Mention of death and Weapons
WARNING- READ ON YOUR OWN RISK
-JUNGKOOK'S POV-
Suddenly, the door from where Ariana entered earlier swerves to the right, and I barely manage to grab on to my seat.
"What..."
"Shh," Alex remerges from behind the door and indicates me to be quiet, his eyes on the door through which the bastard took Ariana to what seems like basement.
"We need to quiet." He peeks to the ground right that instant the door closes, shock and rage was evident in his face, I looked around to see at least three people right behind me to untie me. And as Alex gestures to speeds up, so do they.
"What? What's happening?" I ask in a semi-panicked voice. I can't even imagine the thought of losing Ariana.
No matter how much I try to take deep breaths and not allow myself to give in to a panic attack, as I see pictures of Ariana alone with that monster once again. I simply lose it. "She can get hurt," I mumble to myself. "No, she will not," Alex says confidently. "Boys." He calls out his men and they start to push the door with all their power, me and Alex join them as well to get Ariana out of there as soon as we can.
As the ushered voices start coming from other side of the door, I push the door with much force at the same time Alex does the same.
As soon as Alex men pushed the door open. And then a shot goes off. Confusingly, it's not from Daniel's gun. I stare at the firearm which Ariana is holding for a couple of seconds, confirming it's Ariana who shot Daniel. I quickly make my way down the couple of steps in the room Ariana is, the room is hell in itself with water that reaches few inches above my ankle.
The sound of heavy breathing cuts through the haze of adrenaline and disbelief. I glance at Ariana. She's looking at Daniel's dead body. Her face is completely white, devoid of any color. Even her lips look pale. Her gun hangs limply in her hand.
I approach her slowly, taking the gun out of her loose grip and using my free hand to tilt her chin up. Her skin is cold, her eyes dull and unfocused. My thumb moves along her jawline, but she doesn't react to the touch. She keeps inhaling quickly and exhaling shakily.
"Ariana."
Nothing.
"Ariana!" She still doesn't react, just keeps hyperventilating.
I should slap her. Instead, I kiss her. It takes a few seconds for her to respond. For her open-mouthed breaths to turn deep. I kissed her, because I wanted to reassure myself that she is safe, alive and in my arms, and it seems to work.
The kiss is sweet with relief. Filled with the intoxicating essence of being alive.
"Are you okay?" I whisper as soon as our lips separate.
"I killed him."
"No. You didn't. I did."
"I shot him, JK."
"People can survive gunshot wounds all the time."
It's a completely transparent lie, and we both know it. Based on how quickly he started bleeding out, she hit an artery. He could have been hit in a hospital, and I'm not sure he'd make it. But Daniel's death is a burden I don't want Ariana to carry. He raped her for fuck's sake. Intended to kill her. There are deaths to mourn, and his isn't one of them.
Ariana being the victim still doesn't accept the fact that killing him is not as bad as of her dying everyday piece by piece in fear of being touched without consent, of saying no multiple times with no stopping from other end, of not able to look at herself in the mirror when getting ready, of not wearing clothes she feels sexy in thinking people will see her scars.
What she doesn't know is that, they aren't scars but beautiful marks that scream that she fought, when any other girl would've been submissive. She doesn't know how beautiful she is with or without scars but specifically more beautiful with scars
I tilt her chin up, forcing her to look at me. "You didn't kill him. I did. It's on me, Ariana. Let it be on me, okay?" My eyes bore into hers, trying to force her to hear me. To accept what I'm saying.
Finally, she nods.
"Dad?" she whispers
"He's safe, sitting in the car outside." Alex replied from behind me, making us aware of his presence, his eyes bloodshot. He could've lost his two family members if Ariana was submissive. She exhales.
"Jungkook, take her outside. I'll get a crew up here to take care of this bastard."
"Done."
"Stay with her"
"You got it." I tell him
I take Ariana's hand and intertwined with mine, she closes her eyes and exhales shakily. I place a hand on her lower back, so lightly that I'm barely brushing the fabric of her jacket, and guide her out of the room into the hallway she earlier walked in to.
Ariana is quiet beside me, wrapping her arms around her midsection and staring blankly at the white plaster wall. Part of me wishes she'd cling to me or seek out some comfort. But I know she's used to being independent.
-time skip-
It's dark out by the time we roll through the gates of her father's mansion that now look more safe than scary. Mr. Jonas and Alex are in the front seats. Ariana is curled up next to me. She seems remarkably calm. But still with tensed body.
I feel like a failure for everything she's been exposed to, but I also feel proud. She handled everything today better than most people would have, regardless of her fucked up past.
We stop in front of the house, and everyone climbs out of the warm car. I give Alex and Mr. Jonas tired smiles before walking inside with Ariana holding me with dead grip.
"We'll be down here if you need anything," Mr. Jonas says. I nod. I think he and Alex are waiting for me to fall apart, but I feel calm. I know I'm in some state of shocked disbelief. Not about the kidnapping or the fear for my safety though.
What also terrified me is that Ariana was gone. I had no idea what Daniel planned to do with me. There was a good chance he would kill me.
When we enter the house, there's more staff around than usual. I assume it means they know what happened.
"Are you hungry?" I ask Ariana as we walk deeper into the house.
She shakes his head. "No. I'm just tired."
"Okay." We head upstairs. It's strange, being back somewhere familiar. Like waking up from a nightmare to realize it was all in your imagination and you're actually in your own room. It's unsettling, realizing this looks familiar. Looks like home.
I help Ariana get ready for bed even though she's been old enough to do it herself for years, but I needed her to know that I was there and I am not going anywhere.
After I left her in ensuite bathroom to change, I quickly went in my room to change, not wanting her to see the blood on my clothes. I jogged back to her room to see she wasn't out of the room. So, I knocked on her bathroom's door but was witnessed with silence. I was about to knock the door out of his hinges when she opened it, with puffy eyes and red nose.
She was crying. I move forward to give her a hug yet another unprecedented move, but she shoved me again until I stepped away from her.
"Why are you crying?" I asked hoarsely.
"I hate you," she said, dashing at the tears, despair weighting her voice.
"Okay, I think I could get used to your little bit of a hatred," I pointed out.
"I am just another..." Her mouth started to form the ugly word but I cut her off.
"Don't say it," I snapped. "Don't you dare say it!"
"I'm sorry, Jungkook." Earnestness leaks from every syllable she spelled.
"I don't blame you."
"You should."
"It wasn't your fault, Ariana." The long chain of events that ended in Daniel kidnapping me and her dad is one thing. But I know Ariana would have done anything—absolutely anything—to prevent it from happening if she had any idea, it might.
"Yes, it." her jaw clenches. "I should have ensured Daniel was taken care of a long time ago. I should have done more."
"Don't hold yourself accountable and then tell me not to worry about you."
"That's different. He kidnapped you. You had every right to take me to court for harming you indirectly."
"I never wanted this for you, Ariana." I said, she studies me for a few seconds, then nods and straightens.
"Good night." I don't want her to be alone right now. Specifically, I want to be with her.
"Good night." she half smiles when I replied. I never want to be in that situation again. I never want her dad to be in that situation again. And I don't want Ariana to ever have to make that choice again. She was ready to die to save us, and I'm not sure I would be standing upright if she had.
I pat her head and then, I leave.
Jimin hyung calls just after three a.m. I haven't told him a thing because I don't know what to say, its Ariana's story and I have no right to tell her secrets to anyone. I never went to sleep. My eyes feel gritty and dry, but I'm not tired. For a while, I thought there was a chance Ariana might appear. Hoped she might show up, but she didn't. She needs time. After Jimin hyung, Namjoon hyung called and updated me on how things are being cleared up from Ariana's news and how much it affected our comeback, which I seriously give no fucks about. I care about my girl who is lying few rooms away from me and fought her lives biggest demon less than 5 hours ago.
When I walk into the dining room after spending an hour on the phone, making arrangements to my schedule, Mr. Jonas is already there, munching on a bowl of cereal.
"Morning, Jungkook."
"Good morning, Mr. Jonas. You feeling okay this morning?" I study him carefully. His coloring is good. No dark circles suggesting he didn't sleep. And he's munching away at the cereal like he hasn't eaten in weeks.
"Yep. And cut the formalities boy, call me Albert" he chuckled and focused on his meal again after gesturing me to sit beside him. After a couple of beats, he spoke again
"Thank you Jungkook for yesterday"
"It's nothing seriously"
"Things are again hard for her; I hope you'll stick around longer. She needs patience" he said looking in my eyes.
"I am sticking around as long as she needs me to" I said with a smile, and I mean ever word of it. After that, nobody spoke a word.
When I walk out of the dining room, Ariana is standing on the bottom step, holding the banister. Her hair is in a messy bun, she's wearing an oversize sweatshirt, and I'm not sure she's ever looked more beautiful. "You heard?"
"Yes."
I don't ask how much, just nod.
"I thought that we could spend the afternoon together," she muttered distractedly while her keen eyes are observing everything but no settling on my eyes.
"Of course, we can do that" I offered as I'll do everything to keep her mind out of yesterday thing. She didn't reply, just nodded and padded back to her room looking like as if this conversation never took place.
Later into the day I couldn't find a trace of both the siblings, I knew Ariana must be in her room or somewhere in the mansion but I haven't seen Alex since last night. Deep down I know, he must be clearing every trace of Daniel Robert, who harmed his sister more than one way.
"Ari?" Resting my forehead against the timber frame of her room, I continued to knock. "Will you please come out, baby?" She locked herself in her room since the morning and hadn't come out since. "Please?"
Silence.
Exhaling heavily, I knocked again. "Just open the door and we can talk about it."
Nothing.
"Please, Ariana," I growled, resisting the urge to bang my head against the frame. "Just come out. You can't stay in there forever; I need you please –" I let my words trail off when the sound of the lock clicking sounded.
Moments later, her bedroom door opened inwards and there she was, fully dressed in winter thick jumpsuit with scarf around her neck, puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks.
Fuck.
She cried.
Again.
"I'm ready to go now," she told me in a small voice, not meeting my eyes. "If that's okay?"
"Yeah, of course it's okay," I replied thickly.
"Thank you." With her head down, Ariana stepped around me and walked over the staircase.
She looked so vulnerable and uncertain that all I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms.
My heart was on fire.
She looked so lonely in this moment that it physically pained me to look at her.
Because somehow, I knew I was responsible for that look. If only I didn't step; out of their mansion for awhile
And my heart was demanding I make it right. I wanted to.
I just didn't know how, it fucking sucked, but I knew I needed to give her space right now.
I was currently driving, as I figured out that she didn't anybody else around herself, she stared out the windscreen into the shining sky and ignored the boy sitting in the driver's seat beside her.
"Are we going to talk about it?" I finally asked after several minutes of strained silence.
She shook her head, and continued to stare out the window at nothing.
"Are you going to talk to me?" I asked then, voice low and gruff.
Again, she shook her head.
"So, what?" I demanded. "You're just going to ignore me altogether?"
She shrugged helplessly.
She knew what was coming if we spoke.
I was going to give her the talk.
"Ariana," I growled, clearly frustrated.
Flicking on the indicator, I pulled onto the side of the road and killed the engine.
"Ariana." Turning in my seat, I pushed the armrest that separated us up, and twisted my body to face her. "We need to talk about what happened; more importantly how do you feel right now?"
"I'm sorry," she got there first and spoke. With my heart hammering in my chest, she turned in her seat and faced me. "I am so sorry." She opened her side of door and rounded the car and went to the park where we were currently parked. I quickly got of the car
"I don't want you to be sorry," I replied fastening my pace, brown eyes burning into mine. "What happened yesterday?" Shaking my head I followed he to the bench nearby, I released a pained growl. "I didn't expect it – I didn't expect you." Her breath fanned my face as I spoke, causing my body to shiver involuntarily. "I want you to just talk," he added. "And I want you to be you, I know it's still fresh, but babe I don't want you to slip back into that hole, say something"
"About?" she filled in, keeping my eyes trained on her hands folded.
"About anything and everything, I am here Ariana," I finally said and waited for her response. She was staring at me but it was easy to see that her mind wasn't here with me just like her body.
-ARIANA'S POV-
{Flashback to previous night}
It's pure instinct that reminds me to hold my breath so that the water doesn't force its way inside my nose and mouth. I simply sit there, watching his blank expression as he holds me down— the intent to drown me clear.
For a moment, panic takes hold of me. Especially as his hands feel like an unbreakable chain around my neck—both literally and figuratively. The thought of struggling crosses my mind, but I soon realize it would be in vain. So, I let him.
I sit there, calmly staring at him as I wait for my time to run out. "Fuck," he curses out, taking a step back and bringing his fingers to his temples, massaging them.
The moment I'm able to draw breath again. I cough lightly, wiping at my mouth and nose as I try to regulate my breathing. "Couldn't kill me, eh?" I taunt. If I'm completely honest, there was a part of me that knew he would not kill me. That he wouldn't be able to go through with it.
I looked around and saw a fucking water barrel around us, it's sickening to even think how something like this could even exist let alone I am actually witnessing it.
"You..." His voice snaps as he turns around suddenly, one hand around my neck as he raises me up in the air, the force of his hold stunning me still. My mouth opens in shock.
"One day, Ariana. One day," he mutters, as if trying to convince himself.
"One day what? You're going to actually kill me?" I smirk at him. "Well, guess what," I say as I grab on to his sleeve, tugging him closer to me. "I'll be waiting. So do your worst." He scowls, his face contorted in a mix of annoyance and want—to kill me or do something else, unclear.
His hold loosens enough that I fall back on my ass, the water making a splashing sound as droplets end up on the floor and on his shirt. Still, he doesn't release me. His hand is still on my neck, his eyes glazed as he stares at me. Slowly, he moves it, reaching my jaw. His thumb on my lips, he brushes it lightly over them before parting them. "One day, Ariana," he repeats, his features stern, his lips unsmiling, "I will fuck the brat out of you. I'll make it so that you won't ever talk back"
"Is that so?" I ask on a breathless tone. I reach out, grabbing his hand with my own, keeping him locked in place as my hand peeks out from my waist with a knife.
There's a brief flash in his eyes as he zeroes in on my lips, his pupils growing larger under my very gaze. His attention momentarily distracted, it's all it takes for me to bring my hand to his stomach and stab, he grunts and I am quite sure I busted his artery or two.
But he doesn't react. He merely tilts his head in amusement, watching me as one would watch a child throwing a tantrum—indulging me in my little display. Irritated, I feel the need to get a rise out of him, so I casually inquire. "Who are you trying to fool, Daniel? Shall I remind you of your words?" I raise a daring eyebrow. "I am the arrogant bitch," I lean forward, whispering his vehement statement from before, while pushing the knife deeper.
There's a pause as he doesn't react, his eyes narrowed at me. "You're playing with fire, Ariana," he grunts low in his throat.
"Me?" I bat my lashes at him, I don't care he kills me now, because I have nothing to lose. Dad and Jungkook both are out of his gasp; I am just stalling time so that Alex will get them out.
He leans back, wholly relaxed, as he gives me a bored look. I pretend to slip from his grip and into the water, he knocked his gun somewhere long ago. As I try to stand, I unhook the gun from my bra and steadily point at him
"Hmm," he takes a step back. "Impressive. I think I need to see more," he drawls, this time letting his eyes greedily roam over my flesh. So, I straighten my back and put on a confident look as I move to exit the room. I don't get to take one step though, as he tries to lunge towards me and on my defensive part, I shot and closed my eyes and at the same time something opens above me, I slowly open my eyes to see Daniel lying there with his eyes open and............lifeless? I took baby steps forward to see if I seriously killed him. But then Jungkook comes into view and block the horrific vision that is before my eyes.
{End of Flashback}
I was so consumed in my thoughts that it wasn't until I felt Jungkook shook me with utter gentleness. He has been nothing but soft and gentle since last night. And thinking about last night hit me like a bus, since the moment Jungkook left me in my room alone I haven't shed a tear. It seems like I have been in a dream and it will all be over once I wake up, I haven't slept a wink last night just kept staring at the ceiling thinking something will trigger me if I close my eyes and will become really real to existence.
I might have zoned out again because Jungkook had to stroke his hand on my cheek wiping the tears I didn't knew slipped out of my eyes.
"Jk" I choked out, tears streaming down my cheeks. The minute he saw my expression, his eyes soften he sank down on the edge of the bench and pulled me into his arms.
"Ari," he sighed. "Let it all out, baby." And it was right there that I cried like a fucking child on his shoulder.
"What am I looking at?" I choked out when words found me.
"Just give some time and we'll be as good as new," he told me with that honesty I respected him for.
"Jk, it's gone." I shook my head and resisted the urge to roar. "My career...The Yearly Contract ...it's over for me!"
"Not gone," he assured me. "Slim, but not impossible."
"Slim," I strangled out, feeling my heart beat so hard I thought it might stop altogether. "Fuck."
"Don't you forget who you are." He stood up then and helped me to sit at the edge of the bench and kneeled before me. "You are my girl," he added, lowering my hands to hold his that were in my lap. "And you are a fighter."
I dropped my head. "I don't fucking feel like a fighter."
"You've been a fighter since the day you were born," he corrected, tipping my chin back up, and forcing me to meet his gaze. "You've never let a thing get in the way of your goals, and you sure as hell are not going to let few days and haters stop you."
"And if I don't make it?" I choked out, voicing my biggest fear. "If I'm not able to comeback like last time then?"
"Then you don't make it and we'll try until you make it," he replied simply
I shook my head and released a pained sob. "JK, I can't cope –"
"If you do not make it right after we go back then you do not make," he repeated. "You are still my pretty breathtaking Ariana Jonas. You are still the girl I like. You are still a good woman. And you are still my best decision."
For the millionth time in my life, I found myself looking up at the man that was with me since I knew he existed even if he doesn't know it yet and thinking: will I ever be as strong as you?
Hey!!!!!
The reveal of my very first book is out, I hope this was according to your expectations. Took me a solid one week to rewrite this whole chapter thrice
until next time.....