37. "She's mine. I won't let youany other have her."
I sat on the floor of the living room, surrounded by broken pieces of glass. With a tear stained face, I picked up a small piece of glass, contemplating on ending the pain with it as memories hit me bricks— all good and bad.
It's not her fault.
The voice in my head repeated for the hundredth time. I never should have burst out at her like that. I never should have told her to leave. How could I let her walk out into the arms of danger?
I was still just as pathetic as I was when I was fourteen. I couldn't save my family, and I couldn't protect her either. Now, her phone was switched off, and I did not know what to do or where to go looking for her.
I squeezed the piece of glass in my palm, the pain nothing compared to that in my heart and soul, as my other hand dialled her number again. It was still switched off.
I grunted in frustration before calling Samuel.
"Samuel, I need you to find Aysel. Search for her everywhere." I ordered before hanging up.
The fear of Liam getting to her, the thought of him touching her made me dizzy and nauseous. I hated myself so much for doing that to her. I had fallen for her. How could I still hurt her?
———
We sat in the living room together, talking about our day. It was our everyday ritual. We would all gather in the living room to talk about our day. If dad was working overnight, it would be me, mom and Olivia.
"Look at this drawing I made." Olivia hopped up to me, extending a drawing of our happy little family towards me.
I smiled warmly. "It's beautiful, Ollie."
"Do you want to put it in your room?" She asked, her big brown eyes gleaming with joy.
"Absolutely." I told her, making her jump in excitement and wrap her arms around me.
I chuckled, holding on to her. She was my life. I would die for her.
"Olivia, you didn't make a drawing for us?" Mom asked playfully, as Olivia settled on my lap.
"I'll make one for you too, mom. Don't worry," she said sweetly. "Dad, do you want one too?"
"Yes, my dear. I want one too." He smiled fondly at her.
"I have so much work in store for me." She said, making us laugh.
I ruffled her hair, making her pout.
"Aiden, honey, could you get my phone from the kitchen? I forgot it there." Mom said.
I nodded, lifting Olivia off of my lap and placing her on the couch, before heading to the kitchen. As I looked around to find her phone, I was startled by loud sounds coming from the living room down the corridor.
Confused and alarmed, I ran back to the living room, the sight before me making the hair on my neck stand.
Armed men aiming guns at my family. Dad stood in front of mom and Olivia, while a scared Olivia hid behind mom. I stood frozen in the corner, unable to plan and comprehend.
I had barely been away for a minute.
"What do you think you're doing?! Get out of my house!" Dad exclaimed. My eyes flashed from the men to my mom and sister, looks of pure horror plastered on their innocent faces.
"You were warned beforehand. You thought we were bluffing? It's now time for you to face the consequences." One of them declared.
"Everyone on the ground or I'll shoot!" He commanded.
I saw mom tremble as she scooped Olivia up in her arms and held her tight as the confused and scared child cried.
"I said, get on the ground!" He shouted.
"Leave us alone!" I finally found my voice, stepping into their line of view. He watched me, amused.
"Get on the ground, kid."
"No!"
"Fine. I'll shoot your dad then." He said, pointing the gun at dad.
My blood ran cold. "Don't hurt my family... please." Complying, I knelt to the ground.
"Aiden, get up from there!" Dad said through gritted teeth.
"It's high time you listened too. Get on the ground or I'll put a bullet through every single person's skull." The man threatened gruffly, this time pointing his gun at mom and Olivia.
I saw dad clench his jaw, before giving in and dropping to the ground.
"You too, lady." He gestured towards mom.
She quietly knelt on the ground, tightly clutching Olivia's small body.
Two of the younger men started walking towards me, making me more alert.
"Don't touch him!" Dad called. "How can you even do this?! I trusted and valued you the most!"
"Oh shut up. You should have thought of this before."
The two of them held me down while another two went to hold dad down on the ground.
As another two started walking towards mom, dad yelled at them. "Don't you dare touch my wife!"
His words were ignored as they held mom down as well, with a trembling, crying Olivia in her arms. I struggled to break free when I saw the fear in her innocent eyes, overwhelmed with a protective urge, but I was held down more firmly.
"Please don't hurt us." Mom pleaded as her eyes teared up.
My jaw clenched as her desperate state in front of all those strange men filled me with anger, and Olivia's cries nearly deafened me to the point where I could only hear my pounding heart in my ears.
The man doing most of the talking smiled sadistically. The most evil and malicious smile I had ever seen.
And that was when the first gunshot came through.
I remained on the ground, frozen in shock and fear, while mom's blood curdling screams echoed through the house.
A bullet had pierced through dad's abdomen, spilling his blood all over the marbled floor, turning the white into bright red.
My eyes almost jumped out of my sockets, as my heart threatened to stop. 'Dad...'
More terror consumed me as the man who had shot dad now turned towards mom and Olivia. 'No, no, no.'
"No, please!" I found my voice. "Don't hurt them, please!"
The man smirked, as if our fear only served as entertainment for him. "Watch this, kid."
My eyes widened even more as I tried fighting back my tears. "Please I'm begging you! Let them go! Don't do this please!"
He didn't seem like he planned on stopping.
"I'm begging you! Please! Let them go!" I pleaded frantically, struggling to break free from the iron hold of the guys holding me down. I had never felt a fear so intense in my entire life. "Hurt me instead! Don't hurt them please! They've done nothing! Please!"
My heart stopped, a tear slipping out of my eye. In that moment, I realised I had lost everything. Including my heart and my emotions. They spilled away just like the blood that poured out of my mother and sister's bodies.
I felt lifeless as I watched every bit of blood ooze out from my family's bodies.
The only people I had in the entire world.
It suddenly did not matter that I was their next target.
Their next victim. In fact, I was looking forward to it.
There was no point in living without the people I loved the most in the world.
I squeezed my eyes shut as a few more gunshots sounded, awaiting my impending death. But it never came.
Opening my eyes, I saw a gun in dad's hands, his eyes slowly fluttering close as his body went completely limp.
Leaving me as the only surviving in a room smeared with blood and filled with lifeless bodies.
I sat up, gasping for air, looking around frantically. I was still in the living room, surrounded by the broken pieces of vases I had hurled to the ground in anger, and a bleeding palm.
Aysel.
Fuck.
I hoisted myself off the ground, grabbing my phone and car keys, and rushing to my car. I punched the steering wheel in frustration.
You fucked up failure. You failed to protect her like you failed to protect your family.
I wanted nothing more than to sit and breakdown, but I knew I had to go look for her. I could not leave her to the mercy of this cruel world, or that sadistic retard.
I called Samuel, putting the phone on speaker as I reversed out of my driveway.
He picked up on the third ring. "Sir, I have no news of her so far," he said, knowing exactly why I called him.
"Her last location shows Lincoln Street.
I personally went and scoured the whole area, but there was no sign of her.
Her phone has been switched off for hours. "
I growled, hitting the steering wheel again as I drove down the road, darting my eyes around for any sign of her. "Keep looking. I don't care if you have to dig up the Earth to take her out of it. I want her alive and well at all costs!"
"Yes, sir... I also have our men looking for Liam. We never know... he could have her." He said the last part hesitantly.
My jaw clenched, the thought of him having her driving me insane. "Keep looking."
"Alright, sir."
I hung up, wracking my mind as I wondered where she could go. Until a name popped into my mind.
Andrew... of course... she must have went to him.
I parked my car to the side, searching up his address which didn't take me long because I had access to the hospital employees' record.
Lincoln street.
My teeth gritted against each other as I started driving to the location.
I was going insane with jealousy that she had gone to him, but I knew it wasn't her fault.
It was always me and my good for nothing attitude.
She was a beam of sunshine, the epitome of happiness and peace.
She didn't deserve my shit. She didn't deserve me.
A fucked up, emotionally closed off, traumatised man who was still stuck inside the living room of his family home, trapped amongst the pile of dead bodies and the smell of blood.
I struggled to calm my erratic breathing as the images hit me once again, making me nauseous.
However, I ignored the feeling because I knew I needed to put all of my thinking and energy into finding Aysel and bringing her back home safe and sound.
She was my top priority. Nothing else in the world mattered in that moment.
Over-speeding, I finally pulled in front of Andrew's apartment and got out of my car, jogging up the front stairs. Ringing the doorbell, I impatiently tapped my foot on the ground. Then I rang the doorbell again, before banging on the door, growing more restless by the minute.
The door flung open a few seconds later with him standing in shock upon seeing me. "Mr. Knight? You here? Can I help you?"
"Where's Aysel?" I cut straight to the point, darting my eyes behind him.
His brows dipped. "Aysel? She's not here. Why are you looking for her?"
I glared at him. "Don't fuck with me. She's here, isn't she?"
"Mr. Knight, I have no idea what you—"
Pushing him aside, I stormed into his small apartment, desperately looking around. "Aysel!" I called for her.
"Sir, what are you doing? She's not here!" Andrew called from behind as I started searching every inch of the place.
She really was nowhere to be found.
"Are you satisfied now?" He asked once I was done looking everywhere.
Growling, I grabbed him by the collar and pushed him to the wall, watching fear enter his eyes. "Where the fuck is she?!"
"I don't know!"
"Her last location is near your house," I said through gritted teeth. "What the fuck did you do to her?"
"What would I do to her? She's my best friend! And she never came here!" He exclaimed.
I growled again. "Best friend, my ass. You're into her, aren't you?"
The fear in his eyes became replaced with surprise.
"She's mine," I growled. "Do you understand that? I won't let you or any other have her!"
He gulped, seeming at a loss for words.
Letting go of his collar, I took a step back. "If I learn that you had any role in her disappearing, I will kill you without a warning."
Giving him one last menacing look, I stormed out of his house and returned to my car.