First off I'd like to say, congrats congrats congrats to all who made it in the long list for the Wattys2018! ✨ (even tho this mad late tho)
Also this chapter hasn't been edited AT ALL. I wrote it weeks ago, and just finished it today so ;)) enjoyyyyy.
DAVID
He watched Paris over the cameras with a wicked smirk on his face. Her body was slowly giving up on her, and things had gotten so bad for her that she even stopped mumbling that nonsense about being saved by 'some woman.'
She would never make it out of here sane. He knew that for sure. And as she stayed curled up in a ball, her naked and abused body only moving as her labored breaths allowed her too, and her ribs shown through her skin, he marveled at the sight.
The sight was somehow magnifying to watch as he ran his nail along his chin, tugging at the hairs there as he watched the girl he once as a young boy admired.
"The woman is here." One of his brother's said, stepping out of the way as his current favorite person had stood in the doorway with a seductive smile on her red lips as she eyed him with a raised eyebrow.
"Now why must we continue to meet in such, endroits effrayants et sombres?" She asked, glancing around the camera room as David pulled out a chair for her, and wiped away the invisble dust in the seat.
"These scary and dark places that we meet, happen to be my home." He said, smiling at the woman as she eyed him with a curious look, as she then turned her head to the cameras in front of them, and looked at the girl that she had told the others about the day before.
"Is she still alive?" She asked, somewhat curious about the girls well being as she remembered the way that man with the long pretty hair, and fine face had reacted upon seeing the video of the girl that now, looked even worse than before.
"Did you do as I asked?" David said, examining her features for any sign of pity for Paris, as she nodded and looked back at him with her seductive brown eyes.
"I'd give it about a day or two before he goes to visit the graves of his son and wife." She said, smiling at the boy as he nodded at her words and sat back in his chair as he ran his finger through the hairs on his chin once again and smiled.
The job was getting easier and easier. Soon enough he'd get what he deserved.
"Un question." Merci said, eyeing the boy as he turned to her with raised eyebrows, and continued to caress his chin as he waited for her question.
"Why do you want the girl with the brown skin so bad?" She asked, examining his features as David let out a small chuckle and thought of his father instantly. The way he talked about the girl like she was everything pure in the world, only made the excitement build up within him at the thought of having her all too himself.
"Happy things dont always last too long in a world like this." He said, looking off into the distance as he thought about getting shot by Jackson in the past, after finding out everything he had learned about him. "Sometimes who you think is the bad guy, isnt always the worst possible person you could ever meet." His words confused Merci as she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure out what he meant as he looked back at her then.
"An innocent and torturous revenge, is all I should say." He said, with a sickly smile as then he heard those familiar soft whispers once again. And as he turned his head to look back through the window where Paris lay still, he heard her softly whispering 'She's going to save me' as she smiled in her out of state mind.
At that sight of her smiling, something within him boiled with anger as he turned to Merci and looked at her with intense eyes. "If you dont want to be traumatized, you should leave." he said, as Merci looked at him and then Paris, knowing she couldnt stay for whatever it was he had planned to do to the girl.
And as she got up from her seat, she fixed the fur coat she had on and walked slowly to the door. The slow click of her heels made the anticipation to do what David wanted, even more intense as he watched her leave.
Just as she got out the door, the heavy metal began closing behind her. And all of a sudden she heard the bone chilling screams of Paris, causing her to quickly turn around; But instead she was met with a grey door.
----
JACKSON
"You're not lying to her mate, you're protecting her." Markus whispered, as Jackson watched Ravinoff taking off the bandage from Ebony's stomach, as he felt himself wanting to be near her, even though he had only seperated from her only for a few minutes now.
"Her not knowing that the Darwins want her, and not knowing why is going to make her curious, and then when she finds out-" Jackson stopped himself, not wanting to think about such negative things when the relationship between him and Ebony had just began.
Clenching his jaw he turned to look at Eliza then, knowing that she knew something about this situation. "Why arent you speaking up about anything. You must know something." Jackson said, causing Eliza to look between him and Markus with guilty eyes as they crossed their arms and eyed her.
"Are you two a thing again?" Markus asked Eliza, as she raised her eyebrows and smacked him across the shoulder, looking him up and down as Jackson just raised his eyebrows and sighed at the random question that was completely off topic to their current discussion.
"No we're not!" She whisper yelled, causing Jackson to look at her, and then to Ravinoff, trying to see any type of connection between them.
And wondering how Markus knew about them as well.
"Even if we were it would not be any of your gotdamn business." She said, causing Markus to stay silent with a look that said all too well that he wasn't buying her excuse.
"But, regarding Ebony, it's better that she doesn't know that the Darwin's want her. Atleast not as bad as she thinks they could want her-"
"Why the hell would they want her so bad that they'd kill people for her?" Jackson took a step forward and asked, towering over Eliza as she sighed and ran her hand through her thick curls.
"It's too much to explain right here right now. And it's not safe to speak on such things especially while we're in the middle of my kitchen-"
"What are we talking about." Ravinoff said, stepping into the group as Jackson turned to look at him, and then to the living area where he found Ebony nowhere in sight.
"Where's-" As Jackson began to leave the kitchen, Ravinoff grabbed his arm and stopped him with a grin on his face.
"She went to the bathroom." He said, causing Jackson to internally smack himself across the face for worrying himself for no reason. "You need to calm down, your making her suspicious and worrisome herself. Also causing her to lose her energy, especially considering she still has a wound that cost her to lose a lot of blood." Ravinoff said, letting Jackson go as he considered his words and turned back around to the group.
"I know there's a lot of secrets between us, and a lot of answers we want from one another." Ravinoff said, his eyes finding Markus and Jackson's then, as Eliza looked away and gulped down the large lump in her throat. "As of now, those secrets are going to stay secrets for the well being of one person,"
"Ebony." Jackson said, staring at the ground as he thought about her, and he thought about how pained she'd be to find out that a lot of what happened was because of the Darwin's, and whatever reason they had with wanting her.
And the fact that Eliza was willing too hold such a key detail about why they wanted her, from them, only made things much more serious in this situation.
"Keep your traps shut until something serious happens, and at that point then we spill the beans. Okay?" Ravinoff said, as he looked at Jackson and he clenched his jaw and nodded.
And then Markus agreed as well, but Eliza stayed staring at the ground as she was stuck in her thoughts.
She thought about the dream she had. And it made her visibly shake in fear, as this was something that Eliza rarely ever felt.
Fear.
She was practically built off of courage, and boldness. For her to be afraid meant that this secret she was keeping was big, and it couldn't be shared anytime soon she hoped.
"Eliza?" Ravinoff said, touching her arm as she looked up at him with those eyes he thought he'd never see again after what happened decades ago.
And as she gulped and blinked, that emotion was gone as she looked at Jackson and Markus and then down to Ravinoffs hand that was touching her.
She didn't want to break in front of them. She couldn't let them see her walls break down, after building them for ages. Today wouldn't be that day that she let them, of all people, see through her.
And so she pulled away and ran to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
"She's acting strange mate, I've never seen such a badass acting like she's afraid of something." Markus said, looking back at Ravinoff as he clenched his jaw and shook his head.
"It takes a lot to always be such a hard body of rock. Sometimes letting emotions peek through is healthy for the body." He said, knowing his words meant something far more deeper than what he had said to Jackson and Markus as he then walked back into the living room, and looked at the window.
"Now, back to this." He said, as Jackson walked into the living room and stared at the bathroom door, wondering what was taking Ebony so long behind it.
Behind the bathroom door Ebony sat on the toilet, her head in her hands as she thought about what Jackson had said about Merci.
She wasn't dumb enough to believe what Eliza, Markus and Ravinoff were saying. But the fact that Jackson could also agree with them, made her realize that there was something that they were trying to hide from her.
Along with the constant nagging at the back of her mind that Jackson wouldn't possibly ever let her continue with what Jerry tried to teach her in defending herself.
But whatever it was that they all tried to hide from her must have been serious if Jackson lied to her.
Right to her face.
And she suddenly became upset with the thought of him lying, because she thought about her lying to him and how he'd act.
Maybe that was the way to get what it was out of him. She'd have to show him how much it hurt to be lied too.
"Ebony, you okay in there?" Jackson asked as he knocked on the bathroom door, and as Ebony stayed silent for a moment wondering if this was the perfect time to start her plan, Jackson began to twist the doorknob as she got up from the closed toilet and flushed it as she walked to the door and pulled it open with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, smiling up at him as he looked at her with those eyes that she knew he could tell that she was lying, and as she looked away and looked at the bedroom door she knew she couldn't stay out here any longer with the rest of them.
"I'm actually feeling a bit tired, so I'm going to go rest." She said, beginning to walk away from Jackson, but he stopped her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back as he looked down into her eyes then, searching them for any sign of weariness.
"Are you okay Ebony?" He asked again, hoping she didn't lie to his face once again.
And as she turned back to him fully, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Yeah, I'm fine." She whispered, smiling at him before pulling away then as he let her go despite wanting to practically force her to tell him about whatever she was holding inside of her deep down.
And as he watched her walk into the bedroom and close the door behind her, he found himself feeling hurt that she'd lie to his face like that.
Maybe she knew he was lying to her about earlier. But something within him felt like he just knew that she couldn't have known.
"Jackson come on, we've got a lot to figure out." Ravinoff had said, as Jackson shook himself out of his thoughts and turned around, walking back to the guys as he looked over his shoulder again, expecting for Ebony to call him and tell him that she was actually not okay.
Maybe she was actually okay, and it was hard for him to believe that she was doing just fine.
Or maybe just maybe, the thought of Ebony not being able to handle the truth, was what kept him from believing in her strength after all.
——
Eliza lay in the bed, staring out her bedroom window as her mind went wild with all the thoughts she had.
She never anticipated for this day to come, and this time to be the time to tell everyone about her deepest and darkest secret.
The secret was so shocking, so intense and pitiful that she knew as soon as people found out, they'd look at her different.
Much worse than they already were.
"Knock knock." The sound of Ravinoff's voice caused Eliza to look at the door as he stepped inside of her room, alone.
"I'm not in the mood to talk right now Ravinoff." She said, turning back around as she closed her eyes and clenched the pillow, feeling her heart beat at the sound of his voice and the presence of him in the room.
After everything she had done to him, he still was here. He still tried to be there for her, and she knew she couldn't let him in.
"I'm always here for you Eli." Ravinoff used that nickname that he knew would cause a reaction out of her. The nickname that she had loved to be called by, only because of him.
The nickname that once was a name she hated, because of her past. And soon grew to love, because of the future she had with him.
"You need to let me in so I can help you-"
"I don't need help. So just leave, please." Eliza said, her voice quaking as the emotions began to surface and she clenched the pillow even harder to stop herself from crying.
Ravinoff knew he couldn't just leave her like this. Despite everything they both went through, the trials, and ups and downs, Ravinoff knew one thing about her if not everything.
This was the woman he was bound to love. The woman, who after hurting him so many times, also became the only person to heal the scars she gave him.
"I'm not leaving you like this." He reached down to the bed, and touched her leg as on instinct Eliza held her breath at the feeling of his touch.
Immediate sparks came up her leg as she opened her eyes, wanting to jump up and be in his arms as she cried about her faults, and apologized for being such an evil person to him.
But her pride wouldn't let her do that. And as she tried to pull her leg out of his grip, he wouldn't let her go as he grabbed her other leg, tugging her down towards the end of the bed.
"Ravinoff please just leave me alone." She couldn't look at him, she couldn't resist his touch but she tried to as she pulled her legs away but he wouldn't let her go.
"No." He said, giving her one final tug as she came down to the end of the bed, and with that tug she grabbed the pillow and swung it at him.
"Ravinoff I told you to leave me alone!" She screamed, hitting him in the side with the pillow, as she went for another hit, and got him in the head then, as he just stood there taking the hit.
She went for another, and another, letting out her anger. And as she began to get tired, and she felt her cheeks wet with tears she dropped the pillow and stared off into space, as she realized what he had done.
"Better?" He asked, squatting down to get eye level with her as she blinked away the tears, but they continued to fall.
She looked away from his eyes and down to her shaking hands, as Ravinoff gently grabbed them and brought them to his lips as he kissed them both.
"I know you hate yourself for what you did. Not only to me, but to Ebony as well. And to your sister." He tilted her head as she looked into his eyes then, with tears in hers as he wiped them away with his thumb.
"Your constantly telling yourself, that no one deserves to love you. That you deserve every bit of pain given to you, and every harsh word thrown at you. When honestly, maybe you do deserve that." His words caused Eliza to gulp at the hard truth, especially coming from him.
And as he came a little closer, bringing her hands down to his heart, his beating heart she felt her eyes begin to water again.
"But not from me. I'll never treat you like that. I'll never hate you for anything you've done to me, because you make me like this. You gave me this heart to love you with." He looked between the both of her eyes, as more tears slipped from her own at his words.
"I'm in love with someone who doesn't want to love me because they fear they may harm me. When in all honesty, through all the pain they could cause me, I'd still love them with every ounce in my soul, and every beat of my heart. Because you gave me a reason to love. You became that reason to love, and you will always be that reason that I come back to you, even when you don't want me too. And even when you may think I won't come back, I will." His words cut Eliza deep, as she shook her head and looked back down to her hands that were in his hands, and on his chest.
"I cheated." She said, shaking her head even more as she couldn't look him in the eyes. "I cheated, and got pregnant, but not w-with your c-child." Her voice shook, and as Ravinoff answered her she found her heart aching even more.
"I know." He said, as she looked into his eyes and blinked multiple times to keep them from blurring because of the tears. "The day you told me about how the Darwin's wanted Ebony because of who her mother and father were, I knew who you were too her, and also that she wasn't of me." His eyes didn't show any type of hostility, but understanding.
And as Eliza couldn't hold back the tears this time, she let out a sob, crashing her body into Ravinoffs as he held her close to his chest. Hoping this moment would be the moment she remembered when she thought about running away from him the next time.
"We'll get through this." He said, running his hand down her back as she cried into his chest, and he kissed her head full of curls.
"I promise I'll protect you from this secret."
——
Thanks so much for reading, and I apologize on my behalf for stretching out these chapters and also TAKING 5EVER TO UPDATE! I had so much to put, and I knew I just couldn't fit it all into one chapter cause these most recent chapters (meaning my 3rd person POV ones) have been like 5K + words, meaning like 20-30 pages long, and not everyone likes to read that much.
But I would like to ask how you all are thinking of the story so far, and if there's anything you're confused about?? Just let me know and I'll try my best to clear the smoke. ;))
Once again thanks for reading and don't forget to vote, and comment what you think.
Much love y'all,
- Ellipticall ❤️