Chapter 41

My heart was thumping loudly inside my chest. The gun on my waistband felt heavier than I remembered. My mother squirmed in Wesley's arms as he held her captive with her arms tied behind her. We were all standing in the middle of the deserted valley, waiting anxiously for the sleek black cars to arrive any minute now.

The chilly night air slapped my face, causing an involuntary shiver to run down my spine. The sky was almost spotless, mind a few visible stars here and there. There was a half-moon illuminating the valley. The dry grass only reached my ankles. There wasn't any trace of animal life around us, only the ants roaming around our feet.

I tugged the hem of my black sweater anxiously. My blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail, with a few strands falling at the sides of my face. 

I looked at my mother.

Her eyes were red and swollen from all the crying these past few days. Her skin was pale and there were bags under her eyes. Even her dirty blonde hair was all tangled up and oily from not being taken care of in two weeks. She looked defeated, anxious about what would happen in a matter of minutes.

I tore my gaze away from her, being unable to stare at her any longer. A hand found its way to my arm, and the gentle touch made me look to the side.

Chase's soft smile eased the slight nerves I was feeling. His fingers caressed my arm softly until they reached my fingers and he slowly interlaced his fingers with mine. The gentleness he delivered was enough to make my chest warm up with a feeling I wasn't quite ready to accept just yet.

My mind recalled the events from two days ago--the night I decided to pick up my phone and contact the one man behind all this misery. He was surprised at first, not expecting me to call him anytime soon, but pleased to know that I wanted to see him. All I wanted—and still want—to do was reach through the receiver and slit his throat open.

Sadly, magic wasn't real, so that dream was short-lived.

My thoughts were snapped away as the sound of revving engines filled my ears. We all turned to look at the three cars and the lone motorcycle entering the valley. Some dirt flew as they made their way. They all stopped in front of us. Then, a tall familiar figure got off the motorcycle.

I narrowed my eyes at Bryce as he took off his helmet and hung it on the handles. All three cars killed their engines, and Steven stepped out of the first one. He sent my mother a cynical glare, making my mother whine and squirm even more. "Sasha. How lovely to see you again," Steven mocked and stepped closer to her.

My fingers tightened around Chase's, and he gave me a reassuring squeeze before reluctantly letting go. Steven's men stood in front of the cars—a total of eight men, excluding Bryce. I threw my hands carelessly inside the pockets of my cargo pants, silently watching how my mother tried to cower away from Steven.

"Get away from me," she spat, making Steven smirk.

I could see the way Wesley's muscles tensed under the fabric of his sweatshirt. Suddenly, Steven drew his arm back and struck my mother across the cheek. The slapping noise was very clear. My mother's head jerked to the side at the impact as a yelp came out of her mouth. I bit the inside of my cheek. My heart clenched inside my rib cage, but I kept my cool once he turned to see me.

"I see your mother has finally told you the truth," he commented. "Now, what made you decide to give her to me?"

"Who said anything about me giving her to you?" I asked with a smirk.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow and turned his attention to me fully. "If you weren't planning to do that, then why would you want to meet up in the first place?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

I gave him a once over. His dark hair was turning gray due to the age, yet his broad body gave no sign of growing old. I stared into his green eyes, the ones I disgustingly replicated and gave him a challenging look. "I want the gang back," I stated.

Gasps were heard around us--mostly from my friends, and Steven's eyes widened in the slightest. His gaze held surprise and interest, his lips tugging up into a smirk.

"What the hell are you talking about, Amelia?" Lindsey snapped, but I held my index finger up to shush any further protests.

"If I was able to be the leader once, I can be the leader once again," I said. Steven chuckled at me, but that chuckle soon turned into full-on laughter. I just stood there, my smirk never wavering as he laughed loudly. Wesley shifted in place as he glanced at me awkwardly, but I gave him a reassuring look.

"That was only because I wanted to see how far you would go. I was quite impressed, to say the least, but let me remind you that you weren't fully the leader," he said after his laughter died down.

"Then why not fully be the leader now?" I wondered aloud. He smirked, but his eyes told me he was actually thinking about it. His eyes glinted under the moonlight as he slowly made his way to me. I could feel Chase stepping closer to me from my back, but I didn't make any move to stop him.

Steven took notice of this and looked at Chase with a knowing look, then looked back at me. "Only if your boyfriend wins against Bryce," he said once he was close enough.

My shoulders tensed for a moment, and I heard Chase took a sharp intake of breath. Steven smiled, pleased with the reactions he received from both of us. "Why not make it me against you?" I snarled, taking a step closer to him.

His pleased smile never faltered; amusement lined his presence. All eyes were on our exchange, while their ears listened intently to our conversation. He made a small thinking noise, pretty much mocking me by fake thinking. "How about a no? You risk one of yours, I risk one of mine," he stated. "Unless you want to give up this stupid request of yours to take my place in the gang."

"No can do," Chase spoke before I could make any protest.

My eyes snapped to his in alert, and my mouth opened in bewilderment before closing shut.

"I hope you stick to your word, Steven."

"You were never a fan of calling me dad." Steven chuckled. "Only heard you utter that word once when you were younger."

"Only because Izzy kept teasing me," Chase huffed.

At the mention of Izzy, Steven's gaze hardened. It seemed like we've finally hit a nerve there. "Eva never came back to me, which I'm sure you're all very aware of. Do note that her death didn't go unnoticed by me," he said, his voice an octave deeper. "You will have a week to train this pup--he will need it. We will meet here once again at eleven sharp. Only an hour away for the moon to hit its peak."

"You were quite the poet for a minute there," I joked, and his hard stare fell on me.

"Until then, Amelia," he said and retreated to one of the cars. I caught Bryce's stare before he threw the helmet on and hopped on his bike. We stood there, watching as they all went inside the vehicles and left the valley. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and my shoulders slumped in defeat and worry.

"Have you lost your mind completely?" Lindsey exclaimed, stomping over to us with her brows furrowed in anger. "Why the hell do you want that gang back, Amelia? I've been hunting them down for two years to finally drag them down! Now you want to be dragged down with them as well?"

"No," I snapped. "In fact, if I take Steven's place at the gang, it will be ten times easier for you to get rid of them. Don't question my actions. Instead, trust me and what I have in mind."

"You know that you will probably get Chase killed because of it, right?" Wesley asked, still holding my mother. I frowned at this, finally looking at Chase directly in the eye with a worried expression.

"I don't know what you're planning, but as you said, I will trust whatever you have in mind," he spoke and looked back at me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before a faint chuckle escaped my mother's mouth.

She was slumped in Wesley's arms. Her head faced the ground, making her hair cover her face like a curtain. She suddenly threw her head back as her laugh became louder and more alike to a maniac's. "This is it. This will finally be the death of me!" she laughed.

I sighed and motioned for Wesley to let go of her. He did so reluctantly, and she fell to the ground ungracefully. She knelt on the grass and kept on laughing. Her arms held her up to avoid her falling face-first. "My own daughter is my downfall."

"Your own selfishness is your downfall," I corrected and walked over to her. She was heaving now, trying to catch her breath after her laughing fit. I frowned at her vulnerability right then; how she turned into a completely different person.

Finally, she started crying. Heavy tears ran down her pale cheeks as I approached her.

I reached for the handgun in my waistband, the feeling of dread claiming my heart. My mother sobbed quietly as she slowly lifted her head to stare at me. I slowly pulled the gun out of my waistband and held it tightly in my right arm.

Everything went silent as everyone watched me with intense gazes--my mother included.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't trembling. Even the gun was slightly shaking in my grasp. I slowly lifted it and held it over my shoulder as my eyes burned with stubborn tears. "I'm so sorry," I whispered and swung the weapon, striking her on a spot I knew would erase her memory from today.

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[Edited: September 17th, 2020 by michh_44]

Yet another encounter with the father...how will things go from now on? That's for me to know and for you to find out. What do you think will happen between Chase and Bryce? Who do you think will win? Leave your thoughts on the comments and click on that star ♥