Teenage Bones

Trade.

Esmé POV

The frying pan resonated from the impact of hitting the back of Mr. Clarke's head and made my fingers shake slightly. The thud echoed as his body hit the floor, reminding me that this could be a mistake. I grab the bag I packed, Mr. Clarke's car keys and a handgun with extra ammo I found in the duffel bag Mr. Clarke had, a knife, and some canned food. Oh, and two thousand pounds I found in Mr. Clarke's wallet and phone.

Placing the canned food in my bag, and the bag in the back seats of the car, the gun in the back of my waistband, money in my bra, and keys in the ignition, I left. 

I want to say that it felt good, that it was like tasting freedom- but it actually felt profoundly wrong. Elijah was certain I would go back to the lab and I can't. So I need to disappear and maybe even move from the country otherwise he would take me back.

Or at least that's what I told myself as I found a motorway and sped as fast as I possibly could.

Elijah's phone rung and displayed a no caller ID. I accept the call, tap the speaker icon, and disregard the phone on the passenger's seat. 

"Let me speak to Esmé." The voice booms.

"Speaking," I say, switching lanes.

"Es?" Then it dawns on me, "where are you?"

"I'm hanging up." I reach for the phone but his shrill voice of panic makes me melt away from the phone and almost fear it.

"NO! Please, please don't do that!" I almost feel his stress- Tyler's stress. "Just tell me where you are so we can leave this place. Just us. Please."

"You messed up Tyler," I declare, voice rising. "Do you know what they do to people in that place? Do you know the number of people who never see the sun again? Did you even ask them what they would do to me before bargaining my life!"

"I know baby, but I've been going mad without you with me, Starr won't tell me where you are and Lilly has been dodging my calls." He sounds out of breath.

"And you blame them? You betrayed me!" I yell, and the car jitters in response.

"I didn't know it would feel like this, Esmé. I just want to help," he whispered, sending my heart into pants of loneliness and betrayal.

"If you come near me again, I will kill you." And I hung up.

_*_

The roads molded into each other as I passed many signs pointing me to devon. Though I didn't know if that's where I'd be staying, I can barely read a map on google. Driving gave me long periods to think, my worse emery on this stupid detour of a trip. Yes, I regret it. Will I go back? No. I can't go back to that place and Elijah will take me back. 

Eventually, I find a small hotel off of Cornwall, apparently and settled in for the night. It was small, barely fit a double bed and the light was dim. Luckily, there was a shower and the bed was warm enough. Even as my tears attempted to drown my pillow, it still felt like a rock and that was oddly comforting. At least that doesn't change, right?

Yet, I still couldn't sleep.

Weird, I got away from the problem, when does it get away from me?

My pocket begins to vibrate and carefully, I pull the phone out of my pocket to see Tyler's name on the display like a sour taste in my mouth. Eesh. I watched it go to voicemail before it rang again.

With a sigh, I swipe the green button, placing the phone under my head, "leave me alone, Tyler."

"With all respect for you, Miss. Peters," Roman said, " Mr. Black was extremely resistant to call you or to let me call you either. Lucky I'm so good at convincing people to do what I need them to." I sat up so quickly, I see stars blocking my vision. "I heard from Mr. Clarke you fled his company, which is just splendid- I was wrong about you, you are smart. Tell me where you are and Tyler nor Elijah dies."

"One betrayed me and the other told me he was going to take me back- kill them both." Silently begging he doesn't, I hear an eerie silence from the other end of the call for at least twenty full seconds.

"I don't believe you would just let me kill both of them, Miss. Peters. You have three hours to meet me at the Chinese restaurant we first met at or I will kill them both." 

"But they are valuable to you," I hear my lips say, "you could use them!"

"Quite the contrary, Miss. Peters, they are both liabilities to us." And the line went dead.

_*_

Wasting money on a hotel room seemed minor compared to what Tyler and Elijah have gotten themselves into. Fucking idiots.

The speed limit doesn't matter compared to their life.

How funny, I was running away from Elijah and now I'm running back, fantastic. Great.

The car swerves to the familiar setting where an unknown café is instead of a Chinese restaurant and outside on the wicker chairs sat the three men, an empty chair waiting for me. Slapping the steering wheel, pulling the keys out, I am ready to face all of them.

Walking over to them is weird, seeing Tyler makes my chest ache and pull towards him, like an invisible string but his black eye, split lip, and cuts on his face almost makes me gasp. Then there's Elijah, bruised but not bloody. Gladfully. Taking the empty seat, Roman looks at me, dressed in a clean set of jeans and a blue polo, smiling. No one would tell he was a sociopath.

"We were just talking about you!" Roman laughs, never breaking eye contact with me, "are you ready to go home?"

There's an edge to his voice and darkness in his chocolate eyes, if I didn't know what I did, I would just assume he was being friendly. He begins drumming on the round table between us while I wonder why both Elijah and Tyler were silent. 

Roman laughs, pointing at us all in one swift movement, "quiet today, huh?"

"You don't have to take me back, you can come with us," I don't believe it but It's a start to getting the hell out of here. Roman laughs again.

"Trade what I have for nothing? Are you serious?" His expression is light, almost funning to the naked eye.

"How about for the chance of emotions?" Lily's voice sounds behind us, just a metre away and smiling just as bright as Roman, who looks lightly caught off guard. Slickly, she pulls up another chair and sits, her jeans, fluffy jumper and converse making her look yonger than she is. And less dangerous.

"That's impossible." Roman grinds out.

"No, it's possible. Makes me wonder why your grandmother hasn't given them back to you already," Lily smiles gently, taking a bottle of pills out of somewhere and shakes them, the sound of pills loud. "Two of these a day and you have them back."

"Why would I even want them? To become weak like the rest of you?" He snarls, loking to Tyler who was visably shooting me heart eyes. "Maybe my grandmother was protecting me from being just as useless as the rest of you."

"You're smarter than that," Elijah butts in, "you think she didn't give them to you just so you wouldn't be like the rest of us? If that was the choice, why didn't she just take Esmé's emotions away? Or everyone else's in that hell hole? She's using you- an emotionless soldier is better than a regular- otherwise why would you be here? Why not send another guard? Because you won't be swaded by her emotions- Lily can't manipulate you as well as she can everyone else."

"Don't you want to know what it's like?" I ask, catching his eye line, "don't you want to make a judgement from our view other than just doing what you're told?"

Lily shakes the bottle again, "try it for a week, I left my phone number in there if you want more, but in return you have to let us go this time. Chalk it up that you won." Placing the bottle carefully on the table, she looks over at a nearly confused Roman, looking at the bottle, "all you gotta say it that we out run you again."

"Stay out of my head." The razor edge to Roman's voice makes me flinch. He's much less cartoony now.

"So take the deal. Try it." Elijah pleas.