19. Jace
Chapter nineteen
Jace
Five Months Since Soren Left
T he door of the run-down cabin slams open, filling the kitchen with cold air. I clench my teeth and glance over my shoulder, taking in Alec’s disheveled appearance. The distinct smell of copper and bleach mixed with a familiar perfume assaults my senses as it carries in the wind. An icy grip clenches my insides, and I dread what he might have done after our heated argument.
Alec slams the door shut, leaving me alone in the dimly lit kitchen. Anger radiates off him as he stomps through the cabin to his room. I quickly stand up, determined to catch him before he locks me out. The chair topples over and crashes to the floor, but I don’t care.
“Where have you been?” My voice comes out rough from the cold riddling my body as I chase after him, almost tripping over his hazard-placed discarded boots. Alec lets out a haughty laugh as he turns around, pinning me down with a heated and maniacal look; blood coats his face, shirt, and hands, causing me to freeze in place. “Little Compton, you have no right to know my every move. We aren’t together. Is that not what you said earlier?” Alec's voice comes out with a sense of fake sweetness; he steps up in my direction, his eyes darkening as he looks from my head to my toes.
“What did you do, Alec? We are supposed to keep a low profile like Tobias said; we don’t make a move until we are ordered to…” My voice comes out quieter than I attended, but he is so close to fucking this up for me. I have worked hard to get into AHU and lay low enough not to tick off Scarlett’s gu ard dogs. Ben and I have been meeting secretly to share what we have learned since Soren left four months ago.
I have to go when Alec is off doing whatever he does. Alec said he has been meeting with his girlfriend and spending time with her at her place. When I asked who this girl was, he only smiled and said I needed to mind my business regarding his dating life.
“I took care of our mutual problem, so relax,” Alec replies nonchalantly, smirking at me as he wipes the blood from his face but only smearing it more. “Maybe if you weren’t trying to be so subtle, shit would be moving faster for us,” Alec says, using his bloody hand to grip my chin and bring me closer to him, forcing me to take a deep inhale. The recognition hits me of where I smelled the perfume before and what mutual problem he would think we had… Ben. We had to confront him for information on Tobias's orders two days ago, and I have had a sick feeling ever since, having to play the part so we didn’t blow the cover of knowing about each other's whereabouts and still being close. Nausea grips my insides as the dried blood from Alec’s hand rubs roughly against my skin, cracking and flaking off. “You didn’t… Where is Ben, Alec?”
My voice cracks, betraying me. Alec laughs, pushing me away, and looks at me with disgust gracing his lips. “I didn’t think Ben was your type until I followed you after you thought I was already gone. Who would have thought I’d catch you with someone close to the enemy, the same person we had to confront two days ago, and you acted like it was the first time you two saw each other?” Alec tilts his head, waiting for me to say something and deny seeing Ben. “He was my friend before this. What is the problem with seeing him? I was not fucking him if that is what you are thinking.” I look at him, masking the emotions he can see now that he knows I was meeting Ben without him. “Aw, come on, Compton. You think I didn’t notice you hesitated when we were questioning him?” he let out a small laugh.
He steps closer to me, and I refuse to back down. I hadn’t noticed how close I was to the wall until he steadily put his hands on it by my head, framing both sides against it. It makes me feel caged. As he leans into me, I feel his hot breath in my ear. He whispers, “I know you better than you know yourself.” It causes me to gulp, but I try to make it unnoticeable. Alec kisses my neck before licking my pulse point and chuckles, “Remember when I said if I can’t have you, neither can she?”
I turn to look at him, and it’s like I never knew him at all. He is a monster and just as bad as the fucker Tobias who has my sister. I must remind myself that I may love Soren, but I also love Josie. I fear that soon, I will have to choose between the woman for whom my heart beats and the only family I have left. “Yes, Alec, I remember,” I say with clenched teeth.
He grabs my neck, and I feel some of the dried blood he still has on met, and it makes the bile rise before I swallow the feeling down, “Good boy, Compton, remember that the next time you try to deceive me. You were the one who chose not to give in, now do as you are fucking told.” That is all he says before he turns and slams the door in my face. I feel my heart crack a little. I may not have been sleeping with Ben like Alec thinks, but he was like a brother to me, and it feels like I lost a family member all over again. I can’t keep going through this; I can not lose anyone else; it will kill me. What do I do? There's no way to choose without putting both women I love in more danger. I turn around and head to the front door, snatching the keys from the bowl on the side table. I’m not entirely quiet with the slamming of the front door; I need to get ahead of this before everything blows up in my face. I walk towards the blacked-out SUV, knowing this is something that will require something discreet and not something that can be traced back to me.
I click the unlock button on the key fob and snatch the driver's side door, causing the door to creak and groan under immense force. I groan as the scent of sex and that fucking perfume greets my nostrils, making me want to gag; I push away the unease and slam the door shut, watching as Alec’s bedroom light illuminates his silhouette as he seems to be in some sort of undress, the way he is handling harming someone who he claimed was a great friend makes it obvious how much of a psychopath he truly is. I grab my phone and put it in the mounted phone holder; pulling up my contacts, I scroll over each one. Seeing Soren’s contact causes my stomach to drop again. I wish I could hear her voice now and warn her of Ben’s fate before it comes back to her later. I know this will be another thing I’m blamed for and that she will add to the list of things I will need to pay for in my retribution to get her back when the time comes. I keep scrolling and continue to the contact I know will help me when in need. I press call, and the ringing echoes around the empty car like a bad omen.
Josie picks up the phone in a tired, groggy voice. “What do I owe the pleasure of my little brother calling me so late?” she says through a yawn, and I smile softly. She has been so busy lately, and whenever I try to call her, she is busy and can’t speak. “I need help. Alec did something that could cause serious trouble if the wrong person found out. Can you meet me, please?” I ask softly, praying she can do this one thing for me.
There's a pregnant pause before her voice comes back over the line, “What did he do?” Josie asks curiously, and I grit my teeth at her lack of sense of urgency.
“Something to Ben, can you help or not? If not, I’ll call Tobias to send one of his goons.” I groan at the thought of having to do that, not wanting to involve him in something that will only cause more problems than it's worth. Another thing that I will have to pay for in some sort of fucked up and twisted way.
She chuckles and tries to cover it with a cough, but she fails miserably, which causes me to pause and look at my phone to be sure it is indeed my sister I called. When did someone getting hurt make her laugh? What the fuck. Her voice brings me back to the conversation, “Where do you want to meet, Jace?” Josie's voice comes out bored and unbothered at my current crisis.
“Flick your bean, the coffee book store on Mel Ave. I’ll be there in ten minutes, and we can ride together. Bye, Love you.” I clip out irritably, ready for the conversation to end along with the night.
“Love You, Little J,” Josie replies, as shuffling in the background comes across the speaker, leaving me to assume she is getting dressed now. With that, the line goes dead. The silence makes me feel like I am suffocating in every emotion that is wrecking my body; I grip the steering wheel tighter and breathe in a ragged breath to calm my racing heart down. I use my right hand to switch the screen on my phone to Spotify and scroll to the playlist labeled ‘Soren,’ I scroll for a moment until I land on a song I had heard her sing countless times before the world went to shit. I press the song, and the speakers begin to blare the melody to ‘Everybody’s Fool by Evanescence’ my thrum mindlessly thrums against the steering wheel as I continue into the town of Ashford, pulling my ball-cap down further to hide my face from the traffic cameras so I don’t tip anyone off about my whereabouts. The flashbacks of Soren singing this song cause tears to prickle the inner side of my eyes as I blink them away quickly. The song ends as I pull into the parking lot of the coffee and bookshop, spotting Josie leaning against her old beat-up Volkswagen Beetle. The next song starts up as I stop in front of her. I fight back the sob that wants to escape as Ben’s favorite song begins, ‘Welcome To The Black Parade by MCR,’ plays through the speakers as my sister opens the passenger door. The wind blows the perfume that covers Alec and assaults my nostrils, causing me to look at my sister as an uneasy feeling tugs at my gut.
No, it couldn’t be Josie that Alec is seeing.
“Hey, sis, thanks for coming to help,” I say hastily, trying to hide the inner turmoil plaguing me at the realization that Alec was with Josie tonight. Josie tilts her head and takes me in fully under the dim street lights, trying to read me like she used to when we were kids.
“It’s not an issue, and I’ll always be here to help you, little bro.” She smiles at me but doesn’t fully reach her eyes and looks almost forced. She leans back into the passenger seat, making herself comfortable.
“It’s been a minute since I could see you. How have you seen anyone new?” I glance over to get her reaction and am pleased when a look of surprise graces her face, “Yeah, well, we recently got back together after being apart. I also see Scarlet, but it is only casual hookups here and there.” She says softly, yawing quietly and bringing her hand up. The blood in her nail bed catches my attention right before the bright street light in downtown Ashford passes us by; she must not realize where my attention is because she doesn’t try to hide her hands and causally lays it on the center console. I take the left turn at Clover Ave and head straight to Ben’s small one-bedroom home in the back. As soon as I pull in, the open door sends chills, and alarm bells ring in my head. I slam my foot on the break and push the gear shift into the park. I open my door and almost break my neck, trying to get out of the front seat; as I rush forward to the open door, the sight that greets me has me doubling over and throwing up everything in my stomach. A soft meow has me looking to my right and seeing Mizu standing there beside her daddy, covered in blood. “Come here, baby, let us get you loaded in and safe somewhere.” I bend down to pick up the overly fed Siamese cat that Ben and I picked out from the animal shelter together so he wouldn’t be out here all alone. She nuzzles up to me, smearing the cold blood from Ben on my skin, causing me to wince through the sob that slowly slides from my lips, my tears dripping onto her fur. “I’m so sorry, baby; I’m glad you’re okay..” I whisper to her as I make my way to the truck and place her in the back seat, ‘Send the Pain Below by Chevelle' plays through the speakers, reflecting how I feel now. The pain of losing my best friend and brother in what looks like the most brutal way I could imagine makes me hurt and nauseous. What the fuck am I going to do now? I’m truly alone, and there is no one I can trust.
“What is it, J?” Josie comes up behind me and places her hand on my back, making me squirm uncomfortably, the blood on her nails making sense and the smell of her perfume on Alec. “Oh no, what happened?” she says, and the lack of empathy in her voice is not even hidden; I turn around, taking her in from head to toe. The hickeys and small cuts near her collarbone that were not hidden should be the dead giveaway she was involved with Alec, which was his signature mark.
“I don’t know if this was Alec or who it was, but I would make him pay if it were Alec. Ben did not deserve this. No one does. Let’s get this cleaned up before someone comes along and sees him.” I vow then and there, cementing the promise.
“Do you think your friend Alec would do this?” She asks with fake concern, pulling me into a reluctant embrace before releasing me just as quickly, “If he is so dangerous, maybe you should come stay with me, and we can get Soren together to deliver to Tobias, and you can start living the life of a normal twenty-three-year-old,” She smiles at me. I smile back at her, not letting the fact that I know she was part of this in some way. I walk into the house, and the smell of Lavender and Chamomile blends with the copper tang and Josie’s perfume, making my stomach drop. As I looked at Ben, lifeless at my feet with his eyes open and blank, if I had any doubt, it was my sister and Alec, the small message written in blood at his fingertips would have told me. I leave it there, hoping it delivers the same message to Drake. I lean down and slowly push his eyelids down, closing them, and the cold from his skin makes me feel even more helpless.
“We should hurry up and get this moving. We could be caught, and I am not going to jail over some dead dude,” Josie says grouchily, and the fake empathy from before is no longer in sight. I step away, pulling out what she requested and handing it to her. “If you’re in such a hurry, let us finish this. She pulls the black hoodie she had tied around her waist and slowly slides it over her head and onto her body, the hood covering her head and face. She leans down and starts to use the bleach to cover his body, and she starts to shimmy the black trash bags up, his legs and starts to cover his lower body. “ Cover his upper body, and we can take him to my place. I’ll call the guy who does clean up for the ladies to dispose of his body. Then we can handle the clean-up crew to clean this up as well,” She snaps out the orders and doesn't give me a moment to react before she stands up and walks away while pulling her phone out to make the call to the clean-up crew, I snap a couple of pictures of the “A + JO” at Ben's fingertips and do like I'm told with the rest, not wanting her to realize their cover is blown just yet. There has to be a reason she did this with him, and some nagging feeling in my gut tells me she did it for her benefit, not mine. Ben was my brother and best friend; he was the only way for me to get information on anything helpful regarding Soren, and he was the reason she escaped that night. He was family, and he deserved better. I just hope that whatever is waiting after death is that. I softly kiss his cold and clammy forehead before the black plastic bag goes over his upper half.
My mind raced with the fact that Josie had kept so much from me and that she would do something cruel and calculated, making it obvious that I was no longer in the know when it came to who my big sister was. Every time I try to talk about Soren with Josie, it also makes sense; she blows me off and says she has it handled and that it won't be long until it's done. Does she have this same fate planned for Soren? Will Alec be there to deliver the killing blow.. I don't realize that I'm in the grips of a panic attack until Josie comes back with a chainsaw in her small hands, and the cracking of the motor has my head snapping in her direction.
“What the fuck are you doing with that?” I ask quickly, looking at the stranger of a woman in front of me and my best friend's dead and covered body below me. Realization hits me just as she ignores my question and brings the chainsaw down and to the covered midsection. The sound of meat and bones being chewed away by the blade has me scrambling backward and bumping into the wall of the living room; the look of horror must show on my face because Josie glances at me and laughs.
This fucking bitch laughs at me .
“Grow up, J. The clean-up crew said this would be the best way to transport him to the house. I know you'd rather bury what you could of him instead of having his body dumped in a vat of acid to be melted. If you can't handle this part, go to the truck till I'm ready for you to help me carry the bags out.” She demands and continues to cut into him once she is fully through his midsection. She pulls the bag down further and cuts him into small sections.
Like the coward that I am, I flee the door and run to the truck. I debate calling the police and turning myself, Alec, and my sister in to end this mess once and for all. But I know it wouldn't be an end, but just something to force Tobias himself to come and handle Soren. I couldn't let that happen. She has to live. She has, too, for Ben and I’s sake, or this was all for nothing. He died for nothing.
I grab my phone and hover over the number for Soren, wanting to come clean to her now and tell her she's not as safe as she thought she was with The Ladies.. that The Lords also worked with the other Boogeyman in the dark, wanting to take and make her his.
No matter what, she would never be free until Tobias died and Josie and Alec. The players on this board are bigger than us both, and I don't know who to trust. Or if I could ever trust them, maybe I was always a puppet to string up and play how they wanted me to. Maybe I'm the danger that must also be eliminated to make sure she lives .
“JACE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? You've been standing in the yard for an hour while I did this back job.” Josie comes out screaming, her hand on her hip and her face covered in blood. “ We have to get these bags loaded. The Valkyrie's dogs are on the way to meet with a little dead boy. So if you don't want to deal with that, let's get fucking moving.” She snaps out irritated and leaves no room for arguments.
I shake my cold hands and look down at my phone. The screen is black from not being used, so I slide it into my pocket and walk over to her. She has four bags, and I don't even want to know how she did it. I just do as I'm told, not wanting to deal with whoever this Valkyrie person is. When I asked the first three times it came up, Josie and Ben would answer me who this mysterious monster in a mask was. I just know it was someone who wasn't afraid to do what was necessary. Her killings have been reported as a work of art through the dark market, and every known big bad guy wanted her on their side. Alec was even afraid of her group.
I grab the first bag and don't want to think what part of Ben this is as I load him in the back of the SUV. After the second bag, I'm close to losing the battle, with my stomach wanting to throw up what remains. Josie drags her bag and has me load it. The smaller black trash bags she brings next is lighter and obviously his head. I place it in the back, slam the trunk door shut, and rush to the driver's side. Mizu greets me in my seat, and the sight of her undoes me as I let the tears flow. I scoop her into my arms and place her safely in my lap. She circles small circles before finally settling on a spot to lie. Josie gets into the passenger seat after shutting everything off in Ben's house, so it's dark and looks like he's no longer there. Which he isn't, so it's not far-fetched. As I race from Ben's, I start the car and slam the gears into the drive. The rattling in the back reminds me of what I have there, and as soon as the tires reach the main road, I'm back to normal speed so I don't draw unnecessary attention. I don't know how I'd explain the black bag of body parts, the blood on me and Josie, and the cat covered in blood as well.
“Take me home, and we will unload him there. Are you keeping that thing on your lap, or are we dropping it off somewhere? ”She points to Mizu sleeping in my lap, and I give her a stern look, “I'll take you home so you can do what needs to be done to his body just don't use acid and bury him where I can see him, and I'm keeping the fucking cat.” I snap out, done with her shitty and demanding attitude, and continue to drive the forty-five minutes to Josie's.
We reach her brick home tucked away by itself, and I help her unload the bags to the garage, where she says she can handle the rest and that I need to go and get cleaned before someone sees me. I don't waste time with long goodbyes and leave her there to handle Ben. The drive home is silent, and my mind races to find ways to handle the truth before my eyes.
My sister is a monster who is with a monster.
She lied to me and probably has been lying the whole time.
Alec and Josie Killed Ben
I helped load my dismembered best friend up
I drop him off to be buried in an unmarked grave to save my ass.
I'm officially alone.