Jem's POV
My hands were bound behind my back while my wrists were tied to the chair I was being forced to sit on.
My head was pounding and my eyes fought to stay closed but I forced the open anyway, needing to see what mess I had gotten myself into.
The sight was enough to knock the air out of my chest.
Devon and Barrett sat in front of me, tied the same way I was but in much worse shape.
Devon had a gash on his forehead that leaked with blood, slowly trailing down his face; narrowly missing his eye. His shirt was discarded, leaving me to stare at deep cuts all over his chest, each on bleeding worse than the last.
Barrett wasn't any better. His nose was bruised and broken. Other bruises covered his body but my main focus was on his shoulder. His left was dislocated and had a bullet hole in the center of it. The wound gushed. His whole arm was covered in blood as a small puddle appeared.
"Barrett," I said, my voice coming out weaker than I had hoped. "Barrett wake up. Barrett wake your fucking ass up." My leg kicked out to nudge his foot but he barely moved, his body already stiff as a board.
"Fuck," I cursed to myself as I forced the tears out of my eyes before shifting back to Devon. "Devon, I need your help, wake up." His body moved when I nudged him but he didn't make a sound, probably still knocked out from the gash on his head but I'm pretty sure he was still alive.
My arms pulled at the ropes weakly but they didn't budge.
"There's no point plotting an escape," a deep voice said from behind me. "You're friends and dead and you'll join them soon enough."
I watched as Dev's chest rose ever so slightly. The man behind me must have just assumed.
A shot rang out.
I wait for the pain but it doesn't come until I see blood pouring out from Devon's forehead where the new wound was.
My chest became unbearably tight as my jaw clenched.
"I'm going to kill you for that," I seethed out but he only laughed in response.
"You'll never have the chance to." He said, a smile clear on his face as he pulled the hammer back, readying the next bullet in the chamber for its release.
"I'm going to remind you of that in about five seconds."
The rope on my arms dug into my skin as I forced them away from the chair until they snapped and pooled at my feet.
I don't waste a second before grabbing the chair and throwing it at the man.
He dropped to the ground, holding his head with one hand while the other searched for the gun he dropped.
I didn't have to force a smile on my face when the gun found it's way into my hand. The man stared up at me helplessly as I pointed the gun down to him. Fear welled up in his eyes and I loved seeing it there.
"Where to shoot," I teased as I bent down, placing the gun on his forehead where he shot Devon. "The head? No, that's to fast. The shoulder maybe?" I dragged the barrel do his neck until it dug in his shoulder, mirroring Barrett's wound. "Certain would take you longer to bleed out here but not painful enough."
I could hear his heart beating out of his chest as he began his begging but I tune it out.
"You could have killed anyone else and I promise I would have made it fast but you had to go to the only people I tolerate? I can't let that slide."
The barrel moved slowly, teasingly, down his chest, then to his stomach, only stopping when it dug into his cock.
"I've never been shot here before but I assume it would hurt really bad," I sighed, taking in his terrified form. "We can never know until we try it though, can we?"
The hammer was still back. Just one spasm of my finger and he would be on his way to death.
"Do me a favor," I said, shoving the barrel harder into his crotch. "When you get to hell, tell Dev and Barrett I'm not far behind them."
He doesn't get a chance to say anything else before I squeeze the trigger.
My chest heaved as I shot out of bed.
I closed my eyes before letting my hands wipe the sleep out of them as a sigh escapes me.
A cold nose pressed against my elbow while a furry head forced its way between my arm and chest.
"Did I wake you guys up," I asked as I pulled my hands away.
Hades looked up at me from his place at my elbow as Nyx leaned up to lick me on the cheek, making me scoff at her.
I smiled to myself as I took her floppy ear between my fingers and pulled on her ear gently.
"What have I told you about licking?"
Her whine was enough to tell me she knew she did wrong but didn't care as she pulled her head away from me.
I forced myself off the bed before stuffing phones in my pocket after checking the time. It was already 6; I had slept longer than I thought I had.
Dev and Patrick were already moving around in the kitchen when I got there.
Just seeing Dev up and moving did my heart good but I felt much better when he handed me a cup of coffee.
"You good," he whispered, keeping his voice low enough for Patrick to not even know we were talking.
"Never better." He didn't bother pretending to believe me but I didn't give him a chance to say anything about it as I sat down in my usual spot on the couch.
I stared out the wall of windows while the sun slowly rose, allowing the lake to copy its colors.
"You seem to like windows," Patrick noted as he sat beside me.
"With a view like this, how could you not?"
Red, orange, and a bit of pink covered the sky, forcing the clouds around them to glow brightly with the new shades. The lake made the sky seem never ending, starting right back up where the sky was forced to stop.
"I'm not much of a lake fan. I prefer the mountains."
I rolled my eyes before taking a sip of the coffee in my hands.
"What's your plan for the day?"
"Work, work, and more work," I sighed.
Patrick stiffened at my words even though he was the one who asked.
"You can't be upset with the answer if you're the one who asked," I remind him.
"I don't care about you working, I care about what your work implies," he said matter-of-factly.
"Well I'm not very fond of yours either so if you don't have a better conversation starter I suggest you leave early before you're late," I snapped before I had a chance to stop myself.
I could feel Dev's eyes as he stared at me, clearly knowing my previous statement of me being fine was a lie.
The three of us sat there in silence for a while.
The colors in the sky slowly faded until they became the boring blue that it would stay for the rest of the day, making me wish sunrise could last all day.
"Andrew seemed to be in a good mood yesterday," Patrick mumbled after a while.
"What about it?"
"Did you make him the same offer you made me?" I looked over to Dev, thankful to see him leaving the room without a word. I focused on Patrick again to see him glaring at me. My patience was already gone for the day and I just woke up.
"I don't see what it matters to you either way." I forced myself to remain cold as my face went blank.
"You need to stay away from him before you get him killed."
I don't let him see the way the air left my chest as I think back to dream I had.
My mind forced me to look at Barrett's body, replacing it with Andrew's instead.
"And stay away from me while you're at it." He didn't let me say another word before he stood up and walked out of my wing.
I forced myself to ignore the pain in my chest as I walked down the hall to Barrett's room.
He was still asleep but the second the door closed behind me he was awake with a gun pointed at me until he woke up enough to see it was me.
"What's wrong?" He asked as a frown covered his face while he put the gun back under his pillow but I only shake my head as I come closer and sit on his bed. "It's something if you don't want to talk about it."
His frown deepened when I still didn't say anything.
"Did I die again?" I didn't need to nod for him to know. He sighed as he put an arm around me and pulled me into his chest. "I swear. You get shot and nearly bleed out one time and suddenly everyone is worried about you forever.
"I'm not going anywhere though. I'm going to stick around to annoy you for as long as possible."
"Oh god I should have let you die," I groaned jokingly. He scoffed but only tightened his grip on me.
"I'm not going anywhere. That is both a promise and a threat."
I don't say a word before turning to face him and bring him into my chest just as the first tear manages to fall.
Last updated December 26, 2021