Chapter 30
The clock strikes six, and my heart drops. Teddy and Kai look at me from across the room. It’s time.
The last customer leaves, the bell resounding above them. I move over to Teddy, his face is blank. His trembling hands tell me everything I need to know.
“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I tell him. He meets my gaze but quickly looks back down at the floor. I kiss him on the cheek so he looks me in the eyes.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I repeat, my hands clasping around his.
“I wanted to keep you away from all this,” he says, his eyes glassy.
“I’ve spent my life being haunted by them. Today it ends, for all of us,” I tell him, inviting him into a hug. We hold each other for a moment as the reality of our situation sinks in.
I need to stay strong.
I am strong.
I can do this.
“Let me just grab my bag, then we can head to the police station. You ready, Eli?” I ask, looking over to him. He gives me a nod as I go to the back of the store. After a few steps, the bell sounds again. I dart round. My eyes go wide as my heart sinks.
“You got a seat for your old man?” I hear a man say. I rush to Teddy and Elijah, standing beside them. Teddy’s brothers, Elliot and Stanley, stand beside the man. They’re wearing backpacks, and something tells me I don’t want to know what’s in them.
When I get a clear view of the man in the middle, I gasp.
“Dr Satin? What are you…?” I say, lost for words. “You’re…?”
“Yeah, I kinda lied to you, Noah. I do apologise for the insincerity,” he says, a small smile dawns on his face. Elliot and Stanley are sniggering behind him.
“Why would you do that? I told you everything about myself. I told you my trauma, why would you…” I trail off, my heart aching. This whole time, I’ve been sharing my secrets with the enemy.
“I wanted to learn more about you, Noah. I knew Isabelle very well. I wanted to know what kind of man she birthed into the world,” he explains, stepping closer to us.
“Bullshit. You didn’t know her at all, all you did was murder her,” I spit as I feel my face heat up. My hands form a fist as I grind my teeth together. How dare he say her name? He has no right.
“She was the love of my life. Then one day, she decided I wasn’t good enough for her. All of this was for her. I wanted to have money to support her, to support the family we were going to have, but she threw it all away for that fucking policeman,” he says, rolling his eyes.
Mum was in a relationship with Mr Bronze?
Teddy stands in front of him, but his father throws his hands into the air.
“Oh, c’mon, Edward, I haven’t even done anything yet. All we’re doing is talking. God you think I’m so terrible don’t you.”
“Well, you are,” Elijah pipes up, joining Teddy to cover me. Mr Bronze moves closer to him and bends down to talk to him.
“Oh well, if it isn’t Mr Hero. You think you’re so amazing, don’t you? I remember the day he ran away to yours. Did he ever repay you for that?” Mr Bronze asks, his gaze locked onto Elijah. Elijah glares right back at him, his demeanour calm and composed.
“He doesn’t need to, it’s what friends do.”
“Don’t make me sick,” Mr Bronze gags. He sighs loudly and scratches his temples. He looks between us all, breathing through his nostrils.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he’s grabbing Elijah by the neck and pulling him away from us. Mr Bronze pulls out a switchblade from his pocket and holds it to Elijah’s neck.
“Don’t fucking move,” he grunts, pointing at me and Teddy with the knife. We give each other a look, not knowing what to do. I can’t let him die. I can’t. This was never meant to happen. We were just about to end this. But they got to us first.
We took too long.
“Tie them up, boys,” he says to Elliot and Stanley. They move towards us.
“Surely you have chairs in this fucking place,” Elliot complains, looking around. Stanley finds some and places them in the centre of the room, across from each other.
“Please take a seat, and if you don’t, little Eli’s neck gets slit,” Mr Bronze threatens.
We take a seat begrudgingly. The brothers take rope out of their backpacks and tie me and Teddy’s arms to the chairs.
If I fight, Elijah is dead. I can’t do anything.
What do I do?
What the hell do I do?
How do I fix this?
“I always hated you for taking my boy away from me. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do this,” Mr Bronze spits before throwing Elijah to the ground. When he lands with a thud, Mr Bronze strikes Elijah’s knee with his foot.
Elijah lets out a visceral roar as he clutches his leg.
“You’ve fucking broken my leg, you bastard!” He shouts as tears spring from his eyes.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Teddy screams from his chair as he struggles against the restraints. I attempt to break free as well, but the rope is tight against my skin. It burns as I move my hands up and down the rope.
Mr Bronze steps over Elijah and moves in front of me. Elijah slowly closes his eyes as he passes out. He gets down to my level, his face uncomfortably close to mine.
“You look just like your mother,” he says, taking in the details of my face. He gently caresses my cheek with the point of the knife. I stay deathly still. I close my eyes tightly as I feel the blade press deeper into my skin, a small cut forming on my cheek.
“Maybe I should carve a Chelsea smile into your cheeks, since you’re so desperate to smile all the time,” he threatens.
“Leave him alone, he didn’t do anything wrong, Dad!” Teddy shouts.
“Fuck sake, can you two get some duct tape for him or something?” Mr Bronze says to the boys. They duct tape Teddy’s mouth while he struggles.
“I’m trying to chat with Noah here, and you’re constantly interrupting,” he says to Teddy. He turns back to me and caresses my cheek as I struggle.
“You know, killing her was an accident really. I guess it made my life easier not seeing her. A constant reminder of what I lost. But now you’re walking around. You have her cheekbones, her eyes…her fury,” he begins, stroking my cheeks like a lover. I tremble under his touch.
“You’re like her in so many ways, you have no idea,” he whispers as the blood from my cheeks transfers to his fingertips.
“You know, she used to have this little flower stall. She always did love flowers, didn’t she? Especially white roses, they were her favourite,” he says, pacing back and forth. He smiles reminiscently.
“I did love her, you know. But she was never into the hard work it took to provide,” he explains, making me laugh. He turns to me, his face serious now.
“What’s so funny?”
“So you became a criminal to provide for her? No wonder she dumped you,” I say, laughing in his face.
He darts towards me and grabs me by the throat.
The air in my lungs disappears, the pressure in my head building.
I suddenly regret provoking him. Teddy’s muffled shouts ring in my ears.
I choke out pleas of forgiveness, but he doesn’t stop.
“She was a fucking whore! She took everything away from me, and never once apologised. My life was ruined. And I will never forgive her for that. She made me this way!” he says through gritted teeth, spit landing on my face.
Finally, he lets go of his throat. I cough and splutter as air reaches my lungs again.
“I promised her I would never hurt you. She paid me to leave you both alone after I killed your father.”
He killed Dad?
“I will fucking end you.” I spit, staring him right in the eyes. My gaze steely.
“Don’t kid yourself on,” Mr Bronze laughs. “It’s a shame, though, she couldn’t afford to keep the flower stall open after the deal was struck. The things you do for those you love, eh?” He chuckles. His face grows serious as he turns to me.
“It pains me to say this, but I’m going to have to break that promise. You know who I am now. I can’t have any loose ends,” he explains, my eyes going wide.
What is he going to do to us?
Teddy’s muffled shouts cause Elliot to kick him to the floor.
“Shut the fuck up!” He shouts as Teddy’s head hits the floor. His switchblade falls out of his pocket while the boys start laughing at him. His eyes close slowly.
“We won’t say anything to anyone! We’ll—” I plead before Mr Bronze slaps my cheek.
“You can shut up as well. That’s enough talking,” he says before turning back to the brothers. “Get the petrol, will you?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I say as a gasp escapes me.
“I do dare.”
The bronze family start pouring petrol all around the bookshop, laughing as they go. The pungent smell hits my nose, causing me to recoil.
“Stop! Please!” I beg, as tears begin to fall. I just got my life back. I fought so hard for this. And now they’re going to take it away from me.
“Save your tears, Noah. Keep them for when you reunite with your mother in hell,” Mr Bronze says, his eyes burning with hatred. He brings out a box of matches before a police siren sounds in the distance.
“Oh fuck,” Stanley gasps. Mr Bronze lights a match and drops it to the ground. The two boys run out the front door. Mr Bronze, however, leans into my face again.
“Just remember. I asked you politely to stay away. This is all your fault,” he whispers. My eyes go wide as a fire erupts around us. Mr Bronze walks out, avoiding the flames. Orange light swarms the entire building as bookcases and furniture catch fire.
Is this how I die? I don’t want to go like this.
These past few months have been the greatest moments of my life.
I felt like I was finally happy. I felt alive!
Why is life cruel enough to give me everything I ever wanted, only to experience the pain of losing it all two seconds later?
It’s all disintegrating in front of me, and I can’t stop it.
I let out a scream as I try harder to break free.
My eyes catch the shimmer of Teddy’s switchblade on the floor. If I could just grab it I could cut myself free.
“Noah? Teddy?” Elijah coughs from the front of the store. I see him struggling to stand. I can barely see him through the flames.
“Get to the front, Eli! I’ve got Ted! Get help!” I shout to him over the sounds of the blaze. The heat prickles on my skin as it gets closer to us. I begin to cough as smoke fills my lungs. I look down at the blade.
This is really going to hurt.
I shift the chair over to the blade, each movement sending jolts of pain through my wrists. The rope burns, but I have to escape.
I can’t let them win.
I don’t want to die like this.
I push myself onto the floor. My shoulder hits the ground hard. I wince as pain jolts through my entire body, my face contorting into a grimace.
“Fuck,” I groan as I realise I’m just out of reach of the blade. I shuffle back a little, my whole body in agony. I can’t see the blade, but my fingertips brush against it. I struggle to reach it before it finally reaches my grasp. The blade springs out and I cut myself free.
I grab the chair and throw it across the room, molten rage filling my soul. I cut Teddy out of his restraints as groans come from his lips.
“C’mon, baby, we’re not dead yet,” I tell him, but he doesn’t stand.
I grab him, even though my whole body screams at me.
I put him up against my good shoulder as we struggle to the front of the shop.
I hear wood groaning behind me as a bookshelf falls where we just were.
It lights up the room as we continue onwards.
My legs start to give out, the weight causing them to flare up with pain. Each breath I take is filled with thick smoke. I cough a few times before covering my mouth.
I trip over something and we both fall to the ground. My body grows weak as I crawl to Teddy.
“We need to go, Teddy. We can’t die like this,” I plead with him, but he isn’t responding. My heart aches as I try my hardest to move him, but my body tells me to stay down and accept my fate.
“C’mon, honey, I’m not ready to die. I still have my whole life with you to live.”
I feel my eyes grow heavy as the smoke continues to fill my lungs. Why can’t I move? My whole body feels weighed down. Tears begin to spill out of my eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Teddy. This is all my fault,” I cry as my world starts to fade to black.
I struggle against the impending darkness.
But in the end, it wins.