"We grew up in England. My father, Devon, our younger sister Daphne, and myself. Our mother died while giving birth to Daphne when Devon and I were only five years old. Our father didn't take it well, at all. He started drinking more, staying out later, neglecting us. Devon always loved Daphne, regardless of her being a big part of the reason our mother passed away. He loved her so much, we both did. When Devon and I were fifteen and Daphne was ten my father had a little too much too drink and smoke. He had lost a large bet to one of the guys at the bar, and was mad. Really mad. Devon was at work, Daphne and I were at the house, alone with him."
Nicole swallowed, letting out a shaky breath.
Virgil did the same, knowing what she would say next.
"My father started getting violent. First he just shoved me aside when I tried to speak to him. Then he slapped Daphne for no reason. I got angry at him, saying that there was no reason to be violent. That was when he snapped. He shouted at me, calling me pathetic, a nuisance, a slut." Nicole blinked rapidly when tears started forming in her eyes.
"Daphne was just trying to help. She hardly knew what those words meant but she saw that they were hurting me, making me cry. She- She went up to father and told him to stop, told him to stop being a meanie."
Nicole gave a watery laugh at that, but she wasn't smiling.
"I told her to stop but she wouldn't listen. She kept provoking father and eventually he just picked her up by the neck and threw her at the wall. She died the second her head made contact with the brick. I knew she did, the second that sickening crack sounded the light just disappeared from her eyes. And I cried. I cried a lot. I screamed at my father, shouted at him, walked up to him and beat my fists against his chest, so he pushed me to the ground and kicked me in the chest, breaking several of my ribs. My phone was dead, so I couldn't call the police, and I could hardly breathe but I crawled to Daphne's corpse and held her, I held her and cried. Father just stood there and sneered at us. He was done being angry, he was just sitting down and drinking more. I don't know how much time passed after that, I was barely conscious, but eventually Devon got home. Everything was a blur from then on, I only vaguely remember Devon running to where I was lying with Daphne, shouting, police and medics arriving, being taken in an ambulance, them taking Daphne away from me, and then I woke up in the hospital. Devon was there when I woke up. He told me that father had been arrested, and that we would be sent to an orphanage. I apologised to him. I told him I was sorry so many times, told him that a tried to stop father from doing what he did, told him that I had no way of contacting the police. He said that he understood, brushed it off, but I could see that he didn't understand. He blamed me for Daphne's death, and I can't be mad at him for it. I still feel the guilt to this day, even though I know that there was nothing I could do. Devon and I were sent to an orphanage, but never adopted, because no one wants to adopt a set of depressed teenage twins. We both suffered for the next three years, but Devon suffered more than he let on. It was in those three years that I discovered he was gay. He never actually came out to me, no, but I knew. As cliche or phony as it sounds, it's a twin thing. It honestly is. I never told him that I knew, because it made no difference to me, but I knew that he knew that I knew."
Here Nicole paused and chuckled, glancing around at the five captivated men, then continued.
"After Devon and I graduated we decided to move to the U.S. together, to get a fresh start. It was Devon who proposed we tryout for the police cadets. It was legal to become a cop at nineteen in Florida, so we'd only have to wait a year. I agreed instantly. We started training the following week and a year later, we were cops. Over the next four years Devon and I grew closer, closer than we had ever been. And although we would never be able to forget what happened to Daphne, we were able to move past it and be genuinely happy with our lives. It was in the fourth year when Devon began acting strangely. It appeared that he seemed remorseful towards the criminals we arrested, appeared that he pitied them even. I knew something was wrong so I tried to talk to him, but he clammed up, and wouldn't say a word. He grew more distant with me, no matter what I did. One day he was chasing after a criminal who had murdered his ex-wife. I wasn't there when it happened, but the CCTV footage showed Devon knocking him down, about to cuff him, and then they guy tried to stab him. He only just grazed his face and that was where he got the scar from. When Devon got back from that event I knew that something had clicked in his mind. His eyes- they didn't look normal. I'm not talking any sci-fi bullshit, but they looked different, he looked different. I knew then, that I had lost him."
Patton looked as if he was about to hug Nicole, who was now full-on crying, but Logan held his arm, gently shaking his head.
"Devon quit the police force not long after that. I wasn't surprised, no, but I was hurt. After everything that Devon and I had been through, I thought that we would stick together like we always had. But apparently he had different plans." Nicole finished the sentence darkly, still crying.
She coughed quietly, clearing her throat, and faced Roman and Virgil.
"That was the last I heard from Devon, until four years ago when you were brought into the police station, and I was asked to review the case. I was shocked to see that my brother had actually become a criminal, someone that we used to catch and lock up together. But I didn't let that stop me from doing what I would normally do with a criminal. I did my best to locate him for the next four years, but to no avail. I saw him for the first time in four years tonight, on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood."
Suddenly Virgil's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth.
"Oh my- Devon!" he stared at Nicole, "Is he- is he-"
"Dead?" Nicole cut him off, raising an eyebrow, "No, he's not dead. But he is going to jail, that's for sure."
"Do you know how long for?" Roman asked, "What his sentence is?"
"Well, we won't know for sure exactly what his sentence will be until after the court views the case." Nicole said, "But from what I've learnt in the police force so far, it'll be one year for stalking, one year for violent abuse, nine years for sexual abuse, and fifteen years for multiple kidnappings. So he'll be in jail for twenty-six years at the very least."
Virgil sighed in relief, cracking a small smile as Roman squeezed his hand gently.
"I, uh, actually saw Devon, in his hospital room." Nicole said, glancing down, "He's asking to see you."
Virgil stiffened, his lips parting slightly.
"You are in no way obligated to see him, I just thought that you should you know, if you, like, wanted to say something final to him, I shouldn't have even told you, I'm sorry-"
"You don't need to be sorry." Virgil said, gulping, "You were just letting me know."
Nicole sighed, "So... are you going to see him? He is handcuffed to the bed, if you're worried."
Virgil shook his head, "No, I'm not worried." He took a deep breath and looked down at Roman for a moment, who nodded encouragingly. Then he smiled slightly and looked at Nicole.
"I'll see him."
Nicole nodded, "I can take you to his room, if you like."
Virgil nodded back, "I'd appreciate that."
He let go of Roman's hand and leaned down to kiss him gently, "I'll be back."
Roman kissed him back, smiling. "I know you will."
Virgil straightened up and smiled at Patton, Logan and Thomas. He then nodded at Nicole and exited the room with her.
The walk to Devon's room was silent, at least it was until they were standing outside the door, about to go in.
Virgil was holding the doorknob, not turning it, just standing there, an unreadable expression on his face.
Nicole placed her hand on top of Virgil's, looking at him carefully.
"Virgil." she said, "You don't have to do this, you know. If you're not ready to see him again, no one's forcing you to."
Virgil nodded.
"I know I don't." he said quietly, staring at the door, "I want to. I want to look him in the eye and tell him that he's never going to be able to touch me again. Tell him that after all he did to me, he's going to rot in jail."
He turned to face Nicole, his face now clearly furious, and frightened. "I want him to know how much I hate him."
Nicole swallowed, "I understand your feelings towards my brother, Virgil, and you have every right to feel that way. And I want to agree with you, I want to hate him as much as you hate him, but I can't."
She sighed, "As bad as he is, Devon is still my brother, and I can't hate him, even if I wanted to. There's no excuse for what he did to you, absolutely no excuse, and I'm not saying that he deserves to be let off, but he's still hurting. I know that's he's still hurting on the inside, more than he's ever let on."
Virgil nodded slowly, "I know."
Nicole gently squeezed his hand, then let go, taking a step back.
"Good luck."
"Thank you."
Virgil let out a shaky breath and turned the doorknob, slowly pushing it open until he could slip through the gap and close it behind him.
He didn't know what he was expecting- or wanting- to see, but it wasn't Devon half-conscious, handcuffed to a bed, looking weak and vulnerable.
Devon looked up when he heard the soft footsteps entering his room. He smirked, raising an eyebrow slowly.
"Just couldn't resist seeing me one last time, could you, Virgil?" His voice was still chilling, but it was weak, strained.
Virgil glared at the injured man.
"You don't frighten me anymore, Devon." he said in a low voice, "Don't try to flatter yourself."
Devon sighed, "I won't, I know I'm fucked."
"Yeah, you are fucked." Virgil wanted to smirk right back at Devon, but he couldn't. He wasn't capable of acting that way in the presence of the man who had treated him in such a cruel way.
"I'm not here to chat, Devon." Virgil said, "I just thought I'd pop in and say goodbye before you were sent off to prison."
"But I won't be in jail forever, Virgil, you and I both know that." Devon said, "I will get out eventually, and whenever I do, I'll come for you again."
"I know you will, Devon." Virgil opened the door and stepped outside, ready to close it.
"And when you do, I'll be ready."