For the code of Promise

Choosing Sides

Cassie’s POV

My mind changed within a second. I looked at Jaxon. He was sitting on the sofa, curled up like a baby. He wasn’t able to control his thoughts or his anger. I was even afraid to walk closer to him; he was going to crush me onto the floor. Everything was my fault. I was the one who pressured him to find a job at the university and, moreover, I encouraged him not to change his name. I didn’t even anticipate that things were going to turn out that way.

Everyone was quiet in the room, and I felt like all their eyes were constantly checking on me secretly. I was damned, and I didn’t know what to do except go straight to my bedroom.

I stood up and picked my phone from the table. Disappointed, I walked slowly to the bedroom.

“You can blame yourself… but don’t allow it to eat your brain,” Jaxon said, standing up from the sofa. “It’s time we stand together now.”

I looked at him. He stood there and shoved his hands into his pockets. Killer and Amanda looked at him, waiting to hear him say his thoughts. He also gazed at them, but he remained silent.

“Jaxon… what do we do now?” Killer asked after waiting for him to discuss his plan. “You know what that means for us, right?”

Jaxon nodded his head as Amanda penetrated him with her eyes.

“You are right, Killer. It’s time we act now,” Jaxon said, looking back at Amanda. “Let’s take a walk.”

“What? No way… what are you both planning to do?” Amanda asked, looking worried.

“It’s all going to be alright, Amanda,” Killer said, trying to calm his wife.

“You can’t go to war leaving me and Keller, right?” she asked calmly.

“There is no way I can protect you, Amanda, without doing this. I need to do this; our child should have a better future,” Killer said.

“No way! A future that smells like gunpowder… I know it all. It only ends one way—one of us will die!” Amanda screamed.

Amanda was just like me; we both didn’t want our husbands to go to war because it was going to affect the future of our children. Moreover, we were afraid they were going to get killed. They were only two of them, fighting a bunch of drug dealers and corrupt people. I had also tried, just like Amanda, to stop Jaxon, as she was trying to stop Killer, but Jaxon never listened to me. It was similar—they weren’t going to stop.

I walked to Amanda and put my hands over her shoulders. She looked at me with worried eyes.

“I know it’s hard, Amanda… that’s the life if you want to stay with Killer. I have lived with Jaxon less than I love him. It’s just wars every time, and they don’t have a choice but to protect us,” I said, patting her shoulder.

“My child is still young, Cassie. He needs a father, just like what you need for Cathy,” she said, thinking about her child.

“I understand…” I said, looking at Jaxon, and he linked eyes with me. I knew he wanted me to convince Amanda that everything was going to be alright.

“We need to support Jaxon and Killer if we still want them back with us. Outside there, people want to kill them, and they can even harm us if they stay like nothing is happening,” I said to Amanda. “They warned us that this was going to come. Even though we disagreed, deep down we knew it was going to catch up with us.”

“I understand, Cassie,” she said, looking at me. “So what do we do now? Do you want us to run with them? I can’t live that life.”

“I am sorry, Amanda. Things turned in an unexpected way,” Jaxon said, speaking with a strong voice. “As long as you are with us, we need to choose sides before it’s too late.”

When Amanda heard Jaxon say those words, she fumed and went straight to her bedroom. She chose not to understand the situation. I thought of following her into her bedroom.

“No… let her have her peace,” Jaxon said, stopping me from following Amanda. “It’s all going to be alright. Amanda will come along very soon.”

I stopped instantly. It seemed Jaxon knew his friend very well. I chose to believe Amanda was going to change her mind and agree with us, just like my husband was saying; after all, they had lived together for ten years.

“What is your plan now, Jaxon?” I asked.

Jaxon looked at Killer. It seemed Killer was the one with a response. He sighed and looked at me before taking his eyes back to Jaxon. He nodded his head without saying a word. Thereafter, Jaxon looked at me.

“We will wait for the night to have ours commence. Currently, we have no clue, and we also have no proper weapons,” Jaxon said.

“Are you planning to attack first?” I asked, worried. I didn’t want them to ignite a war whose end they didn’t know.

“No. We will wait for them to provoke us. For now, everyone stays indoors—no one is safe in the streets,” Killer said, and Jaxon agreed with him.

“So you are not going to work?” I asked Jaxon. “Won’t they get suspicious?”

“I know I should go to work, but I have no choice,” he said, rubbing his head. “Can you make a call and tell them I have a family gathering today?”

I didn’t even think twice. Instead, I dialed straight to the university and told them that Jaxon wasn’t coming to work. At that moment, we needed a plan, and we were working on it. Our enemies were not supposed to attack us while we were unprepared.