Betrayal Is My End

Chapter 17

Kai

Brandon drove and we all piled into the van as we could. Since Davi and Dave had worked to take the seats out it was quite easy to get everyone in. Stahsi was going to be a pinnacle part of getting us out of the prison. We just had to figure out how to get in. I leaned my head against the side of the van as we drove in silence.
Other than Brandon, Davi, Stahsi, Tsu, and myself everyone else was asleep. Jay sat in the front seat having claimed 'you skinny bitches, if any take front seat we gonna have a problem.'
She was quite refreshing to be honest, her complete bluntness was like something we'd never experienced. Davi finally had someone to match his assholliness and I got free entertainment. If she got mad at me, I could buy her a beer or something to make up for it.
Her and Tsu, seemed to be making fast friends. I couldn't help but feel happy at that, even though when all this started I didn't want a relationship. Now though, it was different. I actually cared about Tsu, her happiness- it mattered to me.
I was glad to see her finding friends she could trust and be herself around. Also, it left Davi and myself time to work out any issues for Jerome. We'd been working round the clock as of late to get everything ready. Dylan had been with us every step of the way and we'd even scoped everything out.
Only thing we didn't know about was Jerome's governmental plan. Davi and I had learned about that little gem the same time as everyone else, and we were just as floored. I shook my head now though, this isn't the time or place to be zoning out. Focus. I'd been doing this more and more lately, I'd just sit and suddenly find myself thinking of the past.
Tsu had her head leaned against me while my arm wrapped around her drawing circles on her shoulder. Davi sat across from us and Ash laid down the center between us completely passed out.
It was strange to have him back, though I believe it was due to Julia, Elizabeth, and Misty. Elizabeth was the one who found Ash's soul and bargained for it, Julia held it and Misty tailored him a new body to look just the same. It made sense why Jerome hadn't brought the two girls out sooner, he'd had them busy on this project.
I still just couldn't believe it though, I found myself staring in Aw at just how good Ash looked. His first question had been for Claira but Jerome had stated simply that she was 'taken care of.' This hadn't exactly sat well with Ash but he also knew there wasn't much he could do so he'd let it go.
He laid there on the floor peacefully snoozing, and I thought back to Jules' parting words to me, she'd told me 'he may sleep a lot. If he does, just let him. He's been through a lot and his soul needs time to heal. Technically he shouldn't be out here now, we've only just finished fixing him.'
She'd cast a worried glance at him and that was that. It was extraordinary to see how incredible the three of them were. That's why Jerome split them up, sprinkled them throughout the teams.
Misty sat with her back leaned against the back door of the van and eyes closed, meditating. How can someone find peace in this? I felt the bumps as we went over them. Every dip and groove, every pothole and near miss, every quick jerk of the wheel. I felt, so meditating was definitely off my to do list. Brandon glanced in his mirror every so often to make sure he hadn't disturbed anyone too badly.
I heard someone sniffle and turned to see Stahsi trying her hardest to be invisible. I looked to Davi who had his head against the opposite wall, he nodded slightly to the crying girl. I pursed my lips and leaned my head back, I heard him sigh. I opened my eyes and met his after a moment and we stared at each other, willing the other to break. He gestured to her again and I yawned as realistically as I could closing my eyes. "You jackass," he muttered before I heard some scraping as he moved as stealthily as he could around everyone to get to Stahsi.
I opened my eyes to watch as he pulled her to him slowly and watched as she gasped, "oh, im- I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"
He spoke before she could finish though and cut off whatever she'd been about to say, "you didn't." His words were blunt, but they seemed to be what she needed. I watched as she eased up leaning against him more and her tears flowed. "Why didn't he say it back?" Her voice was barely a whisper and she wiped her eyes in frustration. Davi sighed, "you know, I had a sister like you, she was younger than me." My eyes widened as I watched his face change from awkward and annoyed by her tears to soft and almost- worried.
He never talks about his family, especially not his sister. Stahsi looked to him in shock and he smiled at her, "I protected her with my very being, she was my life." His voice was quiet as he thought about it and it was clear he was stuck in his memories. When she spoke, her voice was soft too, "d-did she die?" He scoffed, "no. She's alive- I think. My family died to me the second I became Davi. David Keaton was put in a grave outside of town," he shrugged and she laughed.
He sat there in silence clearly lost in thought, I didn't think he'd continue and was about to speak when he started slowly, his voice low. "My sister was like my everything but when she found out I had powers, she turned her back on me." He sighed softly, "I went to her that day, Kai offered me to come with him but I was terrified. Doris had healed me enough to function but I was still pretty beaten," his voice was filled with pure unfiltered grief.
It was clear this was still raw for him, and why he never spoke of it. I doubt Tsu even knew he had a sister. As he spoke, his voice dropped slightly to just above a whisper, "she took two seconds to look at me before she slammed the door in my face and scream at me calling me names. My heart broke that day, I'd protected her all her life. Been there for her, watched out for her, and she turned her back on me." He took a deep breath, "all I wanted was to hear her say 'I love you' but she didn't."
He looked to Stahsi now, and in that look he gave her, I saw pity. He took a deep breath and squeezed her softly, "I know what you're going through, and I'm going to give you some tough love while comforting you."
She chuckled but I could tell she was crying still as she sniffled, the small area of the van was filled with a quiet intimate vibe.
It was strange to hear him talk about his past but nice to see him opening up to someone other than Tsu or myself. "I was ruined when she didn't say it back, I wanted to just let go and go crazy. Annnnnnd I did," he said drawing the word out. He tilted his head back and forth and smiled softly, clearly remembering his actions, he'd been wild and a bit unstable for a while. He'd killed thousands and had no regret about it, it wasn't until Doris spoke with him that he finally calmed down.
"Unfortunately, you don't have that option. You have people depending on you."
He said and looked around the cab to everyone asleep around us, his eyes landing on me and Tsu and staying there. "You're an important part to this plan going off without a hitch, and although it hurts to have the love of your life not say the one thing you want to hear most- you can't just break. We're depending on you. You have lives on the line, that's more important than a lovers' quarrel."
She took a deep breath and sat forward now clearly deep in thought, "you're right." She spoke calmly after a moment and I raised a brow in question. "I was being stupid. I know he loves me, just because he didn't say it doesn't mean he doesn't feel it."
Davi smiled and shrugged his shoulders using his hands to show how he felt. She leaned back into him again, and it was silent for a bit. Tsu turned and I realized she had, at some point, fallen asleep. "So, I'm curious," Davi said quietly and it was clear he was trying to pass time.
He hated long car rides, found them boring, he always slept through them but seeing as there were so many people he couldn't. I think it was something to do with his power. The electricity kept him too wired and awake to relax. "You said that 'Jerome's the only one that's kept it all together. We have a roof over our heads.' What did you mean by that?" She chuckled softly and ran a hand through her hair, "oh, that."
It was clear she didn't want to quite answer it, but Davi was just watching and waiting. She pursed her lips and I could see she was thinking and sifting through her memories and what she was seeing was both good and bad. "Well, before Jerome- ha," she chuckled dryly catching herself. "-Before Dylan even, Dave and I were moving from place to place. We never stayed in one place longer than two nights. He had this little junker car that-" she blew her breath out and shook her head exasperated - "that thing, I don't even know how it ran. We had a joke that the cars name was Stacy, cause he loved it and always put time into it when I wanted stuff."
Her smile was so full of love that I felt almost uncomfortable at the rawness of it. "Anyways, Dave is wanted in...... a lot of states." Davi raised a brow and I couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't comment but continued deep in thought. "He definitely is wanted in Oregon. When I was twelve, Dave transferred to my school, I was being picked on for always having dirty, grungy clothes. My hair was always cut in botched up layers, anyways," she said clearly shaking herself out of her reverie. "One day, I was walking home and this man followed me, he took me and hit me." Her voice shook now and she wiped at her eyes.
Davi pulled her closer, rubbing his hand up her arm and I looked out the windshield to see we were still on the highway.
I groaned inwardly, as much as I enjoy learning about everyone's stories- now is not the time. Damn you Davi not being able to be normal and sleep in a god damn car.
"Anyways, uh- bad things happened as you can imagine. That's when my power showed up," she wrapped her arms around herself now and Davi kept her by his side. In a matter of minutes he'd become protective of her and I shook my head at his big brother kicking in. She sighed and continued, as I watched her it was clear she hadn't told anyone about this.
She was reliving it and it was as though it was happening right now. I felt for her, but I blamed Davi. "I don't even know who it was, but he had murdered my family. He had hurt me, and when he was done he was going to kill me, only he couldn't find me. I remember praying to be hidden, to sink into the darkness." She smiled softly and caressed the shadows around her, they reminded me of a small dog that constantly wanted approval.
"I was right there where he'd left me. But he couldn't see me, the shadows hid me from him. It had been days he'd been with me beating me, raping me, burning me with cigarettes," she rolled her sleeve up to show circular scars up and down her arms. I stiffened as I saw them and bit my lip, I'd given a few of them to people over the years.
Hell, I thought, Jerome had just given Dylan one of them just a few weeks ago.
"I remember hearing the door open, and praying it was the police. But it wasn't," she smiled and I watched more tears fall.
It was strange how you could tell what was a happy tear and what was a sad one. "Let me guess who it was," Davi said tilting his head to the side. She chuckled now covering her mouth so as not to wake anyone up. "Sorry, yea it was Dave. He looked like an avenging angel. He was furious, he'd clearly seen the others. I remember thinking 'why would he come?' We barely even knew each other. "
Her eyes were filled with sadness as she recalled the memory, and I watched her take a deep breath forcing herself to continue. "Anyways, he knew more about his power than I did because he barely even had to fight. He nicked the guy and activated his power in less than a minute." She smiled softly now and I could see how young she was. Hard to think this happened just four years ago, she's a freaking child. Davi pursed his lips and I groaned inwardly cause I knew he was gonna ask something else. Sure enough, after a minute, "so why is he wanted? Sounds to me like the asshole deserved it."
Davi's question was fair, I was wondering too. How could someone who raced in to save her be wanted? It made no sense, I shifted slightly so as not to wake Tsu and grimaced at the strain in my back and ass. Not even for a good reason, I scoffed and rolled my eyes and as I did I saw Davi hone in on me and smirk.
Apparently he could follow my one track mind. I flipped him off and Stahsi watched us confused, she cleared her throat slightly.
"Well that's the thing that sucks. A neighbor saw Dave go in, but because I didn't know how to use my power they didn't see us leave, we were hidden. So when they eventually went in and saw the family murdered, he got the blame. He left his family behind so as not to drag them in, and we've been on the run ever since." I scoffed now and she jumped slightly, "I thought you were asleep!" She whisper yelled, Brandon looked in the mirror and I could tell he was trying to gauge who she was talking to. "Seems to me," I said thinking it over.
"That your neighbor is an idiot." She frowned but didn't deny it. "So- when we found Dylan, or rather when he found us, it was just a few years after being on the run. Dave was participating in a skating competition- he skateboards and is amazing." She added offhandedly and I rolled my eyes at Davi's entertained look.
"He offered us a place to stay but we'd be on the move. We'd for sure have some form of roof over our head but it's never be in the same place we wouldn't have to scrounge for survival anymore but," she shrugged.
"So, being here is like a new life." I jumped slightly when I heard Misty speak. I'd been keeping the general feel of the car relaxed but hadn't realized anyone had woken up. She smiled softly, "sorry, I'm not much of a sleeper. I'm sorry you went through all that, y'all are amazing for being alive and in the here and now. I'd probably break and be stuck."
I frowned at her and she shrugged, "alright, Davi shut up," I said before he could interrupt, "let's get some sleep. We've got about two hours till we're there. Brandon," I said meeting his gaze in the mirror, "we'll trade whenever you want, so you can rest too. If I hear anyone talking, I'm taking the risk of knocking Brandon out and cranking the calmness up to infinity so we all sleep- or die." There was soft snickering around the car and I caught Brandon's fear- filled gaze in the mirror before letting out a calming sense and watching everyone fall asleep one by one.
I focused on Stahsi for a moment, before closing my eyes, she's had a rough life. We all have. Hopefully they can find peace after this. Hopefully we all can