Saved || Jesse Rutherford ||

Deception

"How was your date?", I heard a low voice say.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I froze. "Does he know??..No.. No that's impossible! How on Earth could he possibly know!"

"D-date?", I asked, acting oblivious.

Jesse stood up abruptly and turned so he was facing the staircase... Facing me.

His eyes were unusually red. He was swaying as if he was unable to find his balance. I looked past him at the coffee table. Countless bottles of liquor and beer laid around. I assumed their previous owner to be my father.

"Don't fucking lie to me! Don't you dare lie!", he said reaching behind him grabbing one of the empty bottles. I saw his hand pull back and immediately knew what was going to happen. I've seen it countless times.

I ducked just in time as the bottle sailed past my head and crashed into the wall. The remains were on the floor, split into a million pieces.

I backed away slowly from where the beer crashed, in shock.

"I stood there!", I abruptly turned around to see what he was referring to. He was pointing by the window near the door. From there, you could have easily seen me get into Tyler's car.

"He does know..."

"I stood fucking dare a-and watched you get into his car!", he exclaimed his voice breaking slightly.

Tears formed at the corners of my eyes. "J-Jesse, I'm so so sorry...", I said my voice breaking.

"NO! I'm not finished!", he exclaimed reaching for another bottle. I began to back away but it seemed as if my feet weighed a 100 tons.

Lucky for me, he threw the bottle away from me.

"Kevin will wake up soon...Kevin! What'd he do to Kevin!", I was snapped out of my thoughts by his booming voice again.

"I watched the only person I cared about walk away from me... Betray me!...Do you know how that felt?", he said his voice becoming dramatically softer. He walked around the couch and began to approach me.

I tried to back away but only ended up hitting the arm of the staircase.

Jesse finally reached me and lifted his hand. On instinct, I flinched and turned my head away, preparing for the blow. But, instead he laid his hand on my cheek softly...Almost as if he was caressing it

"Do you know how that felt Ava? Watching the ones you care about...The ones you love...Betray you. Leave you, desert you, testify against you. Do you?", he said. His voice was soft and shaky. I looked into his eyes and wished I didn't. I saw the amount of pain I caused, the amount of pain others had caused.

Here was a man, broken before I even found him, broken by the world. Here was a man full of compassion and love with no one to give it to. Behind his ink covered exterior, was a man broken beyond repair.

And maybe, I could fix him...Maybe I could save him...

"Jesse, this isn't you...", I said referring to the countless empty bottles behind him.

He stared into my eyes, processing my words.

Suddenly he began...Laughing?

Jesse doubled over on the floor in laughter.

I stood there baffled, not knowing what to do.

He stood up, still laughing and clutching his stomach. He made his way around to the coffee table and grabbed a half empty bottle..

"This...Isn't... me!", he said in between laughs.

"Y-yes..."

"And sweety, how on Earth would you know?" I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

"You didn't even know me, when you knew me! You don't even know yourself!", he said taking a swig from the bottle.

"What are you talking about?", I said confused.

He took several more gulps. "You might want to sit down for this hun."

"I'm fine standing."

"Suit yourself." He approached me again, until he was a mere 2 inches away from my face.

"You. Are. Not. Ava. Pierce.", he said mouthing the words slowly, pronouncing every single syllable.

I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion. "W-what?"

Jesse smirked. But not the usual cocky smirk I was used to. This one was more sinister.

"See. You don't even know yourself!"

"Yes I do! You're drunk Jesse!"

"That, I agree on. But sweetheart, you do not know yourself. If you did you would have realized that your so-called 'parents' are not really your parents. They're your kidnappers!"

He walked around to a sofa that was near the coffee table. On it was a stack of papers, about 10 inches tall.

He walked towards me again and dropped the stack to the floor. I looked down, puzzled at what they were, but something caught my attention. On the stack was a cut-out of a milk carton. There was a picture of a little girl. She was grinning at the camera, happy as can be. Her brown hair fell past her shoulders and her brown eyes appeared to be twinkling. On the carton was the words, "Taylor Payton. Missing On- December 23,2001. Age-3. Please report to authorities if seen."

I looked at her. She seemed so familiar. I looked at her attire. She was wearing a yellow dress covered with orange flowers.

It was then that realization hit me. "I know that dress!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Wow. Even I am shocked, and I wrote it! Comment what you guys thought of this chapter and what you guys think will happen (if you want to). To everyone saying they love my book, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love you guys too! <3