Knowing that it was definitely not a good moment at all to be feeling this way, Emlyn sat down, ignoring how turned on she was by Jasmine's indifference. "Yeah, you're telling me," she said, scratching her head and sitting down. "Are you okay? Why were you at the crime site and also, what the hell?" she exclaimed.
Jasmine remained silent, which motivated Emlyn to make the first move. She walked forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Wet trails blazed a path down her face and onto a green shawl that was strewn loosely around Jasmine's neck.
"I love you," Emlyn whispered.
And she hoped. . . she'd say it back.
A short pause ensued and the latter girl said absolutely nothing, merely staring uninterestedly at the table.
Emlyn pressed her lips together firmly and tried to conceal the hurt inflaming inside of her chest. Her heart felt like the burnt puzzle pieces left to burn in the ashes of her old home; never to be complete and always unwhole.
"Jaz?" she murmured, unsure of what was happening.
"You betrayed me," Jasmine hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
"I— what?" Emlyn stammered, words pouring out of her mouth like sludge, distributed like choppy slop. Anger grew in the pit of her stomach, unveiling like a vine. Quickly swirling around the walls, poking at them in furious, dangerous swipes. Stewing in her brain was everything that had continuously crashed into her life, repeatedly setting it off course of the original destination. Knocking any chances at reaching anywhere, off the chart. "How could I betray you, Jasmine? If anything, you were the one who betrayed me! You left me to leave Australia, leave everyone I've ever known, to start a new life, without the girl I loved. And I. . . I knew the consequences of what would follow your family should you join me. I understood, even after all we've been through, all we've endured, as one. You were the one who saved my life and I undoubtedly feel like I owe you so much more than it. You've saved my life on so many different times, in so many variations. Because that's just what we did. Countless times, we picked each other up from the ground when someone kicked you to the mud, and we'd clean each other up and move on. I don't know why you're being so quiet now. Aren't you gonna explain to me what the fuck is going on? What the fuck are you doing, getting involved in this shit? I literally just found out my brother's not dead, that— that he teamed up with some world class thief, and now I learned my girlfriend's a part of an international league kept under wraps for fear of their corruptive secrets being unfolded to the public eye. How do you think I feel?" she panted, shaking her head and swallowing, struggling to fight her throat from closing up.
Blinking, she stared at Jasmine, who had her eyebrows narrowed and knuckles ghostly white, squeezing onto the edge of the table as a silent fury steamed over her facade. "I'm worried about you," she managed to breathe out.
"Really? You look a lot more pissed than worried," observed Emlyn.
Jasmine gritted her teeth. "I missed you. I did. But you have to realize this is hard for me, Emmy—"
"You don't get to call me that!" Emlyn thundered, bringing her hands down on the table, struggling to breathe as she stared down the girl she thought she knew so well . . . Traitorship was a navy that sailed very stormy seas. The waves were against them. "You can't call me that. Not— not anymore," she whispered, touching her cheek as she licked at the insides of it, and her gums. Due to all the stress continuously building up in her body, she had chewed some of her cheek, and now the sharp taste of iron filled her mouth. A darker red colored the lighter of her mouth.
"You can join us," Jasmine said suddenly.
"What?" Emlyn asked, surprise immediately washing over her.
"Join us." Jasmine apparently grew extremely confident of the idea. She repeated it, the words sounding more extinguished and pronounced. "Come and train at the academy. They'd love you there."
"What happened to you?" Emlyn said, horrified. "Did you lie to me this whole time? Can I at least know why you— decided to do this? What motives at least? So. . So I can understand. Partly. I mean, I'm never going to fully understand your decision but—"
"Do you even know what we do there?" Jasmine asked, sounding bored.
"It's a school for thieves. Probably worse. Are you training killers? Carmen made it sound so bad, and not that I believe her either, 'cause you all are seriously fucked in the brains—"
"Yes. Do you want to know why?"
"Absolutely." Emlyn simply gave a nonchalant shrug. "Explain."
Jasmine cleared her throat and Emlyn could already feel the bullshit beginning to form in the back of her ex's throat. "You see, Carmen had a very long history with VILE. They had different goals, I guess, but both had the same means to get them. Thievery. Emlyn, Carmen likes to pretend she's not like us. Better, even! She hates the cold, hard truth, which is that she is just the same. You don't even know what we do, and yet you will judge. Not all of us murder to get what we want. Most of the time, we simply steal. And it's as a means to stay alive. Many of us were once in poverty and felt what it was for the world to turn your back on you. Had no one to turn to. No other option. And as an idea, such an organization might seem—"
"It's a cult, I swear to god," muttered Emlyn. "This whole thing. I'm guessing Carmen escaped from it, it fucked up her mind and that's why she's such an asshole. Oh, and how you've become such an elegant piece of shit."
Jasmine looked pretty annoyed but she didn't bicker about Emlyn's complaints towards her. "This all may seem very strange to you."
"It does." Emlyn nodded, propping her chin on her fingers. "But you know what, I don't believe either side because guess what?" She splayed her arms out widely and grinned. "I'm outta here. I'm not getting involved in this weird shit anymore, I'm gone!"
Despite her brother being the reason she endured this all, and now her ex-girlfriend another, she wasn't sure if she could save them. All she knew was she needed some booze and a nap to process all this, and then she'd return to perhaps try to figure this out another day. Unfortunately, she never got to do that.
The next thing Emlyn knew as she was dismounting her chair and bee lining for the curb, Jasmine judo flipped her to the ground. Emlyn grunted, trying to roll out from underneath her girlfriend. Considering the circumstances, she wished she wasn't feeling so suddenly sweaty and flushed. "I'm usually the top, so this is new grounds," she commented, and Jasmine ignored her.
"Commence Plan C.," Jasmine said, to no one in particular, Emlyn thought, until a body came flying out of the sky and landed on the ground, and the incoming increasingly loud whirl of a helicopter buzzed in her ears.
I'm fucked, was the last thought she had as Jasmine held her down and someone injected a needle into the exposed skin on her arm.
YOU ARE READING
Ablaze , ᶦᵛʸ
FanfictionWiped out in a supposed bush fire, Graham's entire family was gone, leaving him with no one. At least, so he thought. Little did they all know that his sister crawled from the depths of the hellfire, leaving her more resourceful, smart, and also bro...
