Vengeance

  Vengeance

  Jade Freeman

  To my wonderful little boy who

  inspires me every day.

  And for the sweetest, most inspiring

  personal trainer I know.

  Jaz Wild walked the streets of Milton Keynes alone, she didn’t know what to do anymore. Jaz stared at her bloodied hands, tears rolled down her pale cheeks. He was dead.

  They were all dead.

  Jaz pulled the hood of her jumper up covering her long black hair, she didn’t want to be seen tonight. She quickly looked behind her making sure no one was around before ducking in to an alleyway.

  “Ezra” she called out. There was no answer, Jaz walked further down the alleyway she daren’t call out again in case somebody heard her. When she was about halfway down a man stepped out in front of her. He was tall and muscular with short curly brown hair and sparkling green eyes.

  “Ezra” Jaz whispered as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him, as much as she hated to admit it she loved him not that she would ever tell him that. She was so relieved to see him, she had begun to think something had happened to him.

  “Did you find him?” Ezra asked leaning his chin on her head.

  Jaz shook her head “I was too late” Ezra led her through a door in to a small two bedroom flat, the block of flats had two entrances, Jaz preferred to use the alley door it was more private. “I’m next”

  “No, you’re not” Ezra said as they sat down on the red sofa in the corner of the flat. “We’ll figure it out”

  Jaz put her head in her hands and closed her eyes, she knew she was next. Ezra didn’t understand, how could he when she hadn’t bothered to tell him the whole truth.

  She would be next, the whole group was being picked off one by one, Ezra had done everything he could to try to help her but he only knew half the truth, that someone from her past was murdering her old college friends and that she was sure she would be next. Jaz knew she should have told Ezra the truth but it was too painful she was scared of what he would think. She liked Ezra a lot, maybe too much.

  “Ezra!” she said quickly before she lost her nerve, “I haven’t been entirely honest about why this is happening”

  “So what happened?” Ezra asked sitting next to her and placing his hand gently on her knee. Jaz stared in to his piercing green eyes and before she could change her mind and make an excuse launched in to the story of what happened that night.

  She could remember it like it had happened yesterday. It was always playing over and over in her mind.

  *****

  Jaz laughed and grabbed her best friend; Chyna Rhodes’ hand, pulling her in the direction of the hall, she couldn’t wait to get to the party.

  “Come on Chyna, hurry” Jaz said nearly falling over as she stumbled in her favourite camouflage heels. “Liam’s in there”

  “He will still be there in five minutes, will you slow down” Chyna laughed yanking on her friends hand. Liam Forbes was the hottest guy in college and Jaz’s boyfriend for the past two years, she swore she was going to marry him one day.

  Jaz and Chyna walked in to the hall, Liam greeted them at the front door.

  “Jaz” He said with a smile, pulling her in to his arms and kissing her intensely as Chyna walked across the room to their other friends.

  “Hey, Robin, Dan” she said hugging them as Jaz walked over hand in hand with Liam.

  “Hey guys” Jaz said pulling Liam’s arm around her waist “Liam’s sister is here tonight, she’s planning on coming to the college after summer”

  “If you could keep her company and make sure she doesn’t fall in with the wrong crowd, I’d really appreciate it” Liam said “Hey Charlotte, come here”

  A pretty blonde girl walked up with a massive smile on her face, she was so excited to be at her first college party. She had the same electric blue eyes and youthful excitement as her brother. “Hi” she said shyly.

  They all had a great night partying that night, they played drinking games and danced. At some point during the night Liam disappeared and they spent the rest of the night with Charlotte, they were having a good time until Dan got his hands on some E they all joined in, except Jaz.

  “Charlotte, you don’t have to do that” Jaz said pulling her hand away.

  “Oh stop being such a spoil sport” Dan shouted at her and gave the drugs to Charlotte anyway, that’s when things went wrong. They all got in a taxi that night too drunk to walk back to their shared flat. They were all laughing until Charlotte started saying she was having chest pains.

  “Guys I think we should take her to the hospital” Jaz said wiping the sweat off Charlotte’s forehead.

  “Nah she’s fine” Dan laughed, “it’s just because it’s her first time, she can sleep it off in the flat”

  Looking back on it Jaz wished she’d listened to her gut instinct and taken Charlotte to the hospital. It wasn’t long before Charlotte lost consciousness, Jaz stayed by her side all night but she didn’t wake up.

  ****

  “So, the death of Charlotte was down to your friends?” Ezra asked, he hadn’t removed his hand from her knee throughout her whole story.

  “And me” Jaz whispered staring down at the floor, she had been denying that she had, had a hand in Charlotte’s death for so long.

  “It wasn’t your fault” Ezra said pulling her in to his shoulder, she couldn’t believe it she had told Ezra her deepest, darkest secret and he was still trying to protect her.

  “I should have fought harder to take her to the hospital, but I didn’t, I just gave up” Jaz said tears in her eyes “I knew she wasn’t well, I knew she wasn’t going to wake up but I just left her anyway”

  And now she was paying for it, after Charlotte died they had all promised never to see each other again, and they went on with their own separate lives. But Jaz had always kept an eye on what the others were doing, and now they were all dead.

  “You tried to help her, it wasn’t your fault” Ezra said, “So do you know who is doing this?”

  “I have an idea,” Jaz replied, “I think it might be Liam”

  “Your ex-boyfriend?”

  “Yeah, my ex-boyfriend, and Charlottes brother” Jaz stood up to get a glass of water, her mouth felt so dry from talking about the things she did all those years ago. She never thought that Liam would find out the part she played in his sister’s death and now he had and she was next.

  “You should go get some sleep” Ezra said, pulling Jaz up to her feet. Staring in to his eyes Jaz couldn’t help herself, she leaned in and touched her lips lightly to his. Ezra didn’t pull away, how could he? He loved her.

  He pulled her closer to his body and brushed a hand through her black hair kissing her more intensely than he had ever kissed anyone before. He had to save her, he couldn’t lose her. Jaz pulled away and stroked a hand across his cheek, smiling at him but her deep brown eyes were still sad and soulless like she was about to lose everything. Ezra smiled back at her weakly and led her to the bedroom.

  “Get some sleep” Ezra said, Jaz got in to the bed as Ezra walked out. He knew what had to happen, Jaz couldn’t die.

  Ezra fired up his laptop and typed in Liam Forbes. Ezra could hardly believe that someone as smart as Jaz could date such an idiot; his entire personal information was public on the internet. Finding his email address Ezra typed:

  Hi

  You don’t know who I am, but I know who you are and what you’re trying to do. I know where Jaz Wilds is. You can find her in Two Mile Ash in a flat just off of Downland. Use the alley entrance.

  Anonymous

  Now all he had to do was wait, if this Liam was intent on destroying Jaz then it would take long for him to answer, he was obviously in Milton Keynes if he already got to Dan t
hat day. He didn’t have to wait long before long Liam had emailed him back thanking him for his help. Ezra wondered how long it would take him to get to Two Mile Ash. Ezra looked back in to the bedroom to check on Jaz, she was fast asleep her skin was so pale that asleep she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll, so fragile.

  It was time to get ready, Ezra walked out of the flat, locking the alley door behind him, Liam Forbes was not getting in there tonight. He hid himself in the same place he had waited for Jaz earlier that night just behind the bins a little way up from the door to the flat. He wasn’t waiting long before he heard the sound of a motorbike pulling up on the side of the road. He could see the silhouette of someone turn in to the alley.

  “Liam Forbes?” Ezra asked, he had to be sure.

  “Yeah, are you the person that sent me the email?” Liam replied, as Ezra walked towards Liam, he could see what had attracted Jaz to him he was a typical pretty boy, dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes how could she resist him but now he looked tired.

  “I am” Ezra nodded curtly. “You’re not touching Jaz”

  “I’m sorry, I’m confused” Liam said frowning, “I thought you said you were going to help me”

  “I really don’t know how she dated someone like you” Ezra laughed, “You’re an idiot, I never said I would help you. I told you where you can find her”

  Ezra pressed the dial button on his phone connecting him immediately to the police, Liam would go to prison and Jaz would be safe. He just had to make sure that Liam never mentions that Jaz was involved in Charlotte’s death.

  “Jaz has to die” Liam insisted, “She has to pay, I thought you brought me here to help”

  “No, I brought you here to stop you” Ezra smiled, he knew it wasn’t the smartest thing to do but he had to let the police know where they were. Ezra lifted the phone to his ear. “You can find us in Two Mile Ash, just off of Downland.”

  “You set me up” Liam said, realising just why Ezra had brought him to the alley. “I won’t go to prison”

  “Tell me one thing” Ezra replied, “Why not go to the police yourself, why not tell them the truth?”

  “Because, a prison sentence would not be enough for what they did to my little sister” Liam said, Ezra could see the pain his eyes, Jaz had described them as electric blue but now all he could see was pain. “Because of them she never got to start college, she never got to be a fashion designer”

  Ezra nodded, “I can’t let you hurt her”

  “You won’t stop me” Liam lunged at him, Ezra noticed a flash of silver in his hand.

  “No!” Jaz shouted throwing herself in front of Ezra just as Liam throwing his hand forward plunging the knife in his hand in to her stomach.

  “Jaz” Ezra cried as he knelt down to the floor holding Jaz in his arms.

  “What were you thinking?” Jaz asked quietly placing a bloody hand on his cheek.

  “I wanted to protect you” Ezra said kissing her forehead, “I thought you were asleep”

  “You love her don’t you?” Liam said the knife in his hand, covered in blood dangling by his side. Ezra nodded tears streaming down his face, his hands across the wound trying to stop the blood.

  “You loved me once too” Jaz whispered weakly. “I never meant for Charlotte to die, I wanted to take her to the hospital, I know I should have fought harder.”

  Jaz turned back to Ezra she could hardly keep her eyes open “I love you” Ezra watched heartbroken as her eyes rolled back and her entire body slumped as she slipped in to unconsciousness.

  “I didn’t think it would hurt so much to kill her” Liam said, he looked numb, he turned as heard the sound of sirens surrounding the alleyway. “It didn’t bother me to hurt the others”

  “She’s not dead” Ezra said coarsely, when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps he shouted, “Help I need an ambulance, she’s been stabbed”

  Two officers went to Liam as they pulled his hands behind his back, Ezra heard the sound of the cold metal of the knife clanging to the floor as they handcuffed him. Another cop approached Ezra and Jaz, talking in to his radio asking for an ambulance.

  “You’re not going to die, Jaz” he whispered, holding her as tight as he could.

  The rest of night was a blur but before he knew it he was sitting in the ambulance holding Jaz’s hand, she was barely breathing.

  He waited outside the theatre room for hours, and sat by her beside for days. He wondered if she would ever wake up.

  “You know she may never regain consciousness” the nurse told him as she checked Jaz’s stats and writing them on the chart hanging at the bottom of her bed.

  Three Months Later

  Ezra slept in the armchair in the corner of the hospital room, he hadn’t left the hospital except to go to work, he didn’t want Jaz to wake up alone.

  He didn’t hear when Jaz’s breath caught, he didn’t see when she moved her hand but he did hear when she whispered ever so quietly “Ezra?” he was at her side within seconds, holding her hand as her eyelids fluttered.

  “Come on Jaz” he said, he smiled when her eyes finally opened and he was finally able to see her beautifully deep brown eyes again.

  “Ezra” she whispered again, lifting her hand to stroke his cheek but she stopped short her arm tugged back down to the bed by the IV drip stuck in the back of her hand.

  “It’s ok, don’t move” Ezra said rubbing her shoulder as he leaned down and kissed her dry lips. “Do you want some water?”

  Jaz nodded, Ezra held the glass and put the straw in her mouth so she could sip the water. “What happened?” She asked when she finished.

  “We can talk about that later” Ezra said, “I’m going to get the doctor, let them know you’re awake.”

  As Ezra walked out of the hospital room, Jaz looked around her eyes falling on the window. It was bright and sunny outside, it was summer …how long had she been here for? When Ezra walked back in to the room she desperately wanted to ask him what had happened but he was followed by nurses and a doctor.

  When they had finally finished fussing over her she sat herself up and turned back to Ezra. “What happened?”

  Ezra explained that Liam had been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of three people; Chyna, Robin and Dan and for the attempted murder of Jaz Wilds. He told her that her name had been left out of everything and no one knew of the part she played in covering up the death of Charlotte Forbes.

  “Call the police” Jaz said quietly.

  “Didn’t you hear me?” Ezra said frowning. “It’s taken care of, you’re safe”

  “I heard you, but it’s not taken care of” Jaz replied holding his hand tightly. “When Liam stabbed me, I saw the pain in his eyes, I know a prison sentence won’t make up for what I did or bring Charlotte back, but it’s about time I took responsibility for what I did”

  “You’re going to turn yourself in” Ezra whispered.

  “Yes” Jaz replied pulling him in for a kiss. “I’m going to go away for a really long time”

  “I will wait for you” Ezra said with tears in his eyes. “I love you”

  “I love you too”

  Those were the last words Jaz said to Ezra before she was arrested, she didn’t want to spoil the moment with any other words. Her trial didn’t take long she was soon sentenced to six years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of Charlotte Forbes.

 

 

  Jade Freeman, Vengeance

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