Meghan's P.O.V

"Can you hear anything?" I ask Jake as he presses his ear to the door. When he shakes his head, I nod, pushing the door open slowly. I peep my head in, looking around to see no one in the lobby.

Wow, they planned this well.

I reach my arm out, grabbing Jake's hand as he follows behind me as we enter the old hotel building. Suddenly, as I look around, a memory flashes through my mind.

"Meghan, everything is going to be fine." Drake says as he pulls me through the lobby towards the desk where a blonde lady is standing, her eyes watching the three of us.

"Hello, I would just like to get a room..." Drake's voice trails off from my hearing as I take in a couple who is currently walking down the stairs. The lady, who looks around twenty, has her arm slouched around a much older man's shoulders. From the way that the lady is looking, she seems a little wasted, but the guy looks completely sober, which makes something burn inside of my body.

From what had just happened two weeks ago, I've been looking at every man who is with a lady, watching them and seeing the differences on both of their faces; their actions. I'm cautious now, but I wasn't before, which makes me hate myself even more.

Suddenly, Drake tugs at my hand, making me snap out of my thoughts. I look away from the two people for only a second as Drake and Evie begin to walk towards the stairs, Drake's hand still grabbing at my arm.

As we walk past the two people, I glance back at the man and when he sees me looking, the smallest grin appears on his face, which makes my eyes widen a little in shock.

The girl has obviously passed out, and the guy is sober. The girl is weak, and the guy thinks he has the power.

No. Not again... I think to myself as I shake my head slightly.

"Meghan," Jake whispers suddenly, immediately grabbing my body and pulling me around the desk where a receptionist would be. We duck down behind the desk, and I look over at Jake, confused.

"What?"

Jake points up, trying to tell me something without actually saying it, but I don't understand. Jake sighs quietly before leaning closer to me, his arms still around my waist as I lean into him while he leans into the desk.

"A guy is near the stairs." Jake whispers quietly, his words barely making it register in my mind that it was that quiet. When I realise what he had just said, my hand reaches down to grab my gun from the back of my jeans. I remembered to put the silencer on the gun just before we had arrived here so I'm glad that I didn't forget otherwise I would have people coming at me from left and right.

But the thing is, I've never shot someone. I mean, I have shot at someone, but missed, so I guess that doesn't count. But if I do end up shooting the guy that Jake says is near the stairs, then that will be my first.

Yep, I'm not as bad as you all think I am.

When Jake sees what I'm reaching for, his eyes widen. "No." He whispers quietly once again, his hand holding mine. "No shooting."

"What am I suppose to do?" I argue quietly, furrowing my eyebrows. I feel Jake grab my hand and I look behind me to see Jake kiss my hand gently. I sigh, knowing how he wants me to play it.

I move away from Jake and look over the desk, looking at the guy who seems to be two people in one that he is that big. Suddenly, my eyes widen as I see him hold a revolver in his pocket, and I know that if he sees me, he will sure as hell use it.

But before I can even make a move, a gunshot goes off.

I immediately look at Jake, my eyes widen as I look at the gun in his hand. It's pointing at someone at the top of the stairs, and when I see that he had just shot someone that was about to shoot me, my heart begins to race.

One: because Jake just told me not to use a gun and two: because the guy who is at the stairs is currently holding a gun to both of us.

Shit.

I grab the gun out of Jake's hand and immediately point it at the guy. "Go on." I say, my finger pushing on the trigger. The guy goes to pull the trigger, but another gunshot goes off and it wasn't me or Jake.

We both look at the top of the stairs, where Jake had shot the other guy, and notice William and Chris. I throw them a grin.

"Such a badass." I say and William shrugs.

"I was born for this life." William says and Chris and I roll our eyes. I point my thumb over to Jake and smirk.

"So was Jake because he just shot the guy beside you." I say, watching as the two look down at the ground before looking back at us. William smirks while Chris' mouth drops open.

"You got him in the forehead." William says and Jake pulls a disgusted face, not wanting to know where he had shot the guy. I shake my head and grab Jake's hand.

"Thank you." I say to Jake, referring to what happened before. Jake smiles and kisses me on the forehead.

"No problem."

●●●

The four of us continue to walk down the hallway, looking at the one flight of stairs that lead up to a door. Is it over? Wow, I'm disappointed.

As we walk up the stairs, a memory comes into my mind, making me bite down on my lip.

Drake just has to keep going off at me. He has no idea what I'm going through and what I've gone through recently. I mean, yeah, I'm grateful that he is helping but he doesn't have to yell at me all of the damn time!

I sigh, looking up at the flight of stairs in front of me. After two hours of roaming the hotel, I've never been up here before. I lick my lips, eager to find out what is on the other side of the door.

I quickly run up the stairs and push the door open, the breeze hitting me in the face almost instantly. I smile, loving the feeling of finally being about the breathe.

It's just me, myself, and I.

I quickly shake my head before the memory can continue. I can't keep thinking about the past because all it does it haunt me. I can't keep letting that happen.

I sigh, pushing the door open without hesitation. I've only been up here once when I was fifteen, and I didn't regret it at all. That one time was the only time I needed am escape,  and as scary as that escape was, I loved it.

I dip my foot over the edge, loving the adrenaline that is running through my body. I don't plan on killing myself, all I want to do is get a taste of something new. Excitement. I've only ever felt that rush of excitement when I had escaped the orphanage, and that's what I missed; the adrenaline running through my body.

The air that suddenly hits my face makes me lick my lips. But suddenly, my phone vibrates making me stop and get back to reality. Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I look at the message.

Danny: We saw people up on the roof. Watch your back.

When the words hit me, I instantly freeze up. "Guys," I mutter, grabbing my gun out of my back pocket. "There's people up here."

"Finally." I hear William mutter. Before any of us can do anything, we hear a 'boo' come from behind us.

We all look behind us and notice Lila and Johnny with small smiles on their faces. "Hello." Lila says, tightening her ponytail.

"You scared the shit out of me." Chris says, holding his chest and Johnny rolls his eyes.

"You're a pussy though." Lila comments, making William chuckle. I shake my head and grab everyone's attention by clearing my throat.

"Can we skip the jokes and just do this, please?" I ask and everyone nods, getting into their serious modes again. I grab Jake's hand and begin to pull him with me as I walk around the roof.

"There you are." I hear a certain person say and I turn around, my eyes widening. I feel Jake squeeze my hand, trying to keep my calm.

"Evie?" I mutter, furrowing my eyebrows. "I thought you were-"

"You thought wrong." Evie smirks and I tilt my head to the side, looking at all of the people who are behind Evie. I don't recognise anyone of them, but what I do recognise is that they are huge. Every single one of them.

"You look like you need an explanation." Evie smirks and I look back at Evie, not knowing what to say. Have I been... played? Was this the plan all along?

"Okay, I'll start from the start." Evie says, not bothering that I didn't reply to her question. She grabs out her pocket knife and presses it against her palm, the smirk making me angry but worried.

"Remember that time that we had first ran into each other at the mall?" Evie asks and I nod slowly, my hand still holding Jake's. "That was planned."

Huh?

"You see, we had got out of jail that year and the first thing that Drake and I did was find out where you were. According to a certain blonde, Courtney, she had told us that you had recently got expelled from your school and had to move into some lady's home. Drake and I stayed in that area for a while until we saw you and when we did, we followed you to the mall."

"Don't look." I say suddenly and Jake nods. I continue to look behind Jake but suddenly, the two people that I didn't want to see appear in front of us.

I squeeze Jake's hand tighter. "H-Hey..." I stutter, looking between both Drake and Evie.

Jake glances over at me, probably noticing how nervous I am. "Hey princess." Drake says, a small grin appearing of his lips. I watch as he looks over at Drake before throwing Jake a smirk.

"Taking out my girl, I see?" Drake says and Jake's eyes go wide as his words. Before Jake could say anything though, Evie speaks.

"Maybe she won't turn on him like she did to us." Evie says, looking up at Drake as he narrows his eyes at her.

"Then, when we saw that you were with that nerd, we decided to get him to help us. He looked gullible and we were right. He fell right into our trap. Drake and I had asked him to get your file and find out anything illegal that you were doing. But that only resulted in you finding out what he was doing and you two ignoring each other."

Before Jake can continue, I decide to clear my throat, catching Jake's attention. When Jake sees me, I send him a glare.

"So much for looking for the number, huh?" I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. Jake goes to say something but nothing comes out, which makes me roll my eyes. I walk over to Jake and snatch the file out of his hand, holding it close to my chest,

"I honestly thought you were different, Jake. But now I see that your just like everyone else... wanting to know the secret behind Meghan Brooks. You," I say, my eyes turning a shade darker. "Are nothing but a fucking dog." I say before walking out of the room, the file still close to my chest.

"But we told Jake that since you were wrapped around his finger, that you could easily gain back her trust because, well, you're as gullible as him. And that's when he kissed you."

"Get your hands off of me, Jake." I snap, the angry rushing through my body as I remember catching him in his mom's bedroom with my file.

"Not until you tell me." Jake says, his voice still soft and delicate. I clench my teeth and grab Jake by the collar of his grey shirt, holding my fist up to his face.

"Let. Me. Go." I say slowly and Jake looks between me and the fist that I'm about to hit him with and he smiles.

Wait... smiles? What the hell is so damn happy about this situation?

He looks like he is thinking about something and before I can even move, his lips crash onto mine.

"After that, Jake didn't want anything to do with the plan which we had expected. So we did the only thing we could think off. Drake made up a whole story about how I was being held hostage or whatever to bring you here."

"What about Charlie?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows. "Hey did you know about her?"

"How could we not find out? You were raped. You obviously had a kid but we just didn't know who it was. So, we went to the only person who knew."

Suddenly, the guys behind Evie step away and throw the person onto the ground. All of a sudden, when I recognise the blonde hair, my eyes widen.

"Mom?"

"Don't you love how this is all planning out?" Evie smiles, holding her hands in the air. "Because I sure am."

I watch as my mom gets up from the ground slowly, her eyes staring into mine. "Meghan--"

"Wait," I say, holding up my hand. "How did you know? All I told you was that I was pregnant." I say and my mom runs a hand through her hair.

"When you told me, I was angry. That was obvious. But when you're brother... it was like I had realised how stupid I was. Then, when you started to go to the hospital for the checkups, I had watched you. After that, I saw you with Charlie and I started to see her, visit her. All I had to do was them that I was your mother."

"Why would you do that!" I scream, clenching my fist that isn't holding onto Jake's hand.

"Because I don't want to lose you. Evie and Drake had come to my house and told me that they were going to hurt you and Charlie. I had to tell them." My mom says and my heart continues to race.

"They were going to do that anyway!" I shout, holding back the tears that are ready to fall.

"But they didn't tell me that they were going to do it if I told them!" My mom shouts back and before I can say anything else, Evie cuts in.

"Okay, boring. I still have some more explaining to do." Evie says and I grab my gun, holding it towards Evie.

"Fuck listening to you." I spit, ready to press the trigger.

"Well... maybe you'd want to listen to these guys seeing as they've been wanting to say something for a while now." Evie says and I grit my teeth, slowly lowering my hands as one of the guys step forward.

"What is this? Group therapy?" William says, rolling his eyes. I watch as Lila hits William on the arm, shutting him up.

"Your brother." The guy says, his words making me hold the gun tighter in my hands. "He declined our offer of joining our gang." He continues and I grit my teeth.

"So?"

"So... don't you want to know what happened to him?"

My whole body is frozen as his words continue to spin around my head. I know what happened to my brother. The car crash. That was it. And it was because of my mom.

I notice Lila tense up beside me. You see, my brother and Lila had history and they were pretty close. So when someone mentions Matt, we both are pretty hostile about the situation.

The gun in Lila's hand rises as she holds it up to the guy. "Say anything else and it's your funeral."

"Likewise." I hear a girl say and I look to see a familiar redhead standing beside the guy. All of a sudden, my eyes widen and my heart stops.

"Mary?"

"Okay, stop." I hear Johnny suddenly say as he stands in front of all of us. "What is the purpose for this?"

"The purpose is to get what Meghan deserves." Evie says and out of nowhere, a group of guys grab everyone behind me. William, Chris, Lila, Johnny, and Jake. A guy also reaches out and grabs my mom, holding her away from Evie, Mary and I.

"Now, you know how much trust means to us, don't you, Meghan?" Evie says, beginning to walk up to me before snatching my gun out of my hand and throwing it over to the men that are standing behind her.

"And because of your selfishness on snitching on us even though we didn't burn down that damn hotel room, you're going to listen to everything that this girl has to say." Evie says, crossing her arms over her chest.

I stare at Mary, not knowing what to do. She was my childhood best friend. My only friend back in the orphanage. We were both like each other: weak and a target. And now, as I look at her, she still looks like she is a target.

"Meghan," Mary starts, placing the gun in her pocket. "I was the one who set the hotel room on fire." She confesses and my eyebrows furrow together.

"Why?" I ask and I watch as Mary looks over at the guys behind her. She looks worried... like she wants to say something that the guys behind her won't approve of.

"They put me up to it. Ever since you left the orphanage, Meghan, I was by myself. No one wanted me. I was still getting picked on and nothing was getting better. That's when Dean came along and took me in, just like how Evie and Drake did for you. But... I wasn't treated the same like you were--"

"Grab her!" A guy shouts but Mary doesn't stop, the tears beginning to fall down her face.

"I'm a sex slave to them!" Mary shouts as one guy comes and grabs Mary, covering her mouth. I freeze in my stop, watching as the guy grabs the gun out of Mary's pocket. But before they can do anything, Evie stops them.

"Don't shoot her." Evie says and the guy looks over at Evie. Suddenly, Evie throws me a grin as she grabs a gun out of her pocket and throws it over to me. "Let her do it."

"No!" Mary screams as the guy holds her down on the ground. Evie walks over to me and stands by my side as I watch Mary struggle.

"They put me up to it."

"Think about it, Meghan. She nearly killed you and your unborn child--"

"I'm a sex slave to them!"

"Meghan, please!"

"She deserves to be killed for what she did."

"I was still getting picked on and nothing was getting better."

"Don't do it, Meghan!"

I gulp, looking down at the gun in my hand. I glance over at Evie, watching as she sends me a small smirk. Looking back down at Mary, the tears continue to fall down her face as she begs for me to not do it.

I lick my lips, pointing the gun at Mary. I close my eyes and breathe in a deep breath, trying not to cry.

"I was the one who set the hotel room on fire."

All of a sudden, I shake my head. "I'm not going to do it--"

"Put the gun down!" A person shouts and we all look to see the police standing near the door that we had walked through before. I immediately drop the gun, my hands shaking.

I feel arms grab my hand and put them behind my back, handcuffs followed as the officer puts it on my wrist. As I turn around, I look at Jake who is shocked, his eyes staring into mine with worry.

That's when I remember the tape recorder.

"Hey, can I just say a word to my boyfriend over there?" I ask the officer and he nods, but he doesn't let go of me. We walk over to Jake and he brings me into a hug, which is when the officer let's me go.

"You're not going to jail, Meghan. I'll make sure." Jake says and I shake my head.

"Don't worry about that. Jake, in my bag that is in my car, there's a tape recorder. Listen to it with your mom. She'll want to hear it." I say and Jake furrows his eyebrows.

"What's on it?"

"Everything that you'll need to know about Jamie." I say, kissing his lips. "Look after Charlie for me." I say and the officer sighs.

"C'mon--"

"I love you, Jakie." I say, a single tear falling from my eye.

Jake brings me into one last hug before muttering, "I love you too."

The officer suddenly pulls me away from Jake and at that moment, I feel my heart break into two.

I guess I finally got what I deserved.

●●●

A/N - It's finally the end! What do you guys think? Yes, I'll be doing an epilogue for those of you who are dying to know. Well, please leave a comment on what you thought of the last chapter and how it was all planned out. And also...

What was your favourite plot twist in the book?

-XmysterysmileX