Chapter 123: Cold bastard
>>Seraphina
I had gone pale from the information he presented to me. Me? I was collateral? What am I? A thing? Some possession? The stress and anxiety of it was making me feel sick all over again. I knew my father was shitty but I didn't think he'd pull something so low.
That's when the car came to a stop.
I wasn't sure what was happening when the door opened and a muscular man popped his head inside.
"We have a kid?" He looked a little confused, "I thought there was only going to be one girl?"
"Unfortunately, Bezof, we have to deal with that too." Azef sighed, "Take her away and give her a change of clothes," He smiled while I felt something off in the conversation. Only her? "And make her some pancakes or something, just keep her occupied."
"What?!" I shot my head at him but when that Bezof guy grabbed Eris, I shot my head at him and tried to get my hands on my sister, "What are you doing!?! Where are you taking her?" I grabbed Eris's hand and she woke up. It was because she just woke up and had no idea who was holding her hand and who was picking her up, so she just yanked her arm away in uncertainty.
It allowed Bezof to take her away from me, "Wait, no!!!" I tried to leave through the door when Azef grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I crashed back on the seat, feeling a jerk in my arm while the minion closed the door and locked it.
I ignored the pain, "She'll panic without me!" I glared at Azef, "Let me go!" I tried to squirm out of his grip but his hold was strong, "Let me go!"
"Nothing will happen to her," He replied, "As long as you don't create a scene," He remained calm.
"How can I be sure?! What if she's actually in danger?" I continued to glare at him as the nervousness in me started getting its grip on me.
"You're the most dangerous person for her at the moment," He replied, His steely gaze locked onto mine, and I could almost feel the weight of his scrutiny. My palms grew clammy, and a knot tightened in my stomach.
"I-I'm not," I shook my head, "I'm her sister. I'm the least dangerous person."
He looked back at me with a roguish look, "Weren't you the person who just tried to drown her with yourself?" My anxiety rose, I felt it in my chest, the feeling of humiliation and defeat.
I had no words to refute him.
I was going to kill Eris with myself. Anyone who saw me would know that my intentions were clear.
"Nothing will happen to the child," He said, "We adults need to talk,"
I gulped and the car started again.
"You didn't need to take her away from me." I said as we were on our way somewhere.
"You won't get that girl back, if you try to run away from me." He smirked, "She seems to be your biggest weakness, so I'll be keeping her."
"But, we didn't do anything to you…" I looked down
"But your shit load of a father did, he ran away with something very important." He let out a sigh, "I would ignore it, but the thing he took isn't ignorable." He frowned and it seemed like dad really did end up in a bigger mess this time.
"What has that got to do with me?" I replied, "There's nothing I can do for you,"
"I'll be the one to decide that," He replied,
"So you're going to sell me?"
"I haven't decided," His gaze was away, he was thinking about other things, "But you will be staying near me. In a place I can keep my eye on you."
"Why?" I asked
"In case your father, Allen, decides he actually does care for his kids," He glanced out the window, "I need to catch him one way or another."
"If you take me, the debt collectors will come after you," I looked at his side profile. He had sharp, handsome features. The gray color of his hair matched his eyes.
"Measly people like that can't do anything to me." He was confident. I guess he's some rich young master.
"But they will come after me," I replied, "What will you do then? They're persistent."
"Sounds like a 'you' problem, deal with it yourself." He received a text message and took out his phone to look at it.
"But you said I have to stay in a place where you can keep your eyes on me, doesn't that mean I'll be close to you. Wouldn't that disturb you? If they came regularly?" I don't know what I was looking for. A favor? A way out? An escape? Protection?
"It's still your problem, pay them back if they're bothering you that much."
He wasn't interested in my situation at all and got me even more stressed. I had no idea what he was planning for me and now I had no idea if he was going to keep me in a worse place than where I already lived or not.
"I can't," I looked down, "I have nothing on me at the moment."
"Considering you were ready to take an extreme measure and kill yourself, I'm sure you can take other measures and get your hands on fat cash,"
I glanced at him. He wasn't clear in his words but almost instinctively, I knew, he meant something wrong.
"W-what are you talking about?"
He let out a sigh, then rolled his eyes, "I don't take pity on people who can't do things for themselves." He scrolled through his phone, "You were ready to kill yourself, If you're desperate enough, you can pay in 'other' methods," He looked back at me dead serious in the eyes, "I'm sure you got offers before."
My eyes went wide at his words, "What…?"
"Why are you surprised?" He seemed to hold no emotion, "What you did was already low, killing a child." My heart's palpitations felt weird, "If you can do something like that, I'm sure you can do other stuff."
My eyes stung.
I was already troubled enough by my actions and by my life, but he held no empathy, even for a person who just tried to kill herself.
"No," I almost choked on my words but did my best to hold myself
"No?" He raised his brows as he smirked, "Well, I guess from your perspective it must have been the lesser evil. What would that kid do alone?" He put his phone down and stared at me, "You must have thought she'd die alone anyway, might as well have her die with you." My chest felt constricted and I felt the sting in the tip of my nose as well, "Anyways, it's not my problem, if you want to get rid of the other bugs, pay them back with your body."
He's the first person I've met who answers so cruelly, "Never," I whispered as I felt the tears well up in my eyes, "I'd rather die,"
He continued to stare at me as I kept my tears at bay, "Then stay alive and find another method," He shook his head at me lightly, "I don't care,"
"You're the one who came to get me."
"I don't care, because I only care about getting my stuff back."
I clenched my jaw, "And what if I don't let you use me." They were stupid words, coming out of my mouth because I felt so helpless and hurt, "What if I run away?"
"I don't care," He paused, "Well, losing a pretty face is a loss, but it's not money I'm after." He passed me a nasty smile, "Don't try to get on my nerves, I can simply sell you and use your sister," My breath hitched and it felt like my heart stopped, "Don't try playing with me woman, I will always have the upper hand."
I gritted my teeth and held my tears in.
It was all I could do at the moment. I can't lose Eris. She's the sole joy in my life.
"T-then," I was doing my best to keep my demonor high but my voice still trembled, "If I listen to you, will you return Eris to me?" I clenched my fists over my thighs but my head felt dizzy.
"I'll think about it," His eyes wandered, "I haven't decided what to do with you yet."
I gulped, "Please," My eyes were desperate and I knew my pupils were shaking, yet I looked at him, "Don't take Eris away from me." Was I not breathing properly? Why do I feel so lightheaded?
"..." He watched me, "Fine," The car stopped, "Get out."
???!
"What?" I looked around, through the windows, at the place we had stopped.
We were back in my neighborhood.
The car had stopped before the road went down, leading to my house.
"Why are we here?" I asked
"I just told you you'll be staying somewhere near me, so obviously we're here to get your things." The driver got out and opened the door for me.
…
I reluctantly got out.
"You better hurry, I'm in a bad mood today."
I nodded at his words and got out of the car. For Eris. I have to do this for Eris.
I have to get back to her.
Oh! And I pray he doesn't do anything like selling me. My heart beat was erratic.
Please God, Help me
With shaky steps, I turned away, the world around me spinning in a disorienting blur.
???
What is happening? It can't be because I haven't eaten anything in a while? Is it the stress?
I looked back at Azef, he was sitting in his place with his eyes on me.
My legs gave way, and I collapsed onto the cold pavement, succumbing to the overwhelming physical and emotional strain but he didn't move,
The world faded into darkness as unconsciousness claimed me but at that moment all I could think was,
What a cold bastard