Taking Chances (Rewritten Version)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Surprise Visit"

Nate

                  

Blow after blow, sharp pain after sharp pain, I took it all. It was like a never ending cycle of pain, something I just wasn't really used to. You'd expect that I would be, considering the type of person I am and what I've been used to on the streets of anger and pain, but I just wasn't.

However, if this meant Brielle wouldn't be touched, then I'd take every ounce of it until I was no longer breathing. At the same time, though, Brielle told me that day she left my apartment, as long as I lived, she lived too. So I tried to hold on to the hope that I'd get out of there alive. For Brielle's sake.

After I was taken from the cliff, we drove for what felt like hours, when in reality it had probably only been ten minutes or so. I was shoved into a house, or wherever it was, with wooden floors, because the floorboards creaked when I put my weight on them.

I couldn't tell what the place looked like because only after I was chained to a chair with hand cuffs did they rip the cloth off of my head. A blinding light greeted me when they did so, and that's when the first hit came. And so it continued. It'd been a few days since I was taken, and it got more and more vivid. I didn't want them to turn the plan in, and I was hoping me being there still meant they didn't give it to him. But at the same time, the nineteenth was in two days, which meant he would make an appearance before then to scare Brielle into giving it up. He was going to make her life more of Hell than it already was.

But what made things worse was knowing he didn't do all of this himself, he had his personal bitch do it. Terry smirked, though, and stood proud when he asked him to do everything for him.

"Never thought I'd have to stand here and pound you, Nate," Terry said aloud after an hour of complete silence. He was heaving from each blow he delivered, which made everything all that more sick.

"Never thought I'd have to be pounded for loving a girl," I replied rather boldly. Every ounce of me was tired and hopeful that he understood the object of love, that he knew what I felt when I looked at her and smiled when she did. What I wanted to say everyday but never did because I didn't want to scare her away.

Now, in case I never made it, I'd never get that chance. I imagined Brielle screaming at me and hitting me at my words, and it made me miss her that much more.

Terry raised his fist to throw another blow, but he dropped it a second later, looking defeated. It confused me to no end, considering he'd never walked away from an order. He sank into the corner of the room across from me, something that made me more than wary.

"Me neither, mate," he sighed, letting his head fall against the wall. It was a concrete room, which made it harder for me to know where I was.

I watched as he glanced around the room, finally looking at me. I could only guess, though, that what I looked like was only what was left of me.

"When I got him out, I thought he would be grateful. I thought he'd have learned his lesson after this last arrest. But the second I got him out, he looked at me, insulted me, and then told me we had work to do. I'm sick and tired of being his little puppet."

I was surprised at his words, simply because I'd always seen Terry as the guy who took to one person and put all of his loyalties on them. To hear him say he wasn't happy, it made me realize maybe not all was going to go straight to Hell.

"What would you give," I breathed, as quiet as I could in case he could hear me. "To be with a group that respected you and gave you the opportunity to forget everything you've done?"

A look flashed across his face, and in that moment I could see that he was desperate. He wanted to help make things right with the right people. He wanted to change everything that had caused this mess. I could see it all. But he couldn't reply, because the moment he opened his mouth the doorknob began to jiggle. He jumped up and looked at me with a panicked look, but that look he gave me also told me he needed to be convincing to make him think he was still beating me blood-dry.

"Sorry," he mouthed as he shoved his fist to my face, almost splitting my jaw completely. He packed some terribly punches, that much was gravely obvious.

The door open and in came the cold brown eyes and spiked brown hair. He smiled as I tried to get myself together and ignore the pain as he stepped into the room.

"I see you've gotten pretty heavy," he smirked to Terry, who was staring at me with absolute remorse. "That's good. My little sister will finally realize boys just aren't worth it."

I ignored my urging desire to shout at him with harsh threats, but he didn't even notice.

"We've got to move out," he said after Terry nodded. "They've not given me their plan, which means they need some motivation."

When he looked at me with an even bigger smirk, I knew he was going to use me. He wanted to make Brielle squirm more than she already had, and there was no telling how sick it was that he was wanting her like he did.

His game was Hell.

I didn't have to say anything as he left, leaving Terry and I to sit in silence.

"This is your last day being in this hell-hole," was all he told me. He helped me out of the cuffs and put the cloth over my head again.

It wasn't until we were in the car that I began to panic.

I was afraid for Brielle.

Brielle

I stared at the photos, feeling a hole in my chest.

I just couldn't believe he was with him. He was being tortured and held captive, and I couldn't even have my say. Even as I stared at the message he'd written, time is ticking, I felt like screaming. Harry would not let me give up their plan to save Nate, because he swore he'd get Nate out without having to expose ourselves. Claire initially agreed with him. So I was left to torture myself with the thought that each day he was being beaten and shoved closer to death.

Claire insisted that going to class was good for me in helping to ease my discomfort, even if nothing could at this point, so she made sure to drive us to school in order to get me going. I hadn't been listening all class, even if it was best that I did. That being said, I was filled with sighs of relief when we were dismissed. I was one of the first to pack my things and exit the room, but the second I did, a hand slithered around my elbow, gripped unbelievably tight, and yanked me back so hard I almost dropped all of my things.

"Who the hell do you think you-"

I couldn't finish.

Hell, I couldn't even breathe. Everything inside of me shut down, everything that I've been worried about and frightened of just exploded into complete chaos. I felt like my body and heart were frozen, and all I could do was stare with paralyzed eyes.

Those brown eyes, that brown hair, the cruel, cold smirk. Everything about him made me feel like I couldn't feel anything. My body, my emotions. Everything was just gone.

"Brielle... it's been awhile." His voice made frigid chills run up and down my spine, but I didn't shiver. I didn't even look away like I so desperately wanted to.

I hadn't spoken his name in years, nor had I thought about it. I'd always wanted to forget about him, about his name and his personality, about my childhood with him. I left my past back at Judie's house. I didn't think I'd have to relive it like this. I didn't think I had to address him by his actual name anymore. I didn't think I had to face the truth.

"Liam."