The Dark (DEVON) // ✔️ // [NEWADULT]

|| Chapter Fourty-Three - Please, Lady ||

   I had been staring blankly out of the windows of the car as we drove and drove. It'd been at least a two hour drive by this point and I beginning to become confused.
   I was moving out, I wasn't skipping town.
   As tempting as it may seem right now.

   I tapped lightly on the pane of glass separating myself and Reuben. After a few seconds, it lowered and Reuben looked at me in the rear view mirror.
   "Lady?" He asked politely.

   "Where are we going? We've been driving for hours now." Reuben sighed, looking down and tapped the steering wheel.

   He looked back up at me and smiled sadly, "I know it's not my place, but are you sure you want to do this to him? After everything he's done for you? All the unnecessary fighting he could've avoided had he just... not cared about you. People have gotten seriously hurt for your cause, Aria. Devon lead them to that harm, and they went willingly, for you." He scoffed, "In my opinion, what you're doing is selfish. Devon will find your mother, but you must understand that it's not an overnight operation. Missing people are only called missing people when they've been gone for 48 hours!" He raked a hand through his hair.

   He wasn't wrong.
   "I'm not selfish." I said simply, "I figured... if I separate myself from Devon, Victoria will get the message and abandon her case against me and my mom - she'll let my mom go."

   Reuben rolled his eyes, "Ah yes, the good old, giving up and hoping you're problems go away manoeuvre." He pulled over into a small parking lot and turned off the engine, rotating to actually look at me, "Victoria won't just let your mom go, she'll probably kill her for her own sick amusement and then seek Devon out once more-"
   "It seems like blackmail, but it's far from it. It's a game to her, she wants you and Devon to fight for your mom, hopefully she'll kill you as you're trying and rope a grief-stricken Devon into loving her. Victoria won't be sweet either, she's bitter and she wants revenge."
"-but because he will never stop pining for you, he will be consumed with guilt - Devon believes that we always have a choice and that shit eats him up inside I mean... after everything he's done? After everything he's been forced to do? Losing you; when he could've prevented it. Aria, I hate to put you in this position but it will kill him."

Just as he said it, as if on cue, a text from Devon.
Sorry I'm so late, meet you outside Maxi'z Pizza in half hour? Trust me - it's heavenly.

   I looked up and started at Reuben, he stared back at me and raised a brow, "What will it be princess?"
   I felt a tendril of anger spark inside me, but I kept it concealed. Slowly, I smiled and nodded, "Maxi'z Pizza it is."
   Reuben nodded his appreciation to me and slid the glass pane back up between us. We were done talking for a good while now.

   I sent a quick message back to Devon and shut my phone off.
   Reubens monologue  - as bluntly put as it was - was right. I would die trying to take on Victoria so unprepared... and I didn't feel my loss would kill Devon but... they know him way better than I do.

   He'd lost everything and everyone , even lost parts of himself living the life he leads.
   What would I be, if not a monster, to abandon him with no explanation.

   Guilty. Guilty was how I felt.

   Do I tell Devon? Explain what I was planning to do to him without so much as a thought about how he'd feel? Or do I forget and trust in the man who's given up everything to protect me.

   Love me?

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Just a quickie! But, I'm so excited to finally draw the first book to a close soon... the ending mann... the ENDING.

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