DUSK by Esther Machethe (top books of all time txt) 📕

see the googly eyes they keep sending each other and every time it looks like they want to rip each other’s clothes and devour each other.” I tried to sound disgusted but Ash’s comically wide eyes were too funny to pass up.

“That’s a bit of too much information that I didn’t have to know.” He groaned and furrowed his eyebrows like he was trying to delete a mental picture.

“Chloe Jade McJaeger! Didn’t your parents teach you not to lie to people?” Emma’s mortified voice rang through and I would have jumped at the sudden intrusion. “She’s lying, Leo’s just a friend who lives in the neighbourhood.” That was directed to Ash who simply nodded. So much for my epic story that was just discarded like I hadn’t said a thing but it was worth it while it lasted.

“Chloe, I sense a security breach—” Dusk had started speaking but was cut short when Leo burst into the house, his gaze directed straight to Ashton.

“We’ve got to go, they found us.” He stated before walking out of the house. Ash didn’t hesitate before he grabbed my arm and pulled me securely behind him as we stepped into the hallway and rushed towards the elevators.

“Shit, they’re coming up. We’ll use the staff stairs.” Leo commanded and started moving. I was still dazed and everything felt like it was right out of a Tom Cruise movie.

“Chloe, my weapon scan of the whole building shows that there are a total of eight men, two at every entry point including the kitchen, staff, front and back stairs entry points.” Dusk chose that moment to bring me out of my dazed situation.

“Wait!” we can’t go through there.” I stopped Ash who told Em and Leo to stop though Leo didn’t look too happy about it. I relayed Dusk’s information and Leo cursed loudly. It was very clear that he was beyond pissed off.

“What next?” Em finally spoke up.

“The laundry shaft. We can go out through the laundry shaft that leads to the basement which is not covered at the moment.” I just blurted out and everyone’s eyes were on me; cue the raised eyebrow.

“Come on, they’re almost here.” Leo muttered darkly and begun walking to the nearest laundry shaft.

I always thought it would be fun to slide down the laundry shaft but I never imagined it would be a drop instead of a slide and one that didn’t have a soft landing. Leo was the first one down and he landed into a trolley that was luckily almost full of dirty piles of sheets. Ashton followed then Em and finally I was last, I almost let out a scream when I thought I was going to land on the cold hard floor but thanks to Dusk, I landed with a big oomph, luckily, on my feet. From then on, I hated laundry shafts.

“Guys, I think I landed on something wet.” Em scrunched up her face and I did my best not to let the first thing that came to my mind out of my mouth. That proved easy enough when Leo sent a glare to both me and Em that effectively shut both of us up.

“My car is over there, now keep quiet and let’s get out of here.” Leo grumbled and walked stealthily towards the basement entrance where his car was. As I was about to enter into the car, I caught sight of a person I can never forget. The betrayal stung more than it should have at this point but I simply couldn’t believe I once trusted him.

“What do you mean you didn’t find them?” he shouted harshly to the other person on the other line.

“I don’t care! You idiots just let them get away; after all the planning I had done, all those nights I stayed up trailing him just went to waste. You had one freaking job but you still had to mess it up! She’ll seal with you for the disappointment.” He screamed at the other person before he threw the phone into the car and pulled his hair in frustration.

“Get in before they see us.” Leo whispered harshly and I ducked in just before Alec turned to look our side. The engine roared to life and we drove out of the basement and headed north, direction; I have no idea.

The ride was silent with me mostly staring out the window and watching as cars zoomed past ours and occasionally caught Em’s or Ashton’s curious gaze me but I didn’t care. I was really worried if there was any honest person out there who wouldn’t stab me in the back any chance they got. My trust level in friendships and humanity in general had dropped dangerously low after watching my Ex-boyfriend shout at people on the phone because they couldn’t capture me. It made me wonder if he ever cared about me at all.

“Chloe,” Ash’s voice called out to me and I half turned towards him, my mind was still distracted. “Are you okay, do you need anything?” he asked, cautiously checking to see if there was any impending outburst. Well, today was his lucky day.

“I’m fine, Ash” I calmly replied and attempted to send a small smile his way but we both knew it was fake, not to mention forced.

“We’re here, let’s go inside.” He called out softly and Em and I got out and followed him. Leo had already walked in. Leo walked in front of us at a really fast pace.

Though on the outside it looked like a deserted warehouse, it contained a cosy house inside which, according to Ash, it was our safe-house and had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small living-room and kitchen and a gym at the basement. It was a perfect little house.

“Today you ere reckless ad you got everyone in danger.” Leo fired at Ash as soon as we all settled in the living room.

“How was them finding us my fault? I didn’t attract any attention, hell, I even rode on a us.” Ash shot back immediately in a condescending tone. The tension settled in the room like a thick fog but all I could think of was ‘what’s going on here?’

“Didn’t you hear the idiot, they’ve been trailing you all the way from England but you were too caught up in your fantasies that you didn’t check your surroundings. You’re the leader; it’s your job to be focused on the mission but you’re just stuck in a love bubble.” Leo’s voice was deadly calm and that was even scarier but I could still hear the disappointment in his voice. Suddenly, everything fell into place and I felt like the biggest fool.

Looking at the two of them standing there, ready to have a stand-off, I could clearly see the resemblance in almost everything; the same hair colour, the same eye colour though Leo’s was a shade brighter and almost the same height and build even though Leo’s skin was tanned compared to Ash.

They were brothers!

Every head turned towards me including the two brothers and I almost flinched when Leo’s cold, hard eyes met mine and he smirked; “We’re twins actually,” he shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

My world stopped for a moment and I almost chocked on air. I raised my eyes and met Ashton’s eyes which were heavy with guilt and remorse but for once, I didn’t care, I just wanted the truth and this looked like the best time to heart it.

“Tell me the truth, was it ever true or was it all planned? Does my father know that I’m here?” silence. “So I never had a normal life, everything here was just a lie, a plan that was so sneaky and well planned and here I was lying to myself that I was finally free. I guess the joke’s on poor ol’ me.” I let out a humourless laugh and my face held no emotion exactly the way I was feeling. Ashton’s wide eyes was confirmation enough that I was right. It was all a lie.

“Chloe, please, everything we did was to protect you. We didn’t mean to lie but there was no other option. Please understand. Em spoke for the first time and that’s all it took to spur my anger even more.

“How could you say that when they,” I paused and looked up to her guilty face. No. “You knew about this, were you in on it too or you just knew?” silence. “Wow, Em, you’re a real friend.” I spat out angrily. No words could match my fury or hurt at the moment.

Leo’s bitter laugh cut through the tense air; “princess sunshine finally got her happy bubble popped. How does it feel to step into the real world Chloe?” he bit out. His body was rigid, obviously trying to supress his anger but his eyes couldn’t hide that fact.

“What is wrong with you, I just—” I was cut off before I could finish.

“You don’t get it, do you? It’s always about you, what about everyone else; everyone who risks their lives every freaking day to protect you? What about me, and Ash and even Emma? Do you think we chose this; don’t you think we also like to have normal lives that don’t involve spending every waking moment watching some pompous princess who thinks everything revolves around her. I haven’t seen my parents since I was twelve because I have to watch you from the shadows and make sure you don’t get yourself killed or hurt physically but all you seem to think about is how everyone treats you. Grow up Chloe! This is the real world where shit happens on daily basis and people have a lot more to worry about than your silly little feelings!” he shouted. Wow.

“I’m—I’m sorry you all go through hell because of me b-but keep in mind I never asked for this and I never knew about it either.” I choked out before retreating gracefully to my room. I knew I was going to cry but I swore to myself that they’d never see my weakness.

 

^^^^^

“That was out of line.” Ash snapped as soon as Chloe disappeared and I knew it was but I was too proud to admit it. His eyes held fury but Emma seemed more disappointed than angry.

“She needed to know and I needed to get it out of my chest.” I shrugged, feigning nonchalance as I sat on the nearest couch. It was adorable how they protected the little princess but she needed to be told even though I went a bit overboard with it.

“Chloe never knew that we were her protectors, she had no idea Em was involved and you just blurted the whole thing and made her out to be the bad guy. You need to apologize to her.” Ash countered in an angry tone but that was none of my problem because we both knew I would never do anything like that. She just had to deal with it like a grown up.

^^^^^

I never left my room for the next few days except to go to the bathroom and they weren’t able to convince me otherwise. I’ll admit, Leo’s words hurt a lot but to some point, they were true; I was the sole reason why they had a life that they didn’t deserve and they could only have it when I’m not in the picture. It was time to change that and make sure that they finally got their chance at a normal life. Of course I wasn’t going to kill myself, but I will walk away, find a way to settle it once and for all.

I pinned a letter on the fridge before walking out the door. It was the best plan I had ever come up with; Em was still sleeping, Ash was in the shower and Leo had gone to the gym. I silently closed the door and fished out my phone; dialling a number I had been trying to forget.

“Chloe?” he picked up the phone on the second