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Sebastian thought he was shooting at me, so he jumped in front of me and took a bullet in the shoulder. Sebastian’s gun shot went through the wall behind us instead of hitting us. My head was spinning because everything happened so quickly.
“Sebastian.” I knelt down next to him and tried to stop the blood from flowing.
“Get him and take him to the house,” my dad said to Henry, who was already trying to pick him up. “Help him carry the bastard, idiots!” My dad yells at his masked men.
“Oh my god, Sebastian.” My mom ran to him to try to comfort his hurt shoulder. I got in touch with my mum, and she cried on my shoulder while I hugged her.
I whispered in her ear, “He’s fine, just hurt.”
“Jack, please let him go.” My mom begs my dad to be nice. My dad moves closer to us and gently brushes my mom’s hair back from her face while looking at her.
“I do what’s best for my family.” My dad kissed my forehead and then my mom’s. I didn’t expect my mum to hit him in the face. I jumped up because she scared me.
“You’re doing what’s best for yourself, you selfish bastard,” my mom said with tears in her eyes. My dad laughed and licked his numb lip. My mom turned around to look at me.
“Mom,” I said softly.
“Why didn’t you go with him, Aria? He just wanted to go home,” my mum said in a loud voice.
Maybe I made a mistake by not going with him. But then it would start all over again, with me wanting what I can never have. I don’t want that pain anymore.
“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to,” I said.
I was mad at my mom because she didn’t see that her daughter was in love with her fiancé. Was she really that dumb?
“Are you coming?” Henry asked, and I nodded.
“You are too, mother.” I rolled my eyes and went after Henry.
How was I going to get Sebastian out of this mess now?
My mum tries to pull her arm away from my dad’s stone grip and says, “You can’t do this, Jack.”
“I’m doing what’s best for you,” my dad says as he drags my mum up the stairs. I stayed right behind them. I never really understood why my dad cheated on my mum. They seemed so in love.
“No, you’re doing what’s best for you.” My mother pulled her arm back again, this time to fight my father.
“Stop it, Dad and Mom,” I said. I remembered my childhood, when I saw my parents fight every night, my father storm off to study, and my mother cry in the kitchen while trying to act like everything was fine. My dad let her go right away, and my mum touched her wrist before going into her room and slamming the door.
“She’s mad at you, Dad, and she has a right to be,” I said, almost in shock. I put my arms across my chest. I said, “You lied to me,” while looking at my mother’s door and not being able to look him in the eyes.
My dad said, “I did what was best for you and your mother.” There is no doubt that my dad loved me with all his heart, but he shouldn’t have lied. He doesn’t have to take care of my mother anymore, but he still feels like he needs to protect her.
I ask, “You still care about her?” I now look into his greenish eyes, which were so familiar to mine that it felt like I was looking into my own eyes.
“She’s your mother, and I will always care for her,” my dad says.
I shook my head no. “Do you still love her, in a romantic way?” I made my question more direct.
For a moment, my dad didn’t say anything. “Maria is waiting for me. I need to go to bed. You can’t see Sebastian before I go.” My father said this with his finger right in my face, and he meant it. I just nodded. What was wrong with him that he didn’t answer my question?
“I need to check his wounds, Daddy,” I said.
“No, Aria. Your fiancée is in there with him. I’d be surprised if he’s still alive after that.” My dad laughed and walked away. My heart almost stopped when I saw Henry hurting him. Sebastian was already hurt and couldn’t take any more.
Forget Aria. I’ll just wait until Henry leaves the basement.
I slowly put my hair up in a bun and went to the couch, where I could hide from Henry after he left. I was there for a full two hours, and my eyes started to wander when the basement door opened. I curled up on the couch to hide my body as best I could.
“Boss, he’ll die if we don’t get a doctor,” someone said. I slowly pulled the blanket away from my ear so I could hear better.
Henry yells at the man who has gone silent, “I don’t give a f**k, no one touches my Aria.” Touch? I don’t get it. Sebastian didn’t touch me in front of Henry. Henry didn’t sound like himself; he sounded possessed. “I’ll kill him myself if he’s still alive tomorrow.”
The man said, “Yes, sir.” I heard them go out of the living room.
I got up and ran to the washbasin right away. I got a bowl and filled it with warm water. I was able to maintain a balance between the vodka and water. I could use it to clean his wounds. Before going down to the basement, I also got a cloth. I shivered when my bare foot touched the cold cement. I couldn’t see where I was going on the stairs, but that didn’t stop me. I was horrified by what I saw when I got to the bottom of the stairs.
“Sebastian.” I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. I put the bowl and everything else on the floor and ran to him.
Sebastian was hanging from the ceiling, and the ropes were cutting into his wrists. I pulled on his cheeks and lifted his head with my hands. I looked for any sign of life on his face. Sebastian’s dark blue eyes met mine, and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. I ran over to the hook that was holding Sebastian up and pulled the rope back with all my strength, but it didn’t work.
Sebastian groaned in pain, “The…axe…” I looked around the room until I found the axe. I quickly picked it up and walked over to the hook. I leaned back and hit the axe hard. Sebastian’s left hand came loose. I went to the right hook and did the same thing. Sebastian fell to his knees and could barely keep himself up.
I bent down to his level and raised his head. His eyes were lighter than usual, his face was pale, and there was blood on every part of his body. I slowly let go of his head and crawled over to the bowl of alcohol and water. I put him in a sitting position and dipped the cloth in water. I slowly rubbed the cloth against Sebastian’s rough skin, and every time I did, he grunted in pain.
“I’m so sorry.” My voice shook, and I was about to cry, to be honest. He didn’t answer, which made me think he was mad at me. I didn’t even notice until just now that Sebastian was shirtless. There were marks all over his body and a big bullet hole in his shoulder. I take hold of the bottle of vodka. I said, “This is going to hurt,” when I opened the bottle.
“Wait,” Sebastian growled in pain. Sebastian took the bottle from me and drank some vodka. He coughed in disgust and handed the bottle back to me. I turned the bottle up so that the vodka could flow down Sebastian’s body. Sebastian grunts in pain, but his grunt sounds more like a scream.
I turned my head because I couldn’t see him this way. I feel like it’s all my fault.
“Aria, it’s fine. I’m fine,” Sebastian says.
I yell, “No, you’re not fine, and it’s all my fault.” I’m mad at myself for hurting someone so much. Sebastian rubbed my chin with his thumb, which made me turn my head to look at him.
Sebastian quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen. “It’s not your fault,” Sebastian grunted.
“I have to get you out of here before Henry kills you,” I said, and Sebastian nodded as I snuggled into his hand.