I wake up on a spongy surface and my body feels a lot warmer than it did last time. Slowly, as my body adjusts, I sit up and look around the dark room.
Currently, sitting on the bottom bunk of a bed, I notice that the whole room is empty and metal rods, same as a prison cell, played the roll of one of the walls.
Calmly, I climb out of the bed and try to look down the dimly lit hall, but I fail when I spot absolutely nothing. It was just me in this giant place, alone and locked up.
I can't believe I trusted him.
"You're awake, beautiful," I'm startled by the voice coming from behind me. Once my brain takes in the familiar voice, my eyes widen.
It can't be.
I turn around to see someone I thought I would never ever see again.
"Jack?" My eye's start to tear up.
"You tell me," he grins.
"Oh my god! I-it's you!" I run up to him, and he catches me as my legs curl around his waist. Like old times, his arms perfectly wrapped my body in them holding me closer than ever.
"I missed you so much," he speaks almost as if the words have been on the tip of his tongue forever. I can literally feel the pain in his voice.
I pull my head back and look at his vibrant features. Without even thinking, I land my lips on his. The kiss was long awaited, but it didn't feel the same as before.
It was different. It shouldn't have been, but it did and it's maybe because my love for Jack isn't as strong as it used to be.
He lets me down after a minute, but keeps his arms around me. I lean my head against his chest, and feel his heart beat in the sync of my own.
"How are you a-"
"Not right now, Riley," he stops me.
The tears rush down my cheeks as everything gradually sinks in. I back away from him, but our hands never let go.
"I'm so sorry Jack. I should've never accepted you as a part of my life or else the story would be story so much different today."
"It could've been worse too. I'm alive Riley, that's all that should matter," he tries to assure me as he wipes my tears. His green eye's showed nothing, but the truth.
He still loves me.
"Why didn't you come back?" I drop my gaze. If his eye's were telling the truth then why did he let me live with the sorrow of his death?
"Look at me Riley." Jack begs. I do as I'm told. "I didn't come back, because I wanted you out of your father's shadow. I wanted you to have control over yourself. If I came back, your dad would've used me as bait to keep you under him and I wanted you out. I wanted you to be happy even if it was without me. I knew it would be hard for you, but I knew that you would be able to move on and you did." I feel my heart drop to my stomach in a matter of seconds.
"The love in your eyes for me has faded Riley. People might think that I'm crazy to say this, but I couldn't be more happy about it."
"Don't say that Jack, I love you."
"You might love me, but a bigger percent of your love now belongs to someone else."
"I'm sorry," I apologize as tears leak through my eyes.
"Don't be. I did this, and I couldn't be happier."
He pulls me into his chest, and firmly hugs me.
"I wish I could go back. I don't wanna hurt you or anyone like I have," he pulls me out of the hug and wipes away my tears.
"I couldn't be more thrilled about the way my life has turned out because of you," he smiles. I put on a smile just for him. Jack is alive. Breathing with a beating heart right in front of me.
His black hair was messy, scattered in different directions. His chiselled jaw, and cheekbones were even more defined than when he was a teenager.
He had a stubble growing in. If it were the seventeen year old him, I would tell him that he looked ugly, but if I said that now everyone would know I'm lying. His while body was highly defined. The t-shirt he was supporting kissed his whole upper half lining his abs.
The only thing setting me off was his left black eye, and the fact that we were locked in a cell together.
"What happened?" I ask. "And why are we here?"
"If I knew, I would've told you by know," he chuckles.
"I'm serious Jack."
"I seriously have no idea, beautiful."
"Beautiful?" I ask thinking back to the anonymous texts.
"It was you!" I accuse him as a grin displays itself on his face. His head bobs admitting his actions causing me to shake my head.
"You had me so scared for a while," I scold.
"You were a scaredy cat; as I recall."
"Uh-uh," I disagree causing us both to start laughing. I look around the lonely place.
"How long have we been in here?" I ask.
"You've been out for a day. I was brought here a couple hours before," Jack explains.
"Luke," I whisper feeling cold travel throughout my body at his name.
"Who?"
"Luke. He did this. He brought me here." I explain. "He was my boyfriend."
"Oh," he says coldly. "Why?"
"I don't know. All I remember is waking up on my mother's grave then seeing Luke. I hugged him, he apologized before injected me with something and I fell asleep."
I try to come up with some possibilities that would explain his actions, but I come up with nothing. Before either of us can say anything, two very strong looking men, come in from the hall and unlock the cells door holding guns.
I know better then to fight, and so does Jack. Both of us remain still as they enter our cell. "
"Turn around," one of the men demands. I turn around and he pulls my hands behind my back, tying them securely with a rope.
"Where's Luke?" I venomously ask.
"You'll see him soon enough," he whispers from behind. He pushes me out of the room, and I see that Jack is in the same predicament as me.
I should've never trusted Luke.
They walk us down the hall and into a large room. The room is scattered with large containment boxes. The men aggressively push us down by our shoulders making us land on our knees with our hands tied back. I don't bother struggling with the ropes because there would be no use.
The spot we're at is bare with one light hung up on the ceiling. The light is nearly not enough to brighten up the whole area.
"Luke!" I yell as I get annoyed of waiting. I look around, and in total five men were standing on the sides.
"LUKE!" I yell feeling the rage building up.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow behind the boxes to my far left. From there, the appearance of Luke's dad comes in sight dressed well in a grey business suit.
Oh fuck no.
I glare at the man coming near us. He stops standing in front of us in full confidence.
"Where's your fucking pathetic excuse of a son?!" I spit.
"Now, now sweetheart don't need to be so rude." The way he spoke reminds me of the way my dad would speak just before landing another hard blow. "How about I bring in the rest of the crew and I will explain everything to you then."
Crew?
A door clicks open.
"Let me go!" I hear Jen's voice. I see her uselessly struggling against one of the men until she's forcefully pushed down on her knees.
"What the fuck is going on?!" She tries to hide her fear under her growing anger. Before I can tell her to calm down, I hear another voice.
"I will fucking kill you if I see even as much as a scratch on her!" Heath groans being led in by Luke. Luke nods towards me, and Heath sighs as he sees me. When Heath attempts to walk towards me, Luke's dad speaks.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kol stops Heath. Heath looks down, and we both see a red line on the floor. Heath curses incoherently under his breath before turning around and grabbing Kol's collar.
Johnson... Heath hated Luke. It makes perfect fucking sense.
"What the fuck do you want?!" Heath hisses.
"For you to back away before I murder your sister, your girlfriend or her boyfriend," my heart drops at the mention of Jack's death. I just got him back. Heath thinks for a moment before letting Kol go.
"Now just one more person." Kol announces. Dylan, Kylie, Ian?!
I look around the area, but no one comes in sight. I turn around to see if someone was there, but I don't spot anyone. When I turn back to the front, I see the familiar face that belonged to my father.
"Riley," he grins viciously. I can hear Jack growl in pure rage.
My dad puts his hand down on my left shoulder. His thumb traces my gun wound, and I shake in fear. He pulls my hoodie to the side so that the bandage is visible.
Tears clot my eyes, but I convince myself not to show any fear. I challenge him instead, looking straight into his dark brown eyes. He peels of the bandage, and instantly digs his thumb into the wound; past the stitches. I whimper in pain. I bite down on my bottom lip to help myself from screaming in pain.
He takes his blood covered thumb out, and kneels down in front of me.
"You are just like your mother. You deserve what's coming your way you little slut, and I'll be standing right there watching," he brings his right hand back and it comes forward coming in contact with my left cheek. My head turns to the side. The tears force themselves out, and my hearing blurs for a few seconds.
My whole face heats up from the impact. My cheek starts to tingle in pain and the memories from my life before come rushing back. I close my eyes, and clear my mind to focus on the present. I bring my head back up, and open my eyes staring right into his disgusting gaze.
"You. Will never, be able to break me." I state raising his anger. His hands formed fists, but he lets out an evil chuckle before backing away. I finally let out a breath I didn't even know that I was holding.
I look up at Heath. I could see the regret over shadowing his anger. I let out a small smile, and hear Kol scoff.
"Heath Levers," Kol starts. "Glad to see that you've turned out exactly like your father. Stealing other people's girls."
I glare at him.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Heath responds.
"Your mom and I used to be lovers in high school, but then your father came along snatching her away from." He seemed crookedly satisfied. "But that's not the reason I killed them both. If you were wondering. I killed them because of one prime reason. Money. You're parents were taking the heights as if they were no big deal. I wanted the heights. I worked my butt off for them, but it was never good enough. I came to your house that day to get your parents to decline some of their deals, but your mom started bringing up the past. Anger got the best of me, and I ended up doing something I didn't want to." He informs. "I wanted to move on from the past, but you fucking came along. I can't afford you taking my heights away, so I will take away your soul from you." He deadly states. "I knew that you were getting close to me, but I never thought you would ever get this close. I had to come up with my own plan. That's where Luke and Riley came in." I clench my jaw. Luke fucking used me. "He made her fall in love with him knowing there was a part of her that wanted you, and a part of you wanted her. During these two weeks the bond you two have made, is only going to benefit me during your agony." Heath glares into Kol's eyes. "Luke." Kol calls.
I spot Luke standing next to a TV screen which played some sort of surveillance. "This is live camera footage from Metrotown. Five grand people are currently shopping there enjoying their day." Luke explains. Then, he lifts up a remote in his hand. "This is the trigger to a bomb planted in the core of the mall." My eyes widen in horror. Did I actually care about the same guy that was standing in front of me threatening the lives of random people?
"Here's a gun." Kol hands Heath a gun. My heart starts to throb. I feel my own gun still tucked into the waist of my jean. I reach into my back pocket, and take out the pocket knife I happened two nights ago. I start working on the ropes carefully.
"Two out of the four of you get to live tonight." Luke announces. "One of the living will be you Heath. The other one you get to choose by killing off the other two. At any point if the gun is pointed towards any of my men, my father, yourself or I. I will set off the bomb and you will be responsible for the death of five grand people." Luke states.
"You're fucking sick!" I yell. "I can't believe I thought that I loved you! Every word, every moment, every touch I regret! You are a fucking monster just like your and I's dad!"
Luke hides his true emotions. "Three minutes. That's all you have." He warns Heath. I look at Heath through my glossy eyes. I could see the tears forming in his eyes, and the confusion plastered on his face. I continue with the knife behind my back, but the ropes were still too tight. I watch as he lifts his arm, and points the gun towards Jack. Everything drew silent.
"Heath!" I shout. Heath's eyes meet mine, but the gun stays in its spot. "Heath! I'm begging you please don't kill Jack! Kill me! Please Heath! Just please!" His index finger curls on the trigger. "Heath!" I cry. "Don't make me go through this! Heath I will never forgive you! Heath look at me!" I just needed a couple more seconds. Don't shoot Heath. The hurt on his face was clearly visible, but the sound of the gun going off covers the air. "NO!" I drop the knife behind me, and stand tall on my knees. The bullet penetrates through Jack's ribs. "JACK!" I cry as my forehead makes contact with the cold ground. Jack falls back numb. "No. No. No!" I get back up on my knees.
The feeling I felt once before came rushing back a thousand times worse. My first love was murdered in front of my eyes for the second time, and I couldn't do anything about. I'm still the same Riley as before. Helpless. My eye's were probably bloodshot angry, because the fear and sorrow covered on Heath's face was unexplainable. "Two more minutes." Kol mentions coldly.
I sit down on the back of my legs, and wait for him to shoot. I look up, and my eyes widen. "HEATH!" I scold. I could hear Jen's silent whimper. His hands were trembling. The gun pointed at Jen. I panic and grab the knife from the floor behind. "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY! DON'T DO IT!" I scold in a way. Within seconds the rope falls down behind my back.
I immediately get up on my feet taking the gun out of my back, and shooting Luke. "Fuck!" Luke groans as the bullet hits his right arm, I shoot him once more in the leg. I hear another bullet go off, and chaos is let out. I shoot the men down, and Heath shoots my dad. His body falls numb to the ground. I couldn't feel any emotion towards his body even if I wanted to.
I untie Jen, and hug her tightly to stop her from trembling in fear. She's scarred for life. "Everything's going to be okay." I assure her.
"Ri-Riley." I turn my head towards Jack. I ask for Jen's permission and she nods. I run to Jack. I untie his hands, and lay the back of his head on my lap. The waterworks were coming down worse than heavy rain.
"I'm sorry this happened to you again."
"It's always fun dying." He chuckles faintly. "I-I l-love you. I'm so grateful of god for letting me d-die i-in the arms of my first love, twice." He smiles. I let out a dry laugh.
"P-please d-don't go." I beg.
"P-Penelope. Sh-she's w-with Z-Zoe. T-tell th-them I-I'm s-sorry." Luke says. Penelope? How? My heart was just finding an excuse to stop beating. I land a soft kiss on his lips as I feel his breathing hitch. I close my eyes taking in the last kiss, and look down at his pale face.
"I'm sorry." I close his eyelids, and wipe away my own tears. I let Jack down gently, and stand up. Kol was brutally injured lying on the ground, and Heath was stand on top pointing the gun down at him. "Don't do it!" My voice booms. Heath looked deadly. "It's not worth it." His grip around the gun tightens. "I will never forgive you." I threaten. He sadly looks at me and I drop my gaze to the ground. I look back up after a few seconds to see the gun lowered.
I walk up to Kol, and skim him of his phone. I knock him out by punching him square in the face. I emergency dial nine one one. "Hello. I need the ambulance, and police here. We were kidnapped, and held hostage. I don't know where we are."
"Okay, ma'am please stay calm. What's your name?" I hesitate for a second. "Riley King." I reply.
"Okay." She replies. "We are tracing the signal to your phone please keep on the line. Please describe to us, the scenario."
"Ahh there's two dead with what I can tell. And... Eight injured with gun shots."
"We have tracked your signal. The ambulance, and police shall be there shortly." I wipe the sweat off of my face. I drop the phone to the ground, and sit down on beside it. I bring my knees up to my chest, and sob letting everything sink in.
"Riley." I feel Heath's hand on my back.
"Don't touch me." My voice poisonously cruel. His hand lifts off my back, and the familiar sound of police cars comes in hearing distance.
Soon after, a bunch of police officers come in. "Put your hand up in surrender." One of them demands. I stand up, and do as I should. I was having a hard time keeping my left arm up. Heath and Jen do the same. One of the police officers comes around behind me. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will used against you in the court of law." He brings my left hand down, and I scream in pain.
"She's hurt you bastard!" Heath hisses. I cry. The officer lets me go. Jen and Heath are escorted out and into the back of a police car. I get settled into an ambulance with heavy police officer patrolling.
I could see the doctor's mouth moving, but I couldn't hear anything. Everything slowed down and became blurry before a black blanket was laid over my eyes.
*********
I wake up to a slow and steady beeping. I open my eyes, and look around the lightly painted hospital room. Two woman officers were stationed at the door, and I sigh remembering everything. I press the help button.
Not even minutes later, the doctor comes in. "You're awake." He smiles.
"How long have I been asleep?" I ask. My voice groggy.
"You've been in a comma for over two weeks."
"I want out." I pull out the needle that was put into my wrist.
"Riley!" The doctor scolds as I sit up. My head spins, and I sit on the edge to take a minute to settle in. I look up at him with teary eyes.
"Don't Riley me. I don't deserve this care while the people the I care about are rotting in jail for no reason." I hiss.
"Ms. King." He threatens.
"I can't afford this." I lie. He gives me a 'are serious look'. I groan, and lay back down.
*********
A week later I was discharged, and taken under custody for murder. I was discharged under the terms of meeting a depression therapist three days a week. I didn't want it, but I also knew that he or she could not force me to talk.
I've given them my truthful statement of my life from my dad physically abusing me to what happened three weeks ago. Now, I was being escorted to court for my hearing. I was in Los Angeles yesterday for everyone else hearing. Because Jen, Heath and Dylan are American citizens, they couldn't be trialed here, but I had to go for my testimony.
During that time I packed up my thing's from the dorm room and brought it back with me. I also said bye to the team and appointed Kat as the new captain. Everyone was upset along with the coach, but understood my predicament and warmly hugged me bye; not forgetting to mention good luck for the trial.
I haven't seen anyone since then, and a bit of me was scared. All of us lost a part of ourselves three weeks ago. I don't want to see how drastically their vibrant expression might've changed. Ian and Kylie also flew in. They came in to see me, but I refused to see them.
Someone dropped off clothes for me. I don't know who, but they knew my exact size and style. I wore a simple laced black dress, and black heels.
I walk into the court with two officers following behind, and take a seat beside Jen. She looks like she's been crying for the past hour. Everyone was allowed here only for my trial. Jen and Dylan were sentenced to six months of full time community service. Heath was sentenced to two months of jail, and eight months of full time community service after. Kol was sentenced life in prison while Luke only five years.
The judge walks in, and we stand showing respect. We sit down after him. "After going through all the evidence, and reading each and everyone of the suspect's statements. The jury has come to a verdict. Riley King has been proven guilty for leaving a crime seen after shooting someone for selfdefense. Given the circumstances, Riley King is sentenced to full time community service for one year with regular check ins with the local police station. Not attending check in's can result in more of a severe punishment. Also, no one is allowed to leave their home country during their sentence period. The case is adjourned."
Everyone gets up, and leaves except for Jen, Heath, Kylie, Dylan, Ian, Jen's parents, and I.
"Ms. King we have to go through some formalities before you take your leave." My lawyer comes up to me. I nod, and follow him to the front where I sign some papers. I was expecting jail time just like Heath, because I don't see the circumstances that stopped the judge from announcing so.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"No. Just keep in touch for the next few weeks, and try to keep within the rules." He advices. I nod, and firmly shake his hand before he leaves. I look at the empty chair where the judge sat.
"Mommy?" I hear a little girl's voice behind me. I turn around, and see Zoe, Jack's sister. My eye's trace her arm down. Next to her was a girl who looked just like Jack. In that moment, I knew exactly who she was. My baby. "Mommy!" She runs down the court, and into my arms as I kneel down at her height. The warmth of my own blood was heart melting. "Don't cry mommy." She wipes my tears away. I laugh as her green eye's were identical to her father's. "Daddy said that you went to get me a present, and that you'll come back when you find it." She complains. "Did you find it?!" Her pupils dilate in excitement.
I laugh. "I-I didn't find it." She frowns. "But I knew you really wanted to see me, right?"
She nods eagerly. "It's okay! I missed you." She hugs me again. "Where's daddy?"
"Daddy. H-he," I cry," left to look for the present. He told me to tell you that he loves you." I mention. She pouts, but puts on a smile.
"You're not going to leave again, are you?" I nod my head sideways.
"No. Penelope. I love you." I hug her.
"Riley?" I hear Heath's voice. I ignore him. Jack had a second chance. Heath made Penelope fatherless. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive him.
"Let's go home." I pick Penelope up, and carry her down the court. Where her aunt, Zoe was standing, her glossy eyes proved she was crying.
"Riley!" I hear Heath's broad voice behind me. Tears rush down my cheeks as I exit the court. This is the end. This is the end of us.
A/N:
Me: 😭😭😭
Comment what you thought about the book!
I also wanna thank you for reading Riley's journey, and hope that you enjoyed it!
All of you mean so much to me. THANK YOU, and I will never feel the same way, now since I've stopped writing about Riley's life. This story has become a huge part of my life that I'll never forget.
I will be going back and reediting the whole story, maybe adding more scenes, fixing plot holes etc...
⚠️There was a flashback hinting that Riley might have a child in chapter 36 if you don't remember
Don't delete the book out of your library just yet, I have one more thing I want to tell you guys!
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