I stood rooted to the spot.

My heart raced in my chest, guilt burning my insides. I followed Gray after a while. I learnt from the doctor that thankfully, Victoria's operation had been successful. There had been certain complications, but the plastic had prevented her lungs from collapsing.

I stood near the doorway, my heart stuck in my throat. Grayson sat beside her bed, talking softly to her, his back towards me. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Victoria had a relaxed, maybe even somewhat awed expression on her face. I stood uneasily, my stomach clenching as I gazed at the beautiful couple.

"You have been lucky Mr Shelby," A nurse said as she gave me a short glance and walked over to Victoria. "The gun wound, had it been a few millimetres away might have have fatal."

I watched silently, my heart threatening to jump out of my throat. I was scarcely aware of what the nurse was saying, my eyes falling on Grayson's hand, casually resting on Victoria's mattress. Despite her potentially fatal injury, she looked beautiful. Painfully so. I watched, my blood cold as slowly her hand inched towards Grayson's. I gazed silently, waiting for him to remove his hand. Waiting for him to leave her. But he didn't.

Her hand moved closer to his and entwined with his fingers. My heart shattered.

I turned on my heel and left. I couldn't bear to stay there a second longer. I walked through the hallway, my insides turning into writhing snakes of envy. I stepped into the cold night and started walking aimlessly along the empty road. I felt weak. Powerless.

Being with Gray made me forget the difference in our dynamics. Made me forget that even though he meant everything to me, I was not the first person he had ever loved. He had loved Victoria. Enough to marry her. Even had a child before the terrible mishap occurred.

They were a family. What was I?

The moment the thought formed in my head, I almost fell. My world was spinning. What kind of an idiot had I been? Grayson could leave me tomorrow for the woman he had pledged his life to.

I was nothing.

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling and picked up my pace. That's what I was. Nothing. I had no identity when it came to Gray. Victoria was his wife. They had an entire history. He had known her for more than a decade. Loved her for as long.

I started running along the dark road, my vision blurry.

What the hell had I been thinking? Had I actually been stupid enough to hope? Hope that maybe Gray and I would be more. That one day, we might have an actual family.

I couldn't believe the thoughts I was having. They crumbled into pieces in front of my eyes, suffocating me till I felt like the entire sky had fallen. I wasn't one to believe in family structures. Mine had been as fucked as possible. Was that why I desired for something with him so bad?

Why was everything suddenly different? Why was he looking at me with such anger? Why was he letting Victoria touch him? Did he regret leaving her? What if he stopped loving me? What if he never did love me? Was I not enough?

Of course I was not enough.

I was panting hard when I finally stopped at an unfamiliar street. There didn't seem to be many houses around me. The darkness interrupted only by the scarce street lamps. I bent over, trying to catch my breath. Images flashing across the labyrinth of my mind. Victoria. The gunshot. The blood. Grayson.

Grayson.

What if he left me?

I shuddered slightly at the thought. I hated being so dependent over him. He was my anchor. I hadn't had anything in life and had committed the mistake of letting everything revolve around him. I couldn't remember how I had lived before him. My vision seemed to tunnel, like the walls were closing in on me. Like my lungs could breathe no longer.

I didn't know how to live without him. Not now when I had known his love. When I had known his touch. My love for him made me ache. My fear crippling me.

I walked slowly, my mind wandering to random scenarios. Where would I go if he asked me to move out?

I was pulled out of my morbid thoughts as my phone rang. I fished it out to see Scarlett's contact flash on the screen. I sighed and silenced it, putting it back in my pocket. I couldn't bear telling her how badly I had fucked up everything.

I walked a little further before I stopped dead in my tracks.

Footsteps.

My heart seized in angst, my blood pounding with adrenaline. It could just be a passer-by, but my hopes for that weren't high. To make sure I was right, I picked up pace. My heart raced as the footsteps got faster. In tandem.

Multiple.

Perhaps two or three people. Taller and heavier than me by the sound of their steps. They could be armed. Which meant running would make them act rashly. I walked briskly and took my phone out, calling Grayson. It rang a few times. He didn't pick up.

I tried again. Again. Again. Nothing.

I was desperate now, fear making my blood run cold. There was no way I could fend off three such people on my own. I started searching for any public place around me. Being late, nothing seemed to be open except a bar about a mile away. No way I would survive till then.

I tried calling Gray again, anxiety clawing at my insides. Nothing. I groaned softly in frustration. I could call Scarlett.

The moment started trying to call her, the footsteps increased. Sensing movement I dodged and a moment later, a fist flew through the air where I had been seconds earlier.

I didn't stop to look at the people attacking me and took off. I ran through the dark streets as I desperately tried to call Scarlett.

"STOP OR I'LL SHOOT!"

I stopped dead in my tracks at the bellowing voice. I turned around slowly. Three large men were pointing their guns at me, the metal glinting evilly in the moon light. Their massive frames were shadowed under the night sky. I stared at them, my eyes darting around for any means of escape. Once again they had a long range weapon. My knife would only be good if I could get close.

"Give your phone here. "

I gulped. Three guns. I had no choice. I handed them the phone and took a staggered step backwards.

"Xavier Easton," One of the men drawled. His cruel, pale grey eyes visible under his thick tuft of dirty blonde hair. He walked closer as his features came into focus. "I've heard you've been sticking your pretty nose in places it doesn't belong to."

I grit my teeth, clenching my jaw defiantly. Rogues like him thrived off fear. I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction. I took a deep, silent breath and asked in a steady, loud voice, hoping someone in the residence area would hear me, "Who are you?"

"Not for you to find out."

I took another step back, my eyes searching the surrounding frantically. My heart was thudding so loud I was afraid they would hear it. There weren't enough houses in sight. By the time I made up to them, they might have already shot.

"What do you want?"

I hissed softly as they started laughing. Wrong question.

"You'll find that out." The middle, bulky, bald man growled and took a step menacingly towards me.

"People know where I am," I lied, "You're not going to get away with this."

He laughed again, his eyes fixed on me. "Save that breath pretty boy. You'll need it."

He took his gun out and I started as he shot it randomly at me. It whizzed past as my chest constricted. Before I had the time to react, he flung himself on me. I turned around, trying to run but instead tasted blood when he pushed me onto the hard ground. Sharp agony jolted up my body.

Pain shot up my skull as he grabbed my hair, pulling my head back roughly as his knees pinned me to the ground. I gasped as his knee painfully pinned my back. He snarled in my ear, "What a shame to end a beauty like you," My skin crawled as I felt his tongue trace my ear, "Maybe we can have a little fun first?"

He pulled my hair harder as I screamed out. I flailed, struggling hard as I tried to push him off me. He was too strong. Too heavy. Too deranged. My heart was hammering in my chest, threatening to get out.

"Yes," another voice drawled, "I think it would be a waste otherwise."

Their laughter sounded again as anger blazed in my stomach. I felt the heavy weight of the knee lift from my rib and took a shuddering breath. I had to clear my head. I had to think. No fucking way I was going to let this bastard touch me.

"Okay pretty boy, time for a last ride."

I stopped struggling as his mouth found my neck, giving in. I bit my lip to keep from crying out loud. My sudden stop in flailing, shocked him. Just the response I had been hoping for. His grip loosened momentarily. I pulled my elbows infront of my chest, grazing them painfully on the rough ground and tried to plank myself. It was barely a centimetre, but gave me enough leverage.

With my agility, I rolled away from under him. He fell back on his butt and before they had the time to react, I kicked him hard on his jaw. The other two would-be assassins seemed too shocked to react and taking the opportunity, I kicked at the hand of the man on the ground and disarmed him. Without thinking, I pointed the gun at them and shot at their legs as howls of pain pierced the silent night air. They crumbled to the ground and I took off.

I cursed under my breath. I had no way to contact anyone. I had some money with me, but I couldn't go home yet. My heart lurched painfully. What would be my home anyway?

My arms were still bleeding from the grazing, my heart pounding in my chest. Each muscle of my leg straining as I ran. My breath coming out in deep lunges. I could try to find a payphone to call for help. Or else, I could try to spend the night outside. Lie low.

I wasn't sure my target had been right and they had actually been shot. I ran for a while, hoping I would get to the bar I had seen a while ago. I was almost to the point of collapsing when I finally reached my pilgrimage. A rundown shack that was thankfully still open.

I ran inside, my chest heaving. A single bartender sat behind a counter. The bar was relatively empty. I ran over to the man as he stared at me curiously. Cocking an eyebrow at my appearance.

"I... I need to make a call."

He nodded his head and gave me his cell phone. I thanked him, grateful that he hadn't asked questions and started typing Grayson's number. My finger hovered over the green icon for outgoing calls before I pressed backspace. There was only another person I could imagine going to.

I handed the phone back to him, "I..I need a cab."

After a few minutes, I thanked the stranger and say on the backseat of the car, gazing at the dark street outside. The driver raised his eyebrows when I gave him the address and he scrutinized my appearance. But thankfully, he didn't ask awkward questions.

I hugged myself, trying to calm my erratic heart. My blood felt like icy streams. My lungs constricted. I was now more sure than ever that the gun that had hurt Victoria had been meant for me. And something told me, whoever my attacker was, wasn't done with me yet.