Chapter 41
The car pulls up into a neglected driveway, and I tilt my head slightly to see the building - and of what it's become.
Damn, it's a complete goner and those parties...
I shudder slightly as I get out - and not because it's cold. Although it is.
I make my way up the broken, cracked path, noticing the dead plants and overgrowing weed. Once I reach the front door, I'm about to lift my hand up to knock, until I realize the door is completely hanging off its hinges.
So then, where's all the noise coming from?
I slowly creak open the door, noticing the broken down walls and crumbling ceiling.
Wow.
My hair stands on edge as an upbeat roar of more than one person is heard down the hall of what used to be a gorgeous home.
I slowly step over to what I think I can remember as the main living room and open the door slightly.
I'm almost surprised to see a bunch of men and women sitting around the TV and watching the basketball game - makes me want to laugh.
That's when I spot him. All smiles and innocent. Punk.
Barging into the stupid room, I grab him by the collar and glare at him right into his deep, blue eyes.
I ignore the fact that everybody has quietened down.
"Uh...excuse me?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. My hands squeeze into fists around his collar, almost causing him to choke.
"Do you know where Jerome Fitzgerald is?" I growl, and he lazily smirks, looking around the room and winking.
A few 'whoos' go up, and I do the first thing I can to control my anger.
I punch him.
But! In my defence, I only did that because it was a spur of the 'what would Arsen do' moment, and this came to mind.
He tumbles back, eyes widen as he holds his jaw. Whispers go around the room, and his eyes darken.
"Can we take this outside, you little bitch?" He hisses back just as low. I roll my eyes.
"Whatever," I mutter, spinning on my heels and wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.
My gun was safe in my pocket.
Once we're outside, he shuts the door behind me and leads me into another room, the noise of everybody else rising up again as they completely forget what just happened two seconds ago.
Good. This can not get back to my boss. Arsen will most definitely...murder me.
"Can you tell me who the fuck you are and what the fuck you want?" Jerome suddenly blows up, and I look at where he brought me.
The room is dim, since there's no lighting, and the sofa is so torn down and faded I actually feel sorry for it. But then again, it is the only furniture in the room, so it'll live.
A few more days.
"You really don't remember?" I ask, almost feeling ashamed to think I felt a little hurt.
He rolls his eyes. "I've been jailed for a fucking year, little bitch. You think six months is enough for me to catch up with the fucking world?!" He hisses, leaning down and glaring at me.
I swallow at the close proximity but scoff anyway.
"Right, I'm sorry. You must've forgotten about the many girls you hurt, abused - tortured - before going into ja--actually, that's the whole reason you went to jail!" I laugh sarcastically, glaring at him and folding my arms.
Only so he can't come any further.
He looks the same. Hair's a little longer, and he looks a little taller. His eyes are the same, dazzling blue--
Snap out of it, hairballs!
Ah. Yes.
Suddenly, Jerome leans back, and a slow smirk spreads across his face. I swallow again but don't let him see.
"Ah, so, you finally met your wrecker, huh? Guess what, little bitch, out of the many girls I hurt, abused - tortured - you're the only one I missed dearly. Feeling special?" He grins, a sadistic glint to his eyes.
I try not to think of him that way and glare at him harder.
"I'm gonna make you pay, asswipe, I promised I would. I promised my sister, my friends, myself."
He cackles suddenly. "I heard about your sister! Tell me, how's she doing in hell? Must be feeling quite hot, don't ya think?"
My chest flares and I shove him into the wall, hard, glad that I took him by surprise. He just laughs some more.
"My God, you girls are so pathetic and overdramatic. It happened a year ago, little bitch, get over yourself and move on!" He pants, rubbing his shoulder. I smile at his pain.
"No, no, we girls are not pathetic and overdramatic. In fact, if we were, I wouldn't be the only girl here. But, I am. And I'm here for something else."
I hold up the photo I was clutching tightly in my hand. His eyes widen.
"Shit."
He tries grabbing it from me but I pull it away instantly, clearly knowing he was going to do that. When I give him a smirk, he narrows his eyes.
"Where the fuck did you get that, you little cunt?" He growls, trying to reach forward and get it again.
I sigh. "Well, I was looking over your texts. You know, the entertaining ones you sent me - I'm guessing you asked Mr. Bean for help. Anyway, I had a slight idea of what you'd done. Everything you said was literally about Arsen. So, I decided to investigate."
I smile at him, and he mimics it, making me look ugly. I roll my eyes and carry on.
"You see, Arsen protects me. He protects his gang. Most importantly, he protects himself. But he doesn't know about this, surprisingly. I just wanted to pass on the favour. He's close to me, and I hate it when someone like you picks on a person like him. He's the better one, by the way."
This time, he rolls his eyes. I mimic his eye roll, making sure it looks ugly.
"I hate what you did, asshole. I know you, and I know you wouldn't leave a crucial piece of evidence like this lying around. So, when I grabbed you by your very sweaty collar, I found it tucked into the front pocket of your jeans and saw my chance to grab it." I smile sweetly.
This time, he returns the smile, nicely and my heart breaks in two.
"What?" I hiss, not liking it. He walks up to me and puts a hand on each of my shoulders.
"Oh, my little bitch. Have you forgotten who, exactly, taught you these cool little con-tricks? We dated for one and a half year, that's the most I've gone dating anybody. No wonder you're special."
He lifts up the piece of card that the picture is printed on, and my heart sinks into the soles of my comfy boots.
Damnit.
I try lunging for it but that only causes me to fall into his arms, and he looks down at me, giving me that smile of his again.
My heart flutters as he leans down, his minty breath fanning against my face.
That hasn't changed.
"I still want you back, baby. But now, for something completely different," He whispers. I give him a sweet smile.
"I'm gonna wipe my ass with you," I hiss back. He just laughs and rolls his eyes.
"I've had men watching you for a while now, well, technically, I didn't know it was you-you, I just told them to track a girl named Xanthe Jacox. This is what lead me to finally know what's going on in this little gang of yours," He cackles mischievously.
I pull out of his grip and back away.
"What's going on, exactly?" I ask.
"You're in Killahead, little bitch. The most ruthless gang to be alive. Everyone's after you guys. Interpol, NYPD, FBI - even the CIA."
I raise my eyebrows. "And?"
That information wasn't new.
"Well, when a person from Killahead wants something, they're most likely to get it. And this isn't just Arsen we're talking about. This is everyone. Those dipshits kill to get something - or in this case, someone - they want. A lot of people are about to die."
He smiles.
I roll my eyes.
"You realize you're making no sense, asswipe?"
"You just don't understand basic feelings."
"You're right. Thanks for that, by the way."
"I didn't do anything."
"You did."
"Didn't."
"Did! Look, just tell me what you're trying to say!" I cry, exasperated. He smirks.
"Noah and Xander like you, Kade and Donard like you, Arsen...you ask him that, and...well, Max likes you, too," He shrugs. I freeze for a minute.
Wait--
"And, sorry, forgot to mention, your mom does too, unfortunately for you. These gangs have been competing forever to keep you for themselves. I feel real, mad sorry for ya," He laughs.
I glare and again, shove him hard in his chest.
"You know, I always thought you were the jealous type. But I didn't ever think you'd stoop so low as to insult people you've never even met! All of your bullshit is getting on my nerves," I hiss, hating every second of looking at him.
Maybe he's speaking a bit of truth.
Never. He's just...not.
"Listen, puppy, I can take you out quicker than a tsunami, and Arsen won't be here to save your little, bitchy ass," He smirks, coming towards me slowly.
I scoff, my heart racing out of slight fear.
"You're not the only person who thinks he's changed, Jerome," I point out, and he rolls his eyes.
"Oh, I know. You're way different. You cut your hair short, your face is prettier, body's hotter...but, you're also braver. I want you back, Xanthe," He glares at me, and I shake my head.
"Really? Maybe I care, maybe I don't. But my job right now is one thing only. Get that photo back." I tell him, pointing at his hand. He just smiles happily.
"Never gonna get it," He laughs.
I sigh defeatedly and turn around, walking to a wall and sitting down against it, my knees pulled up and face drooped like an actual puppy.
Jerome's face falls. "What?" He asks, walking up to me and leaning down.
I force myself to look into his eyes. "Nothing."
"It's clearly not nothing, little bitch," He snorts, but his tone is soft. I try to hide my smile when I realize my experiment is working.
"Jer, it's just...it may not seem like it but I missed you," I say quietly. Emotions flash through his eyes, and I take this as my chance.
I lunge forward and grab the picture from his hand, pushing him down onto the floor as I race for the exit.
I stop in the doorway, and Jerome gathers himself up, standing and glaring. Guilt fills my body from head to toe.
"Never toy with my feelings, little bitch," He growls, walking towards me slowly. I swallow, taking a step back, out of the room and into the dark hallway.
"You messed with mine, Jerome. I'm just trying to play karma," I say, memories flitting through my mind. He shakes his head.
"This is different," He laughs maniacally. I gulp and reach for my gun, but freeze when I realize it isn't there.
I look up to see a crazed, psycho smile on Jerome's face. He lifts my gun up to my head.
"You still love me, Xanthe. When our Alaska school trip came to an end, I told you I'd come back here in a year, every time we came to a party in this house, I'd tell you this is where I'm going to stay. And you remembered."
He grabs my face and pulls it towards him, looking absolutely deranged. My heart races on its own accord.
"I only remembered because I had my revenge planned out," I hiss, not giving him the satisfaction of my fear.
He was right.
Arsen wasn't going to come and save me. He doesn't know about this place. Nobody does. Not even Xena - she didn't attend the trip.
Why do I rely so much on Arsen? I'll show him that I can fend for myself! He'll be smiling with adoration!
I lift up my knee and bring it forward, kicking him right in his ding-a-ling. Jerome puffs out air as his eyes widen and he breathlessly falls to the ground, my gun clattering.
I grab it immediately and point it towards him, my hands shaking slightly.
"You messed with me, Jerome, and you messed with Arsen," I glare at him. "So now, I'm gonna mess with you."
I try to remember how Arsen taught me, and point my gun in the three spaces.
CPH. Chest, Pride, Head.
Taking a deep breath, I shoot him exactly there in exactly that order. The second one making it harder for me since his heart-wrenching cries of pain made me want to curl into a ball and cry.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I realized I once loved this boy - maybe I still did. And every time I regretted it, I'd shoot again, trying to remember what he did to Arsen. To me. To all those innocent girls.
His voice is abruptly cut off when I shoot him in the head, and I close my eyes and turn around, taking in deep, deep breaths.
Ihadtodoit-Ihadtodoit-Ihadtodoit!
At that moment, I'm grateful for the basketball game being tonight since the riot everyone's making inside blocked out the gunshots.
I swallow and slowly walk out of the house, making my way to the borrowed car and getting in.
Even though I had stashed the picture into my pocket just mere seconds ago, I had this sudden urge to pull it out, rip it up and throw it in Jerome's bloody face.
But I push down that thought and drive back home, feeling both relief and trauma.
When I near the house, I see a silhouette leaning against the front door, head down as if waiting for someone.
I don't have to squint to know it's Arsen.
Parking the car, I get out and make my way over to him. He looks up, pushing himself off the wall and meeting me halfway.
When he reaches me, and I reach him, his angry, fiery eyes turn into igniting nothingness when they see my tear stricken face.
He scans my body, and the blood stains are reviewed longer than everywhere else.
That's a good thing, actually.
Not the time.
"It's 1 AM, Xanthe," He growls lowly, not saying anything else.
More tears run down my face and a sob escapes me as I realize how grateful I am for Arsen not asking where I was.
Or what I was doing.
Jerome's sad, blue eyes cloud my vision, and I don't stop myself from crying properly.
"Why-why me?" I whisper, looking up at him. "Why was it me?" I cry, slowly falling forward and into Arsen's already open arms.
My sobs echo through the night sky, and I lean back to find the comfort of his amber eyes.
"I didn't do anything, Arsen. I always try so hard, but it never matters. Why me?" I cry harder, knowing how pathetic I am, but also knowing I can't stop.
He clenches his jaw and doesn't say a word, putting a gentle hand on the back of my head and pulling me in, letting me hug him tightly.
I cry into his shoulder, savouring the moment, wishing to God Jerome's limp body stops slipping into my mind.
Maybe I did deserve it. After all, I chose the life of a criminal. I didn't make somebody else choose it for me.
Like Arsen, I couldn't go back. I could just move on.
Another sob rushes out, and I ball Arsen's black t-shirt into my fists.
"Xanny..."
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2534 words.
Okay, guys. That was that. The end of Jerome. Don't worry though, you'll find out what the photo was about.
Also, I'm gonna let you guys guess who said 'Xanny'. Although it's pretty obvious, lol, duh.
Anyway, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 20K!!! I love you guys so much, omgomgomg.
Please, don't stop...
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