A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 13• The Past

Elizabeth stood by herself in the bedroom. By the little dresser. On top of it was a sweet picture of Jerry and his father. The little boy was holding a certificate in his hands and smiling proudly. He had won the science fair with his project. Liz hadn't seen much of Bill. She had only seen him once or twice when he was alive. He was always a crumpled, grumpy, old man. But in these pictures, he was a happy, proud man. All the pictures that were spread throughout the house. He truly loved his family. That smile. She felt something press against her back. "Snooping around again?" Jerry asks her. She shrugged and pointed at the picture. "He looks so proud. You both do." She smiled. Jerry didn't say a word. Truth be told, Jayden was Bill's favorite son. He never said it, but it always felt like that. The two were one. Jack and Jerry never felt left out or anything, they always got approval and love. Jerry even more than Jack sometimes. But that day was very special. Liz noticed his silence. She turned around to look up at her boyfriend. He had stepped freshly out of the shower. Sweatpants hanging loosely on his hips and a lose shirt on his shoulders."Are you alright?" She asks. He nodded slowly.

"It was about eleven years ago. I was six. And my dad... well you know. He wasn't that parent to stand on the sideline and cheer for their kid. And if he did want to go everything would immediately get canceled." Jerry tells her. Liz listened to him with her doe eyes. "But I worked on my project so hard, he told me he wouldn't miss it for the world. And he didn't." He continued. A slight chuckle slipped from his lips. "I remember walking to my little table. My project was spread out on the table. And when I looked up there he was. With the biggest smile on his face." He added. A sad smile appeared on his lips and a slight burn behind his eyes. Liz placed her hand on his arm. "He sounds like a loving man." She tells him. "Yeah," He replied, "Somewhere, deep down, I really wanted you to meet him." He added. He slowly raised his hand and pushed a strain of hair out of her face. "Not the psychopath that he was sometimes. But my dad." He smiled sadly. Liz returned the smile and grabbed his other hand. She kissed his knuckles earning another chuckle. "That's my job." He says. "And now it's mine." She replied with a mischievous smile. The boy chuckled and pulled her into his chest. She inhaled deeply as they hugged. "You smell nice," she tells him. A sweet smile appeared on his lips again. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you." he tells her. She looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest as her arms were wrapped around his waist. "I love you too." she assured him.

Bill leaned down to look her dead in the eyes. He grabbed her face and made her look up at him. "Scared?" He asks her. Her mouth was covered in duct tape. She made a humming sound, almost like a groan. "Oh, you think you're really tough, don't you?" He asks her, "Such a strong young lady. Growling at the person that will slice her open and gut her, drain her for her blood, until there is only skin left." Bill added. He took the tape off her mouth very carefully. The first thing she did was spit on his face. Bill groaned and wiped it off his cheek. "You don't intimidate me, Salvini." She snapped back. He observed her for a good few seconds. He noticed small drops of sweat on her forehead. A slight glimpse of fear in her eyes.
"You aren't?" Bill asks her. He raised his hand to wipe a small drop of sweat from her forehead. "I think you're a little scared." He added. "It's my body resisting everything, dipshit." The girl barked at him. And Bill did not like it one single bit. He forcefully grabbed her head and turned it. Her friends were both passed out on the floor. The other man sat by them, carefully pulling the tubes from their legs. It had been two days now. And Bill Salvini was still draining them for their blood. Tears were forming in her eyes when she looked at them.
"You see, that's going to happen to all three of you... until you die. But we will keep you alive as long as possible." He said with a small wink. "Someone will find us. All three of us are missing. Our parents, our families, they're looking." She replied. "True, but when they do, you will be dead." He tells her. He made her look at him again. "I won't die. Not by your doing." She spat back at him. Bill glared at her angrily and put the tape over her mouth again. "We'll come back for you." He assured her, "And don't try anything. You might get hurt." He added. He stood up and walked toward his friend. "We wouldn't want to waste a drop of blood." He continued.

She put her finger on the trigger and held it there. She shut one eye and peeked through the small, red glass on top of the gun. There she stood. Leah Elms. Her name was mentioned way too many times over the years. One of Selena' best friends. One that was locked in the murder cabin with her. Unlike Selena, Leah managed to flee Hill city. Getting away and escaping from the Salvini Family. There she stood. Alone. She was standing behind the couch. She was flipping through the channels on the tv. Her mouth was moving, but no one else was sitting in the room. No one had passed her or anything like that. She tilted her head and opened her eye again. "She's alone," Jade tells him. Louis turns his head toward her.
Her breath appeared in the cold air when she exhaled softly. The tip of her nose, and the top part of her cheeks, had turned pink. Small snowflakes were twirling down from the grey sky. His eyes weren't as dark as usual. "We don't know that for sure," Louis tells her calmly. "If any kids were running around we would've seen them by now." Jade pointed out. "I don't think killing her is the right thing to do." Louis started, earning a short but annoyed glare from Jade. "What if she did take his body? Why kill her? Without her, you wouldn't be able to find him." Louis reminds her, "She's not keeping him tied up in the basement." He added. Jade continued to glare at her uncle. She eyes him up and down. "Who's being sarcastic now?" She asks him.

Honestly, he wanted to help her. And he might be right. Killing her might not be the right solution. She turned her attention back to Leah inside the house. She put down the remote and walked away. Jade lowered her weapon. "You're right." She said. Louis let out a slight sigh of relief. But the teenager gripped the weapon and made her way toward the other window. Louis' head shot up in shock. He followed her as quickly as he could. It was at times like these when his body wouldn't always work with him. He was getting older after all. He hurried after her, stopping her before she could aim the weapon at the woman again. "What do you think you're doing?"He whisper-yelled at her. Jade lowered the gun.
She looked him straight in the eyes. "You're afraid." She said. "I am not afraid. I am thinking straight. Shooting someone in brought daylight?" He snapped at her. "She's one of the three. She ruined his life." Jade replied slowly, the words gritting between her teeth. "And you're going to ruin yours if you do not listen to me right now," Louis tells her sternly.
"She took him. She dug up his grave to probably put his corpse on display as some kind of trophy. What kind of person does that?" Jade pointed out to him. Her grip on the weapon tightened. And her uncle noticed.  Louis pointed his finger at her, almost in a threatening way. "No." He said sternly, "I have lost too many people already. I am not losing you too over a stupid mistake like this one. We don't shoot people because we can. We shoot them when we have heard enough." He informs her. "How exactly are you going to lose me over this? She's better off dead than alive." Jade said. "She's useful." Louis reminds her. "I want her dead." Jade snapped back. She raised the weapon, feeling an unbelievable amount of adrenaline and anger in her entire body. Her finger went to the trigger. Louis pushed the gun the other way when she fired the shot.