Chapter 55: That's him?

"How many men do we have?" Tristan asks Jordan, Chase and Gregg.

The whole group is currently sitting at McDonalds and we are trying to come up with a solid strategy to finish Luther once and for all.

"Not enough." Jordan answers him. "We have about eighteen men, and that's not enough against Luther's army."

"But..." Chase interjects, "We could still call some old friends and ask them for a favour."

"Not happening." Tristan abruptly shakes his head, understanding what they are insinuating. "We are not calling them."

"C'mon, we have no other choice." Greg says. "It's about time you leave all your past feuds behind."

Who are they talking about? These people must rile Tristan up, seeing that they are enough to pop a vein on Tristan's temple due to some feud in the past.

"I can't allow that jerk to go anywhere near her." Tristan laces his fingers through mine and places both our hands on my lap-- for comfort.

So this is also about me?

Why am I always the common factor in these types of situations?

Well, this whole ordeal has always been about me...

I'm not getting that normal life, am I?

"Either way, we have no choice. Besides Hailey can protect herself," Greg turns to me,"Right?"

Dang it! I was actually hoping they were talking about someone else. Maybe... Lizzy. No offence.

"Sure." I nod hesitantly, not even turning to look at my boyfriend.

"Great." Jordan cheers. "Problem solved.

"Do you want to call him?" Jordan grins cheekily at Tristan, knowing that it'll tick him off.

"I'm not going to call Benson, you moron." Tristan rolls his eyes.

"Fair enough then I'll call him." Jordan holds his arms up in surrender. "Bro," he nudges Chase, who's sitting next to him. "You have Stanley's tens?"

"Nope. Ask Greg." Chase simply shakes his head.

"Gre--"

"Here." Greg hands Jordan his phone already knowing what the question is.

"I knew I could always depend on you." Jordan ruffles Greg's hair, and Greg responds by swatting his hand away.

"Now, anyone wants to volunteer to take our orders?" Chase asks all of us expectantly.

I don't think large fries will even cure my anxiety right now.

..............

"How long until they come?" Chase asks Jordan.

"Any minute from now." Jordan replies.

We have been impatiently waiting for someone at a corner of two streets, carefully trying to spot the person we are expecting.

Not that I even know him.

"Psst, Tristan." I whisper quietly into Tristan's ear, but he doesn't take knowledge of me. Luckily, we are a few meters behind the rest of the group, so they can't exactly hear me.

"Chicken." I whisper again and still no response.

"Tristan!" I raise my volume a bit and it is enough to pull him out of his daydreams, and capture his attention.

"Sorry, what?" An unknown expression meets my eyes-- worry and fear are swimming in his brown orbs.

"You okay?" I ask.

"I will be." He assures me. "Anything you need?"

"Yeah, kinda." I answer shyly. "I need to buy some necessities."

"Which are?" He raises an eyebrow. His facial expression screams 'at a time like this?!' .

I clear my throat, "Girl stuff."

"What 'girl stuff'?"

"Seriously?" I ask incredulously. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"I see him." Greg's voice causes our heads to snap in the direction of the busy street before us.

I spot a mop of blonde hair in the crowd. Suddenly, a familiar pair of forest green eyes meet mine and a devious smirk finds his lips.

I can't believe this!

That's him?

"Is t-tha-" my hitching breath doesn't allow me to finish my question.

"What?" Tristan sees my panicking state and immediately wraps an arm around my waist and lifts my chin up with his fingers so that I'm staring directly at him.

"Stanley..." I mutter. "How did I miss it?" I ask myself and Tristan just stares at me in confusion.

"You're speaking in riddles." He says.

"Nothing." I lie.

"Are you sure?" His concern for me causes guilt to travel through my nerves, and my lie doesn't help at all.

I nod.

"Okay." He doesn't seem to believe me, but he decides to let go of the matter.

"I'm amazed you called." His mischievous voice rings in my ear, causing uninvited memories to come flooding in.

"P-please s-stop... it hurts..." No matter how much I clutch my stomach, the pain won't disappear. I can't handle the hard blows to my stomach anymore... I've had enough.

Stanley stands there, with his three followers beside him, laughing fervently as they mock and abuse me. Seeing pain in a victim's eye is like watching a comedy show for him. He feeds off making people's lives miserable, guy or girl, for him, violence is not gender biased.

"Aww..." he mocks me. "What are you going to do? Call Conner to help you? No wait--" he pretends to have remembered something, "--he isn't here. He left you after realising what a pathetic little sister you are."

I hate crying. I hate showing vulnerability. But I can't block my tears right now. Drop after drop, they slide down my bruised cheeks.

I wish Conner was here.

But Stanley's right, Conner left me. With no word of apology or reason for his leave. Maybe he was really escaping the burden I became to him.

A painful kick in my abdomen reminds me of Stanley's presence. That's the fifth kick today.

"I need some air..." I breathe out.

"But you're already outside," Chase says. I don't even realise that the guys are standing where Tristan and I currently stood.

"I just..." My eyes meet Stanley's eyes, and this time, instead of a rushing waterfall of tears, a river of fury flows through my veins. His infamous devious smirk greets me. "Nothing... Nevermind."

"Anyway... Hailey, meet Stanley," Jordan introduces me to my long lost enemy, and I just pretend to not know him. "Stanley, meet Hailey, Tristan's girl and Conner's little sister."

"Nice to meet you," he sticks out his hand for me to shake, also pretending to not know me.

"Likewise." I try to master a polite smile but it ends up being fake.

This whole time, he has been avoiding Tristan's threatening gaze, keeping his on mine.

"So, I'm guessing you guys are in some deep sh** and that's why you even bothered to ask me.

"Conner's with Luther," Jordan informs him. "Along with..." he looks at me as if too say I should continue his sentence.

"Mase, Nick and James," I say through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, them... they..." Jordan's voice begins to fade as I turn my line of vision to Tristan.

"Tristan," I try grabbing his attention, but his eyes are zeroed at Stan, who is conspicuously avoiding his glare.

"Hey," I snap my fingers in front of him.

"Huh?" His attention snaps to me finally.

"Can we go somewhere?" I plead.

"For?"

I eye him incredulously.

"Girl stuff?"

It is not only 'girl stuff' anymore, but the anticipation of escaping the sight of the devil's child.

I nod.

"Fine." He sighs.

"We need to go somewhere urgent," Tristan says to the guys, interrupting their own conversation.

"Dude, can't it wai--"

"It's urgent." I cut off Chase's words. "We'll only take an hour...hopefully."

I hurriedly pull Tristan's arm and begin to drag him in the direction of a nearby mall I saw earlier.

.........

"You dragged me to a random mall to buy this?"

I feel like laughing at Tristan's traumatized face, but I bit my lip to stop myself. This must be awkward for him because he is a guy.

"I need it, and your paying." I answer firmly making sure that he does not back out.

"Need it for what?"

I can't believe this guy!

"What else do you need pads for?" I ask sarcastically, before grabbing a packet and dragging an embarrassed Tristan.

Boys.

"I can't believe that you got your period at a time like this," Tristan mutters.

"It's not like I can decide when and when not to get it," I roll my eyes. "Hello," I greet the cashier assisting us.

She smiles back warmly, "Hi." Then her eyes land on Tristan as he pulls out his credit card, and she begins fixing her hair and starts batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.

The moment I thought some people actually have the decency to know what's not theirs.

"I'm never doing this again." Tristan whispers in my ear, and I can feel his lips slightly brushing the spot behind my ear.

"Then what type of boyfriend would you be?" I ask loudly so that the cashier may hear that he is mine.

I'm possessive. Sue me.

"Hi," he greets the already flushed cashier, who let's out a seductive, "Hi, I'm Emma."

"Nice to know." Either Tristan doesn't notice her blatant flirting or he chooses to avoid her. "Could you hurry up please? My girlfriend and I have somewhere to be."

Yes!

I love my boyfriend.

Her smile falls down to a scowl, and her cheeks are no longer red from blushing, but embarrassment. She shoots an evil glare at me as if telepathically telling me that I don't deserve him.

Finally having finished with buying the pads, we exit the store and also leave the mall.

"Oh, and to answer your question," Tristan says. "I'd be the best boyfriend ever."

I scoff, "The best."

...............

Two days ago, I had been ready. The anxiety had surrendered itself to my positive thoughts, and I was driven by determination.

But now, the anxiety has returned, ten times more than before. No positive thoughts can calm me down anymore. My drive of determination has crashed, leaving only remnants of fear to accompany me today.

Today is the day.

"You ready?" Tristan's hand finds my knee as he drives to our destination.

"Yeah," I heave out a sigh.

"Don't worry." He rubs circles with his thumb on my knee.

Don't worry.

Two words which I have been trying to digest, but they are as impossible to simply swallow like a stone. I tried to lull myself to sleep last night with those words, but the sleep never arrived. My mind wouldn't rest because of thinking too much about this day. The day when our mission begins.

On Christmas.

Awesome.

I spent Christmas eve wondering what are the possibilities. Both negative and positive.

The negative outcomes might be that one of us don't survive the violent scene we will cause. Or none of us making it all.

I'm supposed to head back home next week-- my parents are coming back home from their business trip. What if they come home to no daughter?

The pain it would cause them. The guilt of not having seen your daughter before she caught her very last breath.

I pray I'm just over thinking this situation.

If all ends well, with no one critically injured, my prayers would be answered. I would move on from this and carry on with my hopefully to-be-normal life.

"Everyone's here already. Stick close to me." Tristan says before parking his mustang next to Chase's car.

Tristan exits the car, and I take a deep breath before mirroring his actions.

About fifty men are here, gathered at an isolated and abandoned block of buildings, waiting for Tristan to give the first instruction. They all eye us, me specifically. They weren't expecting to see a girl at such a mission or they are amazed that Tristan actually landed himself a girl.

Tristan and I walk hand-in-hand towards our friends and their heads snap in our direction upon noticing our presence.

Stanley's gaze connects with mine, making me want to puke my guts out.

"Glad you finally made it." Greg says sarcastically. "What took you so long?"

"Maybe they just wanted to do the deed one last time befo--" Tristan smacks Chase upside his head before he could finish the sentence.

"I won't fight for your life if you're ever threatened by Luther's men." Tristan warns Chase, but one can notice the playfulness in his words.

"Okay, let's get down to business."

................

A/N: finally, chapter 55.

Chapter dedicated to @Team10LongangFanfic for an idea on this chapter.

One more last chapter to go, then epilogue. I'll be writing a sequel as well but I don't know when I'll publish it.

I wanna also say that YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. Because of your support, we reached #4 in Teenfiction. I'm so happy!

Continue with the votes and comments.

-love ya!