Seven

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. "Well, he noticed me at the cafe today and we had a nice chat and he wants to take me out!" Tori squealed and I gave her a small smile.

I thought about Lee.

Even though she refuses to admit it, she misses him.

Tori and Lee were supposed to have something great. I've never seen Tori as happy as she was each time Lee smiled at her or held her hands. It's so sad that they had to part ways.

"So, girl..... I need you to go with me to get a perfect dress" she said as she tossed my jacket on my lap. "Fine" I said, putting it on. We left the house together and started our trip towards the shopping center. I kept looking back and forth for signs of Red lurking around.

"Calm down, girl. He's not going to try anything. He'll have to take me down first. That son of a bitch is going down soon, I promise" Tori said, holding my hand. I blew out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I turned to look at a familiar figure walking out of a drug store grimly. He was heading towards us indirectly. He didn't notice us though.

"Wait, isn't that Lee?" I said, my feet coming to a halt.

"Oh fuck. I don't want to see him" Tori said.

"Are you afraid of him?" I asked.

"What? No!"

"Face your fear, Tori. Here's your chance"

"But the date-"

Lee looked up from the ground, his dark brown eyes meeting mine. He stopped, a frown appearing on his face.

"Lee" I said, giving him a small smile. "Dahlia....Tori?"

Tori looked away, tears filling her eyes. Lee looked horrible. I didn't think it was possible for someone to look that drained.

"She still hates me, doesn't she?" Lee said to me. I gave him a half shrug and pushed Tori towards him.

"You guys need to talk....so here's your chance" I said and left them alone.

TORI

We stared at each other sadly. There was a lot of things I wanted to say but the tension between us was heavy.

Lee licked his lower lip, dropping his gaze. A strand of his dark hair fell in front of his face and my fingers itched to brush it aside. I could perceive his cologne and I realized how much I really missed him. Of course I did. I tried to ignore this fact by continuously repeating a statement in my head.

'He's an assassin'

I knew he didn't want to kill Dahlia. He'd stopped Red from doing so. Yet, I couldn't help but be cautious, so I kept pushing him away. I was scared that he would also try to kill me, I mean, he's an assassin. Lee was kind, funny and gorgeous. It was really hard to imagine him turning against me but my mind kept bringing up worse cases scenarios. My gaze met his again and my heart fluttered. His eyes were red rimmed and he looked like he hadn't been getting any sleep. I wanted to hold him in my arms. Yet, the small voice at the back of my mind kept telling me how dangerous he was.

"Vicky, I'm so sorry...." He finally croaked. The sound of his voice so broken and weak, shattered my last resolve.

Fuck it, I thought.

In no time, I was running into his arms, resting my head against his chest, listening to the frantic beats of his heart.

He let out a sigh of relief, his strong arms wrapped around me. "Lee... I'm sorry" I whispered.

He closed his eyes, relaxing into my embrace as I relaxed in his. "I missed you, so much. I didn't think anyone would be capable of making me feel so helpless and torn" he said, caressing my hair.

"I missed you too even though I didn't want to admit it. I was scared. I was scared that you would try to kill me too" I whimpered.

"I would never do that to you, Tori. Fuck me. I don't know what you did to me.... I can't get you out of my head. I need you, Tori. Please don't scare me like that again" he whispered. I looked up into his eyes and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"You've got me now, Lee"

"Go out with me"

"Are you asking me out, Mr Eddison?" I teased wriggling my eyebrows.

He laughed, kissing my forehead.

"Of course, Miss Clarke. So, is that a yes?"

"Definitely"

Minutes later, we were both walking towards the park hand in hand. I smiled brightly, realizing that I'd almost forgotten this feeling. This feeling that I was with the right person, the feeling of safety.

"What about Red....Is he still out for Lia?"

Lee sighed and I halted, panic creeping into me.

"Things have gotten more complicated. Where's Lia? There's something we need to discuss"

I clutched his hand tightly.

Something was wrong.

Something was terribly wrong.

***

DAHLIA

"What's going on?" I asked, staring at Lee who looked uneasy. "It's Red"

"What happened?"

"Our boss was upset that he didn't carry out the assignment"

"Wait, your boss? I thought you guys were just-"

"We had no choice. Joining the organization was a way to pay our debts. We had to. Red was beaten up badly. He's still in a lot of pain....."

"I really don't like the sound of that" I said worriedly.

"He'll live. He's one tough cookie. Anyways, our boss still wants Red to finish up the assignment, so he threatened him. He said he was going to kill Red's mother if he doesn't get it done"

I gasped.

"Oh no. Why would he do that? But why is he so bent on getting rid of me? I didn't do anything wrong"

"Only Red knows the details"

Tori was sobbing quietly.

"Why can't Red hide his mum somewhere?"

"It's not that easy. Red's mum has been suffering from Leukemia. She's dying and he knows it too but he doesn't want her to be murdered. She's the only one he has left"

Tears filled my eyes and I suddenly felt guilty.

"But, Red and I has come up with a solution" Lee said and I looked up, confused.

"And what would that be?"

"First of all, you need to talk to Red. He wants to talk to you"

"How do I know that this isn't a trap?"

"It's not a trap. I'll go with you and Tori will be coming with us. She'll be the armed one here" Lee said.

"Do you trust me that much?" Tori asked, her gaze softening.

"I have faith in you" he said and she blushed hard.

"We have to go now. Put on your hoods. I'll make sure we're not being followed" Lee said, handing Tori a pocket knife. She took it hesitantly and pulled on her hood.

We made it to the other side, where Lee's car was parked. He drove us straight to a place that looked like a warehouse.

Tori whistled.

"You guys live here?"

"We used to live somewhere better than this. Besides, this is just temporary. C'mon, come with me"

We got into the warehouse and Lee took us to what looked like a huge basement, except it was painted white. The place was ridiculously neat. There was a bed in it, two chairs, a table and a few possession in it.

"Come closer" Lee said, sitting by the side of the bed.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward until I was standing beside Tori.

Red was lying on the bed looking very pale and unwell. His eyes were closed but his torso was bare except for the bandage wrapped around his rib cage. Lee moved the sheets down a bit and began to take off the dressing. Red whimpered, reaching out to hold Lee's hand. "It's okay, I've got you" he said and slowly, he let his hand fall to the side.

I whimpered, tears filling my eyes at the sight of the bruises and deep cuts on his torso.

It's my fault.

Lee finished wrapping up his torso with fresh bandage before giving him painkillers.

"Red, she's here" he whispered.

Red grunted, opening his eyes slowly. I sat down on the floor beside the bed, moving closer.

"Lia... I'm sorry for..." He wheezed and I held his hand.

"It's okay, I know you're sorry. You wanted to talk to me?"

"It's about your brother-" he croaked.

"My brother...how..."

He coughed, his features pained.

"I'll tell you everything. I just need to catch my breath" he wheezed, closing his eyes.

"It's okay, take your time" I said.

My brother?

What does he have to do with this?