Oh, Pineapples.

33:Can you keep a secret?

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"You always knew the way to wow me—fuck around and get me tongue-tied..."
–bad habit, steve lacy.
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"You'd actually kill Javadd?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah. I mean I actually would have killed him already and pinned it on you, because well, you weren't supposed to fall in love with each other. And I gotta admit, that son of a bitch is handsome. So I get it, but still, I saw the way he he looks at you Jasmine. The love he had in his eyes... thats the kinda love that would make one choose to die for the person they love. That's the kinda love that ruins things. But, I couldn't kill him because I knew I could use him so you can keep my secret." He looks at me.

"Can you keep a secret, Jasmine?" He wipes an invisible spot on his lip with the pad of his thumb.

"You're like, actually insane." I gave him an incredulous look.

"Yeah. But it's pretty cool if you ask me. I'm, like Batman. His story also begins with his mom getting killed and then he basically spends his life planning to avenge her." He squints his eyes in amusement.

"Batman had both parents," I scoffed.

"Yeah but still. My life story is worth a great biography, because—" the door being slammed open interrupting Travis.

"She's here," A dark skinned man in a turtle neck and jeans walked in. He had a beard, which made him handsome, but also added years into however old he really was.

"Oh, that kinda sucks, I was gonna get Jasmine's approval to write my autobiography. Oh well, another time I guess. I wanna know how Tabitha's flight was," He walked towards the door.

"You mean Mrs O'Brien," Turtle neck guy corrected.

"Yeah, that's what I said, Tabitha." Travis teased while opening the door making the man roll his eyes.

The moment the door closed behind them it felt as though I was finally catching up with reality.

Javadds mother was gonna kill me any minute now.

I had never had someone I loved die, so I couldn't imagine how Javadd's mother must have felt when her husband was killed. And I knew that grief turned into anger at some point so I understood where her decision to kill me came from. She wasn't the wrong one here. She was just hurt, and probably broken by her husband's death.

The only person in the wrong was Travis.

But in his defence, what my father did to to him was the absolute worst, but then again, he did some pretty terrible things to me that cannot really be justified.

Knowing that I couldn't do anything about it didn't even make me angry anymore, it just made me sad.

I would die that day and Mrs O'Brien would forever believe my father was responsible for her husband's death and that the guy she trusted was in fact the one responsible.

I would die that day leaving things with Javadd the way I had.

I wondered if Javadd knew I was being held hostage in his basement. I wondered how long he had to figure out how to break it to me that I was the girl that his mother wanted dead, and how many times he had actually considered going through with kidnapping me when we were alone, in his house.

But he didn't, I reminded myself. I had to atleast have a little faith in him.

The worst part was that I didn't even care anymore if I would survive this or somehow escape I would have to face reality.

Bryson was dead. I had ended things with Javadd, and for all I knew he would be moving back to the UK since, well, mission complete.

I felt as though I didn't have much to live for, except for Cassandra. And maybe if I did survive this, I would give my father a call, and maybe he would give a lot of explainations. And then maybe I would have one more thing to live for.

I rubbed my hands together as the tips of my fingers felt like ice blocks, and I probably wouldn't be getting a blanket anytime soon. I tugged at the rope that my hand was tied on, hoping that maybe I would be able to escape, but somehow it had gotten tighter and my wrist was beginning to bruise.

I started hearing footsteps again and then I wondered if I was hallucinating. The door opened, and walking in was the woman I had seen in the picture I had seen in the living room the night we had visited the art gallery.

To say that the picture did not do her features justice was another understatement.

Tabitha O'Brien was beautiful, and it was clear that she was aging like wine. I realised that Javadd had her nose. Her eyes were coated in eyeliner and her lips stained with a nude brown, which matched the scarf wrapped around her shoulders. She was slender and her hips were narrow but her black slacks and sweater hugged her figure properly.

Every step she took down the stairs in her heels seemingly radiated grace and unspoken power. She didn't seem like a person who smiled often. A particular sadness that I couldn't explain was in her eyes, and maybe the fact that she wore black showed that she was still mourning.

I wonder if she dressed in black because she was really still in mourning or for the fact that she didn't want the blood stains from however she chose to kill me to show.

"You must be Jasmine Wilson," her gaze wandered over me intensely. I see where Javadd got it from.

At first, i wasn't sure what to say. But at some point i would have to respond.

"Yes, ma'am." I sat upright. I could at least try to be polite, and maybe she would reconsider the 'killing Jasmine' part of this whole ordeal, and I could tell she was shocked by the respect I gave her.

"And I'm guessing you are Mrs O'Brien," I added.

"Yes, I'm sure Travis has made all introductions to you," she sat on a chair, her gaze still on me.

Well he sure did more than introduce you.

Travis wasn't there yet, so maybe I could tell her everything before he got in here.

"Listen, Mrs O'Brien, hear me out before you go through with this. Travis isn't who you think he—"I was interrupted by a voice from the door, causing Mrs O'brien's attention to me to falter.

"Ah, starting the party so soon without me? That's kinda rude, to be honest." Travis implored.

My heart pounded in my chest. Did he hear me? Would he kill Javadd because of it?

"Collin, come on in, you can talk to your boyfriend any other time," He spoke in the direction of the door.

Turtle neck guy walked in, who at that time I made a mental update to start to refering to him as Collin in my head.

The three of them were in the room now, because of me. Because they all wanted me dead, but for some reason I wasn't panicking that I was about to be killed. It wasn't because I wanted to die, but because I had a feeling everything was about to change.

And it did, as soon as I saw the two people that walked into the room.

"Ah. Javadd, Ayra. A little late to the party, but you know, better late than never. Right?" Travis beamed.

Ayra?

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A/N

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