At What Cost?

/5/ Marked for Vengeance

[CRISTIAN]

Khal and I rush inside, my heart pounding in my chest. "Huff... huff..." My breaths come in quick, I can still feel adrenaline rushing through my veins and all I could think about is my father and whether he's okay.

"Ms.garcia! Auntie Sarrah! Father!" I call to our maid,
as my chest tightens, and panic begins to rise again, making it hard to breathe.

Ms. Garcia quickly responds "Yes sir what is it?" She comes over to the living room "what happened sir Cristian?" a concerned look on her face.

I search inside my bag tossing books and things out without care, making a mess inside the house " where's my inhaler...did I lose it? Khal, did you take it? Now's not the good time to fool around" I demand, my voice sharp and desperate.

"No I didn't relax, here let me help you find it" he offers me a helping hand, I try to calm myself down, but it feels like my lungs are stuck. I drop onto the couch, gasping for air as I struggle against the tightness in my chest.

I notice Ms. Garcia leave the living room and come back saying "here sir you forgot to bring it with you in the morning" I use my inhaler quickly before I can see the light

I close my eyes for a second, feeling the pressure finally start to ease. "Ms. Garcia, where's my Father? How is he?"

She quickly responds softly "he's resting in his room right now sir" Relief washes over me for a moment

Footsteps from the stairs catch our attention. Aunt Sarrah appears, descending. "We'll have a meeting later during dinner," she announces.

As she reaches us, she adds, "Khalil, go to our house and change your clothes. Cristian, go to your room and take off your school uniform. Get ready for a family dinner later." She turns to Ms. Garcia. "You can continue doing what you were doing, Ms. Garcia."

While I am in my room doing my homework, I can't stop thinking about Khal's offer for a 'man-to-man talk.' It's probably a bad idea to spill my feelings to an idiot who knows nothing about love. But at the same time, maybe it's not the worst idea-at least talking might help me figure out what's going on in my head..agh nevermind.

I hear a sudden knock on my door "come in" I say

"Dinner time sir Cristian" the maid says, the smell of the dishes they made travels inside my room making me hungry

"Coming," As I am walking down the stairs I walk straight to the dining area, Khal is already there.

"mom can I go to the ba-"

"Save it for later, Khal! We're discussing something important here"

Auntie Sarrah turn her head to Ms. Garcia. "Get the devices ready."

Ms. Garcia nods and goes to grab them. Auntie Sarrah continues, "These are tracking devices. You all need to connect them to each other's phones. If there's an emergency and I'm in trouble, I'll activate them, and you'll know where I am...it's the same for all of us" I nod

I glance at Khal who looks very confused. "Why do we need those?" Khal asks, scratching his head, clearly lost in the situation.

"Because of the assassination attempt earlier, we need extra precautions, dummy," I say, trying to maintain my temper. I shoot Khal a look, making sure he understands that this is a serious matter.

"Ms. Garcia, give them each one. Connect the devices now," Auntie Sarah says, her voice sharp and urgent.

"We have also tightened our security system in the estate to ensure everyone's safety" Father says