Revenge : Book 2

CHAPTER 23 : Love and War

The lesson was cut short when Russ called for Scarlet. She regretfully left me in the training room alone. Since Michael wasn't due to pick me up for at least another twenty minutes, she let me wait for him in the training room. I dropped to the bench twirling with my fingers, my focus drawn to the marble floor as I turned over the conversation with Malek in my mind. 

    Ashon was coming for me again. It terrified me of course, but I wasn't the same kid I'd months ago. I wasn't going to cower. I was going to fight. I had to at least try. I wanted to believe in myself. I owed it to the person who believed in me most. Adrian. The last words he said to me was that he believed in me. I had to believe in myself. I had to trust that I could be strong. I was strong. I'd made it this far, right?

   I didn't think I would survive what happened between Jack and I, yet here I was, still standing. I was strong enough to move past that. Even Adrian's death, though  I wasn't past it—I didn't think I ever could get past it—I could have been handling it worse than I was. 

   I'd thought about ending my life. Quitting, giving up on everything. But I hadn't because I knew he wouldn't want that for me. He wanted me to live. He'd done everything to make sure that I would. My mother as well had fought for me to live. To make sure I had I future. 

   If I wasn't strong enough to keep living, it'd like spitting in the face of everything they had done for me. I had to be strong. I would be strong. I owed them my strength. And with that strength I'd fight for my life. 

   The door crept open and I rose my head to see who was coming in. In a pair of combat boots, blue jeans, a dark green t-shirt and a black hoodie Jack walked into the room. 

   "Marcus?" He looked shocked to see me in here. "Where's Scarlet?" He asked. 

   "She's with Russ," I informed him. 

   "Oh, okay," he said, "I'll just..." His voice trailed and we fell into a semi-awkward silence. Our eyes met and he immediately shied away from my gaze. There was still something standing between us. Something major that made it impossible for me to talk to him and I wanted it gone. 

   "Jack can I ask you something?" I said, my gaze dropping to the floor. 

   "Yeah," he said and he took a step towards me. 

    "Why did you out me?" I asked bluntly raising my eyes to meet his. I didn't want to beat around the bush, I'd done enough of that. It had been a question weighing on my mind for so long because in all honestly it never made sense to me. We were friends, best friends. Why would he suddenly turn on me? Why'd he do it?

   His eyes widen, a clear indication that this was not what he expected. He sighed taking another step towards me until he was standing right next to me. "I never I meant to hurt you," he said settling next to me. 

   I swallowed, as I drew my eyes back to the marble floor, "Then why'd you do it?" 

  I couldn't see him, but I imagined him pinching his left ear, something he always did when he was uncomfortable with telling me something.  "I—I can't..." he mumbled before he sighed. "Marcus, it's complicated." 

   I scoffed, "No, it isn't." My head rose, my eyes finding his blue gaze as I glared at him. My words were fueled by long suppressed anger. The kind of anger that had led me to punch him all those months ago. "You were my best friend. I trusted you, you knew that and yet you still betrayed me. There's nothing complicated about that. I just need to know why you did it." 

   "I—" he cut himself off. His eyes darted from me to just about everything else in the room, something he used to do when he was hiding something. He was keeping something from me, I knew it. I wanted to push until he spilled his guts. Why wasn't he telling me?