Chapter 7

Desire's POV

I had been spending time with Craving. The idea of my best friend dying was something that I didn't know that I could deal with. I had been trying to make him feel better but honestly it always just ended up with us crying over it.

I found myself cooking a meal. I knew he probably didn't eat well. All of them didn't really eat well. I couldn't imagine you would be able to eat well if you were assassins. They were too busy killing people. I did not regret leaving the Assembly. I didn't regret any of it.

“This smells so good...what are you making?”

I smiled at him as I chopped up my vegetables putting on the final touch. They hadn't even had any cooking utensils in the house. Luckily there was a store close by that I could just run and grab some. I wanted to make Craving feel better. I just wanted to be there for him.

“Lapsang souchong-infused saddle of venison with root vegetables and smoked pancetta sauce, here's your plate...”

I handed a plate over to Craving. He bit into it. His eyes lit up. That was definitely the reaction that I was looking for.

“God...I love you,” he replied, “Can you please make my last meal...”

“Don't play like that, Craving,” I told him, “That's not funny.”

He laughed anyway. He joked a lot about the fact that he was dying but it was making me sick to my stomach. I told him that I would help find an antidote but truth be told I hadn't worked with poisons in so long. I didn't even know where to start.

“Did you make me extra?”

“Actually...”

I paused. I had definitely made extra.

“It's not for me is it?” he asked.

I shook my head embarrassed all of a sudden, “I made some extra just in case anyone else was hungry as well.”

“Oh any one else huh?”

Craving gave me 'the look'. We both knew what that meant. I sighed. He knew me way too well. After all these years he could still read me like a book when it came down to it. I found myself blushing from embarrassment.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You were cooking extra making sure a special someone would be down to eat.”

“Ok maybe, maybe I would have liked that someone to enjoy a meal. But I was cooking for Allure too and Love as well. Speaking of special someone's are you going to approach Love or what?”

“Don't change the subject,” Craving laughed.

I laughed as well.

“You are such a punk.”

“He's out on a date. Love is interested in anyone but me,” Craving replied, “One of those people just so happens to your special someone.”

I got defensive. I wasn't with Urge any longer but the idea of him being with someone else was pissing me off. Especially when I found out they had slept together. I wasn't able to really take that whole thing out of my head.

“Craving---Urge is NOT interested in him.”

Footsteps.

“What was that about Urge?”

Urge walked into the room. Craving and I looked at one another. I felt so awkward and Craving couldn't help but to bust out laughing. He would find this funny.

I wished I could find my sense of humor in this as well but I just thought it was awkward. Urge sat there looking as though he had just caught us red-handed talking about him. I wasn't sure that he cared. It was so hard to read Urge. He showed little to no emotion. He just had on his same handsome face with his blue eyes staring out. He was cold and calculated. He was exactly the person I remembered from years ago.

“We were discussing Lust,” I told him, “I was wondering how you felt about him going out with Envy. I mean I know it isn't, well, you know? It isn't your thing to be jealous or whatever. I'm not saying you're jealous. I'm just wondering...you know...”

“No I don't know. Should I feel some sort of way?”

I didn't know how to answer that question. He and Love were intimate at some point. Urge must have at least found him attractive.

I didn't want to keep the conversation going though. It was already awkward enough. Instead of pressing the matter I put a plate in front of him. I wondered most what his reaction would be like to the meal. I wondered if it would warm him up a little bit. I was wrong. Urge stared at the food and pushed it back towards me.

“I'm not hungry,” he told me.

“Is there something wrong?”

He paused. Urge was always quiet but with me he was usually warmer. He usually would have at least attempted to act normal when I treated him nicely. That wasn't the case here. It was the Urge that I couldn't read, not even a little bit.

“What is your plan Desire?” he asked.

It came down to it. I shook my head. I had been thinking about it over and over. My plan was to never go back to the Assembly. My plan was to live my life normally. That was my plan. I wondered how I could put it into perspective for someone like Urge. I wanted a home. I wanted a family. I wanted a real career that didn't involve bloodshed. There was so much that I wanted to say but I didn't know how to put it in words for him. He had a hard time understanding simple 'regular people' concepts.

Luckily I didn't have to. It was Craving who stepped in with a blunt and casual declaration, “Desire is leaving.”

“Is that true?” Urge asked me.

There was a conflict here. It felt like I was leaving him again. I knew that it had been about half a decade since Urge and I were together but for some reason there was still that closeness. The thing was though, I didn't belong to Urge any longer. I belonged to Grayson.

I nodded.

Craving didn't let up, “It is. Yes. With Envy distracted, Desire is going to sneak out of town with his boyfriend.”

“Is it true?”

“Of course it's true. Why would I lie? Maybe I didn't say it right. Maybe your robotic brain isn't calculating this. Didn't you hear me the first time?”

“I'm asking Desire.”

I nodded.

How could I tell Urge that I was leaving. I knew that Craving was right. Craving was insisting. He was taking the words right out of my mouth. All my wishes. All my desires. Craving knew them. He was smiling at me. And I felt strength from him.

“I should leave.”

I started walking out of the kitchen but I was stopped. I was stopped by Urge. He was standing only inches away from me. It was hard to look at him. It made me remember the times we had together. That was a lifetime ago however. I was a different person now and so was he. I was a chef and he was an assassin. The feeling that was sinking in my chest was nothing more than a memory. Maybe he knew that as well. He seemed resolved on stopping me but when it came to him saying something he just stood there. He just blocked my way and no words came to his mouth.

I wondered what he was thinking. He was so mysterious. He wanted to speak but he wasn't. He was just standing there.

I took a step around him.

I walked away.

The walk home was a long one. By the time I got there it was late. I had done it intentionally. I needed to clear my mind. This time my separation with Urge wasn't emotional. It didn't have that long drawn out cry session. This time we just cut ties. It was just like that. I hadn't even said goodbye. We just exchanged glances. I walked into the house and into the living room. I had almost missed Grayson sitting there but when I caught him in the corner of his eye, I walked back.

Grayson had a glass on the table. He was drinking whiskey. His slanted eyes stared down into the glass as he watched the single ice cub float around in it. He looked as though he wasn't in the best moods.

“Where have you been?”

The question was cold when he asked it. It was clear he wasn't happy with me. I thought about a way to reply but instead I just tried to avoid the question all together.

“Out.”

A part of me knew that he needed me. His mother was dead. Truth was I did feel bad for him but at the same time there were definitely more pressing matters. I had to make sure that the Cleaners didn't get rid of him and I as well.

“With your brother? Is that what you call him? The good looking dude who looks nothing like you. He has dark skin and blue eyes. Seems like a strong gene. I would think his brother would share something like that...”

He knew.

I walked across the room and sat next to him. It was easier to look at my hands then to face him. I knew I had gotten caught lying. There was no point in making it up any longer.

“He's not my brother.”

“Clearly. Then who is he?”

“He's my ex.”

Grayson sighed deeply. This was a shock to him. I didn't doubt it was. I wasn't the type to bring other guys around. As far as Grayson knew he was the only friend and family that I had. I didn't have exes according to him. I had never talked to him about my past. I had never mentioned Urge or the Assembly.

“That explains the way he looked at you,” Grayson stated with a blunt neutrality, “That explains the way you look at him.”

“I don't know what way I look at him.”

“Like the way I always wanted you to look at me.”

Grayson looked hurt. I hated seeing him look depressed like this. I wished I could have been honest with him the entire time but that was out of the question. I was trying to protect him. I played with my fingers. They never seemed as interesting as they were now.

My fingers tapped across each other calming my nerves, “It was a long time ago. It was a different life. We were kids.”

“And why is he here?”

“To take me back...”

“To get back with you?”

That was a good question. Urge and I hadn't gotten that far. Was I attracted to Urge? Yes. I was. It was more than just his looks as well. There was that mystery that surrounded Urge. You never knew what he was thinking. At the same time though I was torn. Grayson was my All-American boy. He was the one who would give me everything that I wanted.

“It's more complicated then that. There's something you need to know. What I am about to tell you is serious. It isn't something that I played with. There are people in town. These same people killed your mother. They are assassins...”

“You're one of them, aren't you?”

“You knew?”

“I'm not an idiot, Dez,” he explained, “I see the things you do; the way you move. It isn't normal. You were running from something. And you are very, very fast.”

I felt a feeling of fear at that moment. I didn't know how he would react to knowing who I really was. No matter how good I was with a knife or how fast I was, I couldn't stop this moment from finally coming. Grayson the boy who I had fallen in love with and been with for years was finally about to see into my world.

I was terrified. What would he do?

How would he react?

“I have to leave here. And I'd like you to come with me.”

He didn't answer. Was he stalling?

Instead of answering he asked me another question with a shorter, blunter tone, “Why are they after you?”

“Because I ran away,” I told him, “I don't want to go into too much detail. It's because of me that your mother is dead, though.”

“Fuck.”

“I'll understand if you hate me.”

“Did I say something stupid as that?” Grayson asked me.

I wondered if he hated me though. I wondered if he blamed me for his mother's death. He was looking like this was too much for him. I didn't blame him. I wished I had the time to coddle him. I wished I had the time to cater to his emotions. I didn't. The sooner we got out of town, the better.

“Well then, why are you looking at me like that?”

His eyes were glaring at me. He was trying to figure me out.

“I don't even know you...”

He was searching at me. He was looking at me. I found myself reaching over to touch him. He always liked when I put my hands on him. He would usually grab it. He would lick my fingers and make me laugh or something funny like that. That wasn't the case this time. He just stared at me with a cold blank look.

“I am who you met. That thing they tried to make me...that isn't who I was. That isn't what I wanted. Who I am, is a boyfriend. I am a fiance. I am a chef. I am a teacher. That's who I am. You know me Grayson. You know me.”

It's because of me that these people are here. So I have to go or else it won't stop.”

Grayson was thinking. Grayson was a talker. The fact that he was quiet now scared the fuck out of me. He was processing everything. It seemed like my entire life was on hold.

“You want me to just pick up and leave?” Grayson asked.

“Yes.”

“You want me to just drop everything and run away?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Why did you ask me if you would have been surprised by the answer? Now that my mom's gone, you are all that I have. So yes. Ok. It's fine. You want to be run. I'll follow. I'll go with you. It's fine. We'll rebuild. You have my answer. You also have my heart...”

There was this sense of relief. A part of me knew that Grayson was looking at me a little different. Things had become more complicated but I knew that I had to do this. I had to get out of town before Envy came to his senses and started seeking me out again.

“When do we leave?”

“Now.”

Grayson was breathing heavy. I could tell he was nervous. He wasn't the only one. I was breathing heavy as well.

It seemed to be getting more real to Grayson at this moment.

His voice was shaky, “I have work. I have...responsibilities.”

“You have to quit. You have to cancel your credit cards. You have to get rid of your phone. Go upstairs and pack only what you need. Once we are safe somewhere far from here we will figure out our next move.”

“This is...serious isn't it?”

“Dead serious...”

Grayson leaned over at that time and kissed me. I didn't expect it. I didn't expect when he put his tongue in my mouth. I didn't expect when he pulled me close. I felt this feeling before. It felt so familiar. It was that feeling of someone not wanting to lose you.

Urge had made me feel this way.

Why was I thinking about Urge?

“It's just you and me,” I told Grayson.

I didn't know if I was trying to convince Grayson or trying to convince myself. It didn't matter. Grayson was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Grayson was my happily ever after and there was nothing that I wouldn't do to get there.

We had went upstairs and started packing. I didn't take much with me. I was done packing in just a few minutes. Grayson was taking longer. I would have rushed him but it wasn't like Envy and his people were coming. They said they were giving us time. We were safe for now. I watched Grayson and the look on his face as he packed his things. I watched how he took his time doing it.

Grayson was packing pictures. He was packing vitamins. You would think that we were going on a cruise or something instead of fleeing the town for our lives. He seemed panicked.

“I know I am taking the dumbest shit right. You are probably looking at me like I'm a dickhead. Sorry. I didn't know I was dating 007.”

He had noticed me staring at him from the bed.

I smiled though. It was making me feel good. He was such a normal person and he was cutting off everything he had to be happy with me. The feeling burned in my chest. Happiness was what he wanted. That was it.

We were one in the same.

He had no idea what it took to survive and I loved him more than ever because of it.

I was smiling, “We should elope...”

“What?”

“We'll drive to the bank. We'll take all our money. We'll go to Vegas. We'll get married. Right there. Right then.”

“Oh huh?”

He walked over to me. I was shocked that he grabbed me the way he did. He was rough with it. A part of me wondered if he was trying to prove how tough and strong he was after finding out who I really was in my past.

He lifted me up. He wrapped me between his legs. He had me straddled up against him making me feel for a moment the fantasy that Grayson could really protect me.

His dick was getting hard.

“Is that a yes?” I asked him.

“It's a hell yes. It's a...I want to lay you down on the bed and make love to you one last time kind of yes.”

He didn't wait for me to respond to it. He didn't wait for me to say that we should wait until we were safe. He was kissing on me immediately. He was kissing my neck. My legs were wrapped around him as Grayson put his long tongue in my mouth. His tongue was wet and his breath was always fresh. He always smelled so good and I took a long inhale of his man scent as he put me up against the wall.

Yes. He was DEFINITELY trying to prove a point.

He wanted desperately to remain the dominant one in this relationship.

“Pull it out,” I told him.

I was panting. I wanted him to prove to me how powerful he was. I wanted to feel safe. I wanted Grayson.

Grayson held me up with one hand supporting my weight as he unbuckled his jeans. His jeans were baggy enough that they fell a little to his lower thighs. His dick flopped out of the hole in his underwear. He was still holding me up supporting my weight the entire time.

That was when the phone rang. It was his.

“Fuck it. They'll leave a message,” he stated.

He let me down off of him and roughly turned me around. He pressed me so hard in the wall that my chest hurt from the impact. Grayson was being extra rough and I had to admit I liked it.

“Fuck me...daddy...”

I had done it on purpose. I wanted Grayson to feel like he was still in charge of this relationship. I wanted to still be the submissive dude who cooked for him and cleaned for him. I wanted him to believe that he was stronger.

That was all lie, but he liked it. I could tell by how he spit on the palm of his hand. I heard a slurping noise as he lubed up his dick with it.

“You're mine,” he stated, claiming me.

I found myself arching my back, wanting him inside of me. Grayson yanked at my pants roughly pushing against my back as though to pin me down while he did it. Grayson put his dick in me at that moment and I could feel myself just moan out. He didn't go slow. He wanted me to feel it. He wanted me to dominate me. His dick wasn't extremely big but it had a hook to it. When he put it in me it seemed to always hit a new and intense place.

I screamed out, “Fuck!!”

Just at that moment his phone rang again.

“Oh my god. Who is blowing me up at this time of night?”

“Just answer it.”

“No it can wait.”

“We can wait,” I told him, “Answer it. This is one of the last times you'll be able to communicate with people for a while.”

I wasn't sure if it clicked to Grayson that we had to go into hiding for a while. Maybe it did click to him but he just didn't want to believe it. When I told him that however he pulled his dick out of me making me want it even more. He walked over to his phone and picked up his phone. I pulled my pants up and stared to buckle them.

Just at that moment Grayson handed me his phone.

“It's for you...”

“Me?”

I was confused by it. I didn't have a cellphone. Grayson had always thought it was weird but I made up some excuse about me just not liking them. The real reason was that I didn't want to be traced or anything by the Assembly all these years. I didn't worry about Grayson however. When he handed me the phone I just had a feeling that things were looking down.

By the look on Grayson's face I had an idea who it was.

“Desire...”

It was Urge.

“I can't talk right now.”

“Just give me a minute. I need to talk to you.”

I looked over at Grayson. He seemed really annoyed. I knew I should have hung up on Urge but the more I thought about it I wouldn't have a chance to say goodbye to him. I needed that chance for some reason.

I walked downstairs at that moment. I was still on the phone with him but I needed my privacy. I walked into the kitchen. That was where I felt most comfortable and for some reason I felt like I needed to feel comfortable with Urge.

“Urge, how did you get this number?”

“I tracked it.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I won't lose you again.”

His voice was warm. He was telling me things that the deepest parts of my heart wanted to hear.

“That was six years ago.”

“It could be a lifetime. Desire. I'm not good at expressing myself. I should have told you this in person but I couldn't. I just stood there. I was no good at that. So I have to tell you now. You are my soulmate.”

My heart was beating heavier. I couldn't control it.

The sweats came.

My stomach was turning.

“Don't leave...please...don't leave me again...”

My heart raced.

I hung up the phone.

I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know how else to respond to that. I couldn't stay on the phone with him because I had feelings still. I knew I shouldn't but I did and that was no good. What I needed to be focused on was Grayson.

I went to the kitchen and rinsed my face.

Soulmate.

That's what Urge had called me.

I heard a break from upstairs.

My head jerked pulling me back into reality, “Grayson?”

It was quiet. Too quiet. Grayson made way too much noise for it to be quiet. To the north of the house was a draft. I acted quickly taking out a knife from the drawer.

“Grayson? Did you open the front door!”

There was no answer again. The hall was dark. I could have recalled turning on the hallway light downstairs. I wouldn't walk through these hallways without a light on. The call from Urge had distracted me though. It had taken me off of my game completely.

I was concerned.

The knife in my hand was a butcher's knife. I was tiptoeing to the front of the house. I was being careful. I turned back on the hallway light. I was walking towards the staircase that was in the front part of the house that led upstairs to where Grayson was.

As I made my way to the front I realized the door open.

It was open slightly.

If Grayson had been the last one home, it wouldn't have seemed odd but I was the last one home and I never left the door slightly open. I always locked it behind me.

“Grayson!”

Something was wrong. I started up the stairs and immediately saw a figure coming down the stairs at the same time!

“Assassin!”

I gripped at my knife trying to prepare myself, but it was too late.

The figure slid down the railing of the staircase from upstairs.

What the fuck was happening!

The person kicked me in my chest and I fell down the stairs landing head first on the staircase.

The person was dressed all in black. Black jeans, black army boots, a black hood and a black mask that covered everything.

I landed on my back on the ground, dropping the knife.

Fuck!

My heart raced as I struggled with all my might to grab a leg. I managed to grab a leg tripping the assassin before he or she ran out of the door. The assassin fell to the ground. I reached for the knife at that moment. The assassin kicked me on the ground. His boot impaled my hand making sure that I couldn't reach the knife.

I pushed off of the ground hoping to land on the assassin, but he rolled out of the way.

Fuck. This assassin was no joke!

Neither was I though.

I found myself landing on the ground and rolling in the opposite direction towards the knife. I started towards the assassin now. I found myself cornering him at the bottom of the staircase. There was no where for him to run.

“It's over,” I told the assassin, “Who are you?”

I could see nothing on the assassin. I couldn't even see the lips or eyes or anything. He was completely covered up. The assassin definitely wasn't trying to reveal his identity and he was looking around desperately. All I could see was the dark figure in the black shadows of my house. And then he did something that I didn't expect.

The assassin came at me.

Idiot. I slashed out, taking a stance that I remembered from back in the day. My left foot braced myself back as my right hand went forward. I slashed forward. I missed.

No. Impossible.

I slashed again putting my entire body into it. The assassin just somehow dodged the attack yet again! What the fuck was going on!

The assassin kicked at my arm, knocking the knife out of my hand.

He then punched me with a fist that felt like I was being hit by a ton of bricks instead of a fist.

FUCK!

I felt myself hitting the wall hard and felt my self lose consciousness.

When I came to myself I realized that I was still alive. I was laid at the bottom of my staircase. The front door was open completely. Fuck. I had failed. I had failed against an unarmed person? What the fuck was that about? I had a knife after all.

Fuck.

Grayson.

I found myself pulling myself off of the ground. I made my way upstairs. My heart was about to come out of my chest. I was so nervous. It felt as though my world was crashing down with every step I took. It felt as though everything that I knew was being taken away from me.

“GRAYSON!” I was screaming in the hallways.

I prayed at that moment. I didn't pray for a lot. I didn't even know how religious I was really. It was a strange thought but I remembered how Grayson always took me to church. He said that when we had kids he wanted our kids to be raised in the church. It was important to him so I went to church every Sunday. I was running through these halls thinking about how Grayson was iron my shirt for me every Sunday. When I woke up everything would be laid out for me. We would go to church and then we would go to dinner afterwards. It was clockwork. It was boring and I loved every moment of the boredom. It was predictable and that was something that I had learned to appreciate.

It was the unpredictable things that brought devastation..

I went to the bedroom.

No Grayson.

Was he kidnapped? No. He wasn't.

I saw signs of a struggle. Then blood stains.

Fuck! Blood stains.

I walked over to the bathroom and when I got there I dropped to my knees. I didn't know what else to do in a situation like that. I knew as soon as I had seen the assassin that something had gone completely wrong.

I looked at the Grayson in the bathroom.

His throat was slit.

Blood was everywhere. It drained down the sink. I was so shocked that I couldn't even cry. Grayson was dead. My entire world crumbled and a part of me wondered if I should just take my life right there in that bathroom with Grayson. The assassin had gotten to him and there was no need even wondering who the assassin was. The assassin had marked his territory in the most sick manner. Horrible memories from the past started to come back to me.

The assassin had left his signature in blood against the bathroom wall.

It read: Wrath was here.

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