(Embry’s POV)
My head was spinning with everything that was going on, my eyes flitting from the man to the phone. My heart felt as though it was beating fast enough that it would explode right in my chest. I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t do this.
Staggering into the bedroom, blood still heavy on my skin, I threw a bunch of clothes into the first bag I saw, I had no money, I had no plan, I had no place to go and right now I had no faith in myself. “I want my mom” I cried out, clutching the bed for support, as my emotions suffocated me from the inside.
Throwing random things inside the bag, my ribs ached with all the wailing that I couldn’t suppress. “This is all your fault Embry” I whispered, staring blankly at my hands, the same hands that held the gun and stole a life. A million voices were screaming at me in my mind,
“Just go with Noah, he’s the only one that could love a murderer like you.”
“Run, Embry, run.”
“Sebastian will save you”
“Of course Noah’s your soulmate, you’re just like him”
“Embry, fuck, we have to go now,” shuffling around I came face to face with Sebastian. A look of panic and worry on his face as he studied my blood soaked figure. “I killed him, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” I all but choked on my tears.
“It’s okay princess, but we need to go now, I only had the advantage of knowing exactly where you were, he’s going to be here any moment” he tugged at my arm, dragging me past the body on the floor which my eyes couldn’t seem to leave.
Stumbling down the steps, my vision was severely blurred by my tears, my stomach clenching painfully. “Sebastian” Indigo’s worried voice could be heard harshly whispering, “look not now Indie, I have to get her out of here, he’ll be here any mom-.”
My face wacked into the back of Sebastian’s body as he suddenly stopped. “Too late, brother,” the familiar voice spat. His voice was enough to stop my crying, my body entering fight or flight mode, except I always just seemed to freeze.
Peeking out from behind Sebastian, I could feel my heart drop to the floor at the sight of him. He looked even more terrifying, it had been so long since I had seen him and now that he was here in front of me, I couldn’t grasp the fact this was really happening.
How did it all go so downhill so fast? “Hey little bug, you’re okay now, I’m here” I avoided his gaze as he beamed over at me, a psychotic kind of happiness settling on his features.
“Embry, look at me” he seethed, his tone sending chills down my spine, so I listened. Stepping out from beside Sebastian slightly, I clutched onto his shirt for support, as I lifted my tear stained face to look at my husband.
“Did you miss me baby girl, I sure as hell missed you” he grinned, holding his arms out for a hug but my feet stayed planted where they were. “I see” he hissed, his eyes falling to Sebastian’s arm that was held out in front of me. “Well, well what do we have here?” He beamed, clicking his tongue as his eyes drifted from me to his brother.
His eyes widened in realisation as my gaze fell to the floor in guilt. “Don’t tell me you two actually have something going on” he scoffed, a sudden smile rising on his face. “Oh but that was your plan wasn’t it dear brother?” My head rose at his words. “Whoops, was I not meant to say anything in front of her?”
Turning to face Sebastian, I watched as his jaw clenched and muscles strained, igniting an endless pit of dread in me. “How exciting, I really should have brought some popcorn, so go on Seb, do tell her what your plan had been this whole time” he ushered, swinging his hand around. I could feel my eyes widen as I noted the gun he was holding in it.
“What is he talking about?” I whispered, my voice still raw from the tears. “Embry,” he looked pained as he turned to face me, dropping his hand from me, “you remember that promise you made the first day I came to talk to you?”
I retracted my hand from his shirt as if it had been burned,
“I need you to promise me that no matter how much I help you, or how close we get, you can’t get attached, you can’t let your guard down and you can’t just forgive me.”
“Please don’t,” I whispered knowing I wouldn’t be able to take much more of an emotional toll today. “I made you make that promise for a reason Embry, I told you, there were no redemption arcs in this story” with every word that came out of his mouth I felt as though I was being punched in the gut.
Sharply turning to face Noah, I watched as his face beamed with excitement, trying to find Indigo for comfort, I felt even more hopeless as I realised she was no longer here. When had she left?
“Spit it out Sebastian” Noah rolled his eyes dramatically, “when I heard you had run away, I came up with a plan but it wasn’t to help you, it was to get back at Noah.”
Scrunching my face in confusion, I watched as Sebastian avoided my gaze, “yeah, I know, you made that clear during the call.” “No, you don’t know Embry, I told you about Charlotte, you remember her right?” Nodding, I felt my breathing get shallow with every moment that moment that passed, “I just felt so robbed that Noah would get to live a life with the girl he loved and I wouldn’t, so I decided if I kept you away from him for six months, and then gave you back to him, he would be so mad he’d freak out and kill you, and then he would have to live the rest of his life knowing how I felt.”
I stumbled back from the force of his words, “what?” I whimpered. “I’m sorry” it was so quiet it was more like he had mouthed the words to me. “No, no, no, brother that isn’t even the best part, you know what, Embry come here, trust me you won’t want to be standing beside him when you hear this, plus I want him to fully see the look of betrayal on your face.”
Conflicted, my head shot back and forward between the two, “is it bad?” I ask Sebastian directly, the tears pricking painfully at my eyes once again as he turns his head away from me, not even able to give me an answer. Hiccupping, I tried so hard to stop the tears, I didn’t want to be so weak all the time.
Slowly, I trailed over to where Noah was standing, bracing myself for whatever fit he may spiral into. My lip quivers once again as he smiles down at me, wrapping the arm that wasn’t holding the gun around my shoulder, pulling me into his chest.
I froze as I felt him inhaling my hair, “I missed you so fucking much Embry, so so fucking much” he pressed a harsh kiss to the top of my head, his eyes glossy with unshed tears.
“Well go on Sebastian, say it” he giddily bounced where he was standing, keeping his arm tightly wrapped around my chest so that my back was against his body, and I was facing Sebastian. “How do you even know, Noah?” Sebastian spit out, his face contorted with anger.
“Well, it’s a great story actually, a couple days ago one of your men had come to me willing to give me some information, really was just all the stuff you said there and then yesterday a second one of your men ratted you out, and it was the most exciting information ever” he boasted, tucking my head beneath his chin so that it was resting on the top of my head.
“Oh my gosh, new plan, I’ll tell her, so then you really have no choice but to fully submerge yourself in the experience of witnessing her heartbroken face, but you see little bug that’s okay, cause I’m here to mend it for you.” His second arm wrapped tightly around my midsection as he gave me a gentle squeeze.
“Okay okay, so where to start, oh yes, I do believe it was just after he found out that it was me who killed his darling little Charlotte, so he thought it would be such a brilliant idea to come up with a way to take you from me without actually taking you from me. He decided he was going to make you fall in love with him, so then when he handed you right back to me, I’d have to live loving you while watching you love someone else.”
I subconsciously recoiled back into Noah’s arms at the words he said, knowing by the look on Sebastian’s face all of it was true. It had all been a lie. My heart sank painfully as I wretched at the physical hit those words were to my stomach.
“No, no that’s not even the best part,” scrunching my eyes shut, I was tempted to ask him to spare me and not tell me. “Because he realised he could do so much more with that, he knew how much it meant to me to be able to own every part of you, and there was really only one part I hadn’t claimed as mine yet, guess what his plan was baby girl?”
Piecing everything together, it hit me, a loud sob ringing around the parlour as my hand shot up to my mouth. No, no, no, God, please no. I shivered as Noah’s hot breath hit my ear, “he planned to take your virginity so that I could never have it for myself.”
“He has been using you this whole time, Embry, this whole time.”
Shaking my head, I clutched onto Noah’s arm for support, I was certain his hold was the only thing preventing me from falling to the floor right at this moment. “Oh” I defeatedly sobbed out, my hand clutching onto my stomach in an attempt to stop the violent wave of nausea that just hit me. I felt winded as I realised everything we shared that night was nothing but a revenge plot, oh.
“It was the original plan yes, but then things became different and I started to fall for you Emb-” Noah suddenly interrupting him, “don’t you dare try and manipulate her, she’s heard all she’s needed to hear” he smirked triumphantly.
Spinning around, I dug my head into Noah’s chest, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left, I’m so sorry” I sobbed.
Everything weighing down on top of me, I had killed someone, I had run right back into Noah’s arms and worst of all, I had been right.
Taking one quick side glance at Sebastian, I tilted my head up to face Noah, “I’d like if we could go home now Noah” I whispered, ignoring the protests that rang out from behind me.