A/n: The song above has nothing to do with this chapter but just Arsen and Xanthe's relationship in general. Don't take it seriously.
It's all in Xanthe's head...
Kidding, you figure it out.
Chapter 45
I wake up as if it were any normal day.
My eyes were groggy and my head was aching - double since she hit me right where I'd been hit before.
The only thing different was that I was tied to a chair. I mean, I don't blame her for being scared of me. It's best if she thinks I can hurt her.
Because I can. And I will.
Don't be so full of yourself.
You shut up.
"HEY!" I scream since the brick room I'm in has a wide-opened door.
Pretty ironic. As if it's mocking me.
I'll show that door.
Sure you will.
Heels click on the floor and Shanaya walks in, her smug, icy eyes narrowing down at me. Her jeans are a little too stingy and her shirt is a little too revolting.
A lot revolting.
"Ew, where'd you get your clothes, the dump store?" I snort, and she immediately slaps me.
I clench my jaws to bear the pain.
She was wearing a ring. So, that's going to leave a mark.
More reason to kill her.
"Listen, Xanthe fucking Jacox. You're under my watch, so you say one wrong thing, and you're not getting food for a week," She snarls. I raise an eyebrow.
"You think I'm staying here for that long?" I hiss. Shanaya copies my expression.
"I'm not scared of you. I don't care if you find a way out of that chair and kill me," She growls. I roll my eyes.
"What do you want, Shanaya?" I ask her, annoyed and tired.
I know I should stay as still as possible, otherwise, the rope will get tighter, but all I wanted to do at that moment was squeeze her neck to death.
"I only kidnapped you for one reason, Jacox, and it's Arsen. He knows where I live, and it's only a matter of time before he realizes who's got you, then, you'll be set free and I'll have him, instead." She cackles.
"And what do you want with Arsen?" My anger asks her. Her smug smile frustrates me.
"I love him, Xanthe. We've known each other a long time, and he's someone I haven't been able to let go of yet. I thought I could when I met you, I actually liked you for a second, and then you killed my brother. Who knows what you'll do to him..." She trails off.
Shanaya's sad look almost makes me believe for a second.
I would do anything just to rip her to shreds right now, and at the moment, I felt glad her phone started ringing in her pocket.
Until she picked it up.
"What?" She bores into the phone.
Someone on the other end talks for a while, and almost as if they've said something to make even skeletons shiver with fear, Shanaya's face drops like rain.
She brings the phone away from her ear and stares at it, her ears going red, then her icy eyes flash to me and she stomps over.
I brace for impact but am quite surprised when she starts taking off my restraints.
I furrow my eyebrows.
This doesn't feel so good.
"What's going on?" I ask her as she grabs my wrist and drags me after her.
"Arsen," Is all she says before we're out of the home in a flash.
After that, I don't care about anything else.
*~*~*~*
My eyebrows furrow as Shanaya's black Mercedes parks in front of Alaska Regional Hospital.
"The fuck are we doing here?" I hiss, grabbing her arm as she rushes out. She just looks at me with shining eyes.
Tears.
"He had an accident." She whispers.
My heart drops and I push past her, running into the hospital and asking at the front desk for his location.
My mind can't comprehend what's going on as it takes in the information it's given from the old lady, who's noticed my stress.
My legs feel like they're about to fall as they make their way to room 123.
My eyes are on the verge of tears when I realize I have no idea what happened and why nobody is telling me anything.
When I reach the room door, Shanaya in tow, Ameena comes out of it and I immediately feel a little better.
Her eyes widen and she engulfs me in a sisterly hug.
"Why weren't you answering your phone, Xanny?" She says in a hushed tone.
I back out of her embrace and look behind, not having the courage to say anything.
Ameena's eyes sought out what I'm looking at and instantly they go cold.
"Get inside the room, Xanny. We have to talk." She growls, pushing me back and linking eyes with Shanaya.
I nod unconsciously, only letting Arsen process through my mind.
When I burst into the room, the only others there are Xander and Noah, one with his head down, sitting on a chair, and the other standing by the window, arms folded.
They both turn to look and rush towards me. I push past them, grateful that they're here but not wanting them to bicker over anyone else but Arsen.
"How is he? What happened?" I quickly ask, my voice strained as I reach the bed.
I look down at his face.
It looks innocent as if he's never done a single bad thing in his life. It looks lifeless as if his life has passed the beginning and is in an eternal middle. It looks flawless as if he's not even human.
My heart shatters as the incessant beeping of the machine breaks through all boundaries.
"Somebody crashed into his car," Noah says briefly, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder as I let out a shaky breath.
Xander notices, plopping back down on to the chair and placing his head into his hands again.
"We don't know who it was, but they weren't bothered. They drove away just as fast," He adds in.
I put a gentle hand on Arsen's forehead. It's warm.
His eyelashes flicker, and my eyes widen.
"Is he just asleep?" I ask, slowly mopping a hand over the strand of hair covering his bandage.
"No, the doctor said he's in a coma," Noah replies. My breath hitches but I don't cry.
I won't cry.
As Noah pulls me in for a hug, Xander suddenly jumps up.
"Could you not, right now?"
Noah's head turns to him and he slowly pushes me away.
"What is your fucking problem?" He growls. Xander scoffs.
"My fucking problem? Can you stop trying to control everything and everyone you lay a finger on?" He yells.
"Maybe you need to stop taking everything I own," Noah says icily. My eyebrows furrow.
How can they even fight about something so stupid when Arsen could be on his deathbed?
"You don't own her," Xander replies deeply, his eyes flickering towards me for a second.
That's when it occurs to me.
I may sound very self-conceited, but I have to stop lying to myself.
They were fighting about me.
"Shut up," I hiss, glaring at both of them with anger. Both ignore me.
"Since when do you make my decisions?"
"Why do you care?"
"Answer the damn question, Xander."
"Don't fucking tell me what to do!"
"I can, I have and I will."
"You're not my mom."
"I never said I was,"
"I wouldn't want you to be, anyway."
I fall onto the chair and take Arsen's hand in my own, watching his eyes flutter slightly as I tune out those two bickering.
Arsen would never let this happen to him. He's always so focused and calculative. He couldn't have let this happen.
"Listen, dick, if you want a fight, then let's take it the fuck outside!" Noah booms.
Frightened, I look over to Arsen's peaceful face, and maybe I was glad he was in a coma. His left eyebrow twitched, slightly.
That's when I feel something prick against my hand - the hand that was intertwined with Arsen's lifeless one.
My eyebrows furrow as I take out the paper scrunched up in his palm, and unfold it.
Everything freezes.
He found it.
He found the picture I stole from Jerome before I...killed him.
I turn the picture around, finding a hastily scribbled address on it.
How did I not see that before? Maybe Arsen was being followed - it's happened before - and whoever was following him found out where he'd gone.
So they tried to stop it.
I quickly get up and grab the keys from the desk next to Arsen, and ignoring Noah and Xander who are suddenly alert of my behaviour, I rush out.
Ameena - who was sitting alone on the chairs - gets up instantly.
"Xanny, where are you going?" She asks. I shake my head.
"Just--don't let Noah and Xander start a fight. I'll be back in an hour or two," I quickly tell her, before running out of the building.
His room was only on the second floor, and the stairs helped me think more properly, so running out of the building wasn't as hard as you'd imagined.
I find Noah's car parked at the curb, and shake my head, silently apologizing to him as I get in.
The address is typed into the GPS, and I'm off faster than Flash.
*~*~*~*
I get out of the car and turn towards the house.
The number of mansions I've seen in these past five months has taken a toll on me because the one I was facing didn't affect me at all.
What did affect me, however, was the man walking out of the front door and towards me.
I didn't see who he was until we were in close range, and then, we both stopped.
I thought I was about to faint, and the keys in my hand fell to the floor with a clang.
My eyes scanned his greying hair and hazel-green eyes.
A single tear fell from my eye.
"Papá."
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1659 words.
Somebody, PLEASE help me. I'm EXTREMELY bored and the summer hols JUST started.
Plus, my writer's block phase is still on. It took a while to come up with this chapter.
I don't know if it's edited or not, I'll look over it. Someday.
THANK YOU FOR THE CONSTANT SUPPORT, I love you all.
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