Never Make A Promise

Never Make A Promise 27

I'm doing a horrible job on keeping track of my uploading schedule here. Just a horrible job. I know I kind of left if off at a cliffhanger last time and you guys were kind of waiting and stuff and it just did not help at all that I'm a day late with this. Sorry peoples!

<3 Nikky~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here's the situation. I am currently sitting between Jake, my boyfriend's old gang leader, and Larry, my boyfriend's little brother and not his most favorite person in the world. Count on me to have my cell phone in my bag instead of my pocket. I could have sent a text out to Damon and told him the name of the gas station that we were just at. He could have followed us. But no! I had to leave my cell phone in my freaking bag in the car. God, and all because that evil little bunny lured me away from where Damon was. That wasn't fair. Stupid bunny. I love rabbits, but I don't think I'm liking that one all too much. He had to make so much freaking noise and I have to be SO curious and I HAVE to go see what he was doing and just.....argh! Blaming the rabbit wasn't going to get me out of this. The only chances I had were for Damon to find me or for me to get out of here on my own, which I don't really know how well I can do on that.

"You're being pretty quiet, little miss," Jake said. I exhaled.

"What do you expect me to do? Make conversation?"

"That wouldn't hurt anyone," Larry said. I rolled my eyes.

"You guys kidnapped me and you just got done beating the crap out of my boyfriend not too long ago. Pardon me if I don't want to talk to you all that much."

"Well, when did we get snappy here?" Jake asked.

"About ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes ago. Wasn't that when she got snatched in the woods?" he asked Larry. Larry nodded in thought.

"That's about right," he said. I looked straight ahead at the road. I couldn't look out the windows on either side of me without looking at THEM. THEM the very reason that Damon's....that Damon's promise was broken. It wasn't his fault, Hayley. You aren't hurt. Not yet, I'm not. What makes you think they're going to hurt you at all? For all I know, they could. For all you know, they couldn't. Damon could save you in time. They still touched me. Don't get that harsh on him. But- BUT NOTHING! Ah, listen to yourself, Hayley. Shut up! Oh god, I'm starting to sound like a psycho. I'm arguing with myself mentally. That can't be normal. Or is it. Maybe it is when you're trying to distract yourself from a very bad situation you're tied up in. Okay just stop now, this is getting sad. Speaking of stopping, why did the car stop moving? I looked out the window Larry was sitting by and saw that we were parked in a gas station.

"What are we doing here?" was my genius question.

"We need gas," Jake said simply. He opened his door and turned back to me. "I'm going to step out. Don't you go anywhere. Keep an eye on her, Larry."

"You got it," Larry said. Jake closed the door and I scooted over only to have Larry grab my arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Excuse me if I don't like being pressed up against you all too much," I said, wrenching my arm out of his grasp. He let go and looked out his window. How sad was this? A fourteen year old kid was told to be my babysitter. A fourteen year old boy was told to watch over a seventeen year old girl. This was just pathetically sad.

"What is?" he asked me. I tilted my head a bit.

"What is what?"

"You said that this was just pathetically sad and I asked what is," he explained. Oh I see. I said that last part aloud. I shook my head.

"Never mind," I mumbled. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to looking out his window. Overall, he and Damon looked alike. Except for the eyes and the hair a bit and their heights. Everything else was about the same, though. Why was Larry doing this? Damon was his brother, why was he torturing him? Why was he listening to Jake so much?

"Can I ask you something?" I asked him suddenly.

"You just did," he said without looking at me.

"Ha ha. No really, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why are you so against your brother?"

"I don't follow-"

"Why are you helping Jake so much?"

"He's my friend. Friends help friends out," he said.

"But to try and kill your own brother? And he sounds more like a leader than a friend to me."

"Who said anything about killing him? By the way, he is a friend. I'm second in command, so I'm their leader too."

"Oh so what were you planning on doing? And BY THE WAY, he's still your leader anyway, isn't he if you're only second in command?"

"None of your concern to both," he said finally looking at me. "You don't have to worry about anything, sweet thing."

"Don't call me sweet thing," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. He held up his hands and looked back out the window. What could Damon have done that was so bad? He only told me about doing 'business' behind their backs and keeping the money. What else could he have possibly done to get them ticked off enough to chase him all the way to Aspen, then to Florida, and now here? I looked at Larry and prayed that I could get the truth from him. No exaggerations and no lies.

"Larry," I said. He looked at me.

"Yes, Hayley, dear?" he said flirtaciously. I resisted the urge to crack him on the mouth. I need the truth and that was no way to get it.

"What did Damon do to get Jake so mad to chase him through three different states?"

"Are you telling me that my big brother didn't tell you any of this?"

"No, he did. I just want to hear your side," I lied. Making him think that I already knew everything was the way that had the greater chance of getting the truth out. He sighed and got closer to me.

"You know, I think Jake would have a better time telling you about that," he said, putting an arm around me and pulling me back over with him. Just as he took his arm off me, Jake opened the door and got back in.

"You two kids behave?" he asked. Larry nodded.

"She's full of questions. There's one that I think you would be most comfortable answering," he said. Then it came to me. Larry had no idea why they were really after his brother. I am positive that he would have told me why if he knew. But he didn't, so that must mean he didn't know. He was going after his brother for no reason, technically. He probably thought it was for that whole doing business behind their backs thing, but that wasn't it so much as this other mystery reason.

"Shoot," Jake said, patting the driver's seat. The guy started the car and we started moving again.

"Go ahead, Hayley. Ask him," Larry said to me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked Jake.

"That wasn't your question."

"That's my question in a nut shell," I said, not looking away from Jake.

"I have my reasons," he said looking out his window. He, like Larry before, didn't even look at me.

"So you have no good reason," I said, looking down at my lap.

"I never said that."

"But that's what I gather. If you had a good reason, you would have told me," I said to him.

"Okay fine," he said, turning in my direction. "You really want to- wait, he didn't tell you already?"

"He told her, she just wants our side," Larry informed him.

"Hmm, our side. Well, that's simple. He-"

"Jake, cops," the driver said, looking in the rear view mirror. I silently thanked god, but at the same time starting kicking myself for not asking what Damon did sooner. Then again, I probably would have preferred to hear it from Damon himself than these guys. They would probably twist the truth where as Damon would tell me the truth straight out....hopefully.

"Pull over," Jake said. I looked behind us and saw the cruiser with flashing red and blue lights trailing after us and I watched it slow down as we did. The officer got out of his car after we pulled to the side of the road and made his way toward us. "Hayley, keep your mouth shut."

"Just play it cool," Larry said. Were they actually idiotic enough to believe that I would listen to them? Of course I was going to take the opportunity to get help! The cop knocked on the window and Jake grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Don't say a word," he warned me with menacing eyes. There goes my plan to get help. If I said anything, the driver could speed away before I got the chance to jump over Jake or Larry and get out the door. It played out much better in my mind earlier.

"Yes officer?" the driver dude said. The cop looked around in the SUV.

"You boys were going awfully fast back there, don't you think?" he said.

"Oh yes, and I apologize for that officer. We were just in a little bit of a hurry because my friend back there-" he jabbed a thumb back at Larry. "Is having an asthma attack and we lost his inhaler so we have to get to the nearest hospital before he passes out or dies." How could these guys come up with these things so easily off the top of their heads?

"He is?" he peered into the back just as Larry started gasping for air. Or he pretended like he was. And I have to say, he was really good at pretending. "Good god, you boys better get going!"

"Thank you officer," the driver dude said. He stepped on the gas and we started speeding down the road again. How did these guys lie so easily and get away with it?!

"Thank you for being a good girl," Jake said to me. What am I a dog? Was I supposed to say 'you're welcome' or bark and beg for a treat? Calm down, Hayley. You'll find some other way out. And just as I thought luck wasn't on my side tonight, it proved that it somewhat was. The back of the car jumped up in the air a couple feet due to a tire popping. Luck. Was. On. My. Side.

"What was that?" Larry asked.

"Tire blew," the driver grumbled, getting out of the car. He went around to check on it and came back to Jake's now open window.

"We're going to need the spare," he said.

"Get it out and on then," Jake said. The two guys in the front both got out and went to the back to get the spare tire that was there. But the trunk never opened. Jake looked over his shoulder after a couple minutes.

"What the hell are they doing?" Larry asked. Jake shrugged.

"Go see," he ordered. Larry obeyed and got out of the car. I did the same thing I did when Jake was out of the car and Larry and I were the only ones in here. "Where are you going?" Jake asked.

"Just scooting over," I said stopping where Larry was just sitting. A little smile played at the edge of his lips.

"What? You don't like sitting next to me?"

"Are you surprised?"

"Can't say that I am," he sighed. "Fine. You can sit there until Larry comes back. As long as you don't try running."

"How am I going to get away with three guys out there and one in here to grab me before I even get the door open?"

"You know I'm fast. Good, then you won't make that stupid mistake."

"Count on that," I said, staring at the patterns on the seat in front of me and mentally tracing over all the swirls. It was staring to make me dizzy, but that was keeping me distracted from Jake.

"So you want me to continue what I was about to tell you?" he asked. I stopped tracing over the swirls and looked in my peripheral vision at him. He was watching me in a way I didn't really like. It sort of made me feel like a dog he was thinking about breeding and it made me uncomfortable.

"Go ahead," I said. He took a deep breath.

"Okay, here's why we're after your little boyfriend," he began. I looked at him. "He killed my brother." I raised an eyebrow and my jaw dropped slightly. He nodded.

"W-wh-what? He-he killed your...brother?" I struggled to make the words leave my mouth, but they came out in the end. He looked straight and nodded.

"Indeed he did. Claimed it was in self defense. But I know Damon hated my brother. He thought he was trying to take his position in the gang and one night I guess one of their very occasional fights got too far."

"They...got into fights?"

"Not physical, never physical. Poor Ben knew that he would lose before he even got a punch in if he ever got in a fight with Damon," he said.

"So, they got into another arguement?"

"They were yelling at each other- about Ben trying to 'steal' Damon's spot again- and the rest of us were walking to the shack we used to meet up in to get them to stop yelling and then we heard this gunshot. Next thing I know, Damon's running from the shack and when I got inside the shack, I found my brother dying from that gunshot."

"Did you...talk to Damon after that?"

"Of course I did. I called him, he answered. I asked him what happened, he told me Ben pulled out his gun first."

"Was it out when you go there?"

"He must have pulled it out when he saw Damon had his out. I know my brother wasn't going to kill Damon. Damon is a liar and he killed my brother and he's going to pay," he said bitterly. "What the hell is taking those guys so long? They didn't even open the trunk. What are they doing? Smoking and drinking?" He started getting out of the car, muttering to himself all the way out. "Don't get out," he warned me. I didn't reply or look at him. He slammed the door shut and I right away climbed to the front seat like I did when I was in the car in the woods. I think I got over more smoothly without moving the car at all this time. I climbed into the passenger seat and opened the door as quietly and slowly as I could. I took a peek back behind the car and when I didn't see anyone, I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. Where did they go? Oh well, better get out of here instead of waiting for them to show up. I got out of the car and was able to get about two feet away before I felt one hand clamp over my mouth, another wrap around my waist, and got pulled into the woods by the side of the road. It was very similar to when I was kidnapped in the woods not too long ago. My hands flew up to the hand over my mouth and I started kicking as they lifted me into the air. I screamed against the palm of the person and tried to get out of their grasp. Something told me that this person was Jake or someone that's not Larry. They were too tall to be Larry. And I hate to admit it, but this person was really muscular too. I kept kicking and attempting to get the hand off my mouth.

"I can't imagine why you're trying to get away from me right now," that teasing voice said. I stopped what I was doing.

"Damon?" I tried to say, but it sounded more like a muffled gargle than an actual name.

"Come again," he teased. I rolled my eyes. He set me back down on the ground and released me. I whirled around and faced him.

"How did you find us?" I asked him right away.

"I followed you and tried to get you away from Martinez before he got you to the gang, which wouldn't have happened if SOMEONE stayed close to me like I asked, and I've been following you the whole way."

"And you saw the opportunity when the tire blew?"

"I told Jake to replace the freaking tires often," he mumbled. "No one listens to the car expert."

"What happened to them? Where are they? How did I get away so easily?"

"You got away so easily because I dragged you in here and they're passed out behind the car," he said.

"What did you do?"

"I took care of them," he said.

"So they're only passed out, right? Not....." I trailed off, deciding not to say it.

"Not what?" he asked. "Dead?"

"Why would you think I was going to say that?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to believe Jake when it came to the sad fact that Damon might have actually killed someone, but at the same time I knew that if Damon really did kill his brother, then it WAS in self defense.

"Are you okay, Hayley?" he asked in a concerned tone. I nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're just acting a little shaken up. Did they do something to you? Did they hurt you in any way? If they did I swear on my life that I'll kill them," he said. I grabbed his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

"No, no, no, nothing like that," I assured him. "Nothing happened. They didn't do anything to me."

"Then why are you acting like you're afraid of me or something?" he asked. Then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh I know."

"What?"

"You're mad that I broke my promise," he said sadly. I looked down.

"You didn't do it on purpose. And it was more my fault. I walked away when I shouldn't have. I mean, I can't expect you to be Superman or be everywhere at once to keep me safe," I said. "Besides, you saved me, didn't you? I think that about covers it." I forced a smile there. He nodded and stepped closer to me.

"I am still so sorry, Hayley," he said softly. "I know how sensitive you are when it comes to those things."

"It's not your fault," I whispered. He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around his torso. He couldn't have killed someone on purpose. Damon couldn't kill anyone period. Could he? No. No, I wouldn't believe Jake. But he said that he killed his brother. Why would he lie about something like that? To get you turned against Damon, Hayley, duh! Either way, it didn't matter. I refused to believe Jake about Damon killing Ben on purpose, because I know Damon. I wouldn't believe it. I just wouldn't.