Chapter 21
Declan's POV:
"What the hell do you want?" I hiss; I don't have the fucking time for this; I need to look for Ella.
"If I were you, I would watch the way you speak to me."
Anger burns inside of me. He has no right to call me, let alone tell me how to speak to him. "I'll talk to you, however, the fuck I want."
"Is that so?" He asks, amused, "I think you might want to rethink your tone."
"And why would I do that?"" I snap.
"Oh brother, brother, brother, are you really that clueless?" He chides as if taunting me.
My teeth clench, "Get to the fucking point Hayes," I'm becoming impatient. What is he talking about? I need to search for Ella, and he's taking time away from that.
"Alright, alright, calm down," He lets out a sick laugh, "You didn't do what I wanted, so I took measures into my own hands." He pauses, letting me take it all in. "Seeing as you were occupied with something else, or should I say someone else, I simply freed your schedule."
Someone else? What is he talking about?
Ella. Oh my God, he took my Ella.
"What did you do to her?" I demand, "I'm going to fucking kill you."
No, no, no, this is not happening right now. Did he hurt her? Where did he take her? She must be terrified, probably scared as hell. For that, I'm going to fucking rip him to shreds, and I swear to God if he touches a hair on her head, he'll be nothing but charred ashes in the wind.
I stumble as pain envelopes in my chest: imagining her alone and scared. Shut up. I scream to myself; I can't; I can't think like that.
She has to be okay; she has to.
"No, bad Declan," Hayes mocks as if scolding a child, "Here's how it's going to go. You're going to do what I say if you want little Ella here safe."
I hate him; I fucking hate him. He's blackmailing me like this is some sick game. I never thought he would go this far. Kidnapping, he actually went as far as kidnapping someone, my Ellie, my baby.
Rage churned through every fucking cell in my entire body, suffocating white rage. Fists squeezed into knuckles, jaw clenched, and teeth gritted. He took my Ellie away from me, he has her, and I don't even know where she is.
I should have been there to protect her, to keep her safe. Nothing can happen to her. Thinking about something hurting her, something happening to her scares the shit out of me. I can't lose her. I can't even fathom the thought.
"Don't you dare touch her," I growl, "Don't you even dare."
"Oh, Declan, little desperate Declan," He chirps, "If you want her, come get her," He challenges happily, "But I must say; you best be careful. I have a bad temper."
My nails dig into the skin of my palms; he's going to fucking pay."What do you want? Just don't...don't hurt her."
"You'll see. You got twenty minutes to get here alone." He ends, hanging up the phone.
What the hell? Once everything in my life starts to go right, something always comes up and ruins it. Hayes takes Ellie away from me, my baby. Then my mother fucking dad at Ella's house, what the hell was that?
Does Ella's family know him? Do they know about his past, what that bastard did to me? That's why Riley lives with our aunt. I won't let that scumbag near her, nor will I ever tell Hayes about her.
Taking my phone out, I send a brief text to Wes telling him to get some people here. Just then, my phone vibrates; it's Hayes sending me to an off-grid location where I'm guessing he wants me to go.
Fuck my fucking life.
*
Ella's POV:
In and out, my vision goes, dark than light, speckles then clear.
Once and awhile, my stomach rumbles with hungry pleas saying 'feed me' all the while a light pain seizes me up, draining all the energy I have. The mildew smell makes it worse, making me feel sick to my stomach.
The light above me flickers every now and then. Sometimes, I catch it; sometimes, I'm too out of it to even notice; caked blood crusts my hands and wrists, another smell that so happens to grace my nose.
One thing I'm certain of is my fear. It's a never-ending nag at the edge of my brain. I want Declan; I want his safe embrace; I miss him so fudging much. God, I hope he is alright.
My mom and Thomas must be freaking out. Surely, they must be worried. Would Julian care?
How long have I been here? What if I never leave? Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it.
I feel like such a crybaby. I always used to say I could take care of myself, and look where that got me; endless droplets of salty water leak down my cheeks. My anxiety is full-fledged, and all I can think about is everything I don't have; Declan and my family.
My dad would know what to do in a situation like this. He always knew what to do. He was my hero. He's gone, though, but more than ever, do I wish he were here.
Sitting here alone in this small room makes me think of everything. I'm stuck in my head, with memories and future thoughts. My mind all jumbled up into a big knot that can't seem to untangle itself.
That guy supposedly who is Declan's brother terrifies me. I'm afraid of what he might do to Declan. It hurts me to even think about it. I just want him to be safe. Would he even look for me? Does he feel the way I do?
He never told me he had a brother. Why didn't he tell me? Maybe because he's some psychopath who kidnaps people.
The air is cold, and because of it, I'm shivering constantly. Food would be nice, a dream right now, but I'd rather suffer than see that guy again. Him mocking me wasn't my proudest of moments. Even a blanket would be like heaven right now. Would he hurt me for being annoying?
This all feels like a bad dream, a nightmare. But it's real, more real than anything.
My body won't stop shaking, my head is throbbing, and I can't differentiate the time. Nothing is processing; it feels like there's a cloud blocking me out from my own head, and when I pass out all, I see is the past.
What is that guy going to do to me? I know he wants Declan, but after he gets him, what is he going to do to me? What's he going to do to Declan?
Stress builds up under my skin, making it hard to get air to my lungs. Will I ever be the same? Cramps settle in my stomach while my chest heaves up and down in rapid movements. I hate when I get like this. I can't control my own body, and then start to see in twos.
I need Declan; he's my rock, the only thing that takes it all away. I can't live without him.
Water pools out of my eyes as I try to shake my head to get my vision back. Nothing is working.
My body starts convulsing, and I've lost all control. I feel frozen as my body wracks uncontrollably, stuck in my body with no control of its actions. I can't breathe. I feel like I'm going to die.
Less and less aware I am, a darkening shade sheening my eyes until it's all back.
*
The sound of footsteps meets my ears, but in my weakened state, I can't place them nor see them. My vision doesn't want to work, but at least I can hear. God help me if it's my kidnapper, is he coming to kill me? At this point, I'm not sure I can care.
A door slowly creeps open. Then footsteps slap loudly against the floor. "Oh my god," Someone says, but I can't match the voice, can't find the ambition to.
Someone touches me; no lifts me up. I can feel arms securely holding me. They're carrying me somewhere. "What did they do to you." They mutter to themself. The door creaks open again, and then it is softly shut.
I try to push open my eyes, but they're glued shut, not wanting to work. The person carrying me must be strong. Where are they taking me? Again, I try to pry open my eyes, but to no surprise, they won't budge. My attempts fail each time until finally, at once, they peak open, and blinding light floods in, making them snap back shut.
"Ella," The person says, their voice is deep. A male? The next thing I know, the sound of a car door opens, and I'm lightly being set onto a seat.
"Drive," The same person barks out. The car begins to move immediately. After a couple of seconds, I try to open my eyes again, blinking a few times until my vision focuses. Finally, something other than darkness, now I can take in my surroundings while my heart thumps loudly in my chest.
Blonde hair is what I see first, then blue eyes, which are staring right into mine. Relief settles in the pit of my stomach; it's not my kidnapper.
"W-Wes," I croak out.
"Shh, you're safe now," He coos, taking my hand and squeezing it.
I send him a weak smile; then, my worry seems to rise to the surface. "Where's D-Declan? Is he okay?"
A familiar feeling of water builds is my panicky eyes. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.
The sound of my heart echoes in my delicate ears.
"He's fine," I hear him say just barely, his voice soft.
I nod not, being able to speak, somethings not right; I don't feel right. There's this spinning in my head; it's dizzying. My hands trembling becomes more prominent, noticeable to the eye. This tightness squeezes at my chest; what is happening to me?
"Hey, Ella, are you alright?"
"N—" I try to respond, but my voice disappears into a fleeting numbness encasing me up.
"What's happening?" Wes demands, his voice rising, concern written all over his face. He tries to hold my hands to stop them from trembling, but it doesn't work. I can't respond. I'm trapped within myself and can't make it stop.
Before everything leaves me completely, I hear, "Hurry up and fucking drive."
Once again, I've washed away into nothing but a sightless pit.
I feel like I'm flying. Running down the field with everyone cheering you on is like nothing else. You get this rush that words can't describe. Dribble, cut, run five feet, fake the defender out, and sprint fast.
My heart is pounding; my breathing is heavy. My legs run one foot after the other, eye on the goal. I'm going to score; nothing's going to stop me. It's only me and the goalie; ten more feet, just ten more feet.
I can feel my teammates' presence there if I need them. But I can do this: almost time, just a couple more feet.
It's time, my leg swings back, and my body tilts forward all in one motion. Bam, my foot collides with the ball. Now we watch as the air carries the ball to the net. The goalie is in the middle of the goal with her hands up, ready. We all hold our breath as we watch, fingers crossed. The field is silent.
The ball swerves to the corner, and the goalie jumps left a second too late. The ball hits the net, and cheers immediately fill my ears. The first place I look is to the crowd where my mom and dad are standing. A smile overtakes my face as I see their proud smiles.
My dad yells, "That's my girl," And my mom mouths, "We're so proud of you."
My teammates gather around me sending me high fives saying, "That was killer Ella."
"Nice shot."
"Good aim."
Joy swells in my stomach. This is the game I love, the people I love.
The referee blows his whistle, telling us to get back into positions. In the short silence, you can hear cars passing by; the road is quite close. I switch back to defense because we're already five goals ahead. The other team kicks the ball, sending the signal to start.
I get in a ready position, so at any minute, I can easily start sprinting.
A girl dribbles coming my way down the field. I inch closer but not too close, so she can't blow by me. I tilt my body just enough so I can fluctuate my direction. Sensing me creep onto her, she passes to a girl on the right.
I jog over to the right but stay back a bit, positioning myself between the girl and the goal, letting my teammate take the lead. My teammate approaches her head-on, but the girl does a quick cut, passing right by her.
Now that she got past my teammate, it's my turn. I glance around, taking in my surroundings. I jog up, keeping my distance watching her steer the ball. She kicks the ball too far ahead when really she should be making small dribbles; it's better for control.
That's a mistake.
Creeping closer, she notices me coming up on her, and quickly, she loses confidence. Her dribbles become weak and impulsive, with no actual direction. One kick too long and the ball flies right past me to no one.
I run to get it, but it goes right out of bounds.
Great, the ball is going to go into the road. Knowing it will be my throw-in, I run to go grab it. The ball rolls into the road; with the adrenaline pumping in my veins, I run to go grab it so we can start the game back up as soon as possible.
"ELLA, NO!"
But it's too late; I'm already on the road about to pick up the ball when I see the car, its feet away from me. The next thing I know is I'm free-falling, and my knees collide with the cement, shooting pain up my left leg, a loud pop meeting my ears. I cry out, and the rest of my body smashes onto the road.
Almost instantly, my vision blurs, and I hear a loud crash. I slowly lift my head to see the car on the side of the road. But what I don't expect is all the blood. Blood is everywhere. Searching to see where the blood is from, I find the source.
Air becomes choked in my lungs; tears flood down my cheeks. I'm sobbing huge sobs, my body convulsing in big quakes.
NO!
My dad lies on the ground, lifeless. Then the blackness takes me.
Edited by @Marilyn_McKnight! Thank you, I appreciate you lots!