Ocean Of Need

58 ⚔️🖤🌙 Thief

I'm out of the living room and up the stairs before anyone has a chance to react. There's no lock on the door and the edges of it are splintered. A large boot print is in the centre of it. Was it you that kicked it in?

I push it open and rush inside. The walls are covered in paintings. Not the ones that you painted of me while I wrote about you. These are violent, angry, fucked up hearts with words scrawled across them.

FATAL

BROKEN

PLAYER

UNSAFE

EMPTY

Paint drips from the frames and down the walls and onto the floorboards. It's as if you've thrown paint at them after hanging them lopsided on the wall. 

They have a beauty of their own. Raw and tormented and honest. But why would you paint these? If this was all a game - or worse - a job, why is your pain pinned to the wall? This doesn't make sense. Unless... fuck. Roxy was lying. You tried to warn me.

She said you fell in love with me. That's the only true ting she said. You may have been my jailor, but you were also trying to set me free. You told me that in a thousand ways.

I hear footsteps on the stairs behind me. Roxy, Asher and Noah bound into the room.

'You can't be here,' says Roxy. 'We need you downstairs. We need to stick together.'

'Why did you do it Roxy? Why were you so hell bent on breaking us up, on hurting me? I know you loved him, but you know that I didn't know about your past with him. So why are you so angry with me.' My eyes are narrow, my voice tight. This is not going to be some bonding session. I just need to know what's going on underneath this situation. There has to be more to it than a scorned lover surely?

Another set of footsteps on the stairs and Freya appress at the door carrying a holdall. Her eyes go to the walls, flicking across the paintings. 'Oh, Darling Lilah. I wish you hadn't seen this.' She turns to Roxy and says, 'Bad call Roxy. That really was unnecessary. There was no need for any of this.'

To my surprise Roxy's eyes fill with tears, she opens her mouth to answer but there's a heavy set of footsteps thundering up the stairs Then I hear your voice command, 'Don't fucking move.'

'Mac,' I gasp, running to the top of the stairs. There there, half way up the stairs is Jameson. 'Daddy? What's happening?'

'Baby Girl,' Jameson says, his voice low, his eyes motion to the side. I look behind him and my eyes make contact with yours. You stand at the foot of the stairs, a gun in your hand pointed at Jemeson's back.

Time slows, your eyes send a signal, telling me it's you and me. Whatever fucked up thing is going on here, it's still just you and me. We are in the eye of the storm, and we will hold each other by an invisible tether. We will keep each other safe, and if we can't, then we will fall together. Just like you said we would.

'Keep walking Jameson, into the room. Everyone, hands in the air,' you say as you slowly climb the steps.

I raise my hands and back into the room. Jameson eyes are on me with every step he takes.

I hear Roxy gasp behind me as I back into the room followed by Jameson and you, with the gun trained on Jameson's heart.

Ok, let's keep this calm,' Freya's voice is clear. 'Now Mac, there's no need for this. We're all on the same side. We're all trying to keep Lilah safe.'

'Oh, fucking typical,' snorts Roxy. 'Let's make this whole thing about Lilah fucking Jones.'

'Not the time Roxy,' Freya hisses.

'It's never the time for me is it? It's always about your precious Lilah.'

'Oh for God's sake, Roxy. Pull yourself together,' snarls Freya.

'Fuck you,' screeches Roxy. 'She's not the only one with the broken fucking heart. For once in your life, can't you just be a Mother to me, instead of a boss?'

'Mother?' I gasp, flicking my eyes to Jameson.

'Yes a fucking Mother. Haven't you worked that out yet. She's MY fucking Mother. Not yours.'

I look from Roxy to Freya and the similarities are blinding. How did I not see it before? I really have been off my game.

Roxy continues yelling, 'You care more about her than you do about me. You give everything that should be mine to her.' She turns on me, pointing a shaking finger, 'You...You got it all.'

'All?' What the hell is she talking about?

'You got my boyfriend,' she points at you and then her finger moves to Jameson, 'and you got my Dad.'

The room falls silent for a moment, then I hear myself say, 'Your Daddy? Is Jameson your Daddy too?'

'Not my Daddy. Jameson is my Father,' she spits.