Captives

NINE

Sebastian's POV

Present Day

There is a high pitched ringing in my ears and my body aches.

I groan, my vision blurry as I open my eyes. With a hoarse cough, I clutch my stomach as I manage to sit up.

"What happened..." I wince, feeling a hefty knot on the back of my head.

Harper.

With a single thought of her, my mind snaps back into focus.

"Harper?!" I call her name, getting to my feet.

Everything sways, and I stumble forward towards the steps. I look up, seeing Rin sitting at the top of them. How long have I been out? I left him unconscious on the floor in the lighthouse. So long enough for him to wake up. Minutes, hours?

How long since Harper left me?

"Where is she?" I ask, glaring up at the traitor.

He claims he cares for me. Supposedly loves me. But he ruined everything! If it weren't for him bailing on the plan last minute, Harper and I would have made our escape together and she never would have known about my involvement in all of this. She would have been shaken from the entire thing, left with unanswered questions but she would have been okay.

We would have been okay.

Together.

"You choked me." Rin reminds me, rubbing his bruised neck.

Serves him right. Yet again, he stomped in and trampled the plans I made for my life. He wouldn't let me end it, and he just severely complicated my chances at making it better. What does he want from me?! My heart, my soul? They both belong to Harper. She is the only one that was able to revive those things within me, to make me feel like a person. Not just a person, but an important person. One worthy of her love.

"And you cost me my everything." I glare up at Rin, my breathing ragged.

My lungs are a little constricted beneath my ribs, and I'm not sure if I'm just banged up from falling down here or if I'm having a panic attack at the thought of losing Harper.

Why did she do that? Why did she run away from me?

She... she was just scared. Rin over complicated everything. I should have figured out a way to do it without relying on him. Now she's out there alone, confused, and frightened.

She needs me!

"I blame myself." Rin speaks softly, shaking his head. "I knew you were unstable, Seb. I mean, you would be dead at your own hand had I not stopped you. Now I've gone and enabled your criminal fantasy." He sighs, his eyes heavy with guilt and regret.

Criminal fantasy? I'm not a criminal... Okay, so maybe this particular method of getting Harper here may have been, technically, illegal. But I'm not a criminal and I'm not crazy. I just did what needed to be done in order to be with her. And it worked! She fell for me, hard and fast.

Because it's meant to be.

We're soulmates.

"You're sick, mate." Rin interrupts my thoughts of her. "Unwell in the head." His hands hang loosely over his knees, his face partially cast in shadow.

I laugh, think about it, and laugh some more. This fucking guy. Sitting all high and mighty up there with his paper thin morals and hypocrisy.

"Have I told a joke?" Rin asks, tapping his finger tips together.