Chapter 37
*Lexi*
The room spun and swirled around me, bright colors shocking my eyes and making me squeeze them shut. Something wasn’t right; the queasiness in my stomach was enough to alert me of that.
There was a needle in my arm.
My throat clogged up with my own choking realization; the needle and the drugs. Toxic chemicals in my system, still going in; was it an I.V? At the hospital, after the first ordeal, I’d almost had a panic attack every time I woke up. Harry had calmed me down, murmuring that everything was alright and I needed to go back to sleep... oh, how I wish I could sleep now.
Maybe it would make the assignment go faster.
Maybe I’d never wake up again.
The bottom of my seat was cool; metal. A metal chair.
The sweat broke out beneath my brow; I tried to clear my vision by blinking, yet it continued to swirl and spin, faster and faster. Soft chuckles came close by my ear, somewhere above where I sat.
“Why are you stalling? Let’s just get it over with!” That was her high pitched tone; annoyed and whiny.
“Soph, you don’t have to listen to him. We got the money; that’s all he really wants!” That was... that was him. It sounded strangled though, a softer tone than he usually used. The tone implied that he cared.
“He’ll kill both of us!” She screeched and I shrunk back, still blinking as the room swirled. In my line of vision, I saw what appeared to be Sophie and Damien, both taking severe stances across the room.
There was a hollow thump; maybe he’d hit the wall with his fist? My sight was too cloudy to comprehend what I was seeing, but now there were two pairs of icy blue eyes glaring at me.
“It’s nice to see you again bitch. I’ve quite missed your screams.” Damien’s voice changed from the vulnerable, caring tone I’d just heard, back into the cold, calculating one. It sent shivers up my spine; my stomach ached from the memories of that night.
“I’ve missed your shitty comebacks,” I hissed, hoping that my last words would be an insult directed at him. At least then I’d go out in spite.
Sophie started laughing; she held a gun in her hand.
“Be careful what you say Alexis. My finger is itching to blow your head off.” She sounded just like him; that same tone, the same chilling expression. Soph. She was my last chance, right? Maybe Damien was like Sophie too; confused, two different personalities. Or maybe they were both just arrogant, sick lunatics.
A wave of vertigo hit me; what the hell was in my arm? Sophie chuckled.
“So you’re enjoying the needle? I thought a sedative would help; the longer you’re here, the more you have.” She bit her lip. “Wouldn’t want to have too much, now would we?”
Well, that was typical. She was going to overdose me, or shoot me in the head.
What a nice way to die.
Obviously, that was sarcasm, but it wasn’t like I’d never expected all of this. One last chance; get her to let me go, just like she had with Brittany. Change her from Sophie to Soph, in a single instance.
“Soph, don’t you--”Don’t you try that shit with me!” She bellowed, growling. Damien’s eyes went wide for a moment; he was staring at the gun, then to me and back. Something must have clicked in his head; it confused me though. Wasn’t he on her side? Didn’t he want to kill me just like she did?
He saw my confused expression and stared at the floor rather nervously; this was the first time I’d seen him remotely nervous.
“Sophie, maybe you should listen to her. Don’t listen to him.” My head was still swirling; I felt like passing out again, going into the oblivion. It was too interesting though; this new Damien was a miracle I had to stay awake for. He was defending me; possibly saving my life? Those icy blue eyes reached mine; he sighed. “You were a random choice; a girl in the coffee shop he made me... target. It was fun, no matter how twisted that sounds, but I went too far.”
The sincerity of his words hit me; he wasn’t apologizing, but he did feel some kind of remorse. ‘He’ must have been Andrew.
All along, Damien hadn’t been the orchestrator to this symphony of misery.
“God dammit Damien, can’t you grow a pair? Just let me kill her!” She began to cock the gun; he stopped her, gripping the gun and her arm.
“Soph, look at me. You don’t want to do this.” There was a moment where the two locked eyes; identical, icy blue eyes.
She shook her head slowly, and I saw something roll down her cheek; a tear maybe? I was slowly fading out now, the walls swaying back and forth. My stomach dropped to the floor every time I swallowed; the colors swirled and their words were beginning to get garbled. There was another muffled shout, then some whispering, maybe a sob or two; my mind was too muddled and I couldn’t tell left from right.
“I... but... he’s gonna kill all of us! Don’t you understand it? You've lived with him longer than I have!” She sounded like Soph again; high pitched and soft, broken and innocent.
“I know... I... we can get out of here. I know we can. You and me, just like the old days, right?” Blinking, I tried to make the two siblings out. Soph looked on the verge of crying, and Damien, for the first time, appeared to be the older, caring brother.
“How?” Soph sniffled; my vision swirled again and my heart rate was lowering. I could feel it; that strange relaxing sensation you have with you’re on the brink of sleep. Somehow, I wasn’t sure if I would wake up this time.
“I’ll go get Elise, and we’ll go. I promise.” Damien’s words were kind, determined. They gave me a new impression, in a way. Twisted mind, but in some small way he cared.
“Should we kill her? Erase the evidence?” A chill went up my spine.
That was the cold voice.
Soph, Sophie; who was it?
Before I found out, the colors swirled one last time, and I fell.
