AN: I'm so sorry that it has been so long since my last update. Really, there is no excuse for it. So. I am determined to make this really good and really long. So. Here goes nothing...............
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Hope's POV
"I bet you're wondering why I did this. Why I took your sister and brought you here." Daniel smirked happily, like he had the upper hand, like he could change everything with the flick of his wrist. Which he could in a manner of speaking. After all, he had a gun. But that doesn't mean he would use it.
"A little. I'm more curious as to why now. Why did you decide to take her now?" I snapped.
His smug smirk faded, and his lips formed a straight line of bitterness. I could tell I had found a weakness in his suit of armor he called a personality. But I wasn't about to leave this alone.
"Answer me Daniel." There was such authority in my voice, it scared even me.
"I had too." he whispered His gaze shifted from me to his shoes. He studied them in quiet silence until I interrupted his thinking.
"Did you have to, or did you want to?" I snapped harshly.
He looked up into my eyes again. There were too many emotions for me to pinpoint even a single one.
"Why would you even ask that?" he asked, voice dripping with raw emotion.
"Because..." I trialed off, not sure of how to put it
"Because why?" he pressed.
"I don't know who you are anymore." I whispered.
This time, I was the one who looked away.
A silence fell over us, and I took this as my cue to think about this a little bit more.
A grunt of anger sounded through the chilly night air. It was coming from Daniel.
He clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. "Do you care at all that I have you and your sister at gun-point?" he threatened, voice dangerously low and deep.
I gulped but didn't respond. I didn't have to. I knew I had plucked a string, but what's with the sudden mood swings?
"That's what I thought. You know, on the outside, you act all tough and cold. But on the inside, you're just as scared as the rest of us." he ended with a whisper.
What was that supposed to mean? Just as scared as the rest of us? Scared? Scared of who?
I must have been mulling over his words for too long because he cleared his throat impatiently with a small but loud cough.
"Alright. Let's get down to business." he started.
I sighed and nodded my head in agreement. I had a feeling this was not going to end well. For either of us.
Suddenly, a wave of pure anger came crashing down on the walls that held me together. I guess the situation just started to be processed in my mind because right now I was mad. No, I was seething with rage. This bastard has my little sister at gunpoint, and he still had the nerve to ask me for a second chance! After all he has done to me already, this was the final straw. If Janey wasn't in danger, I would have beat the living daylights out of him.
................................................................
******FLASHBACK TO TWO YEARS AGO*********
"Are you...breaking up with me?" I whispered in absolute shock. It must have showed on my face because Daniel immediately started to say some cheap excuse that he stole from some crappy television show.
