The Devil Wears Number Seventeen

6- Fear The Underworld

Jace looked scarier than he usually looked, with bruises covering his face and a cut on his lower lip. His knuckles were bleeding, the skin around them reddening painfully. But despite being so badly hurt, he didn't once let his pain show on his face. If anything, he looked dangerously calm.

"Jace?" I whispered, already making my way out of the counter towards him. "What the hell happened to you?"

He looked at me for a moment before shaking his head in answer.

"Nothing. Get me an antiseptic and some bandages." He said, making me look at him in disbelief.

This didn't look like nothing. Bruises, cuts, and bleeding knuckles. How can they be nothing?

"You need to see a doctor, Jace. It looks— bad." I said, looking at his face, and he arched a brow, looking at me unimpressed.

"What I need is you to not butt into my personal affairs, Brooks. Now, get me my supplies. I don't have the time and energy to waste on you." He said, making me glare at him.

Personal affairs?

Personal affairs!?

"Your personal affairs dragged me into this mess the moment I met you in the Briar—" I was cut off when he held my hand and pressed it hard enough to make me flinch.

"Don't, Brooks. Not here." He warned me, and I realized we were in the middle of the convenience store.

Jerking my hand out of his hold, my eyes held his with unexpressed anger. But his gaze was focused on the glass door of the store before he looked back at me.

Sucking in a deep breath, I walked to the emergency aisle and collected his supplies. Once I finished billing him, I handed him the products, and he walked out of the store without even sparing me a glance.

I was annoyed at how easily he dismissed my concerns, saying it was his personal affairs. Here I was on the news as some mysterious girl in Briar Street, and the police were looking for me. And all he cares about is himself.

Completing my shift, I walked out of the convenience store. It was cold outside. Walking as fast as I could to reach home early and feel some heat from walking, I started moving my feet faster. I had only started walking for a minute or so when a black car slowed down beside me.

My heart started racing when it started following me. No matter how fast I tried to walk, it easily matched my pace. With trembling hands, I reached for my phone to call the cops, or at least someone, when the window of the car rolled down, and a voice called me.

"For God's sake, Brooks! It's me."

The familiar gruff voice halted me. I closed my eyes after seeing through the partially opened window and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. My heart was beating so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. My head spun for a second, and I let out a stressed-out sigh.

"What the f**k is wrong with you? I was a second away from calling the cops!" I snapped at him, and he looked at me flatly, motioning towards his car silently.

"Get inside." He ordered me, and I glared at him.

"No," I said adamantly, and he shot me a look that could even cut the glass.

"I won't repeat myself, Brooks. Get the f**k inside." The urgency in his voice made me close my eyes. Despite my reluctance to share the same space as him, I knew I had no other choice. Not after what happened today.

We needed to talk.

After all, our lives and careers were at stake.

I got inside his car begrudgingly. And without saying another word, he started the car again and started driving. I didn't ask him where he was taking me. However, a part of me was anxious and wanted to ask him. But the look in his eyes and the scowl on his face made me think otherwise.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was ten minutes, he stopped in front of my house. I didn't know there was another way of going home. I only knew two ways. One, the usual one. And the other one led to Briar Street.

But then realization hit me. Like a tornado.

"How did you know where I lived?" I asked him, petrified and curious at the same time.

He tilted his face slightly, letting his brown eyes burn mine as he shrugged his shoulders in response.

"How hard is it to find out where someone lives, Brooks?"

And my blood ran cold.

The f**k?

When I kept staring at him, he rolled his eyes at me and leaned back on his seat.

"I found out from the student's records. After all, you were harbouring my deepest and darkest secret, Selene Brooks. How can I not inquire about you?" His lips curled into a slow and wolfish smile, knowing his prey had nowhere to go now.

A shiver ran down my spine. The hair on the back of my neck stood up in alarm. I didn't know what was scarier in that moment. The cops that were behind me, or the boy who was dead set on making my life a living hell.

"Because you watched the news, I won't beat around the bush, Brooks. You are as f****d up as I am. So, I'd advise you to beware of your surroundings from now on. And in case you are confronted by the cops, do not open your little mouth. Got it?"

My eyes widened at the blatant threat that rolled out of his mouth.

"But I don't know anything about you!" I countered him, and he arched a brow, a razor-thin smile gracing his face.

"You know that you know nothing about me, Brooks. But the people out there might think otherwise." He said, and color drained my face.

God, what kind of mess did I get myself into?

"But I was just taking that street to go home! Why am I being dragged into this?" I almost shouted, and he chuckled darkly, shaking his head.

"You know where the doom begins, Brooks?" He asked me but didn't wait for my answer. "It starts on Briar Street."

Biting my lip, I looked at him with a helpless gaze.

"Then what am I supposed to do when the cops find me?" I asked him, and he shook his head at me, still smiling.

"Oh, silly girl, it's not the cops you should fear. It's the underworld that's after you."