It hurts to love you but I still love you, it's just the way I feel
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The three of us walk into Sin's house and I'm astonished at what I see. When Sin throws a party, he goes all out-the mansion didn't even look recognizable. On the way over here I filled Jack in about the Sin situation as best as I could without mentioning all the gang-related stuff and attacks. Needless to say there were a lot of blanks and he had a lot of questions which I avoided just barely.
"Remember," Jack nudges my shoulder as we walk into the main area the party is being held at, "when you see Sin, act like he doesn't faze you in the slightest-it'll kill him."
"He's right." Faye nods vigorously.
"What did you guys assume I was gonna do anyway?" I roll my eyes, "Burst into hysterical tears and throw shrimp at him?"
"I don't know your life..." Jack shrugs and I can't help but snort.
"I see Andre..." Faye states dreamily, but suddenly her gaze narrows and her face distorts into one of disgust, "Who the hell is that chick." she grumbles before making a beeline in that direction.
"Bye to you too!" I call after her but I doubt she heard me.
"Sooo...." Jack drawls out, "Where is this fine specimen I've heard so much shit about?"
"I can't see him." I shrug as I glance around the party not recognizing anyone familiar, "I think that's...there he is oh my goodness he's looking over here!" I whisper shout and immediately spin Jack and myself around.
"Oh my..." Jack fans himself after risking a quick peek at Sin, "Does he have a twin brother who happens to be gay or bi?"
"Unfortunately the closest thing he has to a sibling is Andre." I state and rub Jack's back sympathetically, "But hey there's a ton of guys here, chances are at least a couple of them bat for the same team."
"Always the optimist." Jack states and bops my nose.
"What the hell was that?" I can't stop the laughter from escaping me.
"Marilyn?" I immediately freeze and stop all laughter as I recognize the voice. Who the hell else would it be but Sin fucking Salvatoré? I slowly turn around even though all I want to do is run away screaming.
"Sin," I greet him tersely, "Happy birthday, thanks for the invite." I try to muster a smile and that's when I realize something very odd. Sin is absolutely, completely trashed. I try to ignore his visible drunkenness and introduce Jack.
"This is Jack...I don't actually know your last name." I chuckle nervously and Jack smiles at me reassuringly as he realizes how nervous I am. He removes his grip from my arm and extends it to Sin.
"Jack Kane." he states waiting for a handshake that Sin doesn't offer in return. Sin glares at his hand in disgust as if it's beneath him and I feel like slapping the shit out of him.
"Come on Jack." I grab the hand Jack awkwardly placed back next to his side, "Let's find more hospitable people to spend our time on." I roll my eyes and start to lead Jack away.
"Marilyn, please wait." Sin grabs onto my arm and pulls me back a bit causing me to stumble, "Shit, fuck I'm so sorry." he grabs a hold of me with both hands to try and steady me.
"What do you want?" I ignore his apology, wanting to leave his presence more than anything.
"C-Can I, uh can we speak in private?" he slurs out and I shake my head at the state he's in. I've never seen him lose control like this; he just doesn't seem like the guy.
"I don't want to talk to you," I state calmly, "Besides I can't abandon my date." I emphasize the word date.
"It's cool; I really think you two should talk." Jack gives me a pointed look and gestures to Sin with his eyes, "I'll be fine on my own." He smirks at a guy walking past.
I really don't want to go anywhere with Sin but I'm afraid of what he'll do if I don't. I don't want him to do something stupid while intoxicated.
"You have 10 minutes." I state and he rolls his eyes as Sin leads me up the stairs and into one of the many guest rooms in this place. I step inside and turn around to face him when unexpectedly he grabs me and starts kissing me vehemently.
"Sin WHAT THE HELL?" I yell at him as I push him off me, "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Why don't we talk about that fucking asshole you brought to my party first?" Sin spits out, I'm surprised he can still form proper sentences in his state.
"He's gay for fucks sake and even if he wasn't it's none of your business." I roll my eyes, "You made sure of that."
"He's gay?" Sin considerably calms down as he takes a seat on the bed in front of me.
"What is going on with you?" I shake my head at him in disappointment. "Something is seriously wrong with you."
"I'm fine." Sin clears his throat and starts to blink rapidly to clear his head.
"Well, you can't keep kissing me if you have no intention of being with me." I cross my arms completely infuriated with him, "Make up your mind."
"Look, lo-look, look." he repeats and holds up a hand to stop me from talking. "I don't even wanna talk about that shit right now." he slurs.
"What then?" I throw my hands up about two seconds from leaving this mess of a conversation.
"I-I called you, didn't-why didn't you answer?" he closes his eyes and holds his head which I presume is probably spinning right now.
"I left it at home?" I throw my hands up, "What was so important you couldn't wait to tell me here?"
"You and Faye, you guys need to move back..." he lays down, "dangerous, danger you because Aruba." he groan stopping mid sentence and that's when I start to freak out. What the hell is he going off about? Danger? Am I still in danger, what the hell is going on?
"Sin!" I sit next to him and try to shake him awake. "Sin what's going on?" I plead, hoping he wakes up.
He slowly opens both his eyes and gazes at me, "Archer he put you on Aruba."
"What?" I mumble confused.
Sin groans again and I fear he passes out before telling me what's going on. "Online, dark web g-gangsters use to communicate."
I nod, finally beginning to understand, "Why did he put me on there?"
"After you two breaked, broke up he-he..." Sin closes his eyes again and I almost scream in frustration.
"Keep going." I smooth his hair from his face and hope my cold hands shock him awake.
"Nice." he smiles, "D-don't stop."
"Sin please!" I shake him a little.
"He put your picture up and lo-location, you um, gangs kill you because you're phantoms heir." I freeze as all the pieces fall into place and when they do I'm stunned speechless. If I'm assuming correctly, after Archer and I broke up, to spite me he put me on some dark underground website gangs use to communicate with each other causing all these strange attacks to happen out of the blue. All because these people want to get back at my mother? Or get her to bend to their will or control her or...the possibilities are endless.
But how the hell is Archer caught up in all of this?
"Sin how did you find this out?" I stutter after coming to my senses and processing this info. When I get silence in return I realize he's finally succumbed to the alcohol.
I feel like just leaving him there but I'm not that awful or hateful. So he screwed me over? I'm still gonna take care of him.
I removed his shoes and blazer, all the while he remained unconscious not even stirring when I grabbed his arms and tried to drag him back up the bed so he could lie down comfortably. I threw a blanket over him and closed the door, hoping no one would disturb him. It's a shame Sin was going to miss his own party but partying was the last thing on my mind as I tried to locate either Andre or Faye.
I glanced around and made my way through the large house trying to find them to no avail. I spotted Jack a while back talking to some girl and decided not to interrupt them because it looked pretty serious.
Just as I'm about to give up I'm suddenly grabbed and pulled into some sort of coat room. "Who the hell do..." an immediate feeling of dread washes over me as I realize who has pulled me into this dark, isolated closet.
"Declan." I whisper in fear.
"Miss me, baby?" He smirks and I take a step back but hit a wall and suddenly it dawns on me that I'm in a closet with the man that slaughtered Sin's family and used me to get to him. I start screaming my head off hoping someone will walk past and hear me as Declan blocks the only exit with his large frame.
"Woah, woah...calm down." Declan clamps a hand over his mouth, "I just want to talk." He pleads with me through his eyes.
I glare at him with hatred and lick his hand to try and get him to let go, "Please." he scoffs at my childish act.
"If I remove my hand will you scream?" Declan asks me with a hint of desperation in his voice. I nod my head reluctantly, the sooner he says what he needs to say the sooner I can leave and never see him again. Declan slowly removes his hand and once he's assured I won't scream he visibly relaxes.
"You're a monster." I spit out before he can say anything else.
Declan shakes his head with a soft smile on his face, "Sin told you."
"I can't believe you slaughtered your best friend's family for money." I crossed my arms, "You're sick."
"I didn't do it." he closes his eyes as if this pains him.
"So Sin lied to me about the death of his parents?" I glare at him, why the hell would Sin make up something so horrific?
"He didn't lie." Declan states and I'm absolutely lost, "He didn't lie because he honest to God believes I did...they all do but I didn't." Declan gets a faraway look in his eyes and I fear he might actually cry, "Sarah and Angelo were like my second chance parents, I loved them I would have never killed them."
"Then why does everyone think you did it?" I question him, not completely believing him and at the same time not completely disregarding him.
Declan smiles at me sadly and doesn't say anything for a few moments, the tension adding to my anxiety considerably.
"Look..." he grabs my hands and looks into my eyes deeply, "I'm leaving tonight, it's not safe here I want-no, I need you to come with me Marilyn." I shake my head at his crazy request.
"Why do you want me to come with?" I have no clue what the hell is happening today. First Sin drops a bombshell about Archer on me and then Declan asks me to runaway with me. A feeling of dread washes over me as I feel like something terrible is on the horizon.
"I love you Marilyn." Declan states and I close my eyes to begging him not to do this, "I want to take care of you and the only way I can do that is if you can with me." he squeezes my hands as he pleads with me.
"What are you running from?" I question him trying to process his first statement.
"It's not me that's in danger." he stares at me pointedly, "A war is brewing and I don't want to be anywhere near the line of fire when it does happen." Declan states and I'm left with more questions than ever before, "And I don't want you to be anywhere near it when it happens either...please Marilyn come with me." he places a soft kiss on my hand.
"You don't even know me." I shake my head as I try to hold back tears. That's all I seem to fucking do these days-cry.
Declan offers me the heartbreaking smile again, "You don't know Sin but you love him." I realize the truth in his words but I don't want to admit it. I could argue that our situations were different but I would be lying to his face.
"Declan..." I trail off stuck with not being able to say anything. "If what you say is true, if there is a war coming, I can't just abandon my friends like that I can't deal with any of them dying while I sit idly by."
Declan tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear as he gazes into my eyes, "If you stay you'll die." he clenches his jaw, "You matter more to me than any of them do."
"I can't leave." I shake my head, "I'm going to fight for my friends even if I die in the process."
"Please." Declan states but I think he finally realizes that I'm stuck in my resolve, "We can go anywhere you want in the world."
"Tempting offer." I smile sadly at him, "But I have to refuse, I hope you understand."
He shakes his head as his smile starts to diminish considerably, "I knew this would turn out this way."
"I'm sorry, besides I'm still not entirely sure I trust you." I shake my head.
"Good." Declan winks at me, "This is farewell for now then I guess, but I'll find some way to stay in touch." My stomach sinks as this becomes all too real. I'm terrified of what's to come, because if the notorious Declan Wilkinson is afraid then I should be.
"Goodbye, Willie." I offer him a quick kiss on the cheek and when I pull away he stares at me shocked.
"You remember?" He strokes my cheek gently.
"I remember." After I left Sin's house something changed and suddenly all these memories started streaming back to me. I don't know if it was the emotional stress that caused the dam to break but I remembered Declan, South Africa...and her. Albeit it was all in bits in pieces as I was 4 when all of this went down but I did remember the more memorable moments. Like playing with Declan at the beach and running for our lives with Declan.
"Hopefully we'll meet again." Declan offers me one last meaningful gaze before letting me go and walking out the door.
The second I left the closet he was nowhere in sight.
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I couldn't help myself from glancing over my shoulder and searching for Declan every few minutes hoping he would pop out of the corner and shout 'sike' and all of this would be just one sick joke. But he was never there and I had to keep snapping myself out of my stupid delusions.
I walked around the party a couple of times and tried to mingle but it just didn't feel right. Many people were tearing up the dance floor and having an all out great time-I guess the party was a success, too bad Sin wasn't here to see it all. I was completely worried as I couldn't see any of my friends. I hadn't seen any of them since the beginning of the party and it was freaking me out. After tonight's revelations I just wanted to make sure everyone was safe so I could relax. I'm sure I was freaking for no reason: Faye and Andre were probably somewhere hooking up, Jack probably found some friends and was off somewhere with them and Adella... I hadn't seen all night, I didn't even know if she was here. I was all by myself and I looked like a complete loner, I couldn't even call anyone because my idiot-self left her phone at home.
After a few more minutes of sitting around and drinking I finally grew frustrated enough to ask to borrow someone's phone.
I stand up and try to find a willing candidate as I walk around. Most people seem to be either in really heated conversations or drunk off their asses so it was hard finding someone to have a proper conversation with.
Suddenly someone bumps into me knocking their drink all over my dress.
"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" the stunning girl exclaims, "I'm such a klutz!" she looks very familiar but I can't place my hand on it.
"It's okay it's only...red wine." I cringe as I realize the stain will never come out.
"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" the girl has an almost pained expression on her face, "I feel terrible."
"Don't worry about it." I shrug it off, I probably wouldn't wear it again as I didn't go to these types of events often, "But since you're the first not drunk person I've met I was wondering if you could lend me your phone real quick?"
"Of course!" she exclaims, "My phone's in my purse...which is in my car- shit!"
"That sucks." I sigh dejectedly, "Don't worry about it though." I wave her off.
"I can run out and get it real quick!" she offers.
"That's fine; I don't want to inconvenience you." I smile at her kind gesture but deny her.
"No please, it's the least I can do." she smiles at me reassuringly.
"I don't..." I try to brush it off but she interrupts me saying it's no big deal and my desperation allows me to accept her offer graciously.
"At least let me come with you, it's really dark and I don't want anything shady to happen to you." I offer.
"Huh." she chuckles softly, "That's actually perfect."
I narrow my eyes at her weird statement but decide to brush it off. I was way too desperate to connect with all my friends that I would put up with this any of this girl's weird antics.
We make our way outside and all the while maintain relatively simple conversation, talking about school and stuff. When we finally reach her car I realize we haven't even exchanged names yet.
"I just realized I haven't introduced myself, I'm Marilyn." I state as she opens the back door.
The girl laughs loudly and I smile awkwardly it wasn't that funny but she made it seem like I belonged on Comedy Central.
"I know who you are." he kind facade drops and gives way to an uninterested look devoid of humour and suddenly I realize something is really off.
"I think I'm going to go back to the party." I remain calm even though I'm screaming on the inside.
"I don't think you will." the girl glares at me and suddenly a hand clamps around my mouth shoving a wet rag over my mouth and nosed laced with some anaesthesia. I thrash wildly while simultaneously attempting to not breath but all my actions prove fruitless as the person holding me is extremely strong and my exertion causes me inhale sharply, causing the world around me to dissipate into darkness.