Lennon.
He wasn’t even recognisable, his face was barely human. The sickening amount of blood made me skin itch with disgust and horror. My stomach churned violently at the images portrayed in front of me. He was not the same person I had seen just mere weeks before. What had happened to him was pure torture, one I wouldn’t wish upon my greatest enemy.
What was even more disturbing than the images was the message conveyed at the end. I sat there, mouth wide open unable to function any movement or speech. I feared if I spoke I’d actually throw up and my muscles refused to work.
“No!” Harry’s sharp, shrill shout caused my whole body to jump with shock and fright. He stood up and pushed his way through the others until he reached Paul. “Not in a million years.”
Somehow finding my voice again I answered back. “I need too.” His head quickly spun around so fast his neck could have snapped. My heart was beating fiercely as the room lingered with a terrorising silence. His glare was holding to mine with such vengeance I thought I was going to explode from his stare. No one spoke, no one moved, until Harry did.
“I said no. And that’s final. I don’t care what you say.” He spoke through gritted teeth, pulling at his hair viciously with his fingers. I sensed his violent demeanour beginning to show through, and I knew deep down I should back away, but this wasn’t a matter we could easily brush under the rug.
“You saw him, they can’t do much more before he’s dead!” I shouted, pleading at the same time. He had to understand I couldn’t be behind someone’s death, I already felt too much guilt for Nia. Vivid flashbacks of finding her on the floor, lying in a pool of her own blood haunted my mind at the most unusual of times. I swallowed the lump in my throat again when he pounded his way back over, standing directly in front of me as I remained seated. I wanted to look anywhere but I wouldn’t back down, I don’t care who he was, Floyd was like family to me. This was one fight I wasn’t willing to lose.
“There will be another way,” he seethed. His spit hitting me directly in the face as I winced back. I grabbed his hand in a desperate matter, trying to make him understand even a little bit. He shook it off aggressively and turned away. I quickly stood up and grabbed onto his shoulder with all off the anger built up inside. He looked taken back as I forced his towering body around to face mine again.
“There might be another way, but we don’t have forever.” I whispered harshly directly into his face. “You heard what the East said. They well let him go, all you have to do is –“
“Hand you over.” He replied relatively calmly as he finished my sentence for me. “We’re not giving them what they want. It’ll make it look as if they won.”
“Floyd’s life is on the line right now. It’s not about winning or which gang looks better. An innocent mans life is in danger and all you care about is your damn pride.” I yelled, feeling angrier the more I spoke.
“Don’t you dare,” he tried to interject.
“You don’t even like me, let alone care about me. Let me go and you can get on with your lives. Why can’t you accept that?!”
“He’s not a worthy replacement for you, that’s why!” He shouted back even louder, his face so close to mine his breath was heating my features.
“No one is more worthy than someone else.” I replied so calm it created a hair tingling sensation amongst everyone in the room.
I whipped my arm off of his shoulder, looked him in the eyes one last time before shaking my head and stalking out the room. I zoned out all the shouting and screaming, mainly from the men as I walked up the stairs, into the bedroom we shared. I was feeling so livid I didn’t quite know what to do with myself.
