The Child Out For Revenge

Chapter 15

I am so sorry, this chapter has been a long time coming. School this term has been hectic like you can't believe. Hope you all like the chapter and thank you all for being patient! xx

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Chapter 15

Jezebel’s POV

He knew just where to hit and it hurt. What made it worse was that he meant it too. He was quite prepared to let me kill him just so he could be with his parents. Although, he knew very well that I wasn’t going to do it. He wanted to cause me as much pain as he could. Ironic I guess, considering how much pain I’d caused him. I could feel my head shaking slowly. The only answer I was capable of giving at that point. My heart was too filled with sadness to respond verbally.

I swallowed several times before I could build up the courage to look Ryder in the eye and say, “No.”

He gave a knowing smile in response before replying, “It’s either you or me.”

Josh took a step forward in front of me and cut in forcefully, “Oh hell no. If it’s going to be anybody, it’s going to be you.”

I moved out from behind Josh and into the middle of the three boys. I was hoping to deter any more punches that might get thrown.

“It shouldn’t have to be anybody! In fact it won’t be! Ryder I am not going to do it. Ok? I refuse to let this end like that. I’m going to make this right but you and I both know I’m not going to kill you. So I need another solution,” I let that hang in the air hoping for some suggestions.

Chase always random at the weirdest of times, strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge, “Got anything to eat in here? I’m starving.”

Ryder snickered, “There’s only one thing in here that’s tasty. Too bad she’ll put up a figh-“

Josh was only a flash of movement before Ryder was slammed up against the nearest wall by his throat.

Josh spoke in a low voice that was almost a growl, “You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut because soon I’m going to end this problem myself. Now listen closely, I’m only going to say this once. You are never going to lay a finger on Jezebel ever again. You are never going to hurt her again. So just shut the hell up!”

It seemed to take all of Josh’s will to walk away from Ryder. With his back stiff and his jaw set Josh returned to my side to stare menacingly back at Ryder. Chase closed the fridge door which he had let hang open while taken by surprise from the sudden action. He too came back and stood on my other side.

Ryder straightened and readjusted his shirt a little and I swear I heard him say, “Well somebody doesn’t like to share.” It made me want to hit him myself but I knew better. If I threw a punch an all-out brawl was likely to erupt, so I pretended I hadn’t heard a thing.

Trying to stay calm I dispersed a warning, “Everybody needs to chill, all right? We all need to put our energy and anger into finding a solution. So everyone take off your punching gloves and put on your thinking caps.”

The room fills with silence and we each move off to sit down in different spots. I made sure to sit somewhere close to Josh but also where I had a full view of Ryder. I don’t know how long we all sat there in the silence but the lack of noise was deafening. I couldn’t tell if time was moving fast or slow, in fact sitting in Ryder’s unit felt timeless. I raked a hand through my hair and sat back more comfortably in my chair.

Despite the discomfort of the wooden chair and the strenuous situation, I found my eyes were slowly drifting closed. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t keep them open, so I gave into the tempting pull of sleep.

I was sitting in my favourite spot along the beach outside of my house. My back against the palm and my legs splayed out in front of me. The slightly warm breeze dusted my face and made my loose hair dance around my head. Staring out at the ocean I thought of the first time I had visited this spot. The memory was as clear as day, but now the feelings were mixed. Did I wish that what had happened here had never come to pass? Do I wish that Kyle had never found me?

I wasn’t surprised to see Kyle sitting beside me on the beach when I turned to look. He looked exactly as he had the first day I saw him, an older version of Josh with cold, cold eyes and a dark turn to his mouth. But when I looked at him I didn’t feel afraid as I once had just thinking about Kyle. Now I just felt sadness and confusion. I basically held his sons life in my hands. Ryder was only in this situation because Kyle and I made him who is today. If Kyle hadn’t of asked Charlie to put that spell on him to age when he died, then I wouldn’t be contemplating what to do with Ryder now. But I wasn’t blameless either. If I hadn’t of killed Kyle then Ryder would still be a little kid.

My voice came out small, childish and full of despair, “What do I do?”

With a rueful smile Kyle answered, “You could always just leave him be.”

“You know very well I can’t do that,” I replied with a thin smile.

Kyle responded quietly, “I know.”

“We’re to blame for this, we need to fix it. But I don’t know how to Kyle. He doesn’t deserve this,” my voice trembled slightly.

“I know this is our fault. If I could go back and change what I did I would. I doubt you could say the same though. But killing him is not an option. He’s my son and I won’t allow it,” Kyle’s voice was full of conviction.

“You’re right; I wouldn’t take back what I did. It was the right decision at the time. But I don’t know what the right decision is anymore. Everything I think is right comes back to haunt me with every bad consequence possible.”

Kyle laughed, but not in the evil manner I was used to. This laugh was of a man that had seen what life holds and had learnt from it.

“Saint Jezebel doesn’t know what is right? Oh dear, that’s not good,” he jeered at me.

I deadpanned back, “You shouldn’t laugh, this is your son we’re talking about.”

He dislike for me evaporated quickly once the real issue was clear again. He was silent in thought for a while. A niggling thought in the back of my head was asking how this whole meeting could be possible, but I pushed it back not really wanting to know the answer. Kyle suddenly lifted his head up as if a light bulb had just appeared above his head, similar to what you'd see in a cartoon.

Eyes wide Kyle spouted out quickly, “Give him a second chance!”

“What? You want me to give him a second chance and just hope he doesn’t come and kidnap me again demanding I bring you back? Yeah, not happening,” I replied with a look that should have told Kyle I thought he was crazy.

“No. I mean change him back and give him a second chance at life! Jezebel it’s the only way. He won’t remember anything about me and if he grows up with-

Kyle stopped short as he noticed what I had just seen. Everything was leeching of its colour. The landscape which was once full of vibrant colour was fading to a blurred variation of greys. My head started to feel fuzzy as I turned to look over at Kyle. He looked alarmed.

He started to speak to me urgently as if he was running out of time, “Please Jezebel, I know we have never been on the same side and I’ve done my best to hurt you and Josh, but please just do this one thing for me. Don’t even think of it as doing it for me. Do it for Ryder. He’s innocent in this, caught in between two sides that have been at war far longer than he knows. Just give him a second chance. Please…”

Kyle’s voice had started to fade out quite a lot and everything around me had become featureless shapes. His last words to me echoed around in my head as I felt my head smack something hard and definitely solid.

I sat bolt right realising that my head had slid off my hand and had hit the table. My heart was pounding despite just having been asleep. Goosebumbs were raised all over my skin as the surreal dream came back to me, Kyle's words still ringing in my ears. I looked around to see that all three of the boys were staring at me. 

Looking at them all, I said confidently, “I know what we’re going to do.”