I gasped and ran over to them. I opened the door and he placed Blaze in the back of the car. Hunter quickly jumped into the driver's seat while I joined Blaze in the back. I took the towel Hunter put in the car earlier and placed it carefully on her wound, trying to slow down the bleeding. Hunter started driving to the hospital while I tried keeping Blaze up.
Blaze smiled at me faintly and held my hand. "Hey, don't worry about me," she coughed, making me gasp.
"Blaze you'll be fine!" I breathed out.
"No, Zoe, listen." she squeezed my hand. I held tightly onto her, my eyes filling with tears. "I know I won't make it―"
"Just shut the fuck up, Blaze!" Hunter shouted. "Nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you."
Blaze just ignored Hunter and looked at me. "I won't make it," she breathed out. "Promise me, Zoe. Promise me to take care of my stupid ass brother no matter what. Keep him from killing people, no matter who it is." Blaze looked at me. More tears streamed down my face.
"No, you will make it and we'll take care of your stupid ass brother together." I hugged her, tears streaming down my face.
Nothing was going to happen to Blaze. Nothing could happen to her. She was Blaze. She is a fighter. Blaze was strong enough to get through this. She wouldn't let Zachariah win this, right? Right. Blaze couldn't die. We couldn't lose the only family we had. Blaze was the perfect sister, the perfect best friend, and the perfect family. I can still remember her talking about playing with mine and Hunter's kids. Then I just blushed and showed her my middle finger, but now I'm serious. She has to be there for the kids. She just can't leave us. She has to live through all of this with us.
We did everything to save her and Zachariah's men can't just appear out of nowhere and ruin everything. Hunter risked his life to save his sister from cancer, and now this happens. I never thought that I would see this day. We did everything to keep her hidden from the outside world, and still this happens. All we wanted was to keep Blaze safe, and this motherfucker just appears out of nowhere and does this. Now I understood why Hunter never told anyone about her.
"Zoe, no. We both know I'm not going to make it. He shot me right where I was operated. The bullet is too far in my body now. We both know what that means." she said, breathing heavily and then groaning in pain. "You're the best Hunter has had. You're the best thing that could happen to my brother. I know you will take care of him. I know he will find no one better than you." she said and groaned in pain once again, making me gasp.
"No, please..." I cried.
"Blaze, just shut the fuck up, okay!?" Hunter yelled again.
"I love you both..." Blaze said and her eyes closed as she took her last breath.
∞∞∞
I took the pizza box with pizza in it and walked into our room. I looked around and saw Hunter sitting on the floor, staring at the wall in front of him. I licked my lips and walked over to him. I sat next to him and placed the pizza box in front of him.
"Hunter, please eat something." I looked at him.
Hunter looked at me and all I could see was pain. We just got home from the hospital, where Blaze was confirmed dead and it's obvious that this was a police case now. Hunter was safe though. There was no evidence of Hunter being part of the mafia, neither was there any evidence of Hunter killing people. Hunter was silent the entire way home. We both were. It was like we both just turned into robots. We were awfully silent, as if we had neither a brain, nor a heart.
"I can't believe she's gone." Hunter stared at the wall again.
"Me neither." A tear finally slipped down my cheek.
If I'm feeling like this, I can't even imagine how Hunter might be feeling right now. His twin just died about an hour ago. He didn't say anything. He just started the car, drove us home, and immediately walked into the room. I looked at Hunter and Hunter looked at me. His gaze moved to the wall again.
"You know, we always had this connection. The type of connection most twins have. We were close because of that connection. We could finish each other's sentences. She was the only one besides you who actually trusted me. There was this one day her friend came over and they were watching movies and doing all kinds of stupid things. They ended up playing Truth or Dare and Blaze dared her friend to beat me up with a fucking baseball bat, because she thought her friend was a bit too scared of me." he chuckled as tears slipped down his face. Hunter looked at me. "I want my sister back, Zoe." he cried.
I couldn't take it in anymore. I just wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back tightly as he cried on my shoulder. I hated seeing Hunter like this. He didn't deserve this. We didn't deserve this. Blaze didn't deserve this. We were a happy family, bothering no one. We didn't choose for this. We didn't want any of this to happen. Blaze dying was just the worst thing that could have ever happened to us.
Hunter hugged me even tighter as he cried. "I want my sister back!" he cried.
"Hunter..." I want her back too. "Please, Hunter..." I sniffed.
He pulled me onto his lap and hugged me even tighter. "How am I supposed to..." he didn't even finish his sentence.
I wish.. I just wish I could end all of this...
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Zoe..." I heard my name.
I turned around and looked at the person who called me. I stood still. What was I even supposed to think of this? Was it not enough?
"Alyssa?" I frowned at her.
She nervously fiddled with her fingers as she took a step closer. I watched her every move as she mentally prepared herself to talk to me. The way she bit her lip, the way she kept on fidgeting with her fingers, and the way she stood, all signaled that she wanted to talk to me about something.
"I... How are you...?" she asked and I blinked a few times.
How am I? Blaze just passed away, Hunter is still traumatized, and I forgot how to smile. My life has been a mess since Zachariah decided that would be a fantastic idea to kill Blaze. I swallowed. I can't tell her about Blaze. Besides, she's not someone to trust anymore. She's not the Alyssa that used to take care of me like a big sister. She's not the Alyssa who laughed with me at my stupidity. She's not the person who used to be one of my best friends.
"I'm fine..." I said, hiding the pain in my voice.
Don't cry...
Just don't cry...
"Awesome..." she pursed her lips. "I need to tell you something..." she looked at me.
"Go ahead." I said as I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for her to say what she wanted to.
"T-Tony came over at my house yesterday..." she blinked a few times.
I looked at her, slightly shocked. Why am I even shocked? Isn't this something I already expected? Perhaps not... Perhaps I thought that she would change.. But I should've known that she just might not.
"But I called the cops... And they locked him up..." she sniffed as a tear slipped down her cheek. "I told them that I knew everything, and that they should lock me up too, but Tony denied it. Tony denied telling me anything..." she looked at me. I stared at her as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I just thought I'd let you know...." she said and turned around to walk away, but she stopped midway and looked back at me. "I hope you can forgive me for what I did to you." she said and walked away, leaving me behind, staring at her disappearing figure.
∞∞∞
"Hunter..." I breathed out.
He turned around and looked at me. He had dark circles around his eyes and his hair was all over the place. I couldn't bare seeing him like this. There had to be something that could cheer him up. I walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. I sat down next to him on the couch and he looked at me before lying down and resting his head on my lap.
"Where were you?" he asked and I looked at him, remembering what happened earlier.
"I went to the store..." I said.
Hunter went silent and continued watching the television. I on the other hand, couldn't. I kept thinking about what happen
ed earlier. I can't believe Alyssa did all that. I know that she loved Tony deeply, but I didn't know she could do all of this...
"I met Alyssa..." I said and Hunter looked at me.
"What did she say? Why did she... Did she hurt you?" he sat up as he grew mad.
I shook my head. "She told me that Tony was at her house..." I said and looked at Hunter. "She called the cops."
Hunter just stared at me. "Why did she do that? And wasn't she supposed to be in jail too?" Hunter squinted his eyes at me.
"She said Tony denied telling her anything..." I said as Hunter stared at me.
"I don't trust this," Hunter said after a while. "Not even a bit."
He stood up and walked out of the living room. I got up and ran after him. I stopped midway once I realized that he already walked out the front door. I sighed and walked back to the living room. I turned on the TV and sat down on the couch, just surfing the channels.
My mind kept jumping from thought to thought to thought. I didn't know what to think about all of this. I don't know if I should believe Alyssa. I breathed out. I just couldn't think straight right now. I didn't know where Hunter went, Alyssa and I met after weeks today, and Blaze...
Blaze is dead.
I looked at the ring Blaze gave me a week before she got shot.
"If I don't make it alive out of the operation theater, just wear this and think of me. I'll always be with you guys."
A tear slipped down my cheek. All this time I've stood strong; I haven't cried, just so I could encourage Hunter. Just so he knew that everything was going to be fine. But now, at this very moment, while I'm alone in this house, I admit that I do not know if we'll be fine. I don't know if everything will be okay. I don't know when everything will be okay.
Friday is Blaze's funeral. I wasn't ready for this... Neither was Hunter.
I sniffed. I just wish I could do something to save Blaze. I sniffed once again and lied down on the couch, pulling the covers Hunter had placed on the couch over myself. I just stared at the TV as tears streamed down my face. Suddenly my mind wandered to Tony. I wonder if what Alyssa said was true. Like Hunter said earlier, this situation is not to be trusted. I don't know what to think about all of this... Of Alyssa.
As my mind wandered to everything Tony did to me, as the tears continued streaming down my face, and as I continued thinking about Blaze, I felt myself drift off to a deep sleep.
∞∞∞
"Zoe..." I heard my name.
I felt someone's lips press against mine and I opened my eyes, just to see Hunter his face in front of me. He pulled away and smiled at me as he stroked my cheek with his fingers. I rubbed my eyes, trying to feel less sleepy.
"Hunter..." I breathed out and sat up as soon as I remembered him walking out of the house earlier.
"It's morning." he smiled softly at me.
I frowned and looked around, realizing that it actually was morning already. "Oh dear God. I slept that long..." I breathed out and Hunter chuckled, making me look at him. This was the first smile that appeared on his face after Blaze passed away. "Hunter..." I breathed out and he just leaned over and kissed me on my lips. This was also one of the few kisses I had received from Hunter after his sister passed away.
He pulled away and cupped my cheek with his right hand. "You talk too much." he smiled. He sat next to me and threw his arm over my shoulder, looking me straight in the eye. "Today is Blaze's funeral." he said and I breathed in deeply before breathing out again.
"I know..." I said as a tear slipped down my cheek again.
God-fucking-dammit, Zoe. Calm down. You're supposed to be strong about this.
Hunter wiped the tear off my cheek and hugged me. "We'll be fine, Zoe. Everything will be fine again. I promise."
∞∞∞
The funeral was over. I looked at myself in the mirror as my eyes were red as well as my face. We decided to cremate Blaze, instead of burying. I sniffed. I came home after the funeral while Hunter decided to go somewhere else, and not tell me.
How fantastic is my Hunter. Going places without telling me where.
I sighed. I decided that a nice cold shower would be nice right now. I found it extremely weird how I liked cold showers more than warm showers, but whatever. I made my way over to the bathroom and stripped out of my clothes. I then grabbed my towel and placed it close to the shower, and hopped in afterwards.
I spent longer than an hour in the shower, crying, thinking, and bathing myself before hopping out and wrapping the towel around my body. I was about to dry my hair when my phone started ringing, startling the fuck out of me.
I walked back into the bedroom and picked up without looking at the caller ID. I placed the phone onto my ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Zoe!?" Hunter breathed heavily.
"Hunter?" I started worrying. "Are you okay? Why―"
"I'll explain later." Hunter panted as I heard him walk and the door of his car close. "Zoe, listen to me. I need you to pack your clothes and all your stuff right now! I'll be home within half an hour and we're fucking getting out of here!" I heard his car start.
"But Hunter...-"
"No, Zoe." he cut me off. "We don't have much time! Pack all your fucking stuff, now!" he yelled and hung up.
I looked at my phone screen with a frown on my face. What the fuck is going on?
I did as I was told. I quickly put on my underwear and my bra, thereafter my black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. After putting on my clothes, I grabbed a bag and started packing mine and Hunter's stuff. After half an hour there was a honk outside the house and I quickly took my button-up shirt and my shoes, grabbed the suitcases, and walked to the front door. Hunter ran towards me and took one of the suitcases, helping me out.
After placing everything in the back, we got in the car and Hunter started driving really fast. I put my shoes on as well as my long sleeved button-up shirt, since it was very cold outside. I looked at Hunter as he hastily drove down the road.
"Hunter! What is going on? Where are we going?" I asked.
"We're leaving Anton!" Hunter said.
"What!? Why? And where are we even going?" I frowned.
This was ridiculous.
"We're going to Florida." he said.
"What the fuck?" my eyes grew wide. "Why?"
"I shot Zachariah's son." he said and my eyes grew even wider.
"What!?"
Chapter Twenty-Six
"What?" I shrieked and he glared at me, making me glare back at him. "You did what?"
"I shot Zachariah's son." Hunter repeated annoyed.
I was silent for a few seconds, trying to take all of this in. "Is he dead...?" I asked, scared of his answer.
"Yes," he said carelessly.
I blinked a few times. "You... You're kidding, right?" I asked, hoping that all of this was indeed a joke.
Hunter looked me dead in the eye, his cold stare boring into mine. "Does it look like I'm kidding, Zoe?"
I didn't say anything. I just stared at him as he stared at the street, driving the car. I didn't know what hurt more, the fact that he got colder, or the fact that he broke a promise that he made. He promised Blaze that he would never kill again, but yet here he is, running away after killing Zachariah's son. I slumped down the car seat and stared out the window, processing what was going on at the moment. Why was it so hard to believe that Hunter killed someone? And why is all of this so shocking?
But then again... What would I do if I was in his shoes? What would I do if someone shot my sister dead? The sister that just got herself a new life. The sister that was going to see the outside world after more than three years... Wouldn't you want him to suffer too, Zoe?
I looked at Hunter and thought about all of this. Would I help Hunter get away with all of this? What would I do to help Hunter get out of this? What would I do if one day Zachariah appears at our home and attempts to kill one of us? What if Zachariah attempts to kill me? If I die, it's clear that Hunter will have
no one else anymore. The only people he had were Blaze and me, but now that Blaze is dead, I am the only one Hunter has. If Zachariah kills me, Hunter will be lonely again and he'll probably end up in the mafia again.
The Tattooed Bad Boy Page 14