she's mine.

58

Eli's POV

"Maybe you should go with Rock tonight," my mother said to me. My head snapped to look at her. "It could be fun?" She shrugged.

"Yeah it would be," Rock threw an arm over my shoulder and smiled a slimy smile at my mother. I gagged inwardly. He had been begging me all trip to go out with him tonight. We had been stuck with both of our parents the entire time, and even though he was a 9 or so years older than me he couldn't seem to go without me.

"Oh yes!" Rock's adopted mother joined the conversation. "You should! You have been so helpful with the kids the whole trip and it's your last night, go enjoy it!" She smiled a genuine smile at me. I tried hard not to roll my eyes.

"Okay, okay. Let's go," I finally agreed to get everyone off my back. I didn't want to go out with him. He was a twenty-something year old child. He was weird and annoying and I couldn't handle him for more than a good ten minutes, but if it'd get everyone to stop harping on me I'd endure it for the night.

"We just have to take care of some business for a friend before we hit the bars, kid." I hated when he called me kid. I rolled my eyes as he drove us in the rental car down Lamp Street. "Don't worry," he glanced at me as I grunted and stared out the window. "I'll make sure you get your cut.. someday," he snickered.

My stomach wanted nothing more than to hurl as I stared up at the man who just told me I had unknowingly killed his, and the girl I was falling in love with's father.

There were no words to describe the guilt and self loathing I had begun to feel. If I had thought I hated myself before, I was mistaken. There was nothing that compared to this feeling.

I looked up at Jonny and realized that feeling in my stomach wasn't just a feeling of guilt, I really was going to throw up. He must have seen it on my face because he briskly grabbed the trash can next to him and set it in front of me. The man who had been bandaging my wounds scooted out of the way when I leaned over and threw up everything I had in me into the small trash can.

There was a stabbing pain in my side as I leaned over and the wretched pain all over from the beating I just took made the whole thing worse.

The same hand that had set the trash can in front of me handed me a paper towel. I wiped my face kept my head down. I couldn't bare to look up at him.

"I.." What was there to say? I am surprised I am still living right now. He was a better man than I, if it were him in my position, I would've put a bullet through his chest by now. "I didn't know.." I told him honestly. "He didn't tell me what it was.. and I was too scared to ask. He told me it was his way of getting the money he needed to become somebody," I remembered the night in flashes. His words mixed and blurred. I couldn't tell if it were because I had a concussion or because I had tried so hard to forget that night. "He said it wasn't even anybody's car, it- it was a test really. To see if whatever it was would work."

Jonny stood above me, listening. I was more and more surprised as time when on. I couldn't believe he was even listening to what I had to say.

"I never heard anything about it," I told him. "I never spoke about it to anyone. I believed him- believed it didn't hurt anybody that-"

Jonny finally cut into my rambling. "Stop." His tone was tired. "I believe you."

My head shot up.

Did he really? Why would he? Even if he did.. he was still going to kill me.. I'm sure of it.

"Lathan," he spoke to the other man in the room. "Give is a minute, would you?" Jonny was calm.. so calm it was unnerving. Lathan nodded and stood. "Get him a tooth brush," jonny said quietly on his way out. Lathan nodded again and glanced back at me. He seemed to share my same fear- fear that if he left he would come back to only one of us living. He left anyways.