Crossroads - H.S.

Chapter 35

I walk slowly over to Jacob, stopping in from of him and squatting down to his level on the floor.

"Here's a tip, mate; if you plan on taking someone's girlfriend, then their car- make sure the car doesn't have the fucking GPS on."

I should've known from the beginning that he would miss a detail like that. He was never one to use common sense.

C'mon, mate. If you're going to be a criminal, at least be a smart one.

Jacob doesn't say anything. He just keeps huffing out breaths with his hand grasping his shoulder.

"Remember what I said when I warned you about making a deal with the devil, because now I'm here to collect- only this time, I'm fucking angry." I quickly stand to my feet my pull my leg up before slamming it down onto his leg that's stretched out on the floor. He cries out in pain, but it only fuels the fire he started.

"You thought," I pause, putting more pressure on his leg with my foot, "that you could just take from me without any consequences? You thought that I would cower? You wanted a shot at the title, and you got your chance. Such a shame you couldn't finish the job though."

I continue to slowly put pressure on his leg while watching the reactions on his face. He screams loudly, throwing his head back as tears start streaming down his face.

He's pathetic. He deserves to suffer. He deserves it.

"Harry, stop!" I hear Jude yell from a few feet away. The sound causes me to pull my foot up and snap my head over to her. She's standing on one leg with the other just resting lightly on the ground, with Jacob's gun still in her hand. Her eyes are sad and sunken in, and she overall just looks tired.

"I told you that you didn't want to see this. I told you to leave." I say firmly.

"I know," She threads one of her hands into the front of her hair, looking at the ground and taking deep breaths before looking back at me, "He just- he's not worth it. Just let it go, he's already been shot." She tries to persuade me.

"He was going to fucking kill you, Jude. I talked him out of it. He may have still done it if we didn't get you out." I raise my voice slightly, trying not to yell with how much anger and frustration I have.

"I know Harry! I know, okay?" He eyes start to water, and I immediately hate myself for raising my voice.

I look down at Jacob's bloodshot eyes. His breathing has slowed down, probably from blood loss, and he looks exhausted.

She's right. He isn't worth it.

I slowly remove my foot from his leg, and it's taking everything in me not to shoot him again and get this all over with.

I move my foot to the side of his head, kicking the gun that fell on the ground with him when he was shot so it's out of his reach.

I step forward so I'm at the side of his head with my back facing Jude and I crouch down once again. I lean into his ear and whisper, "You're so fucking lucky she's here. Count your blessings, asshole. Cause they're running out."

I walk over to Jude, wrapping my arm around her waist to help her walk out of here. We head towards the door, and I put my hand on the doorknob, starting to turn it before Jacob speaks up again.

"Don't you wanna know about Jane?" He says out of breath, and I swear my heart stops.

I'm now determined to get out of here and go home, but Jude breaks away from me and turns around. I turn around with her, and the pain that's in her eyes from his words absolutely kills me.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I ask, stepping towards him with all of the anger I had once before amplified.

"Baby, let's just go home-" she reaches for me, but I pull away. Jacob is now smirking at both of us. His eyes are heavy and I'm sure he'll pass out at any moment, but he looks real pleased with himself.

"Your mother- you couldn't possibly believe it was a suicide? You're smarter than that." He taunts Jude, and I can feel this going in a really bad direction, but I'm far beyond caring.

"I know it wasn't a fucking suicide. What do you know about it?" I snap at him.

He's not only messing with me, but with Jude too and that's where I draw the line. She has been through hell and back the past few days, and she doesn't need to hear his smart fucking mouth right now.

"Stupid Harry- stealing has always been my specialty. I can't believe you didn't see it before, considering you're a smart man and all." He's being so fucking ominous about this and I'm beyond done with the games.

I pull my gun out of my waistband and hold it out in front of me.

"You want a matching hole in the other shoulder? You better start talking." I warn. He knows I'll shoot him without blinking, why is he doing this? Does he have a death wish?

He laughs lowly, keeping that stupid fucking smirk on his face that I'm thinking about shooting after I shoot his other shoulder.

"Taking things- that's what you were mad about, right? Mad that I took your girlfriend from you? Well, I've been taking things from you from years. Can't believe you haven't put two and two together." He continues to taunt Jude- to taunt both of us.

"What the fuck did you do to Jane?" I scream out. My heart is pounding and my ears are ringing. I can feel the adrenaline starting up again, and all it's doing is making me fucking pissed.

"I killed her. I drugged her, then I slit her wrists and put her in the bathtub while the rest of her family was sleeping. Well, her husband was passed out drunk, but same thing I guess. I figured I was doing everyone a favor, considering you would've eventually been there to collect her debt."

I'm frozen. I can't do anything except stare at him with red hot rage filling my head. I'm shaking from head to toe while grinding my teeth mindlessly.

"It was easy, really," he continues, "making women look like they've killed themselves is much simpler than with a man. And considering Jane's living situation, the police didn't look any further."

"Why?" I hear Jude speak up from behind me, and it snaps me out of my haze momentarily.

"Because I knew that she mattered to him." He gestures to me, and I can feel the guilt taking over.

Jude lost her mom because of me. She lost everything- because of me.

I lower my gun, but I keep my stare on Jacob, "You know what?" He looks back to me, "You're really not worth wasting another bullet over."

As I finish my sentence, I hear the sound of a gunshot, and in a split second I see Jacob's body fall back onto the concrete, and blood starts seeping onto the floor from his head.

I slowly turn around to see Jude drop the gun onto the ground. Her cheeks are wet with tears and she's chewing on the inside of her cheek. She sucks in a shaky breath through her nose before finally making eye contact with me.

"Jude?" I say softly.

"Let's go home." She says flatly before turning around and walking out the door.

What the hell just happened?