Lucky's (Mis)Fortune: CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I couldn't think.

The intimating serious tension that the four came with to ask to speak to me made my mind go blank and my body act for itself. I could only nod as my mind repeated the same sentence over and over again. They will finally tell me what I had been waiting for.

I wasn't happy. There was a turmoil in my stomach that just kept going. For a second, I thought I was about to throw up but I swallowed the knot in my throat and took deep breaths as I stood up and followed after them wordlessly. Everyone walked rigidly, their shoulders overly tense.

They were just as worried as I was.

Even in my anxious state, I couldn't help but let my mind wander off to what they will possibly say, my mind  acting as it has been for the last several days. Nothing new came to my mind, the same scenarios as before being my options but nothing seemed right, nothing that I came up with was impactful enough considering the way that they were acting.

We arrive at Mr. Lewis's office faster than I wish we had yet slow enough that I was able to get one new idea in my head. Maybe... I was being fired?

"Sit, sit, Jordan, and relax. I'm sorry that we have been anything but that for the last couple of days. I'm sure that it has been making you feel wary."

I take a seat on the same chair I had the first time that I was here. I was afraid that if I didn't, my legs would give out.

No one else sits. In fact, Eliott, Aiden, and Mr. Sawyer seemed to be on a mission to stay as away from me as possible, finding themselves leaning on the wall behind Mr. Lewis who stood behind his desk chair. I tear up. Maybe I was overly sensitive and overwhelmed because of the situation but I wanted their comfort, someone's arm around me but they just stayed away from me, leaving me to fend for myself. Even though I have been doing that for a long time, now that they showed they wanted to care for me I guess I have let down my guard. I want to be cared for right now as I feel vulnerable, I want comfort.

"What we have to say isn't easy." Again, it's Mr. Lewis speaking. "You have to think everything through, don't feel obligated to have a response right away."

"Y- You can just say it," I say, looking up at him, our eyes connecting before mine dart away to the others in the room. They were all staring off in different directions. Aiden was looking down, Mr. Sawyer at a picture on Mr. Lewis's desk, and Eliott was just looking straight ahead, at the door behind me as if he was looking through me.

I look down at the desk, my hands fidgeting.

"Jordan we have put you in danger. People in our world believe that if they... do something to you, they can take over the area, become the one on top. The Golden Mane Syndicate is the second biggest mafia group in the country so people want to weaken us and take that spot. We showed weakness by the method we chose to protect you and now the other groups think you are an asset to us. They believe that if they get their hands on you, all hell will break lose. A war would start, a war that they would defeat us in."

Now I really wanted to throw up, the details being overwhelming. This had never been one of the things on my mind when I wondered what was going to be said.

I take a deep breath. The last thing I wanted was to seem weak right now by stuttering. "Why do they think that? What are you not telling me?" I look at Mr. Sawyer, then at Eliott, and at Aiden. The three of them were still avoiding eye contact but I needed this answer to come from them, not Mr. Lewis.

They didn't want to tell me. Aiden's eyes told me that once he finally looked at me, his expression full of sorrow yet not regretful.

"We killed Jessica."

Mr. Sawyer's voice was confident and nonchalant, his eyes connecting with mine, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes cold. The way that he said it was like he wanted to make it meaningless, nothing out of the ordinary but why did I get the impression that it did mean something. He was overly confident, like he was faking it just to reassure himself of something, perhaps prove himself.

I blink, trying to figure something out as a silence dragged on.

"Why?"

A simple question but somehow, no one in the room could answer it. There has to be a reason behind everything, why weren't they saying it? Say that it was because you care about me, that's all.

Maybe, just maybe, if they said that I would feel relieved and I wouldn't want to cry anymore. Somehow, I cared more about that than what was to come next, what my options would be.

They stay quiet for too long. "Wh- What are my options?" Just like the last time, when the danger wasn't as high as now, there would be a choice to make.

"You could leave. We would send you away to another country, a place where you could easily get lost in between others, where there would be no one looking for you and you would assume a new identity. I know we have given you this choice before and you decided not to take it but considering the higher risk now, I do hope you reconsider this." His eyes were pleading, Mr. Lewis wanted me to take this offer, leave and be safe and never come back. I couldn't help but look at the others at the thought of leaving, never seeing them or this place ever again. Mr. Lewis sighs and my attention is back on him, "The second option is for you to receive training. You would learn how to fight, how to protect yourself. You would have to become someone strong, someone people will be afraid of and wouldn't dare touch. It's the only way they would leave you alone and if they don't, you would be able to fight them and prove you won't be taken down easily."

Fight or flee.

Fight or flee.

Fight or flee.

The response sounded like an easy choice. I didn't want to get hurt like this. I don't want to die brutally, not like my family did. However, I found myself not saying anything and staring down at my feet because I felt unsure of myself. My head wasn't clear and I wasn't sure what to do. Whatever pull I feel to this house (or the people residing in it) was enough to make me second guess the obvious choice.

"I need time," I mumble.

Just as I'm about to stand up, Eliott speaks.

"We'll stay by your side every second of every day if you stay. We'll move you to the room next to us, we'll train you ourselves and have our best people helping as well. You wouldn't have to quit school, quitting would be more suspicious than staying. If you stay, you could still see your friend and graduate with your peers. Even if you're scared of us and want us to stay, we will protect you no matter what. Nothing like what happened that night will happen again."

I hadn't even thought about being scared of them. And oddly enough, despite what they had done I didn't feel any fear. Maybe I was just still overwhelmed right now and I hadn't gotten to that. I find myself baffled for caring more about how much they cared about me than the real issue here.

They killed someone.

But wasn't that a given? This can't be the first person that they have done this to, I knew it would happen one day.

I should be more bothered than I am now.

"I need time," I repeat, this time successfully standing up and walking away without making eye contact with anyone.

I'm down the hallway, about to turn a corner when I hear someone running, heading towards me. I slow down, expecting them, anticipating what the person behind me would say. His hand grabs my wrist, obligating me to turn around.

"We did it because she hurt you." Aiden's eyes were fidgeting, looking all over my face, scared.

Before I can think it through, my hand is on his cheek. "Why are you so scared?" I ask quietly.

He puts his hand on top on mine, not allowing me to remove the contact. He tilts his head, rubbing his cheek on my hand, closing his eyes, his body finally relaxing and calm. My heart raises.

He opens his eyes and they lock with mine, his eyes sad. "That night. That night we looked at you as you laid in bed, sick and helpless and we knew that we never want to see you in that condition again. We made it our mission to protect you forever, Jordan." He whispers, willing his statement to stay between us.

I decide to not ask why.

I soak in his presence and the comfort that his touch brought to me.