Chapter Twenty Five
Harley
Carter’s guitar was still slung over my body, its neck biting into my arm as he pulled me down the hallway by my elbow, his nails piercing my skin.
I tried to flag down roadies, tried to signal them with my eyes that something was seriously wrong, I shouldn’t be walking briskly from the stage with this man.
But everyone was freaked out and on edge since the word got out about Cassie and then the power being cut off, no one even looked at us twice. They all thought he was leading me to safety.
They were used to him being with me.
“We’re almost there,” he grumbled looking left and right, that same hard pipe poking at my ribs.
I looked down and saw it was a barrel of a gun.
Cold sweat broke over my skin and my head started spinning.
“You don’t have to do this. Just tell me what you want, and we’ll get it for you, we’ll make it possible.” I pushed through stiff lips.
His palm slapped over the wooden door, his eyes came to me, and he smiled, "Everything I want is right here.” He pushed the door open, and, there’s no other word for it, flung me inside… a bathroom?
I stumbled and retreated to a corner.
“Took you long enough,” a voice I knew well said as if she was bored, and Cassie strolled out of a stall.
“It wasn’t easy to navigate the left wing that’s full of equipment in the dark with her,” Finn snapped at Cassie. “You know there’s a reason we use the right to enter and leave the stage.”
“Oh, please,” Cassie rolled her eyes. “All you have to do is get her here. Thank God you look like a fool and are constantly drooling after her. You weren’t suspicious at all.” She smiled at him then. “I told you it would work.”
“And it worked like a charm,” he chuckled.
I looked between them. I couldn’t understand what was going on.
“Wh-what-” I panted, my heart racing a mile a minute.
“Wh-wh-wha-” Cassie mocked me as she walked over to Finn and took the gun from him. “Are you gonna cry little Harley?”
A look of such repulsiveness twisted her face, I shivered.
“Are you gonna run home and cry to your daddy, big sister?”
Blood roared in my ears, “Big sister?”
“Oh, that’s right, you have no idea I exist. Cassie tapped her chin with the gun she held in her hand. She turned and smiled at Finn. “What do you think, Finnie, is it time for a story?”
Finn tilted his head and jutted his chin, “Have at it. It’s your show.” He eyed her, before saying, “For now.”
“You see, I grew up with just my mom. My whole life it was just the two of us.”
I frowned, “I know. You told me that.”
At my words, Cassie stalked to me, and slapped me so hard, my head flew to the side. “Shut up, Princess. It’s time for me to talk and you to listen.”
I stood back up straight and brushed my hair off my face that got stuck there.
I chanced to look at Finn. He was frowning at Cassie.
“I never knew who my father was. His name wasn’t listed on my birth certificate.” Cassie started walking around the bathroom. “But I always wanted to know. I felt like I was missing a part of me, you know?” She looked at me then, “Like I was missing everything.”
She stopped and waited for something. But soon, she gave up and continued her walk. “It took years, but I finally talked my mother in to tell me who he is. To tell me his name.”
She laughed then, but it was a flat, monotone laugh.
Painful and crazed all in the same moment.
“You see, turns out my mother was a wild girl before she had me. And I’m a product of a one night stand.
When she went in search of the man who made me, she found out he was married.
She felt guilty for the infidelity, and she didn’t want to ruin the man’s life.
She didn’t know his situation, didn’t know why he strayed.
All she knew was that she would not ruin that family’s life.
So, she decided to have me all on her own. ”
She stopped and then came to me, walked right into my space.
“My father’s name is Mark Thorne.”
My stomach twisted. “What?”
“Yes,” She nodded her head. “You’re my big sister, Harley. Isn’t that great?”
“I-I,” Pain swept through me then. I had a sister? “But I don’t understand-”
Cassie cut me off, “Why am I doing this?”
I licked my suddenly dry lips and nodded.
“You see, when I went in search of the man named Mark Thorne, I didn’t find a man who was happy to see me.
I knew it was a bit of a shock when I came to his door, and asked to talk to him, saying I’m his daughter.
But still, he could’ve at least been a little remorseful he wasn’t a part of my life.
He could’ve shown a little grief if he didn't even know I existed.”
I blinked. I was positive I knew where this story was going.
My dad wasn’t capable of anything but inflicting hurt.
“For years I came to him,” Cassie screamed.
“Years, I went there in the hopes that he could be a part of my life, that he could see me. That he would love me. But no,” she leaned back and waved her hands like that blow up thing that car dealerships had in their lots sometimes.
“All he could talk about was you. How good you were, how obedient. How you went out, struck out on your own, and made something of your life. How you were a perfect daughter. His perfect daughter. His only one.”
A glint shone in her eye then spiking fear in my heart.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“I don’t need you to be sorry, I need you to be gone, so he’ll finally see me.” She shrieked.
“What are you going to do?” I asked. “You gotta know, Cassie, there’s no way out of this. We’re locked in. You can’t sneak me out, Carter knows it was you.”
She laughed then and looked at Finn, “Can you believe this? She actually thinks she will walk out of here.”
She turned to me, and missed Finn’s deep frown.
“It all ends here, big sis. You end here.” As she said those words she raised the gun and pointed it right at me. Right at my chest.
Finn moved then, coming from behind her and gripped her forearm, forcing the gun down, “You can’t hurt her. She’s mine.”
“Oh, come on, Finn,” Cassie rolled her eyes. “We’ll find you another one. A better one.”
“There’s no one like Harley. And we had a deal.” Spit flew out of his mouth. “You have your fun, scare her a little then I take her.”
“Take me?” I breathed.
Finn twisted his body to look at me. “Yes.”
I blinked back at him. They were making my head swim in confusion.
“What do you mean take me?”
He leaned to me, and sniffed me. “I mean I get to keep you.”
I reared back, hitting my head against the tile.
Finn reached out and ran his finger up my arm to my neck. He took hold of the guitar’s strap and pulled it over my head, taking it away.
“Don’t worry, baby. You’ll forget all about him. I’ll take good care of you.”
“But Finn,” I whispered. “I’m with Carter. And you’re my friend.”
“I’m not your friend,” Finn snapped. “I’ve been waiting for you to see me. To come to me. How many times have I offered you my bed, huh? How many times have I asked you to come to my room?”
Countless. But I never took it seriously.
“You were just joking around,” I said. “I knew you didn’t mean it seriously. We’re friends.”
“We are not fucking friends. You belong to me. Your songs belong to me.”
“I’m sorry, Finn,” I shook my head. “I don’t see you that way.”
“You will,” he promised. He looked down to what he was still holding. “ You don’t need this anymore.”
He then gripped the guitar by its neck and smashed it against the wall. He stood and looked down at the debris, his chest moving rapidly.
As the guitar splintered into a million pieces, so did my heart.
In that moment I knew, there was no talking my way out of this. Those two were absolutely crazy.
“Enough,” Cassie screamed. “Enough of this shit. We need to finish what we started, and then we need to go.”
Finn looked up, “Not without Harley.”
“You’ve had your fun, Finn. With lurking and stalking. I don’t even want to think how many times you have jerked off while you watched and filmed her.”
“You didn’t complain when I brought you all those pictures. The other stuff was for me. I needed something from her to get me through the wait.” He winked at me. “Until I got the real thing.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from throwing up. Those two terrorized me for, what?
So one of them would have me and the other could kill me?
It didn’t make sense.
“It ends her. She ends here.” Cassie growled.
“You will not take her away from me,” Finn argued. “You had your fun. She was scared out of her mind. And you see she doesn’t want to have anything to do with her father. She never even mentions him. And you told her everything. Now, it’s my turn.”
Just then a door flew open and a man rushed through.
I looked at him, but turned back when Cassie said, “You’re like a broken record, Finn. It’s boring as shit.”
She raised her gun and fired.
“No,” the man screamed and sprang into action.
The gun fired again.
Cassie started maniacally laughing.
My ears were ringing.
And then I couldn’t hear anything at all.