Julia

Jason guided us inside his father's old house. It was pretty big. All the walls were painted in dark colors. The furniture looked old, but still good-looking. Old paintings and photos were hung everywhere on the walls. In general, the house didn't really freak me out like the hideout did. The hideout looked much scarier and creepier, but the house wasn't like that. Of course, it scared me just a bit because of its dark theme. Like, how did I even think that it would look other than this.

But anyway, I didn't really care about the house or its decoration. All I cared about was the reason why Jason brought us here. He never told me that he had this house before. He kept walking and scanning the house with his eyes. He looked kind of sad but I didn't know why he acted like he had never seen this house before.

He stared at every photo hanging on the wall. He stared at every painting, every room, every corner and every detail in the house. He finally entered a large room and we followed him. It had a king-sized bed with a small nightstand beside it. There was a huge old brown wardrobe that covered almost the entire wall on the left side. He turned on the lights which gave the room a nice soft yellow illumination. Jason headed towards that brown wardrobe and opened it. He grabbed a pretty big and a heavy box from the shelf, then threw it on the bed.

"What's inside this box?" I asked in curiosity.

He didn't respond until he sat down on the bed and kept searching for some stuff. "It contains all of my childhood memories."

I walked slowly towards him and looked inside his box. It was full of toys, old photos, some papers and some other stuff which I couldn't recognize.

"Look, it was me with my father back in 1990 when I was still five years old," Jason lamented as he handed me an old torn photo. I couldn't help but giggle at his cute smile in the photo. He seemed really cute. I just wished that this angelic face wouldn't be such a cultist.

"You looked really cute," I looked at Jason, "and innocent too."

"I wish I could still be as innocent as before."

"It's your choice. Why don't you just quit the Black Cult?" I swallowed hard, afraid that he might take my question offensively, but his reaction wasn't expected at all. His face dropped and he became very emotional. I was confused, and didn't know how to respond to his reaction.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just-"

"Could you give us a couple of minutes, guys?" Jason interrupted me by looking at Sally and her boyfriend who were standing in the doorway waiting for us.

They just nodded then closed the door, leaving us some privacy. Me and Jason alone. I didn't know how to explain how much I loved this feeling. Just me and him.

His soft gaze met mine as he held my hands between his warm ones. He pulled me closer towards him that there were literally only a couple of inches between our bodies. But it didn't bother me. I loved sitting that close to him. I felt safe.

"Julia, I need to tell you something," He started. "I-I know that I shouldn't have hidden this information for so long. I really didn't mean it. I was just afraid to tell-"

"Shhh, Jason. You don't have to say this introduction. You can say whatever you want honestly without being worried or afraid. You know that I will never be judgmental with you," I said, tightening my hands on his.

He took a deep breath and continued. "I need to tell you more about my past. I don't want you to think that I'm a monster because I'm not. I was forced to be who I am today."

I just nodded a little and gave him a comforting and warm look. I wanted him to speak and confess everything to me without being afraid. I needed to know who Jason was.

"The former boss of the Black Cult wasn't my biological father. He was my stepfather, but I really loved him as if he was my real one," He told me and stopped, waiting for me to react.

I got confused and didn't understand him vividly.

"So, you kidnapped us to take revenge for your stepfather and not your biological one?" I asked, feeling stupid because I did nothing but repeating what he just said.

He nodded. "okay and?"

"My biological father died in a car accident when I was ten years old, and my mum suffered a lot afterwards. My uncle wanted to marry her but she refused because he was such a fucking dick who fucks whores all night long in nightclubs. So she didn't agree to marry him, although he was really rich. She tried to find many jobs to afford money for me but she couldn't keep her position in a single job for more than two months. She dropped out from college when she was younger, that's why she couldn't get a suitable and professional job. She worked as a maid, waitress, babysitter and anything else you can think of, but these jobs couldn't afford us the amount of money we needed," Jason said and I could notice that his eyes started to form tears. "and then one day, she met a man who soon became my stepfather. He was really nice, kind, strong and rich. They fell in love with each other after a year of their relationship. Mum agreed to marry that man so that we could find enough help and support from him, and he helped her in raising me. When they got married, I was almost thirteen years old. Truth to be said, he was always nice and kind to me. He never abused me or treated me in a harsh way. He treated me as if I was his real son. I loved him and I thought of him as my real father. After a couple of years, mum discovered that he was a boss of a cult. She was really shocked that it didn't affect her just mentally, but physically too. She couldn't believe that she was married to a man like this. He succeeded in hiding the truth all the time. He hid his true identity from her for many years. To be honest, I was shocked too but I didn't really care. I don't know why but maybe because I loved him and I was never a judgmental person. Mum asked him thousands of times to file a divorce but he refused. He didn't want our family to fall apart. He tried to explain everything to mom but she never listened. For me, I didn't want them to file for a divorce because I didn't want my mom to suffer again. He explained to her that he was raised in a tough family who were always abusive and aggressive. They treated him like an animal in his childhood. That's why he was tough and mean to the world. He was raised that way. He was taught that the world is such a cruel place, and to survive, you have to be cruel back," Jason gasped and kept explaining to me in sorrow.

I didn't interrupt him while talking. I didn't want him to stop. The story of his life shocked me, yet relieved me for a bit. I was glad that he could open up to me.

He trusted me.

"Did you agree with his point of view?" I asked, finally saying something after a long time of listening.

"Yes. I didn't oppose him, but on the contrary, I was on his side. I just understood what it means to be raised in a harsh way that forces you to become a harsh person to face the world."

"And what happened next?"

"Mom kept asking him over and over again to file for a divorce. She didn't understand his point of view like I did. She said that being raised in a bad family doesn't mean to become a cruel person who hurts other people just because you're having some mental disorder. My stepfather gave up and decided to divorce her as she wanted, then mom had to go to a hospital to treat her mental illness after what she had gone through. She couldn't bear the effect of her shock and since then, she suffered from acute depression and some mental issues. She tried a few times to hurt herself, but I managed to save her every time. After a couple of months, all our money was gone and we couldn't afford her meds and bills. My stepfather offered to help her with money many times, but she refused to take any money from him. I couldn't see her suffering like this. I felt hopeless and I had to do anything. I was seventeen at that time. I tried to find a job which I would earn a lot from, but couldn't find any. Her bills were really so high and expensive and we needed a huge amount of money to pay them. My stepfather offered me to join his cult and earn money from it. I agreed behind my mother's back, because I had no other choice. I needed to save her life and mental health so badly. After a couple of days, I joined him and he taught me about the job, what to do, et cetera. I was disgusted at first and I thought for many times to quit the job, but my stepfather told me that I should man up and become a harsh person. He always believed that harshness helps you live well in this fucked up world. Year after year, I got used to it and saved a good amount of money, and could afford my mom's bills. At first, she was really suspicious and asked me where I got the money. I lied to her and said that I found a good job. I didn't have the courage to inform her about me joining the Black Cult until her death. In 2002, when your fathers killed my stepfather, I got lost and didn't know how to continue my life without him. He was the one who helped me save my mother for a couple of years. He died after only a couple of months of her death. I couldn't help but do anything to take his revenge. That's why you're here now," Jason finished his words, and his tears found their way down on his cheeks.

I gently cupped his face between my hands to calm him down, and he moaned as he pulled me closer towards him.

"Why did you tell me all of this?" I whispered.

"Because I don't want you to have a bad image about me. I want you to know who the real me is. I swear that no one from the cult knows this. I never told this story to anyone but you."

"Why me?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I always feel comfortable talking to you. I never loved my life during my youth. I never liked myself getting used to this style of living. I never wanted to hurt anybody. All I wanted was to save my mother who suffered a lot just for me."

"I don't mean to remind you, but I'm curious to know what was the reason for your mom's death?" I asked as I bit my lower lip, afraid of breaking Jason's heart by my question.

"Overdose of depression pills."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

I wiped away his falling tears and hugged him tight. He kept rubbing my back up and down, which made my stomach flutter. His touch was really tender and kind. I couldn't help but bury my face more in his chest, smelling his perfect scent. I sighed as he pulled away from my hug. I took his hands into mine to comfort him.

"Don't worry, even if you didn't tell me all of this. I would still love you," I smiled.

"Didn't my life story change anything?"

"It changed one thing."

"What is it?"

"I started to love you more," I whispered as I leaned towards him and pushed my lips against his, catching him totally off guard.
He put his hands on my thighs and lay on his back, so that I was on top of him. His lips were soft and gentle. The kiss was slow and intimate. It tasted amazing. I couldn't get enough of him. I deepened our kiss and I could feel his warm tongue tracing my lower lip. I forgot that Sally and the other cultist were waiting for us outside, but I didn't care. I just wanted to keep kissing him until my last breath.