Light jeans. White shirt.
A stomach full of pancakes that were on my nightstand when I woke up.
Along with a note, that read, 'Martín will be taking you to the store to pick out some items for our date later. See you then, thinking of you always.'
Just one problem with that.
As much as I hate him, I need Asher to take me. Asher wants me gone, just as badly as I want to leave. Asher can know what I'm going to buy; Martín can't.
I let out a sigh as I looked at myself in the mirror.
"You got this, Lilac. You're smart, and you're strong," I said things to myself to increase my confidence.
Asher spoke from my doorway, "You talking to yourself?"
"No - I'm talking to Bruno Mars. Nobody told you that I ghostwrote Uptown Funk?" I said sarcastically before swiping my lips with lipgloss.
I could feel him roll his eyes.
I watched in the mirror as he walked over to stand beside me, crossing his arms.
"What do you want. You texted me," he said a little quieter this time.
I took a quick glance at the doorway to make sure
nobody else was in the hallway.
"Ezra wants Martín to take me to the store to buy something - but I need you to take me," I whispered.
"Why?" he looked me up and down. "Ah. You wanna have sex with somebody really hot, huh?"
"Yea. Let me know if you have any friends."
He rolled his eyes once again.
I spoke without sarcasm this time, "I need to buy something that'll help me get out of here."
He looked to the side for a moment.
"Okay, fine. I'll tell Martín I'm taking you," he said quietly.
I looked back at myself in the mirror, "Perfect. Tell him now, and lets go."
He pulled out his phone while I put my shoes on.
After texting on it for a second, he slid his phone back into his pocket, and I stood back up to my full height.
I followed him out of the room and outside. It was a beautiful day; bright sun, clear blue sky, occasional breeze to keep you cool.
"So, what do you need to buy, anyway?" Asher asked me as we got in the car.
I sighed slightly, "You'll see. What does Ezra want me to get?"
"He's taking you on a picnic or some shit. He wants you to pick out your favorite snacks, fruit, and wine," he told me while turning onto the road.
It still felt strange to hear a sentence like that. I wasn't used to just being able to get whatever I want.
Once we got to the grocery store, I told Asher, "You can stay in the car."
"Yea, and have Ezra skin me alive if you die in there. Right," he said before getting out of the car.
I rolled my eyes and followed him inside.
We went up and down each row. I put mango, watermelon, chips, and a bottle of white wine into the cart.
"You're gonna get that?" Asher scoffed at my wine.
I looked down at it, "What's wrong with it?"
"If you show up with a bottle of wine thats twenty bucks Ezra will kill me. Here," he set the bottle back on the shelf.
I stood with the cart while he walked away, playing with one of my many ear piercings.
He returned 5 minutes later with a different bottle of wine.
"Okay. Lets go," he grabbed the cart.
"And how much is that bottle?" I asked.
"Not sure. Think around $1,000."
I choked on my spit.
"I don't need wine that expensive-"
"It's what Ezra thinks you deserve," he said in a mocking tone. "So shut up."
I rolled my eyes.
Asher paid at the checkout, then carried everything to the car.
I put my phone in between us and told him, "Go here."
He followed the directions on my phone, and I tapped my pocket to make sure my cash was still in there, so it wouldn't be paid for by card.
He parked in front of the building, getting out behind me.
The door 'dinged' as we entered, and the worker smiled behind the counter.
"Hello! What can I get for you today?" she smiled.
I asked bluntly, "Do you have any horse tranquilizer?"
Her eyebrows moved up in surprise, and her lips parted.
"You fucking crazy?" Asher whispered in my ear.
"You want me gone, don't you?" I looked up at him.
He held my gaze for a few moments, until he finally nodded.
"I do have some, actually, however I'm not allowed
to sell it," she shrugged.
I walked my ass up to the cash register, confusion coming onto her face.
I set far more money than I should've down on the counter, trying to mantain a confident apperance.
Her face shifted seeing the amount of money.
I tilted my head, "How about now?"
Her lips pressed together in thought, while I stood there with confidence.
——————
I buried the tranquilizer down at the bottom of a box, putting multiple shirts over top of it.
"Lilac? Are you ready, my love?" Ezra's voice spoke from the hallway.
I jumped up, kicking the box under my bed one second before he entered my room.
I nodded, "Yes, I'm ready."
"Lilies," he set the bouquet of flowers down onto my vanity.
"You're going to start running out of ideas soon," I told him as I walked closer to him.
He shook his head, "For you, I'd never."
For a split second - and just a split, I felt my heart warm.
"I hope you like where we're going," he said as he set his hand on my lower back.
He opened the car door for me, and carried a basket and white blanket with him which he put in the trunk.
It was only 5, so it was hours from getting dark, and still warm outside.
After a 25 minute drive, we stopped in front of a 'Private Property' sign.
Ezra got out and grabbed the items like he didn't
care about the sign.
"What if they call the cops?" I pointed to the sign.
We began walking up the very small hill, and when we reached the top, I stopped walking.
My mouth hung open. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.
"That's not going to happen, because I own it," he said from beside me, and I felt him looking down at me.
It was a meadow filled with lilacs. All a gorgeous purple color, looking like they were cared for daily. The sun hit it beautifully and the wind blew them slightly, and it was accompanied by the sound of birds chirping.
"You bought this place?" my voice was soft before I turned to look at him.
The sun hit his dark skin, and he stared at me with a smile.
"No, I didn't buy it," he told me. "I made it. I planted every single one of these goddamn lilacs."
I felt my heart stop in my chest.
"W-why?" I asked.
His dark eyebrows lowered as a breeze came.
"Isn't it obvious, Lilac? It was so that I still had a part of you, until you were finally with me again," his deep voice explained to me.
For some reason, I felt emotional. Never in my life did I ever think I would hear a sentence like that.
As I looked at Ezra, in this moment, he looked different. I saw the kindness on his face. In his actions.
It caused my heart to skip a beat.
But then, I forced myself to remember the bad things. He's a murderer. He wants to keep me all to himself.
But no matter what negative thoughts I had, something in my heart still felt a little warm.
I began walking out toward the middle of the meadow. Ezra followed behind me, before laying the blanket down.
We sat together, and he pulled the food and wine out of the basket.
"Have you started painting?" he asked me while I ate a piece of mango.
I shook my head, "No, not yet. I've had a lot on my mind."
"Anything I can help with?" he asked, and I tensed for a moment.
I shook my head, "No, it's okay."
He nodded as he opened the bottle of wine.
"I want to be home with you more, so I'm going to start having other people deal with shit for me," he said over the sound of the chirping birds. "I want to spend as much time with you as possible."
For a second, I just stared at him.
He looked so kind. How could somebody that says stuff like this, be capable of what he is?
"So, this weekend, I was thinking we could do something," his hair blew slightly. "I have a nightclub - I want to take you."
"I've never been to a nightclub," my voice was a little nervous. "I wasn't exactly having the time of my life in Portugal."
"So have the time of your life here," he reached across the blanket and set his hand on my knee.
I continued chewing the food in my mouth.
I nodded, "Okay."
His mouth spread into his classic charming smile.
I was expecting him to eat some fruit after. But instead, he kept his eyes on me.
"I know how you're different now," he spoke up.
The sun shined. The wind blew.
"Yea?" I popped another piece of mango into my mouth. "And how's that."
His brown eyes that looked lighter due to the sun looked me up and down.
"You're more confident now. You're stronger," he declared. "You're not afraid to stand up for yourself. You aren't afraid to set a fucking building on fire just to piss me off."
Birds chirping filled the silence while I took in his words.
He leaned forward a little, "And I'm so proud of you, for how strong you've become."
For some reason, I felt myself at a loss for words. I wasn't expecting him to say that.
"Now, enjoy our fourth date," he handed me the glass of wine. "You deserve it, darling."
Lilac. Remember all of the bad things about him.
He killed your fucking dad.
He killed tens of people over thinking you were dead.
"So fucking beautiful," he said under his breath as he stared at me.
Remember the bad things about him.
The next few hours felt like minutes. I ate the chips and fruit, drank two glasses of wine. Ezra asked me questions about Portugal, and about Franco.
Franco wasn't the best man. But I knew that if I even hinted at that, he would find his entire family and kill them.
The sun began to set, an orange glow forming in the sky.
The temperature had dropped a little now, making me shiver.
"Here," Ezra shrugged off his suit jacket.
He guided my arms through the sleeves, and in an instant I smelt like his cologne.
"Lets head back now. I don't want you cold," he decided, standing up to his full height.
He helped me up, and he put everything back into the basket before picking up the blanket.
We walked back to his car. He set the stuff in the backseat, and I went to walk around to the passengers side.
"Wait," he grabbed my wrist.
I turned around to look at him.
He smirked, "Want to drive?"
I scoffed, "I haven't driven in 5 years."
"So, lets go into the past right now, and drive like we did on the night we met," he placed the key into my hand.
I stared at it sitting in my palm for a moment.
I opened my mouth to say no, but then I realized something.
I want to be more brave.
"Okay," I nodded.
"That's my girl," he smiled.
I ignored his words as I got into the drivers seat, and him in the passengers.
The sky was now slightly pink, too - being peak sunset.
I drove at a normal speed until I merged onto the highway, and then I upped the speed to 90.
The windows being rolled down sent my hair flying everywhere, until Ezra leaned across the seat and gathered my hair into a bun.
"Come on, Lilac. You can go faster than that!" Ezra yelled over the wind.
100.
110.
120.
How fast we were going made me feel like life wasn't real for a moment. Everything blended together, and I couldn't focus on anything.
"You're fucking amazing, Lilac!" Ezra smiled, his shirt getting blown since the top three buttons were un-done.
130.
And then, red and blue lights.
"History repeats itself. Switch seats," I told him.
"No. You lose them, Lilac," he said, and my eyebrows lowered while my grip tightened.
I shook my head, "I can't, I don't know how. I don't do this shit often!"
"Trust yourself. You got this," he said encouragingly, and I took a glance at him.
Fuck it.
I stared speeding around cars, making a lot of them swerve and honk.
The police was following close behind, making my nervous heart beat even faster.
"Ezra, how do I hit the NOS? Like in the Fast and The Furious?"
"Same way you cast a spell in Harry Potter," he said sarcastically. "Make a U-turn up here."
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel harshly.
I made a quick U-turn, leaving black skid marks on the road.
I pressed the gas and went forward, but swore under my breath seeing the cop still behind us.
"Okay, Lilac. Go really fucking fast - make it look like you're going to keep going straight," Ezra told
me. "Then at the last minute, take this exit."
I nodded while keeping a tight grip on the wheel.
I sped down the road, staying in the middle lane. The cop followed behind, and most cars were pulled over or changed lanes.
I kept my eyes on the exit.
We started to pass it, but at the last second, I turned and took the exit.
The cop was going too fast and couldn't react fast enough, making him continue to go straight.
"Good girl," Ezra praised.
I decreased my speed as we were now on a normal
road, and took a left so that we were further away from the highway.
I asked him, "Don't they have your licenses plate, though?"
"None of my cars have real plates," he told me.
Duh. Shouldn't have thought otherwise.
I began driving us home, but my adrenaline was still high. My heart still pounded in my chest.
But the sky was dark now, the sun and its light completely gone.
I began thinking about the tranquilizer. And if I could bring myself to use it.
Stop thinking like that, Lilac. You can use it. Remember; you're his prisoner.
I parked in front of his house once we arrived. I still found myself stunned by the beauty of it - especially the nature.
"ти си цялото ми съществуване," Ezra said softly once the car was parked.
[Translation: You are my whole existence.]
My eyebrows lowered, "What?"
He sighed softly as we got out of the car at the same time.
"Why don't you say it in English?" I questioned as we stood in front of his front door.
He shook his head, "Because there are some things you aren't ready to hear yet. But I'll wait."
He stared down at me as the crickets chirped.
He gently put his hands on my cheeks, his thumbs brushing up and down swiftly.
His eyes moved to my lips, "I wish I could kiss you."
His thumb tugged down on my bottom lip.
"But I know you aren't ready for that, either," his deep voice whispered.
I just stood there, staring up at him as he released my lip.
I finally felt like I could breathe again when he took a step back.
He's a murderer, Lilac.
"Now lets go inside, beautiful," he opened the door for me.
I took a deep breath.
We entered through the front door, and my head immediately turned left.
Eliza stood there with Asher and Martín, all three of them with serious expressions.
Eliza smiled at me, "Hey, Lilac."
"Hey," I drawled out, looking between all of them to try and figure out what was going on.
"Eliza," Ezra sighed. "What a pleasure."
Eliza crossed her arms, "Stop being an ass. I'm here to help you."
"How so?" Ezra tilted his head.
"20 million dollars was stolen out of your bank account today before the account finally locked them out," Eliza told him, and my jaw dropped.
20 million fucking dollars?
I turned to look at Ezra's face, to see how he was feeling.
His jaw was tight, his tongue running along his top teeth.
He took a step toward Eliza, "Find out who did it. Now."
"I already tried. They left no evidence, but it's clear by the amount of transfers and how much time was in between them that they were trying to take all of the money," Eliza explained to him. "Luckily, they only took 20 mill."
Only?
"I couldn't give less of a shit about how much money was taken. What I care about is that somebody stole from me," Ezra's voice sounded threatening.
Eliza nodded, "I know. I'll find-"
Glass suddenly started shattering, and my ears began to ring.
Ezra screamed my name and grabbed me, blocking me with his body. We all got on the floor, Ezra holding me tight and guarding me.
It took me a second to realize, bullets were being shot through the windows.
Word count: 2803