Seven

Chapter 75

Before I can tell those things to Seven I need to know where his loyalties lie. His uncle is the leader of his gang, I know Seven does not get along with his uncle but he's never outrightly opposed Victor.

"What was your intention of coming back into town to tell me the things you did last night?" I drop my head to the side in question.

"What do you mean?" Seven folds his arms and my eyes train on the small rip in his shirt I noticed last night after he got in a fight with Alec.

"I mean surely Victor would not approve of you telling me the things you did. Does he even know that you're back in the city?" I ask and wait tentatively for his answer.

His hand runs over his hair and he looks past me, already giving me my answer.

"He doesn't know, no. There's some... Changes happening at the moment." Seven frowns as if he doesn't know what words to use without giving everything away.

"Changes?" I push. What the hell does that mean? Seven's conflicted green eyes find mine again and he takes a breath.

"I don't know how much I should tell you. But I also don't want to keep you in the dark about myself if... if I want you in my life again." He says, eyes darting between my own. He wants me in his life again? As what? A friend, a girlfriend or back as his secret hook up again? I wish I had the guts to ask him. I wish I knew the option I even wanted. Do I want him back in my life?

Yes. As much as I shouldn't, I can't deny my feelings for him. But would we be able to go back to how things were between us before he left? We had so many secrets between us, ones we didn't even know about and now we're meant to be rivals of some kind from our parents catastrophes. His uncle shot me as a six year old, intending to kill me, I should be wary or downright hateful of Seven simply because of that but... I'm not. How I feel and what I probably should feel are so different and it's complicating my decision making. I just don't want to be hurt again.

"The secrets have never helped us. Either of us. Just tell me. You can trust me Seven." To make a point my hand reaches for his, pressing the pad of my index to his. Reminding him of the blood promise we had made many, many months ago. He can trust me.

A few emotions flicker over his features before his frown softens and the smallest of smiles turn up the corners of his lips. He turns my hand in his, my eyes drop to watch his thumb traces the lines in my palm softly. Even his simplest of touches manage to spark a prickle of excitement under my skin. His caress is tender, gentle and completely non suggestive but we both move a little closer to each other as he moves his thumb against my hand. My lips part to draw in a breath and look up at him, his eyes a deeper, richer green than before as he regards me.

"I'm going to overthrow Victor as Don." Seven reveals and my heart skips and sinks at the same time.

"What?" My voice is a mere whisper.

"I'm going to take over. Like my father had intended for me to." He explains again and my stomach meets my heart at the floor.

"But... But I thought you didn't want that? That you didn't want to be a leader." He had been so against it, against all of it; the gang, the expectations, the jobs. If it were possible he wouldn't have anything to do with it, so why on earth would he want to lead it?

"I didn't. But I see now that I have to. What Victor's done, what he continues to do Lily... It's dangerous and cold blooded. That's not what the gang was about. That's not how my father ran things. I've been lied to ever since my father died by Victor. That the way he ran things was how it needed to be, but I see now that it isn't. My father may have been betrayed by Jacob but it's not going to happen to me. I don't know what happened between them but Curby and Grimmy are going to help me take over. They're loyal to me and not Victor, and there are so many others out there just like them." Through his speech his hands take my arms, holding me in place while he speaks. As if he's trying to convince me that him taking over from Victor is the best and only option he has. When he speaks of my fathers apparent betrayal it reminds me of the reason I came out to him this morning. Of yet another truth, this one Seven clearly doesn't know.