What could this possibly be about? The two of us hurriedly get ourselves together without saying a single word to each other, our minds clouded with nothing but alarm and caution. I start biting the inside of my cheek out of nervousness. I hear Liam breathing heavily as he puts on his last shoe and he turns to look up at me. He gives me a sad smile and nods toward the door.
Carter is waiting outside, as she said she would. "What's going on?" Liam speaks first.
"I'll show you," she says, but doesn't give us a hint at anything else. We follow closely behind her as we make our way to the living room. It's uncomfortably quiet as we walk to the top of the staircase.
As we walk down the stairs, I see that everyone has been waiting for us, including Valerie. You can feel worry loom over the group. Carter sighs before she begins the meeting.
"Thank you all for your cooperation and time during this unexpected hour. I know we don't normally do things like this so last minute, but an emergency notice has been brought to my attention. If you would be so kind to please look at the screens in front of you," she says, pointing toward two large screens with two computers laying out on the table. She leans down and projects an image on the screen to the left that is of a scribbled and smudged handwritten note. The other screen is black with the 'Play' symbol in the middle. "Now, before I continue, I want you to know that what I'm about to show you won't be easy to stomach.
"As you know, the stakes against the Berkshire empire grow with each day that passes. Things are going to be taking a turn for the worse after tonight," she pauses and walks toward the screen to the left. "This note, although a little difficult to read, was written by none other than Sam, the young man from the phone recording." Focusing enough on the screen, you tell tiny drops of blood had been spattered onto the crumpled paper. I turn to look at Liam, his eyes fixed on the projection. I want to hold his hand to comfort him, but I know now is not the right time.
"Sam was warning us," Carter continued. "In all of the smudged words, we were able to decipher the following statement... 'They are coming for you'. I know we're prepared, we've been prepared for this for a long time now. However, there are new demands in place." She looks at me apologetically and then leans down to play the video.
It's blurry, but what takes place in the pixelated images is obvious chaos. Shouting and gun shots firing can be heard. The person behind the recording starts to laugh and a chill goes up my spine. "Is this what you wanted?" the person asks his intended audience.
I cover my mouth with my hands as the video continues. "No one walks away from us and gets away without consequences. You're smarter than that, Payne." The camera wobbles as it's turned to face Thomas and I gasp.
"No," I whisper into my palms.
"I know you are. You've done well in trying to hide, but I know where you are. It's not hard to find these things out. I think you failed to remember that we have people everywhere," Thomas viciously says. "Come here." Sam comes into the frame as Thomas yanks him by his torn shirt. His eyes, you could tell, are puffy and swollen after having been beaten to a pulp. His lip is busted open and blood is smeared all over him. The poor thing.
"I also know how much Sammy has meant to you after all these years," Thomas continues. "Actually, I know how much all of your men here mean to you, but now they are all gone. I know how much Carter and her group mean to you, too. Do you want what happened here to be the same fate of everyone there with you? All of this can come to an end, you know?"
"Please..." You could hear Sam whimpering in the back, begging for mercy. "Please don't do this." Thomas turns the phone away from him and focuses on Sam. The look of innocence, pain and terror, I know, will stay with me forever.
"You know I have to, Sammy," Thomas says. "There is one thing I want in this world and once I have it, this can all stop. Bring Rosalie to me and maybe, just maybe, I'll tell my father to let you off easy. Until then, here is my message to you."
"Look away," Liam whispers to me. I shake my head.
"No, I want to see him for what he really is," I say. A gun is fired and Sam drops to the floor with a heavy thud and the video goes dead. "A monster."
- - - - - - - - - -
There is a frenzy in the living room but I take no part in it as I go completely numb. The noise from everyone is drowned out by my thoughts. Bring Rosalie to me. It's obvious what must be done, there is no way around it. Liam, Carter, myself and everyone could try to come up with another way to take Thomas and his father down, but the plan, or any other plan, would lead to casualties. I couldn't ask that of the people I care so much about when I'm the only demand. I come out of my thoughts and back to reality. Without hesitation, I walk to the front of the group and try to get their attention.
"Guys," I say nervously, waving my hands up and around but with no avail. "Hello!" I attempt one more time a little louder, but still no success.
"Excuse me!" I yell, and the entire room goes quiet. I see Liam look at me in bewilderment and I take a deep, steady breath. "It seems there is only one logical thing to do. I can't think of anything else that would end well even if we all tried to do so. I have made the decision for all of you. It makes no sense to put your lives at risk for one person, a person you quite honestly don't know too well. One person compared to the hundreds of you. I appreciate everything you've done all these months but I can't ask you all to do more, not for me." I pause and look at everyone giving me their undivided attention, not a single whisper to be heard. Valerie looks like she is about to cry and Daniel is holding her. Carter looks worried, but proud. There is a mix of emotions etched on everyone's faces. And then there's Liam. I give him a slight nod and his eyes grow wide, knowing exactly what I'm about to say. I'm sorry, I try to tell him with my eyes.
"It's best if I take myself out of the picture and surrender myself to Thomas," I say confidently, finishing my speech.
Silence comes as a response until, all of a sudden, there is a roar of commotion.
-------------------------
I know it has been years since an update. A lot has happened in my life since the last time I updated this story or any of my other stories, for that matter. Many things have changed: where I live, my writing style and mindset, my goals, my current career, and now everything that's going on with COVID-19.
Reading and writing is a good way to escape from what's going on right now. I know it's easier said than done, but this is one way to keep your minds at bay.
As for Through the Dark and my other stories: I haven't been able to find inspiration all these years and I needed to take a break. I've been home for the last few days and I guess being quarantined has given me that extra push and time that I needed to just sit and focus on what I do, what I was meant to do. I lost myself in the process of finishing this story and I apologize for that. I hope some of you are still with me after all this time.
We're actually almost at the end of the story, so please stick with me a little longer. I am going to be rearranging a few things in the process.
Until the next chapter,
Cat x
YOU ARE READING
Through the Dark (A Liam Payne Story) || Season 5 1D Watty Awards Winner: Best Liam Payne
Fanfiction"Hard on the outside, even harder on the inside." That's how Rosalie Evans would describe college bad boy Liam Payne. Fighting, drinking, drugs, and a criminal record are all things that are included in his world. But Rosalie and his life outside of...
