Partner In Crime
Control (Chpt. 9)
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It had been several days since the incident with Warner, and several more since the one with Kenji. Both of them had healed well, yet guilt still pooled in the brunette's gut. Each day Vivian was walked to a meal beside Kenji, she was reminded of the day she had hurt him.
Though the boy hid it well, she could still see the fear in his eyes and the worry in his voice with each word. If the brunette raised her voice in the slightest, Kenji would cower. And it hurt her to know she was the reason he was so afraid.
The bright smile he had on his face when they met was gone and replaced with a solemn expression. He couldn't even look her in the eyes. He swore up and down he was fine- that she didn't bother him, but the way his voice shook with the lie gave it away.
But with Warner, it was never that way. He still treated her the same, his smug smirk always on his face. His green eyes still had a wisdom to it that showed he'd seen things he'd rather forget, but that wasn't from her. They'd been like that since they met. She can only imagine how long they'd been like that before hand.
And his voice wasn't laced with worry as he spoke. It was still warm and smooth with every word, if anything getting more seductive since their last interaction.
But it wasn't Warner beside her as she made her way down the hall. Instead, it was the scared boy that kept a several feet gap between them. It was Kenji who sent her nervous glances with each step.
Vivian yearned to say something and break the tension, yet the words refused to make it past her tongue. She knew hearing even the slightest word come out of her mouth would cause the boy to tense, and she just wanted him to be at ease around her.
Or at least as much as he could.
As the two walked forward in silence, they took unusual turns. Rather than going the direction of the large dining wall they'd been going to for ages now, they took the turns to take her down to the two glass doors leading outside.
They reached the bottom floor, light flooding into the large hall as the two doors came into view. "Where are we going?" Vivian finally asks, breaking the silence but worsening the tension.
She watches out if the corner of her eye as Kenji lets out a soft sigh, squeezing his eyes shut and biting his lip. He stayed quiet for just a moment then finally spoke. "For a walk." He says, his voice uneasy. Vivian decides to take what she can get. "Warner says it's what I need. That we need to talk."
"Yeah, 'cause that's going so well." Vivian remarks, annoyance growing in her tone. Kenji looks at her with a weary tone, as if waiting for her to snap. She sighs, her shoulders slumping.
"Kenji I- I'm sorry about-"
"Don't." He says. He stops in his tracks, turning to face the girl as she slows. "I'm fine."
"Kenji, no you're not." She says, trying not to raise her voice too much and worsen the fear in the boy. "And you have every right not to be. I see you flinch and I hear your voice shake. I'm not an idiot- you're scared of me." She sighs, dropping her gaze. "And I'm scared of myself too."
Kenji's lips part as he lets out an inaudible gasp. He's suddenly washed over with a feeling of guilt. It pools in his gut as she offers him a soft smile. But he can't bring himself to return it. Not yet.
So instead, the boy picked their walk back up and relied on the girl to follow on her own. However, as they continued forward, she's stopped as a hand is placed roughly against her shoulder.
She jumps, but spins around to see who it had been. She furrows her brows when the eyes looking back at her are unfamiliar.
"Who are you?" She asks, glancing nervously to Kenji.
"I'm the one asking questions here, sweetheart." He hisses he pokes her in the shoulder. "Who the hell do you think you are?" He asks, raising his voice. Vivian parts her lips in shock, confusion washing over her. "I have no clue why Warner was so insistent on saving your ass. You're a monster. You kill your father- hurt Kenji- then Warner. The man who's been treating you like his little princess?"
Vivian grows uncomfortable as the man leans in, anger raising in his words. She backs up slightly, getting nervous. "I mean look at this poor boy." He says, gesturing to Kenji. "He's terrified. His eyes are filled with terror and his words shake any time your around. He's a mess because of you. You're a freak."
"What the hell is going on?" Vivian asks softly, tears pool in the corner of her ear as she looks at the anger in the man's eyes. It was the look of rage she grew too familiar with. Her father had it. Anderson had it. He had it too.
"Just bringing to your attention what you've done." He says. "Because you're too stupid to figure it out yourself."
"I- I- didn't mean to hurt him." She says, her words shake as a few stray tears begin to make paths down her cheek. "Really- I didn't. I swear."
She glances over to Kenji who breaks their eye contact, dropping his gaze to the floor. Her heart shatters. She really did break him.
"This poor boy can't even look at you anymore." The man continues, "and yet he still drags your ass around." He slaps Kenji in the chest with the back of his hand, making the boy jump.
"Leave him out of this." Vivian says, furrowing her brows. "You're talking to me not him."
The man shoves Kenji. "Why?" He asks. Shoves him again.
"Come on man, seriously?" Kenji says.
Then man reaches for the gun in his back pocket, clutching it in his hand. He puts it to Kenji's head, his finger resting on the trigger. "Are you going to... Snap!"
Anger bubbled in Vivian's throat, but she knew doing anything would only worsen the fear in Kenji.
But she couldn't help herself as, in one swift movement, the man points the gun to the side and pulls the trigger. The bullet breezes fast the boys head, the sounds of the weapon echoing through the air.
"No!" Vivian yells, not realizing he had moved the direction the barrel pointed.
Then, it happened... but for once it wasn't fast. Her anger projected, the shadowy creature she grew to hate standing before her. It crept forward rather than launching, towering over the man in front of her.
A sharp, teethy smile grew on what Vivian assumed was its face. Its eyes produced an ominous glow that reflected on the man's face. But the glow was brighter than normal. And it was coming from Vivian too.
The girl looked down at her hands, a glow illuminating them. Her eyes were glowing. She had control.
She smiled sheepishly, letting out a satisfied laugh. "Holy shit." But as she looks up, she realizes nobody is sharing her excitement. Kenji looks between her and the creature nervously while the man in front of it began to slowly back away. Worry is plastered on his face as he gazes up at it, sweat building on his forehead.
Then, suddenly another soldier comes up beside the man, pulling him away by the shoulder. Another shot echos through the room and Vivian's rage vanishes in a red smoke.
"Adam what the hell?" Kenji hisses. "He was fine."
"Yeah, what the fuck?" The man agrees.
"That was part of Warner's plan. You're not supposed to interfere unless things go south."
Plan?
"It was going to fucking kill Declan, what the hell was I supposed to do?"
The man, Vivian now knew to be Declan shook his head. "I was fine. You saw it yourself. She had control over it."
What the hell was going on?
"You're always fucking everything up, Kent." Kenji yells.
Why was the room starting to spin?
Why were the men in front of her growing blurry?
Why did her stomach feel like it was on fire?
The girl finally looked down at her abdomen, gasping at the sight. Her lips parted and her eyes widened as she noticed the crimson color that seeped into her dress around a hole made in the material.
She'd been shot.
The room continues to spin as pain shoots through the rest of her body. Her legs grow weak as her vision blurs.
She can taste blood. She can feel in on her hands and feel its wetness on her skin.
She blinks rapidly. She's trying so desperately to keep her eyes open- to stay awake, but she can't it. Her legs give out and she falls to the floor, her surroundings going black.
The last thing she can hear is mumbled yelling before fading away into what felt like nothing- where she saw nothing. Heard nothing.
Felt nothing.
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This chapter is so bad.
-Kaitlyn