Chapter 40

"What happened between your father and I was a mere affair. I wasn't supposed to get pregnant with you," my mother started. "He got furious when he found out, so he demanded me to abort you. I refused to do so, which led to a deal."

"What deal?" I seethed. A warm, familiar hand placed itself over my shoulder in comfort.

"Amelia, I'm so sorry. For everything. This was never supposed to happen, I swear!" she said, her eyes tearing up.

"Stop evading the question and answer me," I demanded angrily. My heart ached inside my chest as the anticipation grew stronger. I looked over at Chase once she sniffed since I couldn't stand the sight of her face right now. He gave a sympathetic smile, but the ghost of a frown was evident in the crease of his eyebrows.

"Once you were born, I was supposed to give you up to him. He was going to deal with you. Steven made me promise him that I would give you up the second I had you..." she trailed off.

"But you didn't," Chase finished for her. I turned to look at her and she was staring at the ground intently. She sighed and shook her head, confirming our suspicions.

"That's why he's behind me now? All because of a stupid deal you made eighteen years ago?" I spat. She bit her lip nervously, and I shook my head in disbelief. "Alright, so this whole time you knew that my father was in this stupid gang. Cool. Having an affair with a gang leader? That's low, even for you."

The gasp that escaped her lips didn't surprise me, and when she noticed the way Wesley frowned at her, she grimaced.

"Long time no see," Wesley muttered.

"Wesley." She sighed. He was sitting down beside Lindsey, and I had to fight the urge to smirk at them.

My mother looked at them and shifted uncomfortably on her chair. "Can I get some water?"

"Depends," Lindsey said. "What else are you hiding?"

"There is nothing else I'm hiding from you, I promise," she drawled out. I narrowed my eyes at her and pulled my gun out of my waistband. I pressed it against her forehead and watched as her eyes widened. Chase tensed behind me and I frowned, not wanting him to see any more of this.

"You should leave," I told him. My mother's eyes drifted between me and Chase, while Lindsey and Wesley just stared.

"You've seen enough, Chase. This isn't your life."

"It's alright. I've been part of this life even before I met you," he spoke softly.

I kept the gun pressed tightly against my mother's forehead as I turned to look into Chase's eyes. He gave me a sincere smile and a small nod, making me sigh. I looked back to my mother, whose eyes were trained on us after she watched the whole exchange.

I gave her a hard glare, however, once her expression turned to one of understanding and sympathy.

"You really like him, don't you?" she asked softly. The question threw me off guard, and my body tensed in the slightest. I bit the inside of my cheeks angrily and frowned at her, digging the rough metal of the gun farther into her forehead.

"Stop changing topics. I will ask one more time, and I want you to answer us truthfully. What else are you hiding?" Lindsey seethed.

My mother winced at the harshness in her tone and sighed. "I—I covered your father's tracks, so you couldn't find him," she muttered. "He was going to kill you the moment he had his hands on you. I knew you would want to find him, so that was why I moved away from him."

I listened in utter silence, while all our gazes were trained on her. She sniffed, with tears running down her pale cheeks.

The atmosphere in the room felt sickening.

My grip on the gun tightened, yet I slowly retracted it from her forehead. She let out a relieved sigh and slumped on the seat as the restraints dug uncomfortably against her skin. I narrowed my eyes at her and switched the weapon in my hands for a revolver. I loaded the cylinder with one single bullet.

She watched my every move, and her eyes slowly widened in realization.

I spun the cylinder and felt everyone's eyes on me now. I played with the gun in my hand then pressed the new weapon against her forehead. "Why don't we play some Russian Roulette?" I asked.

"But I already told you everything!" she exclaimed, her eyes zeroing on the revolver in panic.

I took the safety off and pulled the trigger. "For every lie you tell, I will pull the trigger," I said. "Sadly, you will be the only one playing the game."

"Amelia, please!" she pleaded. "I swear to God, I have told you everything!"

I pulled the trigger a second time. Her scream pierced our ears, and I cringed at that. A knot started forming on my throat and my heart started beating frantically at the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

There was no blood still, meaning there were only four chances left.

"Don't make me do this, mother," I said, my eyes tearing up at the woman I no longer recognized. "Tell me the entire truth once and for all."

"Don't make this harder on yourself," Wesley spoke with a sigh.

I noticed the hesitation in his eyes as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him.

"You don't have to do this. Please, Amelia, just let me go. There's nothing else I can say." She sobbed.

A single tear left my eye as I placed my pointer finger on the trigger. I knew for sure this would be the one.

Once I pulled the trigger, there would be no going back.

I closed my eyes tightly and moved my head to the side, while my heart broke into million pieces inside my chest.

"Alright! There's one more thing. Don't shoot, please!"

This made my eyes snap open to glance at her.

She was sobbing uncontrollably in her seat, and after a moment, she glanced at everyone in the room nervously, before speaking. "I—I killed your sister's mother after she gave birth..." she started.

My eyes widened at this and I looked at Chase in shock. He wore the same expression as me; his eyes were wide with disbelief.

"I left you in the care of a friend of mine and went to the hospital the day your sister was born. I was just so, so angry, that I was thinking irrationally. When the nurses left her room, I suffocated her in her sleep with a pillow."

"You killed her? Were you insane?" Lindsey exclaimed.

"I wasn't thinking clearly," she defended. "Steven knew about this, yet he made everyone believe she just died while giving birth. That was another reason why your father is still behind us."

I gritted my teeth in anger and pulled the trigger one last time.

Everyone screamed at me, and I watched how my mother closed her eyes tightly.

The bullet broke through the material of the chair she was tied to.

I breathed heavily and stared at the bullet hole right on top of her shoulder, a mere millimeter away from piercing her skin. I threw the gun aside and leaned in so close that our noses were almost touching. "Next time, that will be your forehead," I spat. I took a step back and noticed everyone's staring at me with a bewildered expression. I wiped the traitor tears away and glanced at Wesley and Lindsey, before heading for the stairs.

"Get this woman a glass of water. That's enough for today."

* * *

The punching bag rattled with each jab I threw its way.

My skin was soaked in sweat as I beat the punching bag to a pulp. My muscles were screaming in protest and my breathing was ragged. Also, my chest tightened with each breath I took. I threw one last punch and groaned in pain. I looked down at my fists. My knuckles were bleeding thanks to the rough material of the punching bag.

It had been one horrible week since my mother's confession. She was still being held captive in the basement, tied up to that chair. Wesley tried to convince me into moving her to a room, but I refused. I wanted to inflict her as much pain as possible without physically touching her.

At the moment, I didn't even care about the level of cruelty this was reaching.

I wiped the sweat on my forehead off with a towel. Cold, refreshing water ran down my throat as I drank from a water bottle. I walked around the training room, trying to regain my breath while my mind raced through everything and anything.

The sound of the opening door and a knock that soon followed caught my attention, making me turn around. Chase stood by the door frame, holding a first-aid kit in his hand. "May I come in?" he asked shyly.

I fought off the smile that wanted to take over my lips and nodded at him. The thick-framed glasses over his eyes made me tilt my head to the side in curiosity. I forgot what he looked like when he wore those glasses the first time I met him. I remembered that one of the lenses got cracked the day he picked the fight with Gregory.

He noticed my unspoken question and chuckled, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "My mom got them fixed and told me to quit wearing contact lenses because they are dangerous."

I laughed a bit at this, wiping the sweat from the rest of my body.

About two weeks ago, Steven called Sophia and told her a huge lie about his, Izzy's, and Chase's whereabouts. Sophia, being the innocent, easy-going mother she was, believed him and wasn't worried about any of them. She still called Chase every once in a while to hear about him.

If only she knew what was really happening.

"What's that for?" I asked, motioning to the first-aid kit he was holding.

He walked inside the room and closed the door behind him. I watched as he took hold of my wrist and pulled me to a table, before making me sit down in a chair. "I know you, Amelia. When you're frustrated or angry, you inflict pain on yourself. I figured since you were here, that you would be training without your gloves. Which is why I'm here to treat your wounds," he said.

As stupid as it sounded, I felt my heart melt for a second.

"You know that you don't have to do this," I told him.

He offered me a small smile and shook his head in disapproval. He began working on my bruised knuckles, and I flinched every now and then. There was a frown decorating his face as his brows furrowed in displeasure.

"Chase..."

"You shouldn't do this," he whispered and finished bandaging my hand. "You shouldn't let your feelings out like this. I am here for you to rely on... to trust. Please, talk to me."

I stared into his eyes. Sorrow and worry danced within his brown orbs. I frowned at this and sighed.

He took a seat in front of me and placed everything aside, while his thumb stroked the bandages over my knuckles. "I am in love with you, Amelia. I want to protect you through everything and anything. Even after everything we've gone through, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me," he said truthfully.

I felt my heart beating erratically in my chest, overwhelmed with emotions. I lifted my hand and brushed away a strand of hair out of his forehead, and I let my hand linger on the side of his face.

"I like you too, Brownie." I smiled. He smiled back at me and leaned down to meet my lips in a gentle kiss.

It was amazing how one person could bring happiness into one's world, even when it was crumbling down.

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[Edited: September 17th, 2020 by mich_44]

Ah, love under not the best of circumstances. So, beautiful...maybe? A little show of love in the middle of the storm. Amelia sure is lucky, isn't she? Let me know what you think about the chapter and feel free to vote ♥ Best regards xx