DAHLIA
Panic invaded my mind when I realized that Red's temperature was skyrocketing. His breathing was strained and even in his unconsciousness, pain was evident on his face. Sharp tremors took over his body, it was terrifying.
Axel walked in with the heated knife.
"He's worsening" I said, tears filling my eyes.
"Oh God" Axel breathed.
I took the knife from him.
"Hold him down" I said and Axel nodded.
I pressed the hot knife to his infected wound, tears threatening to spill.
The door opened.
Lee and Tori walked in, looking flustered.
"How bad is it?" Lee asked, taking out the drugs.
"Very bad. He's worsening" I said, wiping away the sweat on his chest.
Lee paled, worry evident on his face.
I managed to force the right dosage of the drugs into Red's mouth.
"How exactly do you know what drug to give him?" Lee asked.
"My brother, Nolan. He got into a brawl with some guy. He was cut on the torso. He didn't tell anyone until his wound got infected. He was going to die that night. My mum, being a nurse, knew what to do. That's how I know" I said.
"Okay"
Vanessa walked in with panic in her eyes.
"What do you want now?" I spat, turning to face her.
"I know you hate me but I'm sorry. There's something you need to know....."
"Now you have something to tell me?" I said to her.
She sighed, fiddling with her fingers.
"They'll come here soon. We have to leave"
"Wow, how thoughtful of you to warn us. Even if you're telling the truth and that's a big IF, how do they know we're here?"
"I have no idea but Skull called me few minutes ago. He wasn't happy. He's really pissed off" she said.
"We are not leaving with Red in this condition. I don't know why you're trying to put his life in danger, but I won't let you" I said and she paled instantly.
"I still care about him even though he's my ex. I'll die trying to protect him, but would you?" She said and stormed off.
"What the hell?" Axel muttered under his breath.
Deep down within me, I knew she hadn't gotten over her break up with Red and I'll be damned if I let her ruin everything.
***
*Two days later*
VANESSA
I know that I've been nothing but a bitch. No one has ever treated me the way Red has. He loved me but I ruined it. I want him back but I know his heart belongs to someone else. I'm terrified and frustrated because no one actually believes me. They all hate me. I think I deserve it after everything I did in the past.
There was a knock on the door of my room. I sighed and walked up to the door.
I opened it.
There stood Axel watching me intently. I turned away from him, my heart thudding madly. I don't know if all I see in him is my ex. But, Everytime he looks at me, butterflies erupts in my stomach.
"Can I come in?" He asked.
"Of course" I said, sitting on the bed.
He walked in and sat down on the bed beside me.
"You were an assassin, right?" He said.
I closed my eyes, running a hand through my hair.
Becoming an assassin is something I regret to this day. I can still here the cries of my victims each time I think about it. Their painfilled eyes still haunt me in my dreams.
"I was.... I didn't think I could get out of the system until Red did it. He gave me hope, Axel. If he was awake, he would know that I haven't been lying to anyone" I muttered.
Axel smiled.
"You sure you haven't been lying to anyone?" He asked.
"I'm sorry. I lied to you about the bomb in the kitchen" I sighed.
"Tell me the truth then. I wanna know"
"I did it. But, it wasn't meant to turn out the way it did. I thought you guys would believe that somehow, Skull knew where you guys were. I thought it was going to make you guys leave. I wanted to keep you guys safe. But maybe, I'm wrong. Maybe, Skull has been threatening me just to get to me. Maybe not"
Axel tipped my head back, his eyes watching me intently.
"I believe you" he said.
I closed my eyes, relieved.
"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" He said.
I shook my head.
"It's not a nice feeling to be everyone's enemy. Skull killed my parents. He sent me photos of their corpses and I hate myself for it"
His gaze softened.
Tears filled my eyes. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I was breaking apart and he embraced me.
"I'm sorry" he whispered.
I closed my eyes, hot tears spilling.
"Do you think everyone will feel better if I just leave?" I asked, my throat sore.
"Will it make you feel better?" He asked.
"No" I replied, letting out a sigh. "What's that in your hair?" He asked.
I blinked.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Some sort of fancy butterfly clip.....not that it's bad...But it's got a blinking red light like some sort of camera"
"Please tell me it's not what I'm thinking" I mumbled, stumbling towards the mirror in my room.
Axel followed behind me.
"How could I not have seen that?" I said, tears filling my eyes over again.
Skull has been using me and I have been too stupid to notice.
"Get it off me! Get it off me please" I cried, trying to take it off. My fingers were too shaky to do anything.
"Calm down, Vanessa. You're going to hurt yourself" Axel said, taking my hands in his. He gently took it off, examining the tiny object.
"It's a tracker" he said.
I took it from him and placed it on the ground before smashing it to pieces with my foot. I didn't care if I was hurting myself. I was probably going mad.
"I need to get out- I can't be here- I'm a pest..I.. need to.."
"Sh- it's okay. Just breathe" Axel said, holding my upper arms. "I'm scared" I whimpered.
****
RED
I opened my eyes, the bright rays of the sun on my face. I let out a weak groan, moving my face to the side where Lee and Dahlia stood.
"Thank goodness, you're awake" She said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"How long have I been out?" I croaked, wincing at how dry my throat felt.
"Three days. I was so scared. How are you feeling?"
"Better, I guess" I said.
Lee gave Lia a glass of water.
"He's thirsty, Lia" he said and Lia's cheeks went pink.
"I'm sorry, I was just over excited that you were awake" she said, placing a hand under my head to prop me up as she brought the glass of water to my lips.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, bro" Lee said, grinning at me.
I gave him a smile before bringing my arm to my line of vision.
There was a hideous scar on my arm. "Now, anyone can tell us apart" Axel said, moving to my side.
I laughed weakly.
"It's an impressive battle scar" he said.
"You think so? 'Cause I think it's hideous"
They all laughed.
It was at that point that I realized that Axel was actually standing.
"Woah, you're actually standing" I said.
"Yup and it gets better and better" he shrugged.
"That's great" I said.
Thereafter, I managed to get out of bed and have a refreshing bath.
I was sitting in bed, staring at the wall when Axel walked in.
"I'm glad you're feeling better" he said, taking a seat beside me.
"Yeah. I haven't seen Vanessa" I said.
"She's going through a lot, Arch. She's asleep at the moment. Skull killed her parents and sent the photos to her. Few hours ago, I went to talk to her. She had a tracker on her. She was terrified. She thinks Skull knows where we are"
"If he knows where we are. It's bad... we'll have to leave"
"That's the problem. Lee, Dahlia and Tori do not believe her"
I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"I'll handle it. We leave tonight" I said
Axel grinned, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I trust you"
****
DAHLIA
We were all in the porch having a pretty nice conversation when Arch stepped out.
"Hey" he said to me, taking a seat beside me.
"Hey" I replied, holding his hand. He leaned in and kissed me. Vanessa looked away. 'That's it bitch, he's mine'
Axel left the porch to have a refill of his smoothie.
"You're being too hard on Vanessa" Red said to me.
"She tried to kill Lee"
"You don't know that"
"Why are you taking sides with her?" I asked.
"I am not taking sides with anyone. I'm being logical. If she wanted us dead, she would have killed all of us even before now. She's just trying to help"
I stared at him, dazed.
Perhaps, the infection has messed up his head.
"Arch-"
"Wait.....is that smoke I smell?" Lee said, rising to his feet. We walked into the sitting room and to our horror, the house was on fire. The entrance of the kitchen was on fire too.
Vanessa let out a gasp.
"Axel... he's in there" She cried, moving towards the kitchen. Red paled instantly.
Lee held him back when he started to walk towards the kitchen.
"I can't loose him. Lee, you don't understand" Red said, anguish visible on his pale face. "You'll die too if you go in there"
"What the hell are you doing?" Lee said to Vanessa who was close to the kitchen entrance.
"I can't let him die! Leave me alone!" Vanessa said with angry tears filling her eyes.
She jumped in and we all gasped. "We have to get out" Tori said, pulling me towards the exit. We all made it out of the house except for Axel and Vanessa.
We doubled over, coughing hard as a result of the smoke. "They're gone" Red breathed, tears in his eyes.
Suddenly two figures limped out of the house. Axel was leaning heavily on Vanessa who was covered in soot just as much as he was.
"Oh my God" I breathed.
We had come so close to loosing our lives.
I watched Red as he knelt down beside Axel who was coughing his lungs out.
"Are you okay?" Red asked Axel who nodded.
"She saved me. The man who set up the fire attacked me but she came in and bashed his head in with a pan. She's badass" Axel said, smiling. Vanessa grinned at him. "I did what I could"
"Thank you" Red said to Vanessa who was all smiles despite the burns on her arm and shoulder.
"It's no biggie" she replied.
I stared at her, stunned.
Tori and I were completely dumbstruck by what had just happened.
Perhaps, we were wrong about her.
Red was right.
She wasn't the enemy.
Not anymore.