E P I G R A P H

❝Her angel eyes saw the good in many devils❞

☾ one | holt ☽

Holt's POV

"Here, bro."

I grunted, grabbing the joint out of my friend, Mason's hand, placing it between my lips as I take a long drawl from the green substance, before puffing out a cloud of smoke and passing it to some girl next to me.

I don't know who she is, or who she came here with, but I'll probably get her in my bed tonight.

Me and my friends, we have this place we hang out. It's an abandoned building, about a forty minute drive from where I like in Moonvale Valley. It's twenty stories high, all the paint is chipped, and the entire inside is dusty filled, and rat infested.

We usually climb the stairs, it's a work out but the view once you reach the top is worth it.

It's a huge rooftop, not a single thing on top of it.

My brother and I used to come here all the time when we were going through our sneaking out, drug phase. Turns out he left, and I never got out of that phase.

We always planned to do something amazing with it, bring up a bench or something to make it slightly less vacant.

So here I am, my good friend Mason next to me, one of my brothers what used to be, best mates and the only guy I trust, the person who made Everest's loss slightly more bearable, Ace Rivers.

He's been through some shit, when he was eight his dad beat his mom to death and ran, he got caught which is why he'll probably rot in jail for the rest of his life. After that he got put into foster care, he got sick of going from home to home until four years later, freshman year, he met me.

He was friends with Everest too, not as close as me and him were but I guess you could say they were more so acquaintances.

Everest had his friends and I had mine.

Ace and I got close and my mom and dad kind of took him in. He's like the third son they never had, well technically second now.

Mason's got his story too, his isn't too deep, he basically just didn't get a good start out in life and now he's into some bad shit.

We all are, every single person on this rooftop right now.

Mason, Ace, the three girls in front of us, even me.

"So, Holt. . . " a irritatingly girly voice drawled.

It was the girl next to me, she looked innocent. I like innocent. She had similar hair too hers, it was like brown, shiny. Though I've never seen hair like hers, so caramel like, so silky.

She stared up at me with those brown eyes, they were plain brown, hers were like warm honey.

She resembled her so much yet at the same time, no one ever could. She's far too unique to be even close to comparable.

She was Halo Storm.

She was—is, contrary to her name, an angel.

I've always been fond of Halo, from the moment my brother bought her home and introduced her to the family.

Would it be a sin for me to say I thought she was always too good for him? Too pure, too good.

I can see the beauty behind those irises, the innocence.

Ever since that night. . fuck things have been hard.

It was two years ago, and it still haunts me like it was yesterday. Every fucking night, he's all I see, him laying lifeless on the road, blood oozing out of his head. I can hear Halo's piercing scream, I can feel his soul leaving his body.

Everest has always been the person people paint as perfect, he was the quarterback, he was smart, kind, an intellectual.

They didn't know he did drugs and bribed coach to dismiss drug tests when he was high, they didn't know he had ADHD or that he cheated on the girl who loved him minutes before his death.

I was so cold to him that night, I remember racing the house, trying my hardest to find him when I opened the guest bedroom and there he was, balls deep in Alix fucking Montgomery.

I think it hurt me more then it would've hurt Halo.

After that I ran downstairs, in that moment I thought he was a dick. I knew he had his problems I just never knew he'd cheat on the most perfect thing to exist.

She was like that beautiful flower you saw in gardens, but you almost felt regretful when you picked it because it was more beautiful then the rest, the petals were perfect, the colour was even.

She was like the girl's poets write poetry or the person people paint pictures of.

And my brother threw that away in a split second.

Well his girlfriend was in a bathroom, backed up against a wall almost getting fingered by his best friend, he was a few rooms fucking the popular chick that everyone absolutely hates.

I saw Halo waiting on the couch just where I had told her to stay, I tried not to be so cold but I was too mad, I couldn't help it so I chose not to speak, before I knew it, we were outside and I was walking her home, holding her so her shaky legs didn't send her face first into the asphalt.

Then he had the audacity to come over and smother her with affection. I don't know how she couldn't smell Lacey's perfume or the vanilla scented lip balm she covered his body in while she kissed him.

I was going to tell Halo what happened, I was going to wait for her to get home and have a good night's sleep before I tell her. Brother or not, she deserved to know.

But then he got hit, it all happened so fast it was surreal.

In that moment, the moment my brother was breathing his last breath, his girlfriend had her arms around me. Her tears were on my shirt and her face was on my chest.

It was such a bittersweet moment because I've always craved to have her hands on me, always wanted to know what it's like to have someone you wants arms around you and when that moment finally came, it was because her boyfriend, my brother, was eight metres away bleeding out.

Don't twist my hatred for his actions into assuming that means I hate my brother because I don't. Regardless of how he was always the better brother, or the star athlete with the cheer captain on his arm, I love him.

He's my twin brother, it was like losing half of myself. It felt like he took half of me with him and know I almost feel guilty to live.

Every time I'm on this rooftop, I can't help but wish I could stand on the edge and just close my eyes and lean forward.

But I can't, simply because of Halo Storm. She's the reason I believe angels exist, she's the reason I believe in rain after shine.

If I were to jump, that'd mean never seeing that angelic smile again.

I might be able to see it from heaven, or god knows, hell maybe, but it wouldn't be the same.

Yes, I like Halo. Yes, I did when she wasn't mine but it's how I feel, I've tried not to, the guilt eats me alive every single day I think about her it makes me feel sick.

I feel like I'm the one cheating.

"—And I was thinking maybe you could come back to my place after? My parents are gone for the next weekend."

I snapped out of my thoughts, staring at the girl who had been rambling for the past ten minutes whilst all I think about is another girl. Classy, Holt.

I stared at her for a moment, wondering whether she's really worth it.

Her boobs are average, maybe another night.

"Nah, he's gotta look after his little sister." Ace said.

He always does this, saves me when he knows I don't want to do something.

She pouted, her heavily filled lips curling unattractively as she did so.

"Aww." She whined.

I smiled tightly, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"But you look a little tense," she said in a soft voice, trying to sound seductive as she rubbed my arm, "I could help you with that."

I snorted, "What's your name again? Ella or some shit?"

She scoffed loudly, "Bella, actually. Though you probably got me confused with my twin sister Ella that you fucked last weekend."

Someone get me the fuck out of here.

Hiiii angels ♥

So I hope you liked this chapter, short and sweet but I know Holt seemed a little heartless in the last chapter so I just wanted everyone to see where he was coming from.

Anyways please let me know what you think of this book so far, I'm really excited to get more into it.

Remember to vote, comment & follow me.

Also side note, my writing schedule for UILWTBB is the same, I don't have a specific time I'll be updating this book but it'll atleast be once a week and once I finish my other book it'll be 2-3 updates per week x