My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 139: In The Blink Of An Eye (BC)

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘❦✾❦∘∙⊱⋅•-

As I ventured deeper into Jace’s garden, an unsettling feeling crept over me.

At first, I tried to appreciate the beauty around me...anything to distract from the knot tightening in my stomach. The garden was stunning in that flashy, over-the-top way that rich people adored. Every hedge was expertly trimmed, the flowerbeds were arranged with a symmetry that looked like it had been torn from a magazine, and strings of soft fairy lights wound along the gravel path as if to create a whimsical night.

Of course Jace’s family could afford a private gardener. Naturally, everything here was immaculate.

Kids like them seemed to have wealth and power ingrained in their very being. They could act like monsters at school, yet the world would still accommodate them. Teachers turned a blind eye, parents brushed things off with laughter. Nothing ever seemed to affect them.

I hugged my jacket tighter around myself, rubbing my arms as the cool night air swept by. I found myself checking my phone every few seconds, even though Ethan hadn’t texted anything else.

The further I walked in, the quieter it grew. The loud party music faded to a distant thud, swallowed by the trees and hedges. For a moment, I pictured Ethan waiting near the back fence, pacing and rehearsing some serious conversation.

But then, a thought hit me so hard I stopped in my tracks.

Wait.

Why didn’t Ethan just come into the party and find me? Why go so far as to borrow someone’s phone if his battery had died? Why invite me to the one spot where no one else was?

Panic washed over me.

I took a deep breath, every instinct screaming that something was off. "Crap," I muttered, stepping back so swiftly that I nearly tripped over the gravel. "Oh my God—Noah, you idiot! You almost—"

I turned to bolt back towards the house.

But I barely got two steps in before...

Before a figure stepped into my path, tall enough to stop me in my tracks before I could even register the voice.

"Well, well," someone drawled, "where do you think you’re rushing off to?"

My chest tightened.

Liam.

And as my eyes adjusted to the shadows, I saw two more figures slide out behind him...Jace, with that smug look plastered on his face, and another guy I vaguely recognized from their bullying basketball player crew. I felt my breath hitch.

Shit!

No, no, no.

"So this is what’s really going on?" My voice shook before I managed to inject some steel into it. "Is this one of your sick games?"

They didn’t respond right away. They just stood there, forming a wall of arrogance and grins, blocking my only way back to safety. I could still hear the party faintly, the music floating through the air like a mocking reminder that no one was around to hear me out here.

I stepped back, fists clenching even as my heart raced painfully. "What are you gonna do? Beat me up? Toss me into the jacuzzi again and film it then post it online? Spill my secrets all over school or blackmail me with it?"

My voice cracked a little, just enough for the fear to seep through, despite my attempts to cover it with anger.

"I swear," I said, struggling to keep my breath steady, "if you fucking touch me—"

But Liam cut me off with a slow, cold laugh, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. And in that instant, I felt my whole world tilt.

Jace’s laughter sliced through the night, sharp and cruel, making every nerve in my body stand on end.

"Relax, Noah," he said, amusement dripping from his voice. "We got a little creative this time. It’s going to be way more fun than the usual stuff."

That word made my stomach twist.

Liam stepped closer, hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets as he smirked down at me, like I was just a frightened animal caught in a trap. "You’d be shocked at how easy it was to lure you out here. All we had to do was pretend to be Golden Boy Ethan. Honestly? Pretty pathetic."

My throat constricted. A shot of heated fear surged through me, but anger followed, just as intense.

"You guys are fucking crazy," I shot back, even though my hands shook at my sides. "You think this is funny?!"

"Hmm," Jace’s grin widened as he sauntered closer, so near I could smell the stale beer on his breath. "And here I thought I was being nice to you earlier. Maybe I figured you’d finally grown a brain since last semester." His eyes narrowed, mean and glimmering. "But since you want to be a little bitch again, I guess I’ve got to show you how little bitches get treated."

My heart raced out of control.

When his hand shot out to grab me, instinct kicked in. I jerked back, ducking away just in time, and sprinted down the garden path, gravel flying beneath my feet. My breaths came in raw gasps as the fairy lights blurred around me.

Run.

Run!

RUN!!

But they were basketball players for crying out loud. Taller, stronger, faster and athletic to a level I could never reach. I barely made it past the second set of hedges before a hand gripped the back of my jacket and yanked me down to the grass.

"No!" I screamed, thrashing wildly as Liam pinned my shoulders while Jace seized my legs and Patrick loomed over me. "Get off me! Let me go, you sick bastards!"

But they only laughed, it sounded loud, hysterical, as if my terror was their entertainment.

"Oh, he’s fucking feisty tonight," Jace cackled, tightening his grip when I tried to knee him. "Do you like that, Patrick?"

"Shut the fuck up, Jace." Patrick responded. "Focus!"

"Hold him still," Liam ordered, his tone suddenly sharp. "Adrien’s gonna love this. He’ll be so damn proud of us."

My heart sank.

Adrien?

Proud?

What the hell were they talking about?!

But I didn’t have time to ponder it because Liam turned to the third guy and motioned with his chin. "Patrick. Do it, now."

Patrick, who I barely recognized from basketball practices stepped forward, pulling something small and metallic from his pocket.

A syringe.

Terror shot through my body like electricity.

"No—no, no, no! Don’t come near me with that—what the hell is that?!" I gasped, kicking and squirming so hard that Liam had to press down harder. "STOP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?! LET ME GO!"

Patrick grasped my arm, fingers digging painfully into my skin as he unscrewed the needle with his teeth, like he’d done this before. Panic surged through me, nearly choking me.

"Don’t move," he warned through clenched teeth. "or I’ll knock your teeth in."

"Yeah, dumbass. You move, you die," Jace mocked, chuckling.

I struggled harder, desperate and terrified, yelling for anyone...anyone, to hear me. "SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE—"

But Liam slammed a hand over my mouth, muffling my cries as he hissed, "Shut up, faggot!"

Patrick lowered the syringe toward my arm.

Pure, primal fear flooded through me.

"No! STOP! DON’T—" My muffled screams were pointless.

The needle jabbed into my skin.

A sudden sting ignited in my arm, spreading like fire beneath the surface. My vision exploded into a glaring white flash as my breath hitched painfully.

But Patrick didn’t get off easy.

My knee shot up instinctively, hitting him square in the face. There was a sickening crack and a grunt of pain as he tumbled backward, landing hard on the gravel.

"OW!" Patrick yelled, clutching his bleeding nose. "Crazy little bitch—!"

Liam cursed and tightened his grip on me, but everything was already spiraling away.

The world tipped violently.

My limbs felt heavy, like wet sacks of sand. The fairy lights stretched into long, blurry trails. My heartbeat echoed like it was underwater.

I struggled to keep my eyes open.

I struggled to breathe and I struggled to scream. But everything was dissolving, warping, fading away.

"Fuck, he’s stronger than he looks!"

"You idiot, hold him—"

"He kicked me, dammit!"

"Hurry up, I think someone’s coming—"

Their voices intertwined like distant echoes and then they vanished altogether, in the blink of an eye.

And everything turned black.