Be Mine, Always

chapter sixteen

Xander’s POV~ Six Years Ago

        The house was quiet as usual, but this time was different, every creek and whisper  made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. My father was in a drunken stupor on the couch with two women sprawled out beside him. The house smelled like booze and weed and the cloying scent stung my lungs. 

        I hoped this wouldn’t take long, tomorrow night Evan would become a hardened criminal if I didn’t stop him. Quietly tiptoeing into my dad’s room, I rifle through his draws, look at bills upon bill stacked, all paid. Briefly, I wondered how they got paid, my father didn’t work and he wasn’t on any kind of government assistance. It had to be through drugs and whatever sordid business he dealt in with unwilling girls. 

        His desk was a mess and I sighed, running a hand through my already messy hair. Sleep had been a bitch the night before, eluding me so thoroughly, I hadn’t slept a wink. Usually, sleeping with Melody put me right to sleep, her warm skin tucked into mine and her gentle breathing a soothing cadence in my ear. Nope, not that night. 

        Guilt had gnawed on me the entire night. Two fucking years and not a single secret between us, even the little “secrets” she bestowed on me about her weren’t secrets at all, not like this was. The night before I had been so sure she would forgive this lie, this deceit, but would she? I preached to her non-stop about my distaste for the gang. What would she think when I eventually told her about going on some illegal run to stop Evan? 

        The word eventually clanged through me like a war gong, reverberating through my every bone, making my skin crawl. My stomach churned. Surely, I was overreacting. I wasn’t joining the gang. But I knew that wasn’t what was really bothering me, it was the dishonesty. I was souring our relationship for someone I wasn’t even friends with anymore. In fact, I threatened to break Evan and the rest of the gangs faces if they even looked at her again. 

        However, trafficking girls was so much bigger than running drugs. These were unwilling human lives they were dealing with, I couldn’t let an innocent girl get taken from the safety of her home and leave her to be raped and beaten. My mind strayed to that anonymous girl becoming Melody. 

        Melody comfortably asleep in her bed without me, dressed in her soft pajama pants and thin tank tip, those pale blond tresses tied into a loose braid. Being awoken at knife point and threatened. Being groped and touched… 

        Anger boiled in my veins and my nostrils flared as my hands balled into fists on the table. That girl could be a Melody for someone. She’s someone's daughter and friend. Even if she wasn’t she has done nothing to deserve a target on her back from leeches. 

        No matter the guilt churning alongside the anger in my gut, I couldn’t stand by while a girl got kidnapped and I couldn’t let Evan turn into a monster without at least trying first. 

        Just as I was about to get up, a small folded piece of paper in the trash caught my eye. I pulled it out and unfolded it and on it was exactly what I was looking for. The address and the time of which Evan was expected to kidnap a girl. I slid the folded paper in my pocket and mentally prepared myself. 

        Later that day at school, I searched for Evan before I remembered he dropped out to be a prospect full time. I skipped third period English to scope the targeted house and noted that at the moment it was empty. The girl living there must’ve been a college student. Perfect target for sick bastards to pray on. All alone. 

        Once lunch rolled around I was back at school and concocting my plan. I would have to see Melody first in case things went south, I had to tell her that I’d be fine and not to worry if she didn’t see me for a few days. I was debating on whether I should feed her another lie or tell her that night what I planned to do, but she threw her stuff down on the lunch table I was sitting at, her green eyes livid.