Keep From Falling (Markson Grove Series Book 1)

by Amy Vanessa Miller

  We aren’t going anywhere. That is suddenly painfully clear.

  “Ah, my beautiful Phoenix, I can’t very well let you walk away after planning this spectacle, can I? I have a big show planned for tonight,” Dimitri calls out to us. The entire crowd hushes in anticipation of Parker’s response.

  Parker stops abruptly and turns to face Dimitri, his face is sick with realization of what’s actually happening here. Dimitri never had any intention of killing Tris himself, nor was he planning on letting someone else do it. “You said all I had to do was make the call and bring him to you. You didn’t say I had to kill him!” he yells angrily.

  “A slight omission,” Dimitri returns with a wicked smirk. “My sincere apologies.”

  That fucking bastard!

  Parker shakes his head profusely. “I can’t! Find someone else to do it. I’m agreeing that he needs to die, I just can’t be the one to do it.”

  “Oh, but you will, that I promise you,” he says, motioning toward the bouncers in front of the exit. “Collect him!” he commands.

  “This is fucking bullshit!” Parker growls, unable to hide the panic in his eyes as the four men push Spencer and me away, dragging him toward the cage.

  I watch in horror as one of the men kick Parker behind the knee and he falls to the ground immediately. He muffles a cry, and I can tell that he’s hurt, but he’s quick to hide it. He continues to fight them off as well as he can, but his right leg is having a hard time to support his weight now, and it’s become painfully clear to me that he won’t be escaping this fate.

  I lose the capability to stand, falling to my hands and knees in devastation. This can’t be happening!

  Spencer lifts me up into his arms and finds an empty seat close by to sit in. He cradles me in his lap while shushing my hysterical gasps. We watch helplessly as Parker is being forced into the cage in front of us.

  All I can think is that if I hadn’t followed him here, he would have delivered Tris and possibly got away in time. But the minute he was told that I was with Dimitri, he turned back for me. This is all my fault!

  “I’m not doing this!” Parker screams out the minute the cage door slams shut behind him. I watch in awe as a thick, see-through barricade lowers in the center of the cage, separating Tris’ side of the cage from Parker’s.

  “You will. You both will, I assure you,” Dimitri replies with a hiss.

  “Fuck you! This wasn’t part of the deal, Dimitri!”

  “Calm yourself. Have you ever known me to be an unfair man? I won’t make you do this for nothing. The stakes are high, but I assure you that you will want to consider the prospect.”

  I take in an unsteady breath, looking to Spencer for any sign of hopefulness he might have. Is there any way to stop this? Can we save Parker from having to go through with this? “We have to do something,” I say desperately. “He’s hurt, you see that, don’t you?”

  “We can’t control this. It’s out of our hands,” he whisper’s softly into my ear, and the words cause my heart to break in two.

  “What kind of prospect?” Parker asks Dimitri suspiciously, allowing his emotions to calm long enough to hear what it is Dimitri has to offer. There’s a question lurking in the back of his mind now. I can see it haunting his thoughts through his indecisive eyes. He needs to know if what Dimitri has to offer is worth selling his soul for.

  “For you, I offer what you’ve been asking of me for months, Colt’s freedom and safety. You have my word that if you win this fight, Colton walks away, no questions asked.”

  I hear the hushed excitement through the murmurs of the people around me. They love the idea of Parker fighting for something he so desperately wants. It means that the fight will be filled with emotion, and the death will be for a reason they can use to justify watching something so barbaric.

  Parker appears to contemplate the offer, but after a short moment shakes his head, “No, that’s not enough,” he says, and the entire crowd grows silent, shocked that Parker would be so bold as to demand for more from the great and powerful Dimitri.

  Dimitri’s grin disappears and is replaced with a frown. “Your cockiness is losing its appeal. Don’t forget who owns whom here,” he warns.

  Dimitri’s companion leans into him and whispers something in his ear that causes his sour look to soften for a moment. He kisses her cheek as Parker stubbornly continues with his request, “I walk free too. Me and Colt, that’s the deal.”

  Tris begins to tremble in apparent panic, realizing that if Parker is bargaining his freedom then he must mean business. “Parker, fuck, don’t do this!” he pleads, slamming his hands on the solid barricade between them. “I’m sorry for what I did to Skylar. I’m sorry about everything. I can change. Just don’t do this, please.”

  Parker grimaces and attempts to ignore Tris’ pleas for salvation but is unsuccessful. He shakes his head, “Shut up!” he growls at his once-beloved friend.

  Dimitri sighs loudly and leans into his lady attempting to hear something she’s saying. After a moment, he turns to Parker once again. “What makes you think I’m willing to let you go? You’re my star.”

  “I will train you another star. I give you my word that I’ll teach him everything he needs to know before walking away, and he will be the perfect fighter; the perfect leader,” Parker responds. It’s painfully clear to me that he’s been thinking about this since before tonight, he’s just been waiting for the right time to present it to Dimitri.

  Dimitri contemplates his offer for a long while, unable to decide. “I can’t imagine anyone more perfect than you,” he responds eventually, unconvinced that The Phoenix can be replaced.

  “I will train him to be,” is Parker’s determined and confident reply.

  Tris’ composure deteriorates completely. He begins screaming and lashing out at the cage surrounding him, his wails of fear and desperation radiating throughout the room. My stomach churns, the anxiety I am feeling overwhelming any other emotion that might exist in me at the moment.

  Dimitri stares at Parker, pensively contemplating the dismal notion of no longer having Parker serving him. His companion says something to him yet again, to which he nods and pats her hand reassuringly.

  He’s made a decision.

  “My darling, Lena, believes that after a year and a half of loyal service, you deserve this,” Dimitri finally announces. “And being the Greek goddess that she is, she’s always wanted to see you interact with the girl who’s name matches those Greek letters inked on your body. Seeing you two tonight, how you are with her, how she is with you, Lena is convinced that Skylar is your soul mate. She wants to see you happy, and I want to keep Lena happy, so as much as I’ll hate to see you go, you have a deal and my word. You and Colt will go free.”

  Parker exhales in surprise, not expecting that response at all. I do the same, suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of calm in spite of the events that are about to take place. Parker is going to be free of all of this. No more dangerous drug disputes, no more cage fighting, and no more Misfit Mansion. Just me and him, living a happy life, free of the darkness he’s been cursed to endure throughout these last few years.

  Tris’ hands pound angrily on the barricade in front of Parker. “You fucking asshole!” he growls, “Is that all I am to you now? A bargaining tool?”

  “You nearly killed her!” Parker returns just as emotionally. “And probably would have if I hadn’t gotten there when I did! I fucking hate you!”

  Seeing Parker consumed with so much hatred is painful to watch, but the prospect of freedom masks the pain I’m feeling for him slightly. A silver lining waits at the end of this devastating road. He can walk free after this.

  But I know he’s not heartless like all of these spectators think him to be, like he wants everyone to believe, and as much as it seems like he doesn’t care about Tris’ fate, I know better. He cares, and this death will do damage to his soul, no matter the reason, I can’t see him being able to live with such a dark p
assenger. But I’m hopeful that he will conquer the darkness with me by his side because this is happening no matter what, and I have no way to stop it.

  “Oh, don’t you worry my little Culpeo,” Dimitri says interrupting their heated exchange and my dismal thoughts. “You have a chance at greatness too. If you can kill your friend before he kills you, I will grant you a clean slate with me. A second chance. Not too many have experienced such a great deal from me, I assure you.”

  The hopefulness radiating in my heart plummets to the pit of my stomach the moment his words penetrate my consciousness. He’s given Tris something to fight for and I’m fearful of what that means for Parker.

  Tris says something to Parker that I’m unable to hear. I watch as Parker’s eyes narrow angrily before he looks to Dimitri, “Let me talk to Skylar first,” he calls out. “Please.”

  Dimitri nods after a moment of contemplation, motioning for me to approach the cage. “I just adore you two,” he says with a smirk. “Don’t we adore these two lovers?” he announces to the crowd of spectators, and they immediately cheer in agreement.

  I run over to the cage, crashing up against it as I fight back the tears I know will inevitably begin to flow at any moment. I place my hands against the cage on either side of me as I press my forehead to his. With both our palms pressed to each other’s, and our fingers grasping onto one another for dear life, I stare into his eyes and watch as a single tear escapes and begins to trickle down his cheek.

  “Why is he doing this to you?”

  “Because it’ll be a great show,” he replies bitterly. “You know that I have no choice, right? I didn’t want it to happen like this.”

  “I know that, baby,” I reply, reassuringly.

  “It’s for the greater good,” he says. “Our life, free. Colt’s life, free. I have to do this.”

  “You’re hurt,” I say, gesturing to his knee. “What if you can’t… beat him?” I ask with a pitiful moan, my heart tormented with the possibility of losing him. The tears finally break free and begin to flow down my cheek to my nose and onto my lips.

  “I’m fine, and he won’t,” Parker replies, attempting to kiss my soft flowing tears away. When his lips fall onto mine between the chain links of the fence, I return the kiss forcefully and take in the salty taste of my tears pressing between us.

  “Can you live with this?” I ask him, needing to know for sure that he can handle the fallout that’s to come. There’s no going back from this, Tris will be dead and no matter which way he justifies it, the blood will forever be on his hands.

  “I have no choice,” he returns. “If I don’t kill him, he will kill me. And then he’ll kill you and then Colt and Ellie and anyone else I care about. It has to end here. If Tris lives, no one in Markson Grove is safe. You know it as well as I do. I can live with this, as long as you can. Just please promise me that you won’t run away.”

  “I promise,” I say, making sure to look him right in the eyes as I say it. “I won’t run away.”

  He draws in a shaky breath. “Good.” He kisses me one more time. “I love you,” he says.

  “I love you too,” I say back.

  I take a few steps backward until I am caught in Spencer’s warm embrace. He hugs my back close to his chest and looks to Parker over my shoulder, “Stay alive for my girl, ok?”

  Parker nods. He glances at me one last time before allowing his entire demeanor to change and his unforgiving, fighter instincts to kick in. He makes his way to the center of his cell, barely showing that his knee is now a problem.

  Spencer leads me away from the cage, and toward a section of the room that’s far away from the carnage that’s about to take place. It appears as though he’s doing this because he’s trying to spare me from having to see the violence unfold, but I know better. His concern is for my safety, and although he doesn’t say it, I know that he’s preparing himself for what will have to be done in the event that Parker doesn’t win this fight. The possibility of that happening makes me sick to my stomach.

  A loud, collaborate gasp radiates from the crowd suddenly, and my eyes franticly dart back to the cage.

  I’m horrified to see, in the center of the cage, a barbaric weapon somehow come up through the floor in between the transparent barricade separating Parker from Tris.

  Oh my God…

  It’s a medieval style spiked mace, the kind that’s made of solid iron, and there is only one. Whoever gets their hands on that mace first will be the victor for sure, there is no doubt in my mind. The other won’t stand a chance against the likes of that daunting weapon.

  I gasp, but I’m unable to verbalize what is going through my mind right now. I’m frozen in shock.

  “Spencer,” I manage, but it’s all that escapes my lips. I have nothing. I don’t know what to do. There isn’t anything to do. This is happening; it’s happening right now, and I’m powerless to stop it.

  The barricade begins to rise and I watch in horror as Tris darts for the weapon at the exact same moment that Parker pushes forward on his right leg, and immediately hits the floor with a deafening thud.

  Everyone in the crowd gasps, myself included.

  “It appears our little Phoenix is injured… what a pity,” Dimitri calls out to the crowd with a chuckle.

  Parker scrambles to his feet, favoring his injured knee, just as Tris takes the mace into his hand and wields it mockingly.

  “Give me a fucking weapon too!” Parker screams at Dimitri.

  Dimitri laughs. “Now, what would be the fun in that?”

  Parker’s eyes dart around the cage for something, anything that he can use as a shield or a weapon against Tris. The barricade finishes rising and Tris confidently moves toward him.

  The entire room grows completely silent.

  “It didn’t have to be this way,” Tris says.

  “Fuck you,” Parker spits.

  “Don’t worry, though, I’ll make it quick.”

  Parker’s turns his face in our direction and the instant his panicked eyes meet ours, he cries out to Spencer, “Get her the fuck out of here! Now!”

  Spencer doesn’t hesitate. He grabs me by the wrist and pulls me to the guarded exit.

  I can’t breathe. This isn’t happening!

  “I can’t leave him!” I protest, attempting to yank my arm from his grasp.

  “Move aside!” Spencer growls at the bouncers, ignoring my pleas. “She shouldn’t have to see this.”

  When they don’t budge, Spencer turns to Dimitri. “Tell them to move!”

  “Let them pass,” Dimitri says dismissively, seeming annoyed with the distraction we are making for his event.

  “Spencer don’t, please!” I beg franticly, attempting to kick him off of me. I don’t want to hurt him, but I can’t leave Parker, not like this!

  I look over at the cage and see Tris storming at Parker with both hands tightly gripped around the mace, prepared to strike.

  “No!” I scream as Spencer finally manages to drag me through the exit and the heavy door slams behind us.

  Evan

  When I awake the next morning, I don’t open my eyes right away because the first thing that hits my conscience is the excruciating headache that’s radiating from the back of my head to my temples. I’m nauseated, weak, and my mouth feels like the Mojave Desert.

  The second thing that enters my conscience is the memory of ending things with Bree and hours later seeing her kiss Adrienne. My heart still aches over this, and my mind is filled with regret. Why would I do that? I need her, I need us.

  No, even in this waking denial, I know the truth. I can’t give her what she deserves, she needs more than me. I have to be strong with this decision; I have to be selfless… for once.

  My eyes flutter open the minute I feel that someone’s body is pressed close to mine. I’m relieved to find that it’s Bree, but that relief is short-lived the minute I feel the curve of her ass push into my groin. I let out a groan under my breath as I quickly become aw
are of my morning wood. I pull away from her body and roll onto my back, making sure my erection is discreetly tucked into my underwear and not pitching a tent under my blankets. I then stare up at the ceiling as I let the irony of this entire situation sink in. This is the first time I get to wake up next to Bree, and she isn’t even mine to wake up next to anymore.

  I’m shirtless, but my jeans are still on which is probably the reason that Bree didn’t realize my little friend was poking at her. How humiliating it would have been if she had.

  Bree’s curled up in a fetal position with one hand under the pillow she’s sharing with Adrienne. Her face is only an inch away from Adrienne’s, their cute little noses nearly touching. I’m not going to lie, seeing them this way is hot. It sucks… but it’s hot.

  Adrienne is lying on her stomach, the blankets mostly all off of her nearly naked body. The perfect curves of her round ass are blatantly visible in her tiny black thong. She’s beautiful, they both are. What a complete kick in the gut it is to know they were both mine, and I lost them.

  I feel my phone vibrate in the pocket of my jeans and I reach in to answer it. Eight missed calls all from Derrick and Kelsie, with this call it will be nine. I walk to the bathroom and shut the door behind me quietly.

  “Hello,” I say the minute I press talk and put the phone to my ear.

  “Evan! Fuck man, you had me so worried,” Derrick’s panicked voice says to me through the earpiece.

  “I’m fine. I’m um… I’m really hung-over but—.”

  He cuts me off, “You sound like shit, man. Where the hell are you? Please tell me you aren’t in a gutter on the side of the road somewhere.”

  “No I’m in a room over a bar,” I say and then add, “with Bree and Adrienne.”

  There’s a long pause on the other end of the line. “You’re kidding me?” he says finally, the shock in his voice radiating into my eardrum.