After I uttered the three words, rest of the days flew by in a blur. Unfortunately, Vince and I only met at school and to finish our report the remaining time I spent locked up in my room studying for finals.
It was a Thursday, and the school was buzzing with excitement, only a few days left for school to get over. But unlike the others, I felt my mood dampen upon receiving a text from Vince.

Caught up at home, won't be at school today.
Don't miss me much. ;)
-Vince.

I hadn't realized how attached I had gotten to him and how accustomed I was to meeting him at school.
"Students, I need your parents signature on a few things. Folders are kept on the the desk please collect your respective ones on your way out." Mrs Smith said, pointing at a pile of blue coloured files. I looked through the file and realized it was the end of the term cards for biology.

"Ryder, how was your date?" I nudged him on the way to the Physics class.
"It was fun. And we might even have another tomorrow." I fake gasped at his reveal.
"Ryder Prescott. A second date? Is the schools hotshot settling down?" Ryder's eyes widened while I made the loud assumptions. Some girls stood to stare and Ryder hissed and put his hand on my mouth.

"Melissa! Shush!" I giggled under his palm.
"Everyone settle down, the results of the tests are here." Our Physics teacher announced, handling over white sheets of what looked like last week's quiz.
I let out a satisfactory sigh registering the red A+ accompanied by a keep it up.
I heard quite a lot of people groan causing me to lower my face in sympathy.

At the end of school, I was skipping my way to the car after bidding my friends goodbye.
On my way home, I took a turn and thought I go to the office instead to surprise my parents.
I dialed their number and placed my phone on the seat beside.
"Hey, how was school?" I could understand he was caught up in something.

"School was school. Busy?"

"No, no. Your mom and I were just planning to take a break." I exchanged the customary goodbyes but didn't change the direction my car was headed.
The Colespar industries was situated on a tall cooperate building with a huge glass entrance. Everyone knew me, most of them saw me grow up.

"Hey, Bob." I smiled at the security who always greeted with a smile.
"Good morning, Miss Colespar." I just shook my head at him, all these years and he still refused to call me by my first name.
I had my own interns ID that let me use the elevator to the main office.
I smiled at the ground floor receptionist who looked new. 

"Melissa, dear, they are busy at the moment." Mrs Reed, my dad's receptionist put her hand up to stop me from knocking on the door.
"No, they aren't, I just spoke to them. Don't worry." I saw her frown deepen as she cast me one last glance and let me pass.

I softly knocked on the door.
"Mrs Reed, I told you, no visitors. I'm busy." My dad said in a tensed voice urging me to push open the large frosted glass door.
"Mrs- Melissa?" I wasn't listening to him anymore.

I took in a battered up Vince seated on my father's red sofa probably staining it darker. He sat bare chested letting our family doctor tend to his numerous cuts. All their faces looked like they were caught stealing, my mother stood with her hands over her mouth, my father standing over Vince seemed uncomfortable and Vince didn't know what to do.

He raised his hand towards me but flinched mayhap because of the brusie forming against his ribs.
"What is going on?" I didn't know whether to run to the injured boy and hug him better or deal with the feeling of betrayal that was clawing through my being.

"Melissa, dear, you should sit down." My mother suggested, coming to my side.
"No, mom. I want to know why my boyfriend is bleeding on my parents office sofa." I was looking straight into Vince's eyes that were devoid of any emotion, pushing the knife a little deeper in my back.

"We'll explain everything. Just calm down." She placed her hand on my shoulder which I immediately shrugged away. I should've known, the numerous visits to my house.
I crossed my hand over my chest and shifted my attention to my father who was pinching the bride of his nose.

"Dr. King, if you'll excuse us." Dr. King was an old man who had probably been with our family since my Dad's teenage years. He only nodded and mumbled a few quick words of medical care and took his leave.

"I'm sorry, Vince. This has gone too far. We have to tell her." My father looked sincerely apologetic. It was his idea?
"Melissa, as you are aware, Vince's father is a member of an illegal business." I nodded, still refusing to sit.

"My business partners and I agreed that his presence in the industry is only toxic and that he had to be removed. We found a way too, turns out Mr. Montero isn't an American citizen and has had quite a few issues with the immigration office."

"Even after marrying Laura, he still had some pending files against his name. Enough to buy him a ticket out of the country. We weren't thinking of Vince at that time, but the day Vince brought you home I figured the boy wasn't his father."

"So, we spoke and he turns eighteen soon. Old enough to take over his father's legal business and we had succeeded with all our plans but unknown to us, there is a mole in our group. He/She leaked all the news to his father who set Vince up in a fight with a person twice his size and experience. It's a miracle he survived that fight and called up immediately. Now that I think of it, it must've been to send a message." He was looking at Vince during the last words of his monolog.

I found it hard to breathe, all this was too much information for me to process. The thought of losing Vince was enough to shock the life out of me.

"Wh-" my voice choked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"We all agreed that the matter would be better handled without your knowledge."
"Why exactly?"

"My father is a dangerous man, Melissa. I couldn't afford to pull you into this, clearly I failed." Vince spoke for the first time in the confined space but I didn't look at him, not because I was angry but because I knew if I saw him once more in that form I wouldn't be able to keep my mind straight.

"I understand your point of view, but it still doesn't explain why you had to keep all of it from me. And for how long? After everything that happened." At the last sentence I looked at Vince, hoping he could see the betrayal plastered all over face.

"After what happened?" Dad interjected, a glare directed towards Vince.

"Robert."

"Nothing like what you're thinking, sir." Vince said almost immediately.
I shook my head, "I'm going to go." I looked at Vince on last time.

"Take care of yourself."

I pulled open the door and blinked away the tears before Mrs Reed could see them.
"Jinx, wait." Vince caught my arm before I could get away.

Mrs Reed casted her eyes away at the scene. Vince was still bleeding in places and was cradling his left side with his hand.
The corner of his left eye brow had a bandage and his lips were busted.
"Why are you standing, my god! Sit down!" I gasped, aiding him to the seating area. Thankfully no one else was around.

"Melissa. I'm sorry I hid all that from you."

"It's okay, I'm scared. I can't fathom the idea of losing you. You need to be careful right now."

"I'll be fine. I love you, you know that? I know what it took to tell me your past and I trust you to tell you everything but my father, he is not a good man. He knows my weakness and he'll use it. I can't let you get involved in this, baby." I couldn't stop the tears streaming down my face, I could feel that he was in pain the way he flinched everytime he spoke and the way he sat hunched over.

"I know. I know." I softly lay my forehead against his. He closed his eyes and let out laboured breaths.

"The heart with the arrows, over here. The arrows signify all the regretful decisions I have taken." He pointed at his right rib cage, where the tattoo sat. The two arrows now somehow looking more painful.

"One was when I joined the Hellion and was forced to almost end a life." I could feel emotional pain, his words finding it's way to squeeze my heart.
"The other was when I started dealing drugs for my mother."

"Vince, those things don't define you. Y-"

"No, you don't understand."

"What?"

"I don't want to add to that list, I want you out of this, Jinx. Please."

*********
The tattoo:

One of my friends drew this, he's a genius.

Anyway,
Love,
Rojesta.💜