing I know about Kiran, it's his love for those kids; there's no way he'd let a thing like this slide."

Anna studied her husband's face a moment before she gave a slight nod and disappeared home.
Silas felt a growl make it to his lips as he slammed his fist into the wall again; it hadnt changed anything, except that he'd broken a few knuckles in his right hand, which didnt seem to bother him as he slammed his bloody fist into a mirror, unable to comprehend that his brother was gone and the woman he loved had killed him.

Eliya nodded slowly before she looked down at her daughter and moved the blanket from her face, she studied the familiar bruises, the split lip, and the tremble in her skin, "Did the doctor do a rape kit?" she breathed, tears stinging her eyes as she looked at Caleb.

Kiran looked up at his son, "Stop it." he said softly, something cold seeping into his tone, "Find Tessa, break up with her or beat her, I don't care, but say goodbye because she'll be dead soon enough."

Caleb pursed his lips, obviously not knowing the answer to this as he glanced at his daughter; something clenching around his heart, but he said nothing.

Silas gritted his teeth as he leaned against the wall, "What if she didn't do it?" he breathed, blood covering his hands now as he studied his father; something hurt in his pretty eyes.

Eliya swallowed hard, "I'm going to find a doctor to ask." she breathed, bending down to kiss Tessa's hair.

Kiran's eyes darkened, "Then confirm it before I get to her." he breathed.

Caleb gave a slight nod, his lips pulling into a thin line as he dropped his gaze to the floor, trying to think.

Silas swallowed hard at this, but he didn't say anything else as he went for the door and in a matter of minutes, he was on his Ducati and on his way towards Tessa's hospital, figuring Caleb would have taken her there.

Eliya sighed and turned to move out into the hallway to look for a nurse to direct her to Tessa's doctor, dread knotting in her belly.
Tess swallowed hard, "Are you mad at me?" she asked, glancing back at her dad.

Caleb slowly shook his head, his gaze still on the floor as he frowned, "Of course not," he breathed, "But this is quite the predicament. We need to handle it right."

Tessa nodded slowly, "I'm sorry." she whispered, feeling new tears slide down her face.

Caleb sighed, but he didn't say anything else as he let silence fill the room, needing to think things through.

In a matter of minutes, Silas pulled the Ducati up to the hospital and quickly parked; not even thinking twice about walking bloody into Tessa's hospital when he did, getting directions from a nurse before he started towards his girlfriend's room, his eyes dark as he went.

Tessa swallowed hard, wincing as she tried to purse her split lips, she shut her eyes, feeling him coming but not saying anything as she waited for him.

Caleb blinked a few times as he felt the boy there, only a few feet from the door now, but before Silas had a chance to step inside, Caleb was already up and had yanked him into the room and pinned him to the wall by his throat, "What do you want?" he said through his teeth, his eyes darkening to near black.

Silas gritted his teeth; Caleb's arm pressing against his windpipe and crushing it slowly making it terribly hard to breathe as he looked over at Tessa, his own eyes dark with emotion, "I-I wanna talk," he choked out.

Tessa jolted up, "Daddy, let him go." she choked out, a whimpering sob following, "Please let him go." she breathed, dropping her gaze as she curled her trembling fingers into her blanket.

Caleb gritted his teeth, locking gazes with Silas for a moment before he let the boy go and he stumbled towards Tessa's bed; stopping when he was close, but not close enough for her to touch him as he swallowed hard, "Did you kill my brother?"

Tessa whimpered and forced herself to look up at him, "I think I did." she breathed, "I'm so sorry, I don't remember what happened, I woke and he was dead." she choked out.

Silas shook his head, his lips twisting as he dropped his gaze to the floor, "That's not enough, Tessa," he said, something angry in his voice now when he looked at her, "If you don't want to die, I need you to remember what happened."

Tessa whimpered again, "I'm trying, Silas, I'm trying." she breathed, "Please believe me, I'm sorry." she said, something heartbrokinly pleading in her voice when her mother came back, her pretty face pale, a manilla folder clutched tight in her right hand.

Silas didn't even notice Eliya entering, something cold in his eyes now as he clenched his bloody fists, "Try. Harder," he said through his teeth, needing her to give him something to work with before his father would find them.

Eliya's heart clenched as she studied both of them, "Why don't I paint this picture for you?" she said thickly, opening the folder, "Patient is traumatic, she had to be sedated in order to remove the pieces of glass from her shoulder and right arm, isn't there a glass coffee table in your apartment?" she breathed, taking out the picture the doctor had taken of the bloody injury and moving around the bed to throw it at Silas, "He shoved her into it."

Silas' jaw clenched as his shoulders and back tightened, making him look like he was mere seconds away from punching Eliya in the face and he opened his mouth to say something before Caleb took a step towards him, "Choose your next words carefully, Silas, 'cause I will have Kiran put another son in the ground," he said cooly, raising a brow at the boy as if daring him to mess with him.
Silas looked up at Caleb, the coldness in his pretty silvery eyes turning into ice as he turned to him, "Don't just make threats, Caleb, make somethin' of 'em, for once," he said, indifferently so as he took a step back and gestured to his chest, "Kill me."

Tessa whimpered in protest as Kiran appeared in the doorway, his eyes near black as he started towards them, Eliya /moved/ so she was in front of him, having dropped the folder there were photos of Tessa's injuries all over the floor, she put her hands on his chest to hold him back, "Stop." she cried, shoving him, "Look at her, Kiran, look at my daughter, tell me you don't recognize that look, those bruises, having seen them on Anna's face so many times?" she yelled up at him, "I'm sorry you lost a son but I rather he be dead than have my daughter broken."
Kiran blinked slowly and looked at Tess, "He was still my son, my blood." he choked out, looking down at Eliya.
"Dont talk to me about blood, you fucking hypocrite." she breathed, "You'd kill your own brother if he touched your wife, you have." she spat.

Caleb seemed to relax some as he looked over at his best friend, sincerely hoping that Eliya's words would cut deep enough for this to work. He lost focus on Silas for a moment, which is where Silas had gotten his hands on an empty syringe and he shoved it into Caleb's abdomen, "That's for mentioning my brother," he breathed, obviously not willing to see what Jason had done to his girl.
Caleb gritted his teeth; pain blossoming in his abdomen as he ripped the syringe out, his pretty eyes darkening to black, "That was a really, really bad idea, Silas," he breathed, finding it a little funny that the little human boy thought he had any chance at retribution here.

Kiran's gaze seemed to soften as it returned to normal, he studied Eliya, "You're right." he breathed, looking up at Tess and really looking at her before looking at Silas, "Stop it, think clearly, look at her." he breathed, moving towards Caleb to hold him back if needed.

Caleb held a hand up at Kiran, "Touch me and I'll rip your head off," he muttered, glancing over at him as his expression began to soften into a more teasing look, obviously still relatively calm as Silas glanced at Tessa again, his brows pulling together like he didn't understand, "Why would he.." he started, unable to get the words out as the question was answered by itself and he dropped his gaze, starting around Caleb and towards the door, needing to get the hell out of that room.

Meanwhile in Tennessee..

Anna Hawthorne sighed as she leaned against one of the many panorama windows in their bedroom, overlooking their street. She'd told Kira and Peter about their brother and had waited until they fell asleep in Peter's room before she'd left, and was now waiting for her husband and Silas to come home.
She took a long sip of her glass of wine, that saddened sort of beauty over her again, her green eyes shimmering in the faint light and her pretty face like marble with her curls pulled into a sloppy bun and she was wearing a short, silky robe after she'd taken the longest shower of her life.
The calming scent of rose petals coming from their conspicuously clean sheets, mixed with her shampoo was interrupted by the sweeter stench of male sweat while she stood there; she didn't even get to turn around to face the intruder before he threw a punch at her temple, knocking her out cold. He scooped her into his arms before he left the bedroom and in a matter of silent minutes, Anna was in the back of his van and he drove the hell out of town.

Tessa watched him go, her eyes filled, her lips parted to protest but no sound slid out as if she couldn't believe that he would just go. She turned her gaze to the adults in her life, looking smaller than she had in years, she waited for something happened, for someone to say something that mattered.

Caleb pressed his lips together as Silas slammed the door behind him and disappeared, but he didnt say anything; he simply glanced back at Kiran, then at his wife, as to see if everything was as it should be.

Kiran frowned, "I think I should get home and take care of my wife." he muttered, deciding to let Silas deal with this in his own way, "We have to plan the funeral, you know?" he said, seemingly calmer now.

Caleb gave a slight nod, "Send her our condolences," he breathed, sincerely before he turned his gaze on his daughter, unsure what he was supposed to say to help her.

Anna gritted her teeth as she woke, raising her hand to touch her bloody temple as she made a noise, "Kiran?" she whimpered lowly, expecting her husband to be with her in bed before she realized where she was and her breath stuck in her throat when she jumped into a seated position, scrambling to her feet as the fat man in the passenger seat laughed, "Don't bother screaming, sweetheart," he breathed, "Your daddy paid us good money to make sure you'd be put away safely."

Tessa looked up at her parents, waiting for them to say or do something that would fix everything like they would when she was younger but when her mother didn't speak either she realized she was waiting for nothing; tears stung her eyes, her faith in everything felt shaken, "I want to go home." she breathed, turning her gaze from them.

Caleb nodded slightly again, "Sure, baby," he breathed, "You'll stay with us for a while, alright?"

Tessa nodded but she didn't look up at him, Eliya swallowed hard, "I'm so sorry baby." she breathed, reaching forward to touch her hair before she glanced up her husband, something sad in her own gaze.

Caleb swallowed hard before he turned away from them as well, "I'll wait in the hall," he muttered before he disappeared outside.

Eliya took a breath, muttering soft things in French for awhile before she turned to walk out into the hall, "Caleb?" she breathed, sliding out of the room as she looked up at her husband.

Caleb frowned a little as he glanced down at his wife, "Yeah?" he muttered, leaning against the wall.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, studying his face, "You're acting different." Eliya whispered.

Kiran appeared home, he glanced around, "Anna?" he called, starting for the stairs.

A year later..

Silas Hawthorne frowned to himself the minute he woke on his cold mattress; his silvery green eyes shimmering in the fluorescent light in his cell as he looked around. His face still hurt after his beating in the laundry room the day before; his lip had been split, the area around his right eye was blue and he was sure he'd broken a few ribs when he sat up, pain blossoming in his ribcage again, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to that as he ran his fingers over the tattoo reading 'Contessa', placed purposely over his heart.

Anna Hawthorne tilted her head back when another shockwave rammed through her bones; her lips parted with an attempt to scream, but nothing came out except for a choking noise, the muscles in her throat tensing so bad it hurt before the electricity ceased and her body relaxed against the leather straps again.

Caleb Walker glanced across the table at his wife; unable to keep a soft smile from curving his lips at how beautiful she was. He didn't look too bad himself, dressed in Armani slacks and a black silken shirt, but he seemed unable to get over her appearance in the restaurant that he had made sure they had all to themselves, as his smile widened, "You look amazing," he breathed.

"Hawthorne." A guard muttered as he approached the boy's cell, "Clean up. You have a visitor." he said, getting out his keys to unlock the cell.

Kiran took a breath as he moved along the halls towards his wife, it had taken him this long to get to her, his hands were stained in blood and a darkness colored his violet-silver eyes but he could feel her and it kept him going.

Eliya smiled softly at him, "You do too." she breathed, running her fingers through her straightened dark hair, her hands dropping to her lap as she played with the skirt of her white gown, "I feel like we haven't done this in awhile, I miss you." she breathed.

Silas wrinkled his nose at this, but he didn't say anything as he pulled on a new, white t-shirt and stood, running his fingers over his clean-cut blonde hair as he waited for the guard to open his door; too tired to even think about who the visitor could be.

Anna's breath came out in short, choked up pants for a while as she laid there. She couldn't feel him coming; she hadn't felt anything but pain in a long time and it seemed like that fact wouldn't change when the doctor turned the volume up to max again and her body tightened, a loud, agonized scream passing her lips as she tilted her head back again.

Caleb's soft eyes roamed over her face as his smile didn't waver and he nodded slightly, "I miss you too, baby," he breathed, glancing up to see the waitress coming with their dinner.

The guard opened the door and moved to put cuffs on his wrist as was regulation and took hold of his bicep and began to lead him towards the visitor room full of metal tables bolted to the floor and a few plastic chairs, only one woman sat at a table there, she didn't look up at them, her dark curls hanging about her pretty face, she was silent as the guard sat Silas down, securing his handcuffs to a metal loop in the table top. Tessa raised her blue-green gaze to his face, "Hi." she said softly.

Kiran moved towards the sound of her, he slipped inside the room they were, moving to break the doctors neck and turn off the machine before he made his way to his wife, "Anna?" he said softly.

Eliya didn't look away from his face, "Caleb?" she said softly, cocking her head a bit.

Silas moistened the split spot on his lip as he studied Tessa's face, unable to keep the smile from tugging on them as he looked her over, "Hey," he breathed.

Anna relaxed against the straps again and she took a few deep breaths before her lids fluttered open to reveal her extremely bloodshot eyes, but she smiled softly, almost sleepily at her husband, "Hey, baby," she whispered.

Caleb returned his gaze to her face, "Yeah?" he breathed, pursing his lips.

Tessa studied him for a long moment as she leaned back in her seat, curling her fingers against her denim jeans, she dropped her gaze, "What happened?" she mumbled, gesturing to her face.

Kiran looked down at her, a soft smile curving his lips as he ran his fingers over her hair, "I missed you." he said, ripping apart the straps to get her out of there.

"I love you." Eliya breathed, watching his face as she laid her chin on her palm, her elbow on the table, "But I need to say something to you and I'm afraid of how you'll react."