VICIOUS

59.

Brandon: You.

For a minute straight, I stare at the text message. I hate him for this. He's putting me in a position where I either have to be his to let my friends live their own life in safety, or I have to choose for living my own life and then maybe my friends will die. 

I want neither. 

I look over my shoulder, at the building behind me. I hear laughter coming from inside and it sounds like everyone is having fun with each other. Even I was having fun, but of course someone had to ruin it. 

 Who knows what's going to happen to the others if I don't give him what he wants? I'm a cold person, not caring about other people. I'm selfish and I think you can even call me arrogant. But I do want to make sure that the people who are my friends make it out alive. 

I turn my gaze back to my phone, typing a message to send back. 

Taylor: I have to talk to you. It's important. 

Brandon: Let me guess: you want to make sure nothing happens to your friends?

I sigh and roll my eyes. 

Taylor: I'm meeting up with you tomorrow. In the meantime, you leave us alone. 

Brandon: Of course, darling. I wouldn't want to hurt the person that I admire. 

For now, I have to trust him. It's not something I like to do, but I don't have a choice. I head back inside and everyone immediately turns their head in my direction. 

''Everything alright?'' Bianca asks me. She looks concerned and takes a step my way. 

''No,'' I respond, being honest. ''The dickhead that called me was Brandon Phiago. Oblivion's leader.'' 

I sit down and let out a sharp breath. My feelings are all over the place right now. Usually, in situations where I'm anxious about the future, I grab a bottle of something alcoholic, sit down in my bed or on the couch and stare into the nothingness. 

''He's an asshole, you can't trust him,'' I continue. ''But I have to meet up with him tomorrow, for your safety.'' I look around the room. 

Jake furrows his eyebrows. ''I'm sure we're all able to fight,'' He says. 

I shake my head. ''I won't doubt you, but I know him. He won't stop until he gets what he wants. He's not afraid to manipulate you, to have things go the way he wants them to go. If I don't negotiate with him, I'm risking your lives. And I'm not doing that.''

Thomas sits down next to me and turns his head to me. 

''Why don't we go with you?'' He proposes. ''I'm sure you can use our help.''

I chuckle softly and cross my arms. ''Because he's not interested in you guys. He'll only come for you to get to me.''

Drew and Neo share a confused look. 

''What are you talking about?'' Neo asks me. He leans forward, his forearms resting on his knees. 

''For some reason, he wants me,'' I explain. ''I don't know why. He's probably trying to take advantage of me, but I'm not letting that happen. All I can do is go along with it. Even when that's incredibly stupid.''

''Just so we can live our life in safety?'' Matthew asks. 

I shrug. ''I think so. If we all go our own way, we'll be happy for less than a week before he probably finds us. In the end, we'll still all die and no one here gets their happily ever after.''

A silence follows. I stare at the ground. I've already done the things I've always wanted to do. The people I once hated, are dead. My parents got the ending they deserved. I killed Hayden for betraying us. Plus, Rank 2 has been dealing with my bullshit for three years now. It seems fair to me if they got the ending that they deserved. 

''No,'' Thomas shakes his head and gets up from the chair. ''We don't have to go with you to reason with him, but at least let us come along in case something goes wrong. You're giving up your life because of us. That's the least we could do to thank you.'' 

''Giving up my life sounds a bit-'' I quickly say, but Drew cuts me off. 

''You don't have a choice,'' He speaks up, getting up from his seat. ''We're doing this and the only thing you can do is go along with it. And after this, we'll all go live our own life.'' 

Fucking hell, we sound like a bunch of superheroes who are about to save the world. It looks ridiculous, but deep down it makes me smile. Sure, a bunch of injured, tired gang members will save each other. 

The others nod in agreement. Thomas looks at me, a determined look on his face. 

''Let us complete one more mission together, before everyone goes their own way.'' 

Authors Note (AN)

Hello,

Thank you all for the sweet comments, it really motivates me :)

Have a great day!