“I thought you were dead.” Ivy raised her gaze from her hands and stared defiantly at him through the rearview mirror where he met her eyes and chuckled darkly.
She had been paying close attention to their surroundings but was unable to make out landmarks in the inky darkness. They were in the farmland valley, that much she knew. Except, hundreds of farms were dotted all around Blueberry and the neighbouring towns. It could take thirty minutes or hours to reach the destination Dixon was taking her to.
And what he'd do to her once they got there...she didn't allow her mind to wander further. Instead, Ivy accepted that her attempt at keeping track of the area around her was fruitless, she inspected her nails in the dim orange light the radio of the truck gave off. She looked away when she saw dark flecks, flecks she knew without a doubt was blood.
Dixon clicked his tongue. “Thought, thought this and thought that. I thought you'd be there when I woke up in the hospital with a broken collar bone yet here we are.”
Ivy narrowed her eyes, the Dixon she knew was never like this. Even when he had shown her his worst possible side, he still upkept a charming and untouchable attitude. He'd beat her because of things she did that angered him but never did it seem to affect him as much as this has.
There was a nerve and she would strike it.
For a moment she found herself at a loss for words and then she remembered just who she was. Just who she had been working towards becoming in the past few years. She laughed and allowed her sarcasm to take over. “Oh, you poor baby. It's almost like...you weren't the one that caused the accident and caused yourself all that pain you had to endure all by yourself.”
His grip on the wheel tightened, a vein jumped out on his neck. Good. Riling him up would tire him out and an exhausted Dixon would give her more of an advantage when she would attempt her escape.
Ivy continued before he could utter a word. She rolled her eyes. “Please, spare me the whole talk, 'it was all my fault, if I hadn't ran away you wouldn't have caused the accident blah blah blah.”
Dixon smirked at her through the rearview, the orange glow casted a deathly look about him. She fought a shiver and the car fell silent. Outside, flat fields surrounded them. If there was a farmhouse nearby she couldn't see it.
“You're wondering how I'm here. Why I'm not in prison or dead right now. Come on, ask me.” A single tree passed them, on the right side of the road. Immediately, Ivy mentally marked it.
She crossed her arms, returning her gaze to him once more. It would be suspicious if she kept staring out the window, Dixon was a smart guy, unfortunately. Her chin lifted, she said. “You're going to tell me anyway because you want to gloat.”
"You ran away during one of the two times my heart stopped, you were right to think I was dead. Even I admit that I'm supposed to be dead but not even Satan wanted me in his kingdom so here I am."
Ivy would have been lying if she said she didn't feel a sliver of fear hearing that sentence. She swallowed and kept in her composure. “Still, Kendra—”
"Ah, Kendra. Lovely Kendra." The car took a left turn, “Knowing you — the old you, I'm looking forward to getting to know this new sharp tongued one — you went to the nearest payphone, the one near the hospital right? You left an anonymous tip for the police because you wanted the 'ordeal' behind you and didn't want to be traced.”
Ivy's wall of stone slipped, her mouth fell open. “How— how did you know?”
A shuffle of leather rustled as he shrugged. “I just do. Let me just tell you sweet, that payphone wasn't working. The police never got your lovely tip. You were so caught up in trying to get away from the city you hated so much that you didn't even notice the phone was out of order.”
"No.” A hand held to her forehead, she blinked. Lunch rose up in her throat and she debated on vomiting in Dixon's car just to spite him. Her thoughts led her away though, if that tip never got through it meant everything was different. And Kendra might still be in that horrid house. “You're lying, you're playing with my head.”
She said it in a murmur, to reassure herself but it still reached Dixon's ears. “Am I?” The truck slowed down, gently cruising along the dirt road. He turned to face her, his foot still on the gas pedal. Ivy ignored the chill she felt deep in her bones at the familiar sight. “You don't have any proof to tell me that I'm lying, do you?”
She promised Kendra that she would get justice. That day, when she was forced to watch the woman die, she made a promise, that Kendra would be laid to rest peacefully, that she wouldn't be forgotten. Turned out that was a lie.
“No,” She repeated. “Someone must have found her by now.”
“You know that area, Ivy.” A farmhouse appeared ahead, the truck's headlights shone against the white walls, two lonely frail chairs stood on the small porch, splotches of dirt and mud stained areas of the walls. Dixon stopped and turned to her again. “The place is rich, so rich that most of those houses are second or vacation homes, nearly no one is around. No one found her and quite frankly, no one cares. Welcome to humanity.”
Dixon threw his car door open and walked around to Ivy's side, he opened her door and held out his hand. She scoffed, ignored his false gentlemanly gesture and hesitantly stepped out of the truck. She stumbled when her feet hit the ground, the truck being taller than her.
Dixon shook his head and laughed softly to himself, he dropped his hand and smiled down at her. “You miss me? Come on, admit it. You missed me.”
Ivy touched his arm, her finger curling as she made herself taller by standing on her toes. Dixon's amusement was wiped away, he glanced at her hand and she knew that look in his eyes. Yet she didn't show fear, she couldn't afford it. “I counted the days until my sorrow blurred it all together in a void of tears and pain.”
The smirk sprang back in place, he tucked her hair behind her ear and proceeded to lean down and lick her ear. Ivy remained still, not wanting to make a wrong move even as each and every instinct in her body told her to run and never look back. Because if she hadn't run without looking back in the past, she wouldn't have been in this mess.
“There's that sarcasm I've come to love.” He captured her lips in another hurtful kiss and Ivy silently gulped up air once he finally pulled away. His back turned to her, she swiftly glanced around.
Right behind the house she spotted a hill. If she were to make a run for it, which would be a better way to go. To the hill, where she'd most likely lose time crossing, or the flat plains that awaited behind her.
Go into the house with him, it'll give me time to think of an escape route.
Her walk morphed into a quick jog to catch up with Dixon but found that he hadn't even checked whether she followed or not. He was glaring at another car parked right next to his house, concealed in the shadows. His clenched jaw and fisted hands told Ivy all she needed to know, whoever that car belonged to wasn't welcome.
“Come on,” Ivy was grabbed by the elbow and followed as Dixon led her into his house. He gave her a glance and pushed her slightly behind him before the creaking door gave way. Fire light shone on the living room, only after stepping inside could Ivy register that the source wasn't from a candle but from the fireplace.
And on an old plaid recliner chair, with her tanned leg crossed over the other, sat a woman with a red lip smile.
Julieta.
"What the hell are you doing here?" With Dixon's broad shoulders, Ivy was nearly entirely concealed from Julieta's view.
Julieta grinned, "Aren't you happy to see me? Leary is here too in case you're wondering."
"You brought your watch dog? The deal was—”
"The deal was I do whatever I want to get what I want, including spinning little lies to you to give me what I want."
"So you are going to hurt Ivy because you couldn't keep a man." Dixon ran his eyes down her body, a black suit clung to her body like a second skin. He chuckled and shook his head, "With that personality no wonder he didn't want you."
A noise rumbled from the back of Julieta's throat, she snapped her fingers and a dark skinned man appeared out of the shadows of the kitchen. He folded his hands behind his back and leveled a stare with Dixon, for a second his eyes met Ivy's. Intimidated, she was the first to look away.
Julieta waved a hand at the man standing behind her. "I thought Leary here would be a good idea. And I'm sure he'd appreciate it when you call him a private investigator not a 'watchdog."
As an affirmation the man— Leary, lifted his jacket to reveal a gun tucked into his waistband. Dixon full heartedly laughed, his hand found Ivy's and squeezed it for a second and despite herself, she felt happy having him around.
Better the enemy you know.
"Please, I could easily kill both of you. I could even go as far as telling you about all the people I have killed, starting with my parents, everyone I killed while in the army and everything in between. Then we'd be here all night."
Julieta pressed her lips in a line, whether to hold back a laugh or hold back a retort, Ivy didn't know. “You know exactly why we're here, Dix. The sooner you let us do what we want, the sooner you'll be rid of us."
Ivy frowned, Dix? No one ever got away with calling him any type of names, Julieta was about to lose her head, surely— but that's not what happened. Instead, Dixon stepped away from Ivy, revealing her to the other two people in the room. He smirked at her, flames danced in his eyes
“Yes, she has been a bad girl. She missed a lot of lessons, I could use some help.” Ivy's eyes budged from their sockets. Everything about this was wrong, she wasn't even over him being alive but Julieta was part of it? And Dixon was allowing the other woman to call him nicknames and boss him around?
Ivy backed away, only for the front door to hit her back. Leary came forward with a cloth in his hand, immediately she knew what he had and she shook her head. Her hands fumbled to find the doorknob and when she finally did, he reached her.
Leary's face was blank from emotion as he forced the cloth against her mouth. As long as she could, she tried holding her breath but it was no use because darkness crept into the corners of her eyes and her body went limp.
━━━━━━━ •♬• ━━━━━━━
Fire crackled, in the flames Ivy almost found a soothing calm; it would have helped if she didn't have a blinding headache and stinging eyes. Her wrists ached as thick itchy rope grew tighter with each tug. Using her legs to free her from the chair she was strapped to wouldn't work either since her ankles were tied too.
The fire too, would have been calming if she hadn't been sitting so close to it. The glowing embers from the fireplace grew scorching and she could feel the heat on her face; burning.
A half thought went into an escape route, her brain turned into mush after she was knocked out. Perhaps she could throw herself into the fire and use it to burn through the rope. But, she decided, the third degree burn wounds wouldn't be worth it. And she didn't have much fight coursing through her veins, on the contrary, even lifting her head felt like a mammoth task.
She stared at the fire beside her with an absent smile. You taste like honey. Between the orange and deep red, were golden flames. She imagined it was honey, imagined it on her lips specifically for Luke to kiss. Imagined he could take all her pain away, like he did once before.
Maybe he'd forgive her for the fight, for everything she said and her lack of trust. Maybe—no, she couldn't think like that. The daydream was dangerous, she couldn't think like she was already dead. As long as she lived, she'd fight and find her way back to Luke.
Or die trying.
High heels echoed through the vacant house. When Ivy came into consciousness she was alone, with only the fire to keep her company. For a moment she wondered whether she'd suffer the same fate as Dixon's parents, die helplessly strapped to a chair in a burning house.
That was ten or twenty minutes ago. It was difficult to keep track of the time when she could barely keep her head up. Now, life appeared in the sad excuse of a farmhouse again and Ivy didn't need more than a half thought to know that it was Julieta.
She must have come to brag, Ivy sat back in the chair, she might as well get as comfortable as she could. The actress was one that wanted everyone to know her story just so she could get praised by it.
True to her suspicions, Julieta appeared in the doorway of the dining room where Ivy was. Apparently the house had two — or more — fireplaces. The female wore a smile like it was a crown, without taking her eyes off Ivy's, she walked until she was right in front of her and she leaned down.
Ivy didn't try hiding the distaste from her face. The two engaged in a staring contest, neither said a word. Julieta was the first to look away, she took three steps back and sat down on an old wooden chair similar to Ivy's.
“Julieta,” Ivy acknowledged boredly, she watched satisfied as that smile dipped. The woman in red had been expecting to be the first to break the silence. And be intimidating while she was at it.
“It was easy to cause your downfall,” Julieta stated, boredly inspecting her nails in the firelight. “After I finally found Luke, in that crappy town of yours, I saw you and knew you had to go. I got in my car and pretended to drive away that day, I called Leary. He was nearby so he just had to drive around until he found a girl on a bike; you. Afterwards, we found some teenager and paid him to lie to the police, to tell them he was responsible for hitting you and he just wanted to have a joyride with his dad's car. Of course, the police believed it and so did everyone else.
Unfortunately you weren't killed, you were recovering in the hospital but that gave Leary time to dig into your life. I know everything about you Ivy Miller. From your daddy's tragic plane crash to your mother's boring job at the clinic and your old dear friend; Becky Shaw in your hometown.”
Ivy gaped. “Becky…”
“Don't worry, we didn't kill her.” She waved a hand of dismissal. “She did sing like a bird though, she told us all about your relationship with the one and only, Dixon Brady. It took a few weeks to find him, the guy's like a ghost but once we finally did, I had a proposal for him. If he works with me, we can both get what we want. I get Luke and Dixon gets you although I don't know what he'd want to do with you.” Julieta curled her lip with distaste. “But that's his business.”
“And what makes you think you'd get Luke? He doesn't even want you, you know that right?” Ivy pulled at her restraints, only to since when the ropes dug further into her skin.
“Please, I just need to play the victim and wear pretty lingerie and I'll have him curled around my finger.”
“You don't know Luke at all.” Ivy was stunned, how delusional did the woman have to be to think that her plan would actually work on him? “He wouldn't fall for it.”
Julieta ignored her and switched the topic as she threw her straight hair over her shoulder. “Dixon wanted your location the moment we told him we knew where you were but he needed to wait. My plan was perfect; firstly I had to wait for you to recover — which took forever, there must be something wrong with your body and healing system — Luke wouldn't accept me if you were still lying in a hospital bed. In the meantime, I threw hints at the media that Luke and I will get back together. I did it in the hope that you would notice, realise how wrong you are for my dear Luke and dump him. Unfortunately, that didn't happen because you didn't even notice. Total waste of my time.
“Then you two were off to Italy, to meet his parents — I didn't even meet his parents, you did but whatever — which gave Leary the time to install cameras and microphones all over Luke's house.”
“What?” Ivy stirred in her chair as she shrieked, her eyes wide.
“Don't be so surprised.” Julieta got up from her chair and stalked towards the direction of the kitchen — or at least what Ivy thought was the kitchen. Moments later she returned with a glass of wine, she took a sip before speaking. “The morning when the paparazzi surrounded you? I saw that you were about to leave, I knew you were alone there so I gave them an anonymous tip; my goal was to overwhelm you, make you realise this life isn't for you. I had the time of my life watching you have a panic attack out in the street until that damned racer friend of Luke showed up.”
Julieta took another sip of the wine, scrunched her nose and threw the rest of the glass' contents in the fire. Flames soared higher due to the alcohol and Ivy winced as the heat became unbearable. Luckily, it was a temporary surge, winter wind blew through a broken window near the end of the hall, acting as a salvation if only for a moment.
The wine glass slammed on the table and Julieta took her seat in front of Ivy once more. “Later I watched you in his living room, I watched as you fiddled with that stereo. Leary hacked Luke's phone, added my number and hundreds of texts from me; I watched as that phone buzzed until it drove you crazy.” She leaned closer, smirking. “And I watched as you accused Luke of something he didn't even know about.”
Ivy was stumped, it all made sense. Fool, what a fool she had been, to not even have an inkling of trust in Luke and now she wished she could turn back time and fix things. Regret was such a horrible vile thing, it always showed up when it was too late
“After that I finally gave Dixon your location and here we are.”
“I'm going to assume that you and your wonderful Leary were responsible for releasing those photos.” Ivy stared at her defiantly, not a trace of fear on her face. It made Julieta sneer.
“Of course, I thought the spotlight would overwhelm you and get you to leave Luke but clearly it did no such thing.”
“You're here telling me your tale of victory because Luke rejected you?”
Julieta leaped from her chair in the blink of an eye. Ivy's head whipped to the side, her cheek burning, she laughed softly. “Did I touch a nerve?”
“Listen here you little bitch,” Ivy was grabbed by her chin, forced to look into Julieta's brown eyes. “Luke wouldn't reject me. I'm here to teach you a lesson, I heard that you love them.”
A bag stood on a table nearby, Julieta zipped it open slowly. All intentions of intimidating Ivy.
Except, Ivy wouldn't have it. She subtly tested her restraints just to feel they were as tight as ever. A sigh left her. “You shouldn't trust Dixon. He doesn't take kindly to others playing with his toys. He might just stab you in the back if you're not careful.”
“I'm not going to be backstabbed.” She took a dagger out of the bag, examining it. “I'll stab him, if anything.”
Ivy laughed.
“What?” The knife was dropped back in the bag, Julieta perched a hand on her hip. “What's so funny?”
“Has it ever occured to you that you're being fooled? I'm your threat, who's to say that Dixon isn't threatened by Luke?” Ivy relaxed into her chair, playing the nonchalant card.
Julieta's face paled, she showed something other than confidence and arrogance for the first time. “I—I'll protect him.”
“With what? Your little designer handbag?”
The knife was taken out of the bag and Julieta was right in front of her before Ivy could even blink. Cold pressure of the knife was pressed against her throat, she thought better of uttering another sarcastic remark.
Wickedness gleamed in brown eyes, Julieta's smile was cold. “I think it's time for one of those lessons, hm? Tell me, how much do you like your fingers?”