I dedicated this chapter to Aya because she helped me retrieve my deleted chapters. Thanks, girl!!!
Chapter 18
"What are you staring at?" Vicky hisses in my ear over the commotion and turns her head to see for herself.
Pft, idiot. I don't stare. I simply watch in a none-creepy way, because staring is weird. Even if I'm completely surprised that he actually came.
"Ah, Arsen Reed. You do know that's not his real name, right, Xanthe?" My head snaps towards her, and a knowing smirk is on her face.
A wave of nausea swipes over me, and my hand goes back up to my head, soaked in blood.
"How...how did you find out?" I ask. She shakes her head.
"You look a little like Xena Jacox. We know she's your twin. We've met her before, you know. And don't tell anyone I told you this, but you're connected wildly to this whole gang shit. Probably why Arsen keeps you close," She shrugs.
I would be more interested in what she was saying if my head wasn't exploding right now.
Arsen hasn't noticed me yet, and neither have any of the other guys.
I don't really see how they would, though, since there's so many of them.
Crouched down, Vicky pulls on my arm and sneaks me towards the front doors. My eyebrows shoot up, but I immediately regret it when pain surges through my head.
"Where are we going?" I say, straining over the loud noise of gunshots and yells.
"I'm helping you escape," Vicky calls back, just as loud. I wince, and she notices.
Hurrying to open the door, she eventually gets it to unlock and pulls me through, shutting it behind us. The noise of craziness from inside is abruptly cut off.
Unfortunately for me, the harsh pounding of my head takes over instead, and I have to kneel down with both my hands covering my head to shut out the pain.
"Hurry, we don't have much time. Once he realizes you're not in there, he's going to go to Sam's place. That's where Dori keeps most of his hostages," Vicky explains.
"Where are we supposed to go, Vicky? Unless you wanna have a disco party in the forest," I say, glancing slightly to the vast land of trees covering us from each side.
Vicky rolls her eyes.
"I'm helping you, Xanthe, the least you can do is be grateful," She says, quietly going down the stairs. I snort, following her.
"Why are you helping me, anyway? Aren't you supposed to hate me or something?" I ask, and she just shakes her head.
"Dorian's much like Arsen, Xanthe, the only difference is, he smiles and almost never has a plan. You're going to wait by Arsen's hired car until I can get him and his army to come out, then, I want you to tell Arsen to go to an address. I need your number in order to send you the location," She explains.
I blindly take my phone out of my jumper-hoodie's pocket - the black fabric now covered in my blood - and hand it to her after unlocking it.
She quickly types my number into her own phone and sends me a message of the address, then, helps me to the car Sarge had come to pick us up in yesterday.
Before she leaves, I stop her. "How...how old are you?" I ask, squinting to see her through my blurriness.
She smiles, probably for the first time so far.
"Same age as Arsen. Nineteen. By the way, the car's unlocked." And with that, she turns around and rushes up the stairs, back into the house where you can still hear the banging and shouting.
Wait.
Arsen's nineteen? What?! I thought he was eighteen! How was I wrong about that?
You're always wrong.
Shut up.
I pull on the handle for the back seats and climb in when it opens.
I lean my head against the headrest, but the excruciating pain doesn't stop, so I decide to just wait, my left leg jiggling up and down to distract me.
I look around his car and see his black knapsack left in a hurried mess in the driver's seat, reaching for it.
Not caring whether I'm stealing or not, I find a plain white scarf and, using the vanity mirror inside of the sun visor, wrap it around my head, going a bit light over the wound.
How convenient of Arsen to keep a nice white cloth? Unfortunately for him, it is now covered in blood.
I don't bother to clean up the side of my face since the blood has dried and I don't want to touch it. Instead, I lean back and wait.
The pain in my head is a little more bearable than before, thankfully.
I don't know how long I'd been dosed off for, but the loud banging of a bunch of car doors woke me, and I jerked up in my seat, just in time to see Arsen and Sarge getting into the car.
My heart starts to beat wildly, and my headache worsens.
Weirdly, Arsen's the one driving and not his bodyguard.
"Sarge, you know what's going to happen if you're wrong. I'm not going--"
"She'll be there, boss, stop worrying,"
"I'm not worrying. I don't worry."
"Of course not, boss, sorry. But I'm just reassuring you."
"It's not helping. So stop."
"Of course, boss."
Arsen starts the car and backs out of the place before driving onto the narrow road. I silently look back to see all the similar jeeps following. Probably his gang fighters.
I suddenly realize I have a very empty stomach.
"Is anyone else hungry, or is it just me?" I ask.
The car screeches to a halt, and both Sarge and Arsen whirl around to look at me. Sarge looks so surprised it's almost as if he's about to pass out. Arsen's cold, amber eyes burn with extraordinary passion as he glares at me angrily.
Damn, I missed that look.
"Impossibile, è un Fantasma," Sarge mutters under his breath in Italian. Arsen doesn't look towards his bodyguard, his eyes are locked onto me.
"Well?" I ask, grinning at Arsen and completely ignoring Sarge.
An unknown emotion that I have never seen before whirls around Arsen's eyes, and he turns back around, continuing his drive.
If I'm not mistaken, it's almost as if he's going faster than he was before. Purposely. And I definitely didn't miss that long scan he gave to the side of my face, a bone ticking in his sharp jaw.
"No hug or kiss?" I ask, smirking.
I see his foot press harder on the pedal, and I'm thrown back in my chair as the car goes way past its speed limit.
I notice his jaw clenching and unclenching and his knuckles going white from holding too hard onto the wheel.
I smile.
Although I'm still wondering why he's angry.
He could be angry at Dorian, you know.
Nah, I'm more important to him.
Are you, though?
My heartbeat quickens as I realize that maybe Arsen didn't want to find me, and everything Dorian said in that room comes rushing back.
He said Arsen didn't want me, that he just wanted to use me. Like he used all those other girls.
Dorian said that Arsen killed my sister.
But he didn't. I know he didn't. Dorian was just bluffing to make me have second thoughts. To make me change sides. Obviously, Arsen wouldn't do that.
But then, why did that man, Farah, call him Turner? And what did he mean by Arsen 'always changing names'?
The car comes to a slow stop, and I look out to see the familiar street where Aisha's house stands. I smile.
My moment of happiness lasts less than two seconds after I realize Arsen is already out of the car.
He slams his side of the door shut and I watch him take the steps two at a time, entering the house.
I come out of the car and follow Arsen's lead, taking the steps two at a time, feeling Sarge's presence behind me.
I pause, and so does Sarge.
"Hello, Sarge," I say, whirling around and smiling at him. "Did you miss me?" I ask. He smiles back.
"Sì. Boss was not his self when you were gone," He tells me. I snort.
"He doesn't exactly seem happy to have me back," I reply. He shakes his head.
"Arsen doesn't know how to show his emotions very well. Haven't you noticed? He's a very different man from the others. I think it is dangerous that you follow him everywhere," Sarge says.
My anger flares as I realize he said exactly what Dorian and Vicky had said before. That I follow Arsen around like a lost puppy.
"I do not. I hate Arsen! He hates me! You know that more than anyone, Sarge," I say. He just sighs and shakes his head.
"You need to have that head of yours checked, bambina, or the bleeding will get worse," He says, before walking past me and into the house. I stay there for a while.
Does he think it's dangerous that I follow Arsen around everywhere?! Well, guess what? I think it's dangerous that he follows Arsen around everywhere, too!
I agree with Sarge. You need to get your head checked.
Ugh. Shut up.
I walk into the house and shut the door behind me. Throwing off my boots and slowly going up the stairs, I enter the bathroom inside my guest bedroom.
I glance at myself.
Wow. I'm a right mess.
My hair is all tangled up in its ponytail. Fortunately, only a slight bit of blood got onto it.
The jumper-hoodie that Ameena let me borrow, however, speaks for itself.
The fabric is wet and sticky and completely soaked. It's gross.
I take off the white - now blood-red - scarf slowly off my head, but harsh pain shoots through my head, and I immediately tighten it again, sucking air in from between my clenched teeth, my eyes squeezed shut.
"Let me."
I turn to see Arsen standing there, his fiery amber eyes cold, and void of any emotions.
I let him step towards me.
His warm, firm hands bring themselves around my head, and he slowly unties the scarf, a strong waft of Starburst's smell drifting up my nose. The pain comes back, but I keep my eyes glued to his.
His cold, fiery, amber eyes.
I don't even realize he's taken it off until he throws it in the bin.
Next, I see him turn to grab tissues and a type of liquid. He dips the wad of tissues inside of it and slowly applies it to the side of my face, his other hand caressing my cheek softly.
My heart flutters, and at that moment, I don't even care if it stings.
He cleans up the side of my face and grabs a sterile pad, holding it by the edges. Slowly, he puts it on top of my wound and uses sticky tape to hold it in place.
His eyes drift down to mine, and I can almost hear a faint click as they lock into place.
That emotion I saw before comes back, and all the doubts I ever had flush away.
My heart beating, him, and his hands on my face are the only things I can comprehend at that moment.
His thumb strokes my cheek, my mind turning hazy.
At first, it's because the fluttery feeling in my stomach makes me want to faint, but then, the hazy feeling turns intense.
Everything starts to look blurry all of a sudden, and a different type of tempo starts to beat in my heart.
"Arsen, I--I see three of you," I say softly.
Almost as if on cue, my eyes slowly drift shut and I fall into him.
His arms tightening around me is the last sensation that I feel before letting the darkness consume me as I faint from the pain.
At least now I'm safe with Arsen.
*~*~*~*~*
When I wake up, I'm back in my bed. I shoot up.
Ouch, my head.
How did I get here? Where's Arsen?
I look around the darkroom. Getting up, I turn the curtains back to see it raining heavily, once again.
When I realize Sarge's car isn't there, I start to panic.
Rushing out of the room and down the hallway, I knock on Arsen's door rapidly. When he doesn't answer, I barge in to see everything neat and tidy and completely empty.
I decide to check downstairs.
I mean, he couldn't have abandoned me just yet, right? He still has to feed me.
Diminishing all thoughts of him being possessed by a demon, I run into the kitchen to see Ameena's mom sitting there, drinking tea from a pretty blue cup, something written on it in what I can only imagine as Urdu.
She looks up and gives me a warm and genuine smile.
"Hey, Xanthe. How is your head?" She asks, her motherly voice calming me down a bit. I sit down in front of her.
"A little better, I guess. The pain's stopped thankfully," I tell her. She nods.
"Good to know. What's got you so panicked?" She asks. I give her a nervous laugh.
"Just...where did Arsen go?" I ask. She smiles.
"Said something about going to teach somebody a lesson. You never know with him. Do you want anything to eat? Or drink?" She asks, getting up and dunking her cup into the dishwasher.
I give her a grateful smile. "No, I'm good. Thank you."
Sighing, I rub my eyes with the palm of my hands. When I open them, Aisha's looking at me.
"I know what happened, Xanthe," She says softly. My eyebrows shoot up.
"What happened?" I question curiously. She smiles lightly.
"You were kidnapped while visiting your sister's grave," Aisha answers, leaning against the counter, looking more like Ameena than ever. I sigh.
"So you know everything else, too?" I ask. Aisha laughs.
"My daughter is a part of it, Xanthe, of course I know. Ameena's known Arsen for fourteen years," She explains. My jaw drops.
"No way! Does that mean...oh, my God, have you met Arsen's family?" I ask, getting excited. Aisha laughs again.
"Of course, I have! I used to go to school with his mother. We weren't the best of friends, but our kids turned out to be. Ameena's father didn't approve of her associating with boys, and at the time, I don't think I did, either," She shrugs. My eyebrows shoot up.
"Wow." I mumble. Aisha nods.
"Why did you stay, Xanthe?" She asks suddenly.
I look up. "Huh?"
"With the gang. Why'd you stay?"
"I don't know," I shrug. "I guess because I have nowhere else to go, and I wanted a little more...something, in my life. I was tired of being hunted down by my step-father all the time."
Aisha nods, thinking about it for a while.
I can't believe Arsen's known Ameena for fourteen years! Why does that seem so much to me? Probably because it is. That's like most of their lives. So far.
"Xanthe, if I were you, I would leave as soon as I got the chance," Aisha says. I give her a confused look.
Why is she saying that? Is she trying to scare me? Because, ha, I don't get scared.
Yeah. You do.
Shut up.
"Why?" I ask, interested. She shakes her head.
"The gang's fine, Xanthe, it's really Arsen you should be staying away from. He's not himself anymore. He's a man living on ice and fire. He's dangerous. And I wouldn't recommend following him around everywhere like--"
"A lost puppy, yeah, I know," I sigh, shaking my head. "Why is everyone saying that?"
"Saying what?"
"That Arsen's dangerous and that I shouldn't know him," I say. Aisha laughs tightly.
"Because they're right, Xanthe. He's done things you wouldn't ever be able to forgive. He's got a past, like all of us," She tells me.
I remember Dorian telling me the exact same things, and shiver.
It's almost as if they have the same brains.
Wait, no. That's just weird.
It's almost as if they have the same thoughts.
Maybe they're right. All of them. Maybe Arsen really isn't himself anymore...
Then again, I never knew any other Arsen than the one I know now, so they could completely be wrong. But they've known him much longer, so maybe I should be having second thoughts.
You're making no sense, dipshit.
Shut up, voice-in-my-head-who-I-have-no-idea-why-is-still-here.
Ugh, you weirdo.
I give Aisha a curious look.
"What do you think of Arsen?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. She laughs.
"I think of him as a son, Xanthe, since I've never had one of my own. He's helped me with a lot of stuff before, and in return, I've promised to keep him a secret."
Wow. He must be that popular, huh?
"Arsen's, what, a famous gang leader or something?" I ask sarcastically. Aisha nods her head.
"Yeah, he is. The youngest Wanted criminal so far," She says, confirming my thoughts. My blood runs cold.
Right. I guess there is a possibility that Arsen's a much more terrifying and dangerous human than I'm letting on to believe. But he's helped me, too.
Surely I can't be on his bad list just yet, right?
I shrug. "I'm not scared of him, Aisha. He's just a normal guy who's misunderstood."
At this, Aisha gives out a loud laugh, making me smile. She adjusts her hijab so that her hair isn't stuck in her hoop earrings that are peaking from the sides.
"He isn't misunderstood, Xanthe. Everyone knows what's wrong with Arsen, and he knows what's wrong with himself. You should be scared of him," She says, giving me a knowing smile.
I clear my throat.
"So, Arsen's not the good guy in this little gang feud?" I'm dreading her answer.
"No, he isn't."
Great. I follow around dangerous bad guy who is apparently famously Wanted.
Anything else they wanna tell me?
"Oh, and I suggest you watch your back, Xanthe. When Arsen gets attached, he doesn't ever let go."
_________________________________________________________________________
3016 words.
To those of you who know what I'm talking about...I'M FRICKING BACK, PEOPLE!!!
Long story short, I lost some chapters and recovered them with the help of an amazing friend.
Just a quick recap of the last few chapters.
SUMMARY: 'Xanthe and Arsen come to visit Canada for four days. Arsen, because he has some business, and Xanthe because she wants to visit her sisters grave. Whilst visiting said grave, she gets kidnapped, again, and is taken away by a man who betrayed Arsen, Dorian Cahill.'
In this chapter, the day is Saturday.
In the story, tomorrow will be Sunday.
This chapter just shows her escapar and a little about what Arsen's really like from a woman who's known him for almost ever.
Thanks for reading! Remember to...
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