Tessa's Home

Thirty-three

Tessa

"Viper!" I look around the room frantically, counting each head I see and, thankfully, getting to eight.

All of my brothers, dad, and even Killian are here, perfectly fine and uninjured.

A weight I didn't know I was holding lifts off my shoulders and I sigh in relief. Thank fuck. He didn't kill any of them.

But my shoulders tense ten times more than they were before when I see the gun being held to Tyler's head.

"Tessa," dad says, carefully, looking at me with so much concern it makes me want to cry. "You're bleeding..."

"Viper, point the gun at me. Take it off of his head." I don't take my eyes off Viper the entire time, despite seeing all of my brothers eyes on me from my peripheral vision.

I know they're concerned. I know they're eyeing the cut on my cheek and the dried blood from my nose and the very wet blood coming from the large gash on my forehead. I know they're looking at my bleeding knees and my dirty clothes and my messy hair and I know...I know how much it's hurting them.

I know they want to find whoever put me in this condition and beat him to a pulp. I know they want to help me so, so bad.

But they can't. My injuries should be the least of their worries right now.

"That was quick," Viper says, looking at his watch. He looks at me again, this time smirking. "Did you kill Micah?"

I nod. "He's dead." Something shifts in the air, probably because I just told my entire family and the boy I love that I'm a murderer, but I ignore it and take a step forward, keeping my gun pointed right at Vipers head. "Now take the gun...off of his head."

Viper laughs. "He's your twin brother, right? He looks just like you, baby. And this boy," Viper says, flicking his gun towards Killian, "Killian, is it? Do you love him, Tessa? Hmm?"

"No," I reply, almost immediately. "I hate him. Like I told you." I glance at Killian, who's looking at Viper with a harsh glare, and then glare at Viper again just as harshly. "Let's go, Viper. I'm yours, okay? If you leave with me now, and you never touch my family ever again, I'll never try to run away again. I'll do everything you say, I'll act like your perfect loving girlfriend, okay?"

He laughs. "Girlfriend? No, baby, let's get married, hmm? Be my wife." I grit my teeth, and swallow the large lump in my throat, but not anyway.

"Okay. We'll get married, then. Whatever you want. Just don't hurt them," I say, keeping my voice strong and firm. I won't show him just how scared I really am.

"No, Tessa, don't leave with him-" Mavok starts, but stops when Viper pushes his gun into Tyler's head harder.

"Will you shut up? We're having a moment here." Viper gets up and points his gun at me, walking over to me slowly.

I watch his every move and then look up into his eyes when he stops right in front of me, my gun pushing into his chest now.

He uses his own gun to swipe some of my hair out of my face, and he caresses the cut on my cheek with his free hand. I clench my jaw, but let him. I just signed myself away to him. I'm fully his now, and there's nothing I can do about it.

But it's okay. He won't touch my family if I go with him and keep up my side of the deal. I know he won't. If he kills them, he'll have nothing over me, so he won't.

Not unless I defy him. Which won't happen. I'll be his till the day I die. And maybe I'll still be his, even after death.

I can't fight him anymore. All of the fate signs in my life are pointing right at him. I'm meant to be with him. The devil is doing everything in his power to keep us together, to keep me with Viper, and it's working.