Mr. Ruthless

Chapter 10

Picture of Stacey holding a gun to Bjorn's head

Smoke, it was the only thing that filled his view. It felt like breathing in a thick layer of dust, sticking to your throat, denying oxygen to fill your lungs. His eyes burned as he tried to look passed the dark clouds until he was finally rewarded with a bright glint of orange.

Flames climbed higher, closer, as if they were reaching out for him. The fire screamed, whistled a dark tune, but it was impossible to process what was happening. The crackle of the paint chipping from the wall was the last thing he heard before he fell unconscious.

**

It was 6 AM when he woke up, sweating, panting. It wasn't the first time this happened. It had become normal. Sleep wasn't an option. He would stay up for days until his body forced him into unconsciousness. Only to be reawakened by nightmares.

That's how it has been the last 16 years of his life. He waited a couple of moments before deciding to get up, trying to calm his racing heart. The memory of the fire would never leave his mind. He saw it, every time he closed his eyes.

He got up and stepped into the shower, not bothering to wait for the water to turn warm, or to even take off his clothes.

The cold water ran down his body. It was freezing, but he didn't care, he didn't feel the stinging cold. It only lessened the heat of the flames he had felt moments before.

It was only when his lips were starting to turn blue and his fingers had turned numb, that he realized he had been standing there for too long. It was only then he realized there were no flames, no fire.

It was a nightmare.

A memory.

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"Zander?" the familiar sound of my sister's voice echoed through my room. I sighed as I put down my razor and washed away the remaining shaving cream of my face. I threw my soaked clothes in the hamper and wrapped a towel around my waist before walking to my room.

I didn't care if Belle saw my scars, she knew they were there, she was the only one who didn't look shocked or repulsed at the sight of them.

"What are you doing here Belle." I grumbled. She knew I hated her being here. The Venturelli mansion was no place for her, it wasn't safe. She just rolled her eyes and came up to me. She wrapped her arms around me and giggled.

"I missed you too brother." I sighed.

"I'm sorry Belle, I'm glad to see you, how are you?" I asked rather forced but I did mean it.

"I'm fine" she smiled, happy at my attempt at having a conversation. A silence reigned the room for a moment but was soon broken as I repeated my previous question.

"What are you doing here."

"You weren't at your apartment, and you weren't answering your phone so I called Sebestian and he said I could find you here." She explained, plopping down on my bed, for once not trying to avoid answering me.

"What have you been up to?" she continued. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a grey Armani suit.

"Just work" I said as I closed the door of my walk-in closet and changed. I knew Belle had started talking again but I wasn't in the mood to listen so I simply ignored it.

But the mentioning of one name was all it took to grab my attention again.

"So how's Eleanor?" she asked as I walked out again. She sat up on the bed looking at me with raised eyebrows. I glared at her causing her to roll her eyes again.