My Temptation

23

M I L E S

I'm barley breathing. The gun in my hand falls to the floor and there's a loud ringing piercing through my ears. I stare down at Mason's dead body as blood pours out of him like a waterfall. His eyes are still open and the sight makes me nauseous. 

I fall to my knees and force myself to lean over to his body and shut his eyes. I stay in place staring at his lifeless body, his blood starts to soak my pants and shoes. My hands are covered in his blood and I can't stop staring at my hands.

Suddenly, I feel someone lift me up off the floor and drag me out of the room. It's Jack, I can hear his voice saying things to me but I can't understand what he's saying. My head is spinning and I can't stop hearing the sounds of the gunshots ringing through my ears.

We burst through to door to the outside and the cold air hits me hard, I grab onto the wall and instantly throw up. 

"Miles..." Jack says but I just shake my head, putting my hand out to him. He comes up behind me and puts his hand on my shoulder, he uses his other hand to give me a tissue.

I grab it and wipe my mouth before turning around, pushing past him and going to my car. 

"Miles!" He yells rushing behind me but I ignore him

I get to my car but before I could get in, I feel him grab my arm and turn me around.

"What Jack?!" I yell throwing my hands up in the air

"Listen to me! Miles... you just killed someone. You killed someone. You're not in the right headspace to drive or go back to your cabin. You're not in the right headspace to go back and see Jane." He says and I scoff

"Don't worry about me. You didn't worry about me enough when you decided to call me and ask if I wanted  to kill him!" I yell before getting in my car, slamming the door and immediately speeding off once I start the car. 

As I continue driving, I grab a bunch of tissues and try wiping off the blood from my hands but most of it is already dried and stained on my hands. Angrily I slam my hand on the wheel repeatedly, screaming out in anger.

I look at me review mirrors before quickly pulling off to the side of the road and parking my car. My hands grip the steering wheel so tight until my knuckles turn white, leaning my head on my hands I let out a deep shaky breath and close my eyes.

Without trying, I slowly drift off into a deep sleep.

•••

J A N E

The sun shining through the curtains causes me to wake up. I turn around to drape my arm over Miles but his side  of the bed is empty. I rub my eyes slowly and sit up in bed, grabbing my phone from the nightstand. I sit there in silence for a moment trying to see if I can hear Miles in the bathroom or downstairs, but it's completely silent.

I grab my robe and slip it on, securing it around my waist with a knot. I get out of bed and walk out of the room, leaning over the staircase railing as my eyes scan the bottom floor.

"Miles? Are you here?" I ask loudly.

Silence. 

Worry and confusion races through my mind immediately causing me to rush downstairs. I start calling his phone repeatedly but it keeps going straight to voicemail. My anxiety is racing through me and I can feel myself begin to panic when there's a sudden knock at the door. I run to the front door and swing it open, only to see my father standing there with a look on his face that I can't quite describe. 

"Dad? What're you doing here? I thought you were back in Chicago." I say confused. He just sighs deeply and walks inside. I slowly shut the door behind him and lock it. He walks to the living room and I follow behind him. 

He stands in the middle of the living room with his back facing me, his silence is nerve racking. 

"What's the matter? Where's Miles? He wasn't here when I woke up and he's not answering his phone." I say crossing my arms over my chest.

He turns to face me and he lets out a frustrated sigh then sits down on the  cushion chair, putting his face in his hands. I stand there in front of him tapping my foot. 

"I don't know how to tell you this Jane." He says in a hushed tone and I roll my eyes, throwing my hands up in the air.

"DAD! Just tell me already! What the hell is going on?!" I yell 

"Miles is in jail." He says and I swear I feel my heart stop beating. I let out a small gasp and grip onto the side of the couch.

"Wh-what? When? Wh-why?! What did he do?!" I say, my breathing picking up rapidly.

"Jane calm down... sit down sweetheart." He says getting up from the chair and guiding me to sit down on the couch. I sit on the edge of the couch, gripping the cushions tightly. My heart is pounding out of my chest. 

"Wh-what happened?" I ask breathing heavily but he stays silent for a moment, his silence tells me everything. My eyes widen when I realize. "He killed him.. didn't he?" I ask and my father just looks at me, shocked. 

"You know what about that?" He asks and I scoff 

"Dad, I've known about what you do for a long time. I pretend that I don't, but I do. And I know that you asked Miles if he wanted to go down there and finish the job. To kill Mason." I say and he looks down and sighs. 

"You were never supposed to know what I really do." He says 

"Well I do. Now tell me what happened to Miles." I say sternly 

"He did kill Mason. He came down to Chicago last night, he said that he just wanted to have a talk with Mason. But Mason got under his skin, he pushed Miles to his limit and he just... he picked up a gun and did it." He says and my gasp croaks in my throat. I go to speak but my father cuts me off. 

"He was covered in his blood, his hands, his pants and shoes were covered in Mason's blood. I tried to stop him from getting in his car and driving back here. I told him that he wasn't in the right headspace to drive after he just killed someone. But he didn't listen. He got in his car and drove away." He says.

My hands are shaking and I can't stop picturing what that moment was like for Miles. 

"So then how was he caught?" I ask choking up on my tears

"He was driving then pulled off to the side of the road. Without meaning to, he fell asleep. A cop ended up driving by and saw his car then went to check on him. The cop saw his hands covered in blood, forced him out of the car and saw the rest of the blood on his clothes and shoes. The cop immediately arrested Miles. He was terrified, he was freaking out and he used his one phone call to call me. I went down there and he told me everything that I just told you." He says and I just stare at my father, not knowing what to say.

I sit there is silence, my mind is spinning and I can't even think straight. I can't believe this. Everything was going so good and now everything is ruined. He was just here with me yesterday and now he's stuck in a cell. I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to finally speak up.

"So what's going to happen to him? Is there anything you can do?" I ask tears rolling down my face.

"Well first, now that Mason is gone and you don't have to worry about him, I want you to finally come back home to Chicago. Secondly, my lawyer is good, he's very good and he can help Miles get out." He says 

"How long will that take?!" I say, my voice cracking.

"I can't say, I have no idea how long it'll take Jane. But I promise you, we will get him out of there." He says and I just shake my head, burying my face in my hands.

"Janey it's going to be okay, I promise. I need you to trust me." He says 

"I do, I do trust you dad. But I'm so worried for him and I'm terrified of what could happen to Miles if he's in jail for too long or if he gets sent to prison." I say 

"I think what you should really worry about is when he gets out and comes back home. He still has blood on his hands. He will always remember killing Mason, it will replay in his mind constantly. It will change him forever. He will never be the same person again Jane." He says and I just look up at him with anger

"Why did you have to ask him if he wanted to do it? Why did you do that to him?!" I ask angrily

"I- I just... I just thought he would want to be the one to get revenge. But he rejected my offer at first!" He says 

"You planted that seed in his mind! You caused this to happen! Why couldn't you just do it?" I say  

"I'm sorry Jane. I wish I could go back and just do it myself. I should've just done it myself the first time he rejected my offer." He says and I scoff.

"You never should've asked him in the first place dad. He would not be in this situation if you never asked him to do it." I say and he just nods in agreement.

"I'm so sorry Jane." He says. I stand up from the couch and turn to him, my arms crossed over my chest.

"I'll come back home to Chicago. But not with you. I'll be back tomorrow, but for now, I want you to leave." I say and he looks up at me with sadness in his face, he opens his mouth to speak but I stop him. 

"Leave. Now." I say

He lets out a deep sigh and nods, without uttering another word to me, he gets up and leaves. I stand there staring at the front door and sulking in the silence of the cabin. I go back upstairs to our room and crawl back into bed, burying myself under the covers before breaking down into sobs.

I don't know what I'm going to do. If Miles can't get out, what's going to happen between us? What's going to happen to him? 

I lost him once... I can't lose him again.