Wanted •Payton Moormeier•

•17•

Not even drinking was getting my mind off of Elle. I grabbed a paper and a pen.

I started to write.

Elle-

I felt a hand brush over my face.

I opened my eyes to see a pair of sad blue eyes.

"Jaden..." I said.

I turned my head the other way. I didn't want to hear his excuses.

"Ella..." I could hear the apology in his voice.

"No," i grumbled.

"I didn't even say anything."

"That's because I don't want to hear anything," I snapped. I turned to face him. "When I asked to hear something I wanted to hear, you didn't tell me. Why should I listen to you now?"

"You have to understand that I couldn't do that Elle." Jaden was pleading me to understand.

"What does his trust even mean to you?" I mumbled, looking down.

"It means everything. If I didn't want his trust, I wouldn't even be here." He ran a hand through his really messy light brown hair.

"Why does it mean everything to you?" I asked, looking up in his eyes.

Jaden bit his lip and sighed. "Payton and I... we've been friends since we were little. He's always been a happy guy, cheerful and always there for me." He chuckled. "He was still a ladies man back then, always girls over..." then his expression turned hard. "I remember his dad though, the most horrible and sadistic person you could ever meet."

He continued, hands clutching at his hair. "His dad abused him sometimes, yelled at him. Payton was always chill though, trying to keep it okay for me so that I didn't worry. I saw that mask of pretense but I didn't say anything. "His dad started to teach him gang stuff. How to lead, how to use a gun. Payton changed every day I saw him...."

Jaden closed his eyes and flinched as if someone had hit him. "One day... we walked into his kitchen and his... his mom was dead on the floor, bleeding her head out. Payton's dad had shot her in the head."

I gasped. The images in my head were terrifying. I imagined a young beautiful woman laying on the floor with a bullet thorough her head.

I shuddered, and willed myself not to break.

"Payton was only 15. You can't imagine how hard that was on him. He broke, breaking all the expensive shit they had, and he was furious and so upset. His mom was the nicest human being I've met." Jaden opened his eyes.

"One day," he continued. "he started to act all okay with his dad, begging him to teach him how to use a gun properly, how to fight. The change I saw in him was terrifying... I was scared. Payton's dad got him drugs and alcohol, taught all that there was to know about gang leading- his dad was finally proud." Jaden looked me in the eyes, an uncanny feeling spreading through every vein in my body.

"His dad was found dead a week after Payton learned all that stuff..." Jaden said. "He was found dead with a bullet in his head."

I felt the cold feeling of terror in me. "He..? He killed..." I squeaked. "His own dad?..." my voice broke.

I've always thought about killing my mom, but I wouldn't ever actually do that.... or would I?

The feeling of dread crept through me as I realized that there was some part in me that could snap, just like Payton had, and make me capable of killing.

I threw my arms around Jaden. "What the fuck..." I mumbled.

"I.. I know..." Jaden said.

He squeezed me. I hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry that I overreacted, I understand why you didn't tell me it now."

"No, Elle. It's bad enough that we keep you here, why do we have to keep secrets?" He told me.

I snuggled in his arms. This world is a cruel place.

And Payton... he's been through so much shit...

I wanted to cry for him, I felt his pain.

Instead, I held on tighter to Jaden.

A/N

I'm sorry for the short chapter but a lot of things got revealed in this chapter so wow... You guys got 20+ votes in less than 1 hour and I wasn't done this chapter so it's kind of rushed.

Next update will be as soon as I get two chapters down so that I have time to write the others. (I'm a fast writer so dw)

Thanks for all the love bbys 🤧🤡