*Theres an Important A/N at the end! So stay tuned*❤️
JACKSON
Jackson didn't know what to do with the information. On one hand he wanted to run to Ebony, and save her from those men. But on the other, he didn't want to act impulsively.
He arrived back at the bar with the information in his pocket as he clutched the slip of paper, pondering this 'deal' that he and Danieli had made.
For some reason it seemed too easy to be true.
As he entered the bar he noticed how empty it felt, and how cold it was inside. He saw the images that still sat on the counter, as well as an open bottle of water.
He checked the time on his watch, seeing that it was late at night and knowing that if he wanted to get out to the location by the morning, he'd have to leave tonight.
He made his way to the back room, as he pushed the door open the sight of Markus and Paris, pressed up together caused him to let out a sigh.
The thought of them both being under the hands of the Darwin's, having experienced the brutality of their ways, and yet living to tell the story never once crossed Jackson's mind up until now.
His main mission was always to find Ebony, and ask questions later. He needed to take a break, but he knew that he just didn't have the time too.
Instead of breaking Markus and Paris away from each other, Jackson turned back into the bar and grabbed a sheet of paper as he wrote down the information he had just gotten from Danieli.
He left the sheet on the counter and went into the armory, where he grabbed what he needed.
By tomorrow evening he'd have Ebony back. He'd defeat the enemy at hand, and have her back in his arms.
If all goes to plan, that would be the mission. He'd stop at nothing to get back the heart that Ebony had brought back to life.
——
Ebony
"H-how is this-" Ebony felt tears slip from her eyes at the sight of this girl that looked exactly like her.
Everything about her was the same as Ebony. No matter how many times she tried blinking, or even hoping to wake up from this nightmare, this girl was her.
In the flesh and blood.
"Eliza is your real mother, as you already know. But while you were in the care of your Aunt, Eden, your sister here was being taken care of by Eliza up until we got her." David said with a sick smile as Ebony let out a shaky breath, feeling her heart shatter at the realization of everything.
"My men killed Eliza the day she was going to tell you about your sister here, because we needed this reunion to be just as special, as it is right now." Ebony couldn't take her eyes off of the girl, by the way she looked Ebony knew that she was the girl in those photos.
The girl that was being abused, for her. The girl who in the pictures that were sent to Jackson, made him think it was actually Ebony.
"Say hello to your sister." David said, resting his hand on Eves shoulder as she flinched, and progressed towards Ebony on shaking legs.
"Hello sister, my name is Eve." Eve bowed her head down at Ebony, as Ebony couldn't fight the tears that pooled at the rim of her eyes as she wished she could move her arms at this moment.
"Eve?" Ebony whispered, as Eve kept her head down, and closed her eyes.
"I'm so sorry." Ebony continued, as the tears now fell down her cheeks as she tried to break free from the ropes that confined her to the chair. "I-I'll get us out of here. I promise Eve, I-"
"You will?" Eve said, looking up to her sister as Ebony could see the innocence in her eyes. The purity despite all the pain shes experienced, she still had that one thing that made her truly innocent.
Hope.
"Get her out of here." David said, as his men grabbed Eve then as Ebony tried to pull herself out of the chair.
"EBONY!" Eve screamed, as they then dragged Eve by her hair, as she cried and tried to fight against them.
"EVE!" Ebony then screamed after her sister, as her cheeks were wet as she watched her sister get dragged away, and the metal door close.
Leaving David and Ebony alone, once again.
"That got you all riled up, didn't it." David said with a smile as he eyed Ebony, who stared at the ground with watered eyes, as she breathed heavily.
"What a conjunction that you've caused. Running away from one person, with the hopes of protecting them. Then putting yourself in the hands of their enemy, because you don't want anyone else to get hurt because of you. Only to find out that you've caused as much pain, and suffering not only to one person that you love, but to your other half as well." David let out a breathy laugh as he leaned over, clutching his stomach at the realization of his plan actually going to par.
"Did you know that I too had a twin?" David calmed down then, as he sat in the corner of the room, resting his hands on his knees as he picked at the loose fabric of his distressed jeans. "We didn't look much alike, but it did fool a couple of people when the photos of his death went around and your boy thought it was me."
At those words Ebony looked at David, through blurry eyes, realizing what he was saying then, and putting the pieces together.
"While I was in the outside world, playing little brother to Jackson, he was in here being abused by my father. And do you want to know the reason why?" David's eyes found Ebony's, as she gulped and kept her stare even with his. "It was because he was too innocent for the outside world, is what my father would say. It would be too easy for him to get distracted and never complete the mission." David shook his head as he clenched his jaw at the memories.
"That's what led to Davids death I suppose. His innocence and naivety caused his fatal end." David got up from the ground then, and wiped the dust off his clothes as he pulled up a chair right next to Ebony.
"You see me and you, aren't much different. I've experienced abuse, just as much as you have. I've brought out a new side of Jackson, just as much as you have as well. We're one in the same babygirl, that's why we're meant for each other. To continue our legacy, replenish what could easily end up as an extinction on both of our parts." Ebony felt the air leave her system at his words.
"You have no one left, and I have no one as well. Besides my father that is, and your sister, but we both know that that old man can't have anymore kids and your sister, with the state she's in, won't make it out in the real world." David joked as if the situation that Ebony was in, wasn't as dire as it was.
"I don't want to be with you." Ebony said, her voice laced with venom as she eyed David, who's expression hadn't changed one bit as he shrugged and pointed at the screen.
"So you want to be with that idiot out there? The one who knows nothing about you, but just because you two fucked you think your in love?!" David's voice rose then, as he was getting irritated with Ebony.
He had yet to lay a hand on her, and she was truly pushing his temper.
"I've meant to ask, how was he by the way?" His mood switched yet again as he smirked at Ebony, touching her arm as she shivered out of fear of his touch, and gulped as she clenched her jaw.
"He was your first also, am I right? The first man to invade you, and claim you as his. It must have been so easy to get you to open your legs. A weak, broken girl as you were. Saved by a strong masculine man with ink on his skin and a dark past to match it. You must have been turned on from the start. Waiting for him to kiss you at just the right moment, and be in just the right mood." Ebony was shaking now as her jaw was clenched so tight that she felt her teeth begin to quiver.
"And then he fucked you, and you came running here for me to do the same-"
"STOP IT!" Ebony screamed, as she spit a wad of saliva right in between David's eyes as he stepped back in shock, and wiped it away with his sleeve.
"That's like the fourth time this month that I've been spit on." He chuckled and looked at Ebony, who was staring at the ground again. "Don't worry though, out of all of the people who've spit on me, yours was the most enticing." David said as he pinched Ebony's thigh, and she hissed out in pain.
"There is a plan set in stone for this to go just the right way you know. Your sister gets freedom, and you don't have any more blood on your hands as well." David got up from the his seat then, and paced around Ebony as she listened to what he was saying, despite the anger she felt emit from her skin.
"Jackson can walk away from here, alive. And you and your sister, will never have to experience pain ever again."
The deal sounded tempting, and as Ebony felt her breathing calm down, she thought about it. Knowing that this deal wouldn't be easy, at all.
"What's the catch." She whispered, as David chuckled and stopped right in front of her as Ebony raised her head to look up at him.
"What you decide now, will impact what happens in the future. Either for the good, or the bad."
——
Merci
She watched as Jackson waited for the train. The way his knee continued to bounce up and down was a clear sign that anyone could tell that the man was nervous about something, or in a hurry.
The duffel bag he carried was most likely filled with weapons and materials for the journey he'd make to go and save Ebony.
She took another swig of her cigarette, and at the sight of the oncoming train she dropped it to the ground and stomped it out as she made her way through the crowd of pedestrians, to the train as Jackson got on, and she followed en suit behind a couple of other passengers.
The attire she wore was different than her usual. The black overcoat made her fit in with the rest of the crowd, and the large black fedora she had on provided a shadow, covering her appearance.
As she watched Jackson take a seat in one of the last cars, she followed and took the seat right in front of him, making sure not to reveal her face as she was glad the fedora gave that right amount of promiscuous shadow to hide her identity.
As she picked up the magazine from the table, she used it as a curtain of sorts to hide herself as well as snoop on Jackson as he stared out the window, surveying the surrounding scene.
If he needed to run away with Ebony, and couldn't get to a train they'd have to make it on foot. And knowing the layout of the forest would be better in the long run.
He turned back to the table in front of him, reaching for the newspaper, but it instead was in the hands of the woman before him.
The woman with red nails, and a familiar scent of perfume.
"I thought we wouldn't meet again." Jackson said, sitting back in his seat as he crossed his arms and surveyed the woman across from him.
"And I thought you weren't dumb enough to go on this trip alone." Merci set the newspaper down, and leaned forward in her seat, as she rested her hands on her knee.
"What I do shouldn't concern you. Now should it?" Jackson watched the way she slowly sat back then, and sat very still. The way the shadow of the hat she wore covered her face made this meeting much more questionable then it should have been.
"I warned you of Danielis tactics. You think this is an easy mission." Merci lifted her head, as she leaned forward once again, coming into the beam of the moons light as half of her face was illuminated then. "It is not." She breathed, staring deep into the eyes of Jackson, as he only saw her pale skin and her chapped red lips.
"What did he do to you." He asked, changing the subject as Merci clenched her jaw and sat back in her seat, as she shook her head and turned to look out of the window.
"What does it matter to you. Either way I'm ruined by him. There is no difference in the amount of pain I will have to live with, by telling you anything." Merci blinked away the emotion that came to her eyes as she watched the onset of trees swiftly go by. The green forest, and the hues of browns and black shadows seemed to calm her as she remembered that dark time in her life.
"You don't have to say anything for me to understand." Jackson said, turning to stare out the window as well, as he thought about the events that have occurred up until this moment.
"Abuse is the mistake of mixing pain with love." Jackson then looked down at his hands, as he remembered the feeling of Ebony's skin against his own while out stretching them.
He remembered the first time ever meeting her, the bruises on her skin and the way she shivered against him out of fear, as she always apologized.
"It's the words of meaningless 'I love you's', and the harsh statements of 'this is your fault' that cause you to think that you are the reason for this pain. That you should always apologize for everything you've done." Jackson rubbed his hands together as he let out a deep breath, wondering if Ebony felt that way in any shape or form when she was with him.
"For most of my life, I've had one mission. To defeat the Darwin's, and earn the vengeance that I thought I needed, to avenge someone I thought was my blood." He let out a dry laugh then, as Merci listened with keen ears, wondering why he decided to open up to her, but not daring to question it.
"And then I met someone who took away all thoughts of that vengeance. That pain that I wanted to inflict onto another person. That underlying sense of an abusive nature that I had, she took it all away." Jackson's looked up to Merci, seeming to stare right into her eyes despite only seeing the dark shadow that covered them, as she clenched her jaw and felt her eyes burn.
"She made me become human again. When I thought I was only a monster out for blood. Ebony, she-" Jackson dropped his head, averting his eyes from Merci as he felt his throat catch and his eyes sting, as he bounced his knee to calm himself.
"What I'm getting at, is to not let your pain eat away at you. Confront it, and remove it's claws from your back." Jackson grabbed his bag then, as he got up.
"And you?" Merci whispered, staring at the seat he once resided in. "Have you, Jackson, removed the painful claws from your back?" Her eyes drifted up slowly to him, as she eyed the black sweater he wore, knowing that they covered up the ink he had.
The ink that permanently engraved his pain into his skin.
At Merci's words Jackson didn't respond, as he walked away, moving to another rail car as Merci watched him. When he was out of sight, she clenched her hands to resist letting more tears fall.
But one after the other, they continued to slip from her eyes. And as the rain pattered on the window, and she stared at her reflection, she saw herself for who she truly was.
Broken, just as every other girl and child she's seen in that dungeon of the Darwin's. The bruises and cuts she tried covering up with makeup, she saw right through it.
It was all because of him, Danieli. He had promised her a life of luxury, and of peace.
All she ever wanted was peace.
But then she got stuck with agony.
——
Ebony
She'd spent hours watching the screen recording of her sister sleeping as she pondered everything that David had told her.
Everything about the deal he proposed, the information about his brother, how similar they were, she thought about it all. And how this one decision could change the lives of the people she cared for so deeply, by either saying yes or no.
But they would be free. Jackson would live, and love again. And Eve would be free. No more pain, no more torturing.
Her eyes watered as she remembered Jackson's words. The recording of his conversation with Merci caused a deep pain to her chest as she bent over and let out soft sobs.
The thought of him thinking that she was afraid of him, hurt her as she imagined how much it hurt him. The way he confided in a way to Merci made her let out another deep sob, as she kept her mouth shut as to not let out a single peep, and cause David to find humor in her misery.
Her lungs felt like they were closing as she stayed bent over, letting the tears hit the ground as she suppressed the bone crushing sobs she held back.
It would be a day from now that Jackson would be here, to try and save her.
A day from now that he'd retrieve the love of his life back, Jackson thought.
It would be a day that would change the both of Ebony and Jackson's lives, for the worst.
——
Okay but like is this suspenseful or what? Am I really doing something here guys??
We're forty chapters deep, and I just now am feeling like I got the grip of this story.
I'm low key loving how this is turning out, although it's kind of dark and stuff, but it's what I've been wanting to do from the jump.
Question timeeee (since I haven't done it in a while lmao)
- What do you think was the relationship between Merci and Danieli?
- What type of deal did David make with Ebony?
- Do you think Ebony will accept it? Or will she have a plan of her own under her sleeve?
Those are all the questions I have in the mean time, as you can see I've been trying to put many other perspectives into the story, and you may just see a couple different perspectives from Eve, and Danieli in the next upcoming chapters.
But the next two chapter guys, whew chileeee, just be prepared.
I also wanted to let you all know, if you haven't read the message I posted on my board, I did create a Depop account to earn a few extra coins here and there. I would greatly appreciate it if you all who also have a Depop to follow me on there, as well as take a look at some of the clothes I plan on selling. There isn't much right now, but soon there will be a lot of cute stuff. The link to my Depop is under my description here on Wattpad, as well as on my board in the message I posted.
Tbh I'm really trying to make some money for this trip I got coming up in 2020, you know what I'm sayinnnn. Graduation trip for ya girl, and the job just ain't cutting the cheques. 💀 lmao, but yeah.
Thanks so much for reading and for all of the support! As always, I love you guys so much and continue to stay blessed up!
-Ellipticall 🌻