Friday Sep. 20:47 hrs

"Make sure your phone and things are charged up. It looks like it's going to storm tonight if it isn't already."

"Yes, ma'am." I said, closing the door behind me making sure to hang my wet umbrella on the decorative key hook.

"And make sure you call your sister or that Alexa girl if you need anybody cus' you know ill be asleep." Her short laughter bounced off the walls of my quiet apartment as I frantically turned down the speaker phone.

I laughed inwardly at the suggestion, knowing that her ending comment was nowhere near a lie. One thing for sure, when she goes to bed, she's not waking up for anybody. Of course in my teen years her parental nature kicked in, but as my sister and I transitioned to adulthood, Angela has taken her slumber more seriously. In her eyes, what issues you have going on between 10pm and 7am is between you and lord.

"I don't want to bother Courtney too late in the evening and Alexis is out horseback riding." Kicking off my wet shoes, I shuffled through the living room, trudging into my room to prepare myself for a well deserved shower. "Besides, that won't be necessary. I'm getting better."

"Im serious, Emily" I guess I didn't sound too convincing.

"I know."

As she gave me more instructions, I tuned her out to turn on the shower water, letting it run till it reached a satisfying temperature. Setting the phone on the counter to free both hands, I searched my bathroom drawers for a hair tie, rummaging through them till I found a silver scrunchie.

"Emily! Girl, Do you hear me talking to you?"

"Yesss!" I said defensively. "I hear you."

"Emily, don't have me out here worrying about yo' behind! I want to go to bed knowing you'll be alright."

"I'll be fine, Angela, really I will. I'm gonna hop in the shower and settle down for the night. I'll... i don't know- I'll probably catch up on some homework, watch some Netflix then prolly crash for the night"

I scratched my head while I listed a few things that would ease her mind. There was no telling for sure if I would even do half of those things, but at least to her knowledge I was.

"I guess."

The line was silent for a few moments as the shower water drowned out any other sound in the bathroom. Expecting more feedback, I looked at the phone waiting for her to continue to speak.

"Ange?"

"Oh! Shit, I'm over here watching 'Greenleaf' and it's getting good."

"Oh ok, we'll I'll let you go, so I can shower and—"

"Oh yeah! Don't forget to save the date for your sister's wedding."

"Oh man," I said, faking my excited dismay while rolling my eyes. "Is it still the same date? I haven't talked to her yet."

Knowing she wasn't going to end the conversation yet, I proceeded to get undressed. I pulled my shirt over my head, letting it drop to the floor then Stood in front of the mirror making sure to pull my hair into a top knot. In the process, my gaze shifted to the spare Colgate toothbrush placed perfectly in the cup next to mine like it was supposed to be there.

"Speaking of dates... have you considered bringing someone? You should reach out to Tevin, I liked him. Y'all don't talk anymore?"

Here we go. "It's Tevis, Ange. We haven't talked in like 2 years and I think he's engaged"

"Whaaaat? Has it been that long? I thought you guys were still together"

"Yes it's been that long" I stated plainly, finishing with my hair.

"Aw, hale." She sucked her teeth, "Tevin was a nice young man. Handsome. Y'all woulda made some cute ba—"

"Hey, Hey ange," I called to her trying to sound as sweet as possible, "my water's getting cold, I need to get in."

"you're about to shower? Oh shit, let me get off this phone. I'll check on you tomorrow, I gotta go, bye."

"Night." The line went dead and I released a sigh of relief "Whew ~ ok, time to finally shower"

Resuming the original plan, I finished undressing and hopped in the shower to cleanse my body and relieve some stress.

* ~ ⏰ ~ *

"You Mother fuck—"

"Shh '' Harshly pulling my counterpart's arm to his back as he struggled against his will, My free hand, gloved and bloody gripped the front of his throat to silence him. "Don't make this Harder than it needs to be."

"Fuck you!" He spat, drops of blood flying from his mouth onto the dressing room mirror we stood I front of. He groaned in pain the more I forced his arm behind his back and moved my other hand to the back of his neck to push his bloody and bruised face into the mirror. "Argh, fuck."

"Wow, Rufus James. Don't you think you did enough of that when you were having that affair?"

"How do you know who I am?" He struggled to speak with his face against the mirror, "how do you know this information?"

"None of that matters, Rufus James. I just need to know what you did to Marcus white and you can go."

Smearing blood on the mirror the more he struggled, he hesitated before answering "I ... don't know who that is."

Annoyed with his noncompliance, I dug my tongue into my cheek and narrowed my eyes. He wants to be on bullshit? So will I.

"Oh you don't? Bet."

Gritting my teeth, I yanked him away from the mirror at about a foot then used full force to slam him into the mirror, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. More blood than before dripped from his face painting the frame in a dark red, resembling a poorly done abstract piece.

Becoming impatient with his sounds of agony, I palmed the crown of his head, letting my fringes interlock with his hair before I snatched him by his brown fringe. Leaning down to his ear, I asked my previous question and projected my voice more.

"What did you do to Marcus white?"

"Ah, alright....Alright". His heavy breathing from the pain made his words stagnant as he spoke.

"I don't have all night, Rufus James." I gripped his hair harder, balling it up in my first to wear his neck cracked back causing him to hiss.

"Okay! I... I know who he is." He cried, choking on the blood filling his mouth.

"Yea, no shit." I said. "Where is he?"

Had he not resisted the moment we came in contact, his face wouldn't have been as fucked up. All I needed was an answer but he wanted to put up a fight.

"Hiding." He breathed.

"Hiding where?"

"Canadian borders... he was sent to Canadian borders."

"You're leaving out important information." I gripped his hair tighter as he whimpered. "Why? Why was he sent? and if you lie again, I'm going to actually hurt you."

"To settle a debt I had with some northerners ... They were riding me and he was the most convenient. The kid was looking for work so I sent him in my place. I thought it would be a win-win situation.

"So you not only stole money, but you sent someone very important to settle a debt on your behalf? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"How was I supposed to know he was the senator's son?"

"Same way you should've known you were fucking the senators youngest daughter. I wonder what a 23 year old see's in someone more than twice her age? Must be exciting being a predator, Considering you've been messing around for the past 7 years."

He whispered something as he breathed heavily. "Fuck... you.."

Bringing his face closer, I taunted him more. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Building up his strength he spoke louder. "I said .... FUCK YOU!"

Using all the strength he could muster, He snatched himself from my grip, failing an attempt to swing on me. He charged at me manically, tripping over his feet as he swung wildly. I swiftly dodge each of his attacks, almost mockingly while he tied himself out more.

"Foreal RJ? You're trying to hurt me now? I must have struck a nerve." I chuckled, Fueling the fire inside of him.

Tears fell from his bloodshot eyes as he rushed me and his movement grew lazy as his energy depleted. his insecurities were visible in his movements and you could hear his guilt in the way he cried. He knew he lost and there was no coming back from this. He's given up.

So now it was my turn.

Slapping his weak hands away from my masked face, I quickly 'two-pieced' him in a swift motion, throwing him off balance. Each impact from my fist cracked the sides of his face and at this point I kind of felt bad.

He stumbled backwards holding his face, until he reached the tall window that had been open this entire time. It was open wide enough to showcase the thunderstorm that drowned out his screams creating the perfect background noise.

"RJ" My voice filled with seriousness as I took an intimidating step forward. My heavy footsteps echoed in the room with each step against the wooden floors. Holding onto the window frame, his shoulders shook as he whimpered in silence trying to control his labored breath from the pain. "Don't fight back."

"Please..."

His voice shook. The closer I got, he turned away from me in a lame attempt to shield himself. I stood before him in his current state, taking it all in. He was fucked up. I didn't do much but I guess in a way you could say he let his own demons win by how quickly he gave up.

I was just doing my job; sucks he had to fall victim to it.

Having him right where I needed him, I glanced behind him taking in the heavy rainfall; it was definitely storming out there. Leaning past him to look at what lies below the window, Rufus shook like a chihuahua in the winter.

"Hmm," I hummed, "I guess the dumpster's ready for you."

He turned to look at the side of my face with a quickness where his bugged out brown eyes met mine. I leaned away from the window keeping my eyes trained on him, watching the mix of emotion spill from his being.

"What dumpster?! Why are you gonna do to me? Please!" He rambled, fear corrupting his thoughts.

I felt bad. Watching him break down again as I reach for my gun without answering any of his questions was kind of sad. In the end, I do genuinely feel terrible for these people half the time but they wouldn't know that because to them, I'm just a devil in disguise about to take them on the road to hell for their sins.

As we stood before each other, I held the barrel of my suppressed pistol to his forehead, watching him cry with the roaring thunder in the background. This was it, this was when I was supposed to finish the job, but for some reason I kept getting distracted by the storm.

There were plenty of times where I had to complete an assignment during these weather conditions. It wasn't much of an issue, but almost every rumble took my mind off my task. I even started to feel bad for prolonging it more than I needed to. It was nearly frustrating that I didn't know why it distracted me so much.

"Ugh!" I groaned, relaxing my finger on the trigger "I'm sorry man."

Through blurry tear stricken eyes he looked at me in disbelief at my random apology, but before he could address it, thunder stuck again and a flash of lightning shone on my face as I pulled the trigger. His body instantly went limp, aiding me by falling out the open window. Not even seconds later a loud sound of the corpse falling into the metal dumpster echoed in the atmosphere.

The assignment was complete, everything was handled and my uncle's men were probably hauling Rufus's body away by now. All that was left was to get my ass the fuck out of here yet I was taking my sweet ass time, because for some strange reason I couldn't shake whatever uneasy feeling the storm brought in.

* ~ ⏰ ~ *

Me:
Heeyyy puddin
Haven't heard from you in a while😅
Hope you're doing well

Jungkook:
Seen ✔️

A thunderclap so loud that it rattled my window nearly made me jump from my skin and almost tossed my phone across the room had I not been holding it tightly. My nerves were bad and I was growing more antsy with every passing second. Holding my phone, I stared at the messages displayed on the scene and exhaled a sullen chuckle.

"So much for that." I said, pressing the lock button on my phone and tossing it to the side of me.

Taking a deep breath in hopes to relax, I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear then reached for my psych textbook. I needed to get my head back in the game and focus on these assignments and I couldn't let little thunder to stop me from—

The Thunder crackled again even louder than before followed by a pulsing flash of light in my window.

Attempting to reassure myself, I took a few breaths to regain my composure "Relax, Emily. You're fine."

Although I knew it wasn't going to magically cure my anxiety, I've managed to psych myself up enough to continue working on the assignment.

As time passed, the thunder storm increased its intensity and occupying my mind was becoming more of a difficult task. My hands were so shaky to the point that almost every word I typed contained a misplaced or additional letter. I bit down on my bottom lip with furrowed brows. I tried to concentrate on the sentence that I had rewritten about 5 times. Each breath was heavier than the last as I anticipated the next thunderclap and not only was I afraid, I was now frustrated.

The sky had sounded like it had been harshly split open as the loudest thunderclap yet rattled the walls of my bedroom. It startled me so bad that I banged my foot against my laptop. It hurt so much that i'd be surprised if it didn't bruise.

" Dammit!" I yelled, covering my face with the palms of my hands, then combing them through my hair. Tears pricked my eyes, threatening to fall and I wished I wasn't alone. A small part of me considered actually following Angela's directions and giving Alexis a call, but I still didn't want her driving in this horrid weather.

"I can't do this right now!" Calling it quits, I pushed my laptop away from me, got up from the bed and dragged myself into the kitchen for some water. At the sink, I looked out the window timidly, watching the heavy rain pour down its pane. It was so windy outside that you could barely see the buildings across the street. Had the light shining through the tenants' windows not been on, the building would've been nothing more than a black void enduring the storm.

Moving away from the window, I shuffled around the kitchen to grab a water bottle from the fridge and cracked it open to take a few gulps of the cold liquid. Thunder rumbled the room once more and every light flickered leaving me frozen where I stood. I looked around apprehensively as my chest rose and fell with hastened deep breaths.

My hand clenched around the water bottle, causing some of it to spill as one of the tears that dared to fall earlier slid down my cheek. The lights flickered again and I wasted no time dropping the water bottle where I stood and running back into my room. If the power went out, the last place I wanted to ever be is in the kitchen. Not again.

As soon as I entered my room, I dove onto the bed and reached for my phone. Scrambling to find Alexis' contact, I dropped the phone with a yelp when another almost bone chilling thunder clap roared throughout the room.

I should have called Alexis sooner. I should have just stayed the night at Angela's. An entire list of things I should have done went through in my mind as I sat in the middle of my bed shedding tears trying to look for where my phone landed.

In a frenzy, I pat my hand around on the bed until my fingers grazed the corner of it. As soon as I reached for it a feeling of relief washed over me but not even a second later the feeling vanished when I watched the lamp flickered and power off leaving me in the pitch black darkness.

* ~ ⏰ ~ *

As I drove through the heavy rain, listening to the thunder and watching the lightning strike the city in the distance, I took note of how empty and eerie the streets were right now. Of course, most people would be in their homes by now trying to stay out of this weather, but i found it quite odd that on my way home from my assignment, i've only passed 3 cars. It was a friday night so you would think there would be more than 3 cars driving down Main street at 9:30pm.

Again, I was just taking note of it though. I can understand why someone wouldn't want to be outside right now. It was like purgatory out here. The normally peaceful streets looked unrecognizable, and I could barely tell that I was near Emily's house.

Emily. The sweet girl who lived on 15th & Main Street. Since the storm has started, I couldn't help but find myself thinking about her more than usual. So much so that it was part of the reason that I decided to take Main Street home when I could have easily gotten on the freeway and been home 20 minutes ago.

As I approached the corner of her street, the area was darker than it usually would be at night. It was so dark that the more I drove through her neighborhood, my headlights shined as bright as my high beams.

Shaking my head at myself, I started to question my intention for coming this far. It was late and the weather conditions were dangerously bad, yet I was creeping down the block of a girl ive been avoiding. Thunder rumbled loudly, causing me to jump a little and that was when I made the call to turn around.

Pulling into the farthest left lane, I busted a u-turn to be on my way back down the main road. As I drove past her building one last time, I took a good look at it. There was absolutely no light coming from it. Between the abnormally darkened buildings and the lack of other drivers on the road, it was as if I'd unknowingly landed on a different planet.

Just looking at it made me feel uneasy. There could Be so much happening on the other sides of those walls and I wouldn't even know, and I didn't like that I didn't know.

Me:
Hey beautiful, i know i been MIA😅totally my fault. How you doing? You good?

Emily:
Seen✔️

* ~ ⏰ ~ *

Battery life 15%

I Curled myself up in a ball at the head of my bed and sobbed quietly as I trembled in fear. It was in the absolute dark now and completely unhinged. When his message came through, a feeling of relief washed over me but that feeling was short lived.

I cried harder when I chose not to text him back. I couldn't waste anymore battery power. The only source of light I had was the 15 second intervals of my phone screen and the flashes of lightning past my window. My iPad had completely died and I was too much of a coward to look for a flashlight or even light the candle on my dresser across the room.

I couldn't move. I refused to move. It was like each thunderclap was taunting me with its crackling sounds making me sink deeper into the bed. My only other action was to hold my knees tighter to my chest while my body shook with every weeping breath. I was a mess. Even with my eyes adjusting to the darkness, I still couldn't see because of my blurred vision.

And To add insult to injury, my phone flash went off, alerting me of another notification.

Battery life 10%.

My sobs increased in volume. I couldn't do this. The longer I sat in this hellhole My sanity was becoming nonexistent. This was probably the most vulnerable I've been in the longest time. What made it worse was that the person I wanted and needed the most wasn't here.

Lifting my head from my lap, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and gasped for any ounce of air to weep

"Appa.. I need you.."

Appa wasn't there. He was gone and had been for years. No matter how many times my weak voice called out to him, he was not coming.

Suddenly, my phone flashed and vibrated in a continuous rhythm, drawing my attention to it.

Incoming call from: Jungkook🙃

I was reluctant to answer. Thinking I made the most rational decision I could, I forwarded his call. I could almost guarantee had I answered, my battery life wouldn't last longer than 5 minutes.

My phone flashed again. This time, alerting me with a similar notification: Battery life 5%

I stared at the screen in complete shock at how critical my situation was now. Not only did I have no power, my only source of light would no longer be accessible to me and I wouldn't be able to contact anyone.

My chin started to tremble again as I sniffed, about to have yet another episode. Letting the sounds of the terrible storm consume me, I buried my head in my arms, cursing myself for being so careless And irresponsible. Why didn't I charge my phone? Why didn't I listen to Ange? I'm alone and it's my fault. Mom's gone. Appa's gone. I'm trying so hard to be strong but I can't do this on my own.

I watched my battery indicator tick down to 4 and then 3%, and my anxiety reached a new height I didn't think was possible. As if someone else was controlling my arm, I reached for my phone again. I needed help. My lifeline was about to be severed and I would have no hope of reaching anyone if I didn't try.

I unlocked my phone and the bright light seared my already burning eyes as I tapped on the last person that called me, and a sob tore through my throat as the battery ticked down again to 2%. Please pick up. I was breathing so fast that it felt like I wasn't breathing at all. Why is it taking so long to ring?

Please pick up.

Please pick up.

Please. I can't be left alone again. Not again. Not right now. Please.

Please pick up.

Please—

"Emily?"

"Jungkook, please help—"

The phone went completely silent and my breathing stopped.

No. Please no. Please turn back on.

No matter how much I begged, my phone didn't respond, and its black screen haunted me. My breathing returned only this time, it was erratic, and in panic-induced anger, I threw my phone across the room. It collided with something on my dresser, knocking things out of place and my candle to the floor, and the crash of the glass breaking made me scream out in terror.

Curling into a ball, the only thing I could do was cry. I was completely alone. No one was coming. All there was left was to endure the nightmare.

"Emily?"

Was someone actually there?

Not knowing whether my ears were deceiving me or not, I sat up in a panic and looked around the dark room.

"Emily!"

The voice, desperate this time, was louder than before. Turning my head in the direction it came from. I flinched when I heard banging on the door.

Someone was actually there.

"Emily!!"

"Jungkook?"

I jumped again when there was another bang against my door that matched the power of the thunder outside, followed by the sound of the forcefully opened door hitting the wall.

"Emily!"

As clear as day, his voice echoed off the walls and I perked up the closer it got. Not wasting any time, his heavy footsteps trampled through the hallway urgently.

"Emily!"

My attention was on the entrance of my bedroom as the hot tears continued to fall down my cheeks. I couldn't speak. my voice was caught in my throat and I was too stunned to even try. As his footsteps got closer, a bright beam of light came into view, blinding me for a few movements until it moved its position.

"Emily?"

Standing before me in the doorframe, he said my name again, afraid of what he was walking into. He shined the light directly on my pitiful being, time felt like it had stopped completely. Even Though I couldn't see his face, I knew we locked eyes.

"Oh my god, Emily!" He said, dropping to the foot of the bed and placing both of his hands on either side of my head to get a good look at my face. "Are you alright? I heard you scream; Scared me to death."

Clinging to him as if my life depended on it, I buried my face in his shirt and pulled him to me, soaking the cloth with my tears. I bawled his shirt up in my fist so tight I pulled the collar from his neck and almost tore it to shreds. He didn't care. He was too wrapped up in making sure I wasn't dying while I cried in his arms.

With his chest pressed against my face, I heard his rapid heartbeat. His anxious breathing almost matched its cadence.

"It's ok, I'm here." he cooed, holding me tight to his body. "I'm here."

He repeated himself until I came back from my trip, coaching me to relax and trust his presence. My body still trembled as my loud yodels became silent sobs, and only the sound of the distancing thunder and my sniffles filled the room.

"Hey.. Em. Hey, hold on for a minute please, I need—" he softly spoke.

I shook my head. I wasn't ready yet. I wanted him to continue to hold me and caress my back and tell me it'll be alright because I wanted to believe so.

"Please, Emily?"

Taking a heavy breath, I breathed in the unpleasant smell coming from the fabric of his shirt. Pulling away slowly, I sniffed once and looked up at him with a tear stained face.

"... your shirt smells.. did you just work out?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.

"Uh.. something like that." He said sheepishly, "Here, let me get rid of this"

Immediately taking his arms from around me, he swiftly pulled his shirt over his head, tossing the foul smelling clothing across the room letting it land who knows where.

"There. better?"

I nodded my head in approval. Even Though my eyes were still very teary, they've Adjusted to the darkness fairly quickly and For second I was able to take in the sight of his defined chest.

"I'm gonna get a towel to wipe your face, I'll be right ba—"

"NO, please!" Reaching for him again, I placed an urgent hand on his chest to keep him there. Tears threatened to fall again as plead to him. "Please don't.. don't leave me alone again."

Wrapping me in his arms again, he held me tight to his body, using one of his hands to rub circles in my back while wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Ok, I won't. I'm right here." He reassured.

My head rested on his shoulder as I clung to bare body. I couldn't let go. He felt so warm and safe, I couldn't even imagine letting go.

Without losing his hold on me, he reached down to kick off his boots and he shimmied out of his sweats. leaving him in his gym shorts. Taking
his free hand and using the other to keep my body to his, he peeled back the blankets for the both of us, then turned his body so that we were both underneath them.

Warm, reassured, and safe: A few of the things I felt as I laid in Jungkook's cradling arms as we let the horrific storm pass us by. As moments went by, my once staccato breathing steadied the more I relaxed against his chest. I could tell he was tired but when I would occasionally look up, his low eyes were on mine.

"Close your eyes."

And I did, allowing my worn out body and mind to rest.

💜Heyyy y'all💜

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