blue

XIII

Ashton's POV
-

I woke up a mess, my hands automatically searching for Melia.

They didn't find her.

"Melia!"

I yelled, my voice echoing through the park. Anxiety filled my body by default. A million things ran through my mind.

What if John had gotten ahold of her? What if someone else had kidnapped her? What if she went to find breakfast and got lost?

Or even worse, what if she just got tired of me?

The more I pondered it, the more my mind forced me to believe that it was my fault. No one would actually want to stay with me. Besides, I'm not a relationship kind of guy.

I wanted to think that I could be in a relationship if it was with Melia, but I forced my brain to push it aside. I couldn't commit, I'd just hurt her. For once, someone hurt me first.

I couldn't let it phase me. There was a job that I had to do.

I didn't know where Melia was, but even if she was gone I still had to find John and save anyone else in their lab.

I grabbed the only things that I had with me, which were shoved into a small worn backpack.

I walked until the sun began to set and my legs grew shaky.

I had told them that I would meet them around this time.

I dreaded speaking to them again, but I needed to. It was all going to be worth it once I saved my brother. He was in the lab and I couldn't let him be tested on. I may be no less than a test subject, but he's ten times the worth of one. He's like a ray of sunshine that even the thickest curtains can't conceal. He was the only thing holding me together, and vice versa. As soon as I have him back I'm going to head back home for the first time in weeks to get my belongings.

You see, I am all my brother has. Our mom doesn't care about either of us. We are mistakes that she wishes she could reverse. She works all day and when she finally gets home, she doesn't even look at us. Her depression consumes her and after work she collapses on her bed until the next morning, where she gets up and plasters a fake smile on her wrinkly face and goes to work again. The cycle isn't ever going to stop, and the only way I can end it is by leaving her and showing her a glimpse of reality. The reality is that she is a horrible mother and I am sick of holding myself and my brother together for her sake. She needs to know how torn we really are, and that we are just like her; depressed and unsure. The only difference is that we actually know how to love.

Every memory of my mother played in my head until I saw them.

Them as in the people I feared the most in life.

They're the people who got me into this mess.

My old gang members.

I couldn't let them know I was afraid. I had to play along with their evil acts, it was the only way I would be able to save my brother. They knew how to get into the lab. They knew exactly where he was.

I scanned each of them up and down. Surprising, the heroin didn't even seem to age them a bit. They each wore identical black leather jackets with the words 'Hounds of Hell', our gang name, in red thread.

"Well, well, well. Look who showed up," the gang's leader, Leon, spat at me.

Don't show them you're afraid, I thought to myself. You are one of them.

"When have I not?" I replied, keeping my voice stable.

"Many times," the female gang member, Rosetta, spoke, "but we won't get into your mistakes right now, we've got more important things to discuss. Such as the things you've been doing right."

She waited to see my reaction, but I showed none. My lips stayed in a perfect straight line and my eyes didn't even move. Perfect.

Not getting the reaction she wanted, she continued. "So, Ashton, what have you been doing right lately?" she said my name as if I was satan himself.

"W-well," I started to speak, but my stutter intervened. "I found the girl."

All the members looked at me in shock.

"No. Way. Really?" they all said, almost synchronized.

I nodded, a look of proudness and achievement on my face, but a feeling of guilt in my stomach.

"Yes. It wasn't hard, I mean who could deny this face?" I winked, sticking my tongue out. "She's naïve. As soon as she saw me in school she talked to me. No matter what people told her about me, she just couldn't stay away. She can't even protect herself from her own dad."

They laughed at my sensitive joke and gave me a pat on the back.

Melia isn't naïve. She is smart and strong and she definitely can protect herself from John. She protects herself more than I ever could.

"Congratulations brother," someone who I forgot the name of said. "Now where is she?"

Shit, I thought. I actually have no idea.

They will kill me if they knew I let her go.

Impatient, he said it again, this time much more loud and intimidating. "I said, where the hell is she?"

I winced. "S-she was at the park with me before I came here. I kept her safe with me for as long as possible, but she wanted to go find her, uh, friend. She was worried about her, since she's missing so much school and all. I didn't want to seen suspicious, so I let her go. I told her to meet me back at the park at nine, though, s-so you should probably let me go soon."

The lies kept spilling out of my mouth. Not one ounce of that was true. I had no clue where she was, and Melia sure as hell has no friends.

The gang members looked skeptical at first, but after looking at each other for a few moments nodded and agreed that it's best if I meet her.

Rosetta was the one to break the silence.

"Okay, Ash, but if you don't bring her back here by five o'clock on the dot tomorrow, you won't live to see another day. John is locked up somewhere and Melia is the only one who knows some information on where and how to get him out. If we don't find him, we're in deep trouble. We owe the rival gang money, as I'm sure you're aware of, and he's the one who has it. He was our most well known gang member and losing him has taken a toll on us. When we get him back we're not losing him again. Understand me, mama's boy?"

She knew what was going on with my mom and it hurt me to hear her to say that. It also hurt to know that I was going to have to drag Melia here and watch her be tortured until she gives them the information they want, and it's going to be all my fault. She won't ever forgive me, but it's the price I have to pay to save myself and my brother. Sure, I like Melia, but I don't love her. I love my brother more than anyone or anything. She doesn't deserve what I'm going to deliver to her, but I deserve to live and if I don't bring her to them, I don't think I'll ever live to apologize to her.

***

a/n: long and eventful chapter wow 😂 I know it's confusing, it was even confusing for me to write. If you're confused about any part please just leave a comment right here and I'll reply. I want the story to be clear, and this chapter is very important.

hope you enjoyed the foreshadowing btw