DAHLIA
"So, you're telling me you're both assassins?" I asked calmly, trying to wrap my head around what Lee had just told me."Yeah"Tori sat in the corner of the room, clutching a pillow to her chest. She looked really frazzled. I mean, who wouldn't?I heaved a sigh and turned to look at Red who was still lying on the floor, deathly pale and unconscious.Red wass an assassin assigned to kill me. He'd failed.What happens now?I stared at his handsome face, frowning pensively.Deep down within me, I don't think he's all that bad.I mean, he didn't want to do it. He'd even warned me but I'd not understood him.I moved to his side, brushing his hair away from his temple. There was a visible swelling on the side of his head from when Lee had hit him with the butt of his gun. I grabbed an ice pack and went back to his side, pressing it to the lump.Lee whistled dramatically, moving away from the wall he'd been leaning against."This is totally not the way I thought you would react. You're taking it quite well" he saidI shrugged."I really don't know what to think. I just- I don't want to hate him" I said.Red let out a groan, his eyelids fluttering open."Welcome back to the land of the living, Bro" Lee said, smirking."Wha-Ow.... What the-" Red groaned, reaching up to clutch his head."What happened?" He asked.I exchanged a glance with Lee."Red?""Mmm?""How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked, raising two fingers." four....no eight.... I dunno" he muttered, his eyes dazed."Uh-Lee.. I think you hit him too hard. I think he has a concussion" I said.Lee's eyes widened."I'm so tired" Red slurred, his eyes falling close."Oh no, you don't. Stay awake" I said, shaking him.He groaned weakly."My head hurts""The painkillers' on my desk" I said to Lee who grabbed it and poured out a glass of water.Red took the painkillers and tried to sit up but ended up loosing his balance. I steadied him, helping him lean against the side of my bed."Dahlia ?" He said, reaching out to hold my hand."I'm sorry" he said, his voice shaky and weak."You would've killed me" I said, gritting my teeth.He released my hand, regret and hurt surfacing in his hazel eyes."I didn't want to" he croaked.I shook my head, turning away from him.What would have happened if Lee hadn't shown up?Would he feel regret?Would he even care?What did I ever do to him?"I'm so sorry, Dahlia. The thought of doing that has tormented me for the past few days. I didn't want to....."Tori suddenly stood up and grabbed a knife, launching herself at Red. I stopped her from getting to him but she continued to struggle against my hold."No, Lia! Let me go, I wanna spill his fucking blood! I'll kill him! He tried to take my bestfriend away from me!" She shrieked."And you, Lee Eddison! You are an assassin and you never told me! How could you?!"Red paled a whole lot more.He stumbled to his feet, swallowing hard.Lee had paled too, he looked terrified."You guys should leave if you want to still have your heads intact" I said without looking at them."Dahlia, you never cease to amaze me" Lee said before I heard him leave.As soon as they left, Tori sank to the ground, sobbing with her arms around me."It's okay" I whispered."No. No, it's not. You just let them walk away. You should've called the cops. What if he comes back?"She was right.What if he comes back?He would kill me, wouldn't he?***I met Lee at the school park a week later. I didn't really feel uncomfortable with him around, despite everything that had happened. He looked miserable, though. He had bags under his eyes and his eyes were red rimmed. "Hey" I said."Hey, yourself" he rapsed."You look-""Horrible.. I know" he sighed."Yeah....""I haven't been getting any sleep. I'm miserable, yeah. Especially since Tori now hates me so much"I was surprised.I didn't even know that he felt that way towards Tori. Don't get me wrong, I knew that they had a thing for each other, I just didn't know that it was this serious. "How's she?" He asked."Well, if you ask me.... I'll say she's very miserable even though she refuses to admit it" I shrugged. He gave me a small smile, running a hand through his hair. "I miss her""It's just been a week. Give her time" I said."You don't understand, she despises me just as much as she hates Red" he said."I don't think so""You don't hate Red" he said, a strange emotion flashing in his eyes. I froze, realizing how wrong and right it sounded."I don't" I said, slowly.He smirked."Lucky Bastard" he muttered."So, he attempts to kill you and you let him walk away? Why?"Yeah, why?Why am I still considerate of him?Why have I not called the cops on him?"I-I don't know.... I just.... ""There must be a reason for it, Princess""I think he's not all that bad... I think there's some good inside of him.... Even though he tries not to show it sometimes""You still think that there's good inside of him? I'm pleased. Apart from his mother and I, no one has ever said that. You're right..... I just wish things were different.."***REDI stepped into my boss's office with my heart thudding madly. I knew why he'd invited me to his favourite office. I could sense what was going to happen. I had failed. I was sure he was pissed off even though he'd invited me to his office with a smile on his face.Taking a deep breath, I twisted the door knob and walked into his office. Skull had two offices; one for paper work and information, the other for his own fun and pleasure. He'd invited me to his second office. It was spacious like a hall. He was sitting in the middle of the hall when I walked in. I noticed three men standing by the door. One of them locked the door while I chanted three words in my head like a mantra.Show no fear.Show no fear."You're here, good. Jaguar, Steel, make our guest comfortable" Skull said and my hands were suddenly tied to two pillars in the hall."You know why you're here, don't you?" Skull said, moving towards me."Use words, My boy" he said, yanking my hair backwards with such brutality, I felt like my head would explode."Yes" I hissed, eyes watering"You have never failed me before and that's why I'm going to be lenient with you"Without warning, his fist flew towards my face, colliding with my jaw. Then, his fists was everywhere. My ribs, chest, stomach, face, everything hurt. As if it wasn't enough, he ordered his other men to join him in inflicting pain on me.Through the haze, I saw him grab a rod. I couldn't scream, I didn't want to. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I collapsed to the ground when I was untied. My T-shirt was bloody and torn. My nose was bleeding heavily. I was practically coughing up blood. My ribs were on fire and I had broken at least three bones but one of them had pierced my skin and boy, did it hurt. I groaned weakly, blood rushing down the side of my face."This is a warning, boy. Get the girl by the next two days or I'll kill your mother"I froze, my blood freezing up.No, not my mother."Call Lee in" I heard him say as I started to pass out from the pain. Few minutes later, Lee was crouching beside me trying to help me up."Take him away. I'm done here" Skull said and left. Lee was livid. "Why the hell would he do this to you?" He groaned, helping me to a sitting position.I let out a pained cry, too drained to move further."Oh God, this is bad" he said.I looked at him.Maybe I imagined it, but I think I saw tears on his face.Lee never cries.He never breaks down.Maybe, I was already delirious."Can you stand?""I can't" I gasped."Here, lean on me. I'll get you out of here. You need to go to the hospital"I cringed.I coughed up more blood, my breathing ragged."Oh shit" he cursed.I felt him raise the hem of my torn shirt"Fuck. Fuck. Oh Shit" he cursed, his voice shaky."W-what?""Your fucking rib is practically poking out of your skin!"I let out a humorless laugh and groaned weakly.I felt him lift me and the pain doubled, spots danced before my eyes."It's okay, you're okay"I grunted.Unable to bear the pain any longer, I passed out in the car.DAHLIA Neither Lee nor Red showed up at school for another week. Maybe they were avoiding Tori and I. Deep down, I felt that Red was planning a more concise attack. I couldn't help but feel insecure. I didn't want to die, not yet."Hey, Lia" Tori said as she walked into our room with a smile on her face. She had been moody ever since Red's attempt to assassinate me. I'm surprised she's back to being her bubbly old self."Hey" I said, leaning back on my chair. "Guess what" she said, smiling."I don't know""Come on, stop being boring. Anyway, I'm going on a date tonight with Rick" she said and I sat upright immediately, spitting out the water in my mouth. "Whoa.....why did you react like that?""It's nothing..... I was just shocked...How did you do it?"As far as I know, Tori has been crushing on Rick, one of the bad boys around. She'd been crushing on him for as long as I remember.
RED I closed my eyes, trying not to show how much pain I was in. I felt pathetic. How long exactly has it been since Skull decided to use me as his toy?Oh yeah, a week ago.Hell, it still hurts.It shouldn't hurt this bad but it does. My life has been thrown into a horrible mess. Skull will definitely find my mother and kill her. That's not what I want for her. She doesn't deserve it.With my body fucked up and all, I've never felt so helpless. It's literally eating me up on the inside.I opened my eyes, Dahlia's gaze meeting mine. All of this didn't start with Dahlia. No, it didn't. It started with that douche of a brother that she had. If he hadn't fucked up, she wouldn't be in this mess."Hey, talk to me. What's going on?" She asked, her brows knitting up with concern. I sighed, grimacing at the pain that exploded within my ribcage."Your brother used to buy drugs from Skull" I rapsed."What?
RED "Red? You ready yet?!" Lee called out from the bedroom. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and opened them to stare at my reflection in the mirror. I still looked like I'd been run over by a truck. But who cares? It's not like I've got anyone to impress. I've lost nearly everything. The only family I have left is Lee and I can't afford to loose him. I shifted my weight to my right leg, wiping my face with a face towel. "Red?"I heard the door open but I didn't turn to look at him. "Are you okay?" I stared at my gloved hands.Was I okay?No, I wasn't.I wanted to scream and cry.I wanted to die.I felt so guilty.What would happen if Lee dies because of me?What about Dahlia and Tori?I'm risking their lives and I'm not okay with it.My mum....She's going to die because of me. She's going to die because of my failure.I flinched when I felt Lee place a hand on my shoulder."Woah, calm down
DAHLIA "Red, we need to get going." Lee said, leaning against the door. There was no response from Red who had refused to come out of the room for the past three hours. "I know you're hurting. I know how it feels, Red. Please don't shut me out" Lee said, his voice echoing his exasperation.There was still no response coming from Red."Come on, Red"There was a shuffling sound coming from the room. Lee moved away from the door as soon as it was opened. Red stepped out. His eyes were bloodshot but his eyes had gone cold... almost lifeless. "Let's go" He said monotonously as he grabbed his bag. "He's so not okay" I whispered to Lee who looked crestfallen. "Of course, he's not" he sighed, shaking his head."Come on, we need to get going" he said, walking towards Red and Tori. We got into the car."This is going to be a long drive" Lee said. "Yeah, hopefully not a boring one" Tori sighed and Lee's lips
DAHLIA Tori and I were asleep when we heard the loud, persistent knocking on the door. Alarmed and alert, I cautiously made my way towards the door with a bat in hand."Who's there?" I asked, cautiously."They're here. Dahlia, we need to get out of here as soon as possible" It was Lee. He sounded very frantic. With my heart pounding hard, I grabbed my backpack."What's going on?" Tori asked as we got out of the hotel room."They tracked us down to this place. Red and I knocked out a few of them. More will be showing up soon" Lee said as we walked towards the parking lot. Red was sitting in the driver's seat, clutching the steering wheel fiercely. His knuckles were turning white. We all got into the car and he sped off without a second thought. Three black cars were trailing behind us. "Oh, shit" Lee cursed, taking out a gun.My eyes widened."Calm down, girl. I'm not using it on you" he said with a smirk.
RED For the first time since my mum's death, I switched on my phone only to be met with the smiling face of my mother.Sighing, I turned it off and pocketed it immediately. "You okay?" Lee asked from beside the driver's seat where I was seated."I'm fine" I said and he nodded."I guess we're almost there" he said. "Yup""Does Kevin know we're coming?""Of course, I told him""Okay"I looked at him.I knew he was trying to make a conversation but I wasn't really in a mood to talk. When I looked at him, I noticed how stressed out he looked. He kept stealing glances at his wristwatch when he thought I wasn't watching. He bit his lower lip, frowning at nothing in particular."Okay, will you just tell me what's going on?" I asked and he sighed, his head hung low."It's today" he whispered almost so quietly, I had to strain my ears to hear him."Wha- Oh....." I said, when realization hit me.
DAHLIA Unable to sleep, I quietly made my way towards the kitchen since I was thirsty. The kitchen was dark, so I switched on the lights."Thirsty?"I turned around with a start. Red was sitting on one of the stools with his back to me. He was shirtless and had a pair of grey sweatpants on with a necklace around his neck."Don't do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack" I scolded. He turned to look at me, a small smile on his face. "Sorry, didn't mean to" he said, biting his lower lip."It's okay... I was just thirsty" I said, taking out a bottle of water."What about you?" I asked."Couldn't sleep" he mumbled, staring at the bottle of water on the kitchen counter."You okay?" I asked, sitting down on a stool close to him.He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples."I don't know" "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. He sighed."It's just... I can't stop thinking about my mum. She went
RED I was slowly loosing it as I paced back and forth in Kevin's study. My mind was still reeling from the information I'd just gotten. I didn't want to believe it.That monster can't be my father. There has to be some sort of mistake. "I know you're having a hard time taking it in. It's the truth no matter how painful it sounds."I stared at the small wooden box on the desk. I didn't want this. I didn't want to know what my mum wanted me to know. I didn't want to hate her. I just couldn't. This would change everything. "You should take the box""No" I rapsed, running a hand through my messy hair."It's very important for you to know the whole details if you must find a way out of this mess".I shook my head, swallowing hard. "No, I just can't..."Kevin walked up to me, gazing right into my eyes."You're scared"I stared at him. Somehow, he'd caught me off guard with that statement. "I'm not. I'm