Possessive

Chapter 28

She was too surprised to move. Apparently, Alexis was standing way too close to the top of the stairs. When I launched myself at her, the momentum caused the two of us to tumble down the stairs. The wood creaked under our weight. Being on top of her had some advantages, one being that she took the brunt of our fall on our way down. Bear in mind that I still got some bumps and bruises but it gave me a little satisfaction that I could at least hurt her for the damage she did to me.

As soon as we hit the bottom of the stairs, our bodies fell apart and we fell in different directions. Pain erupted in my back as I crashed to the hard floor boards. I stilled, trying to get my breathing regulated.

"Heaven!"

I turned my head and a relieved breath escaped my lips. Hadassah pushed a scrawny looking man off of her body with a hard kick. He went flying on the ground. Wasting no time, she ran towards me, yanked me up and hugged me fiercely.

"I missed you so much!" She yelled as she looked into my eyes. "Don't ever tumble down the stairs like that again!"

I chuckled and nodded my head. The foyer was a mess. Small fires were burning. Broken furniture was scattered all over the floor. Fights had broken out. Damien's village army was trying to escape but the police were doing whatever they could to apprehend them. Wait a minute. What was the police doing here?

"Where's Tristan?" I asked, realizing that he was nowhere to be found.

"He and Landon went after Damien."

I didn't get a chance to say anything more when a loud scream echoed and someone tackled me. Both of our bodies crashed to the floor, the person on top of me. Struggling, I looked up to see that it was Alexis who had tackled me, anger coating her eyes. She grabbed my hair and slammed my head onto the hard floor. A scream launched itself from my lips. When she grabbed my head again to slam it onto the floor, I slapped her arms away and head butted her. Her body flung away from mine and I groaned in pain. Head butts are always the worst. Both parties always end up with extreme headaches.

I rolled onto my stomach, trying to ease the pressure in my head when I heard Alexis' very high pitched and very annoying scream. Hadassah had kicked Alexis in her stomach causing her to double over in pain. My sister wasted no time in punching her in the face. She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, groaning.

I was struggling to get up. My body was beginning to get weary. I felt a hand on my arm as someone pulled me to my feet. Gasping aloud, I almost cried.

"Yasmine!" I hugged the tall, baby blue eyed model like woman. "You're here!"

She chuckled. "Yes, I'm here." She looked past me at my sister and Alexis. "Come on, let's go give Alexis the beat down she deserves."

By the time the three of us were finished with Alexis, she was knocked out cold. After my sister had punched her in the face, Yasmine and I joined the fight. We pulled the dazed woman to her feet, surrounding her in a circle.

Hadassah gave her a swift punch to the jaw. "That was for my sister."

Yasmine landed a hard punch to her left eye to match her right. "That was for Tristan."

I could feel the adrenaline in me beginning to fade. I had to do this quick. Pouring all my anger, hurt, pain and frustration in my punch, I hit her in her mouth, effectively knocking her out. "That was for me."

I slumped on the floor, my energy completely drained. Slow, ragged breaths escaped me. I took in my surroundings. The fights were over. Policemen carted Damien's men in handcuffs through the door. Someone had extinguished the fires. The police were casing the perimeter. Tristan nor Landon had returned. Guilt consumed me. Was all this really my fault? Shivers overtook my body as fat tears crawled down my face.

Hadassah crouched next to me. "Heaven, are you okay? It's over now. You can come home."

I stared at her through watery eyes. "I can never come home, H. I lost myself in this house. I can't be the same person I was anymore. She's gone."

"Heaven, I don't know what you went through here but you have got to live. Prove Damien wrong. You survived! You survived his crazy antics. Tristan loves you. All of you," Yasmine declared.

Her speech had somewhat warmed my heart but Tristan really knew what happened to me. I was damaged goods now. Pieces of who I was had broken and flew away with the wind. What Damien did to me would always be a constant reminder of a broken girl. How could Tristan ever want me back?

My mind was contemplating many different scenarios of how my reunion with Tristan was going to be. Hadassah and Yasmine were staring at me so they did not see the officers that suddenly crammed into the destroyed foyer. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I did not see when he snuck up on me. A surprised yelp flew from my lips as Damien hauled me to my feet. He pulled the gun from my waistband and pointed it at my side as his other hand wrapped around my neck.

"Heaven!" Hadassah shrieked and took a step forward but stopped when I frantically shook my head at her.

Tristan burst into the room through a door that was tucked into the side of room. His eyes widened. My heart soared. Tristan was really here.

"Ah, Tristan, how nice of you to join us," Damien taunted, his breath tickling my neck.

Tristan stood in front of the army of police officers who had their guns drawn. He was flanked by Hadassah and Yasmine who looked scared out of their minds but he pushed them behind him. Slowly, he stepped forward and pulled a gun, pointing it in our direction.

"Let her go, Damien," he said through gritted teeth.

"I don't think I can," he said. I could hear the smirk in his voice. "How are you, baby? Missed me?" he asked, whispering in my ear but said it loud enough that Tristan would hear.

Flinching, I turned my head away. "Not on your life," I spat.

He cackled, the sound grating on my ear drums. "I take it Carlos is dead if you're down here."

I said nothing.

"Here are my terms, Tristan. I will let your precious gift go if you tell your lapdogs behind you to drop their weapons and let me leave peacefully through the front door and of course, provide me with transportation."

Tristan was silent. For the first time that day, I looked at him properly. His silky brown hair was full of dead leaves and twigs like went running through the jungle. His hazel eyes were dark and there were dark circles under his eyes. He had a long gash from his left eye to his right cheek across his face, which was bleeding profusely, making me wonder how on earth he had gotten it. His bottom lip had a scratch as well. He was decked out in a black shirt with a black hoodie, blue jeans and black Vans. He was a hot mess but he still looked good enough.

His silence meant that he was contemplating Damien's demands. I knew without a doubt that Tristan was give into him as long as I was involved.

"Don't do it, Tristan," I whispered.

His hazel eyes found mine. "I have to, Heaven. To save you." His voice was strong but I could hear the underlying sadness.

I shook my head. "You don't have to do anything," I stated, tears running down my face. I took a deep breath and settled myself for what I was about to do. I looked at him one last time, saving the image into my memory bank. "I would rather die than watch him walk through that door alive."

Before Tristan, Damien or anyone else could say anything, I elbowed Damien hard in his stomach, jerking his hand with the gun that was positioned at my side. He grunted, his hold on me loosening. Turning my body around, I forced myself onto Damien, cushioning the gun between the two of us.

The gun went off.