Fatal Attractions

Chapter Twenty-Nine

     Summer shoved me forward so I was now standing in the center of the circle of vampires. My breath caught in my throat and I waited for someone to point out the gun any second.

     "Who's gonna' do it?" Summer asked. I balled my hands at my sides.

     "I am," Jack said.

     "No, I think I should do it," Summer said. I looked back and forth between the two siblings.

     "I'm doing it, Summer," Jack said, eyeing her. 

     "Jack, this is the perfect way for me to get my revenge," Summer argued. I felt my eyes sting as I began to tear up again. I was surrounded by four vampires. I had no idea what my next move was going to be. 

     "I'm doing it. End of discussion," he barked, staring down his sister. She said nothing after that.

     I met eyes with Charlie. He was just standing there, his face emotionless. I wanted so desperately to beg him to just take me away from here, to help me in some way. I knew he wouldn't, but the bit of hope inside me was expecting him to, for some reason.

     It felt like the gun was burning a hole in my back. I was just aching to reach for it, but it just didn't feel like the right moment. I wasn't sure how many moments I had left, though.

     My heart was hammering in my chest as Jack walked up to me, stopping just inches in front of me. He reached out and cupped my cheek with his hand. 

     "I can't believe this moment is finally here," he breathed, a single tear slipping from my eye and making contact with his thumb. He lifted his thumb to his mouth and sucked away the tear, smirking at me.

     "No more games, Lena," he said. "This is where we get our revenge."

     "For all the people we've lost over the years," Summer said. 

     "For all the pain your father has caused us," Jack said.

     "Stop creating a speech and just get on with it," I spoke through clenched teeth. Jack just watched me, a curious look on his face.

     "Do it," I urged. "What are you waiting for?"

     A smile pulled at Jack's lips. "I'm waiting to hear you beg for your life," he said, and his hand was suddenly around my neck, squeezing. He backed me up and shoved me hard against a tree. 

     I felt the air in my lungs slowly slipping away, and I struggled to breathe. I grabbed at him with my good hand, but it was useless, he was much stronger than me.

     "I will never beg to you," I croaked out, the tears hot and burning as they ran down my face. 

     "Beg!" he roared, and I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating from the lack of oxygen, but I could've sworn I felt the trees vibrate. 

     "No!" I cried, my voice weak and strangled. I desperately wanted to go for the gun, but Jack had me pinned against the tree so hard that it was trapped behind me.

     "You are just like your father!" he yelled. "So god damned stubborn!" I couldn't help but let out a strangled giggle. I thought of my father, and how much I missed him. As bad as things were going, I was finally going to be reunited with him. I was finally going to see my dad again.

     My vision was starting to fill with inky blotches, and my head felt like it was going to explode. I knew at any moment, I was going to lose consciousness, and then that was it. These were going to be the last seconds of my life. And what a mediocre, cliche life it was.