JOSI

The bar seems to have shrunk in the while Josi sat thinking. With each attempt at deriving a plan comes failure. There's no digging herself out of this predicament, because the shovel has grown blunt from the previous attempts.

Josi doesn't want to go home. She can't go home. To go home means facing Bradley. To face Bradley means breaking his heart. This is something Josi has never pictured herself doing. Romance comes and goes-this is a common concept. But it's a notion that doesn't apply to Josi and Bradley.

The tears are heavy when they fall. She wipes them away, but gives up once they become persistent. A life without Bradley is bleak. It's dull and not worth much. Mornings would no longer be sunlit, nor would afternoons or even the evenings, because Bradley's presence provided her with enough luminosity. But now that she stands the risk of losing him, there is nothing left but darkness.

This will all be the doing of one man: Idris Verdonni. The feelings Josi has for him are powerful. She despises him. Hatred so vast and deep, it rivals the ocean. His existence alone is a plague, a voracious disease that hounds Josi and Josi alone.

It isn't until a full hour later that Josi decides to call it quits. She can't hide forever. She has to face reality, no matter how merciless and unfair it has been to her.

The car ride home seems to last seconds only. What makes it worse is the fact that Bradley is wide awake. He's seated on the couch, eyes straight ahead and face grim. Once he sees Josi however, it immediately turns to concern.

Bradley shoots to his feet. "Josita-"

"We need to talk."

The air shifts into something more stiff. Bradley swallows down. "What's wrong?"

Josi steadies herself and prepares to give an answer, but stops when the realization hits her. This is just another source of entertainment for Idris Verdonni. He has her apartment bugged on all sides, granting him front row seats to the show. Josi will not give him the satisfaction of witnessing her break-up.

She escorts Bradley out the apartment and into her car, then locks the doors as a security measure, as if Idris's eavesdropping agents would infiltrate otherwise.

Then comes the moment of truth, or what Josi wants Bradley to believe is the truth. She takes a couple more seconds readying herself, then swallows down the last of her resolve.

"I don't love you anymore."

The words feel like venom, like they don't belong to her. They come from an imposter, some other version of Josi who has lost her mind. The words sound misplaced next to each other, because they don't belong in the same sentence.

Josi sits and waits for a reply that doesn't come. Bradley's choice of silence troubles her greatly. She hates how unbearable the atmosphere has become, but it figures. Bradley must be in a world of his own. He just stares at her, perhaps trying to grasp the reality of the situation, until he finally replies.

What comes as his response, however, troubles Josi more than the still silence. "You're lying."

That's all it takes to shatter Josi's resolve. The cool exterior she'd crafted develops a crack. He's making it harder than it already is. "Bradley-"

"He's making you do this, isn't he?"

Josi freezes.

"I followed you after you left this morning." Bradley tells her. "That Verdonni guy. He's the one behind all this, isn't he?"

Josi is completely stumped. The words have been stolen from her, but return when Bradley tries consoling her. "It's okay now, Josita. It'll be fine."

"No, it won't be." Josi cries out. "He knows where we live, where we work, the places we go. He knows things about you that you don't even know. He knows everything!"

This doesn't seem to trouble Bradley. He looks to have already given things enough thought. "Then we'll run away. We'll go meet your parents first and fill them in on everything, then we'll head for my grandmother in Georgia." He takes her hand in his. "I promise everything's going to be fine, Josita."

Josi allows his words marinate in the air until it all comes full circle. It could be possible to escape Idris's grasp if they make a run for it. They could go off the grid and lose themselves among society. Idris would never see it coming.

This gives Josi hope. It's the chance she's been craving, the one that's set to guarantee her freedom from Idris. She will grab hold of it with the little strength she has left.

The couple spend the next few hours getting things in order. They pack only what they deem necessary and discard the rest. Josi tries not to think of the life she's leaving behind. It will do her no good reminiscing, because that will only lead to sadness. And sadness will lead to doubts.

Josi meets Bradley in the living room with the rest of their luggage. "I got everything."

Bradley nods. "Let's go."

__

The train station is where the couple head. They figured taking a train would be more time friendly and would leave less of a trail. It's essential if they plan on keeping a low profile.

Bradley drives the car into a parking garage and begins unloading their luggage. Josi is by his helping with a bit more hope than before, but she knows things won't be over until they make it to safety. Until they leave New York entirely.

If it comes down to it, Josi will have to undergo some physical changes. Perhaps a hair dye or an eye pigment, anything that conceals her current looks. She will even adopt a new identity if it means escaping Idris Verdonni.

Their new life may be full of disguises and camouflage, but Josi will do anything it takes so long as Idris is off her back. She grabs Bradley's hand and gives him a smile, which Bradley returns. It will only be the two of them from here on out.

"We should get going." Says Bradley.

Josi nods and begins hauling her bag away. A lifetime of hiding may not be so bad. Not with Bradley by her side.

But as fate currently has it, that ideal reality will remain nothing but a short-lived dream.

"Josita Cade."

Josi goes numb instantly. The trembling plagues her mind and body in ways that paralyze her. She has no room to catch her breath or even think things through, because Idris Night Verdonni is right behind her.

Josi slowly turns and meets his eyes. He doesn't particularly look furious, but rather indifferent. He smokes his cigar all calm and cool, as though today were just another day in his book. He's with a couple of his men who are much easier to read than he is, which is something that troubles Josi greatly. She can't figure out what he's thinking.

Either way, Josi knows she's screwed. She had been so careful. She and Bradley were as quiet as they could be in the apartment, careful not to reveal anything that would give them away. But was their choice of silence what alerted Idris? Even if that were the case, how could he possibly have pinned their location?

It doesn't occur to Josi that Idris may have had her car bugged.

"Where are you heading?"

Josi swallows down nails of horror. She has to get herself in order. She has to think up a lie. "We were just-"

"So you're the bastard." Bradley cuts in, face hardened and full of hatred. "You're the piece of shit who's been making her cry?"

Josi grabs his arm. "Bradley, calm down-"

"I won't, Josita!" He exclaims. "He's been blackmailing you, hasn't he?"

Idris puffs a smoke, smiles, then says, "What about it?"

This sends Bradley into a fit of rage. He charges towards Idris.

"Bradley, don't!" Josi screams.

But Bradley doesn't listen. He sends a fist for Idris, but it fails to connect because Idris's men are there to stop him. They force him down to the ground and begin delivering attacks that drain his life upon impact. They don't hold back their strength.

"Stop!" Josi cries out. She tries her best to pry the men off, but they give her no room to do so. They're relentless in the blows they give Bradley. She catches sight of Idris to the side who seems more concerned with his cigar than the assault currently happening. He doesn't even spare them a glance.

Out of desperation, Josi rushes to his side and gets down on her knees. "Please tell them to stop, Idris. I'm begging you, I'll do anything!"

Idris leisurely blows out more smoke. "He charged at me first, Cade. This is justified self defense."

He calls it self defense, but Bradley may meet his end at the rate he's being beaten. Josi has to make it stop somehow. She grabs hold of Idris's leg and clings to it. "I promise he's learned his lesson. Please make it stop, please, I'm begging you!"

Idris says nothing. He just stares at her, and this time he doesn't bother trying to hide his contempt. He looks at Bradley in the background, and when he looks back at her, the irritation in his eyes seems to have increased. Josi almost succumbs to the fear. The way he looks at her. No, not at her . . . at Bradley. This hatred is for Bradley only. At this rate, Idris may murder Bradley himself.

But he does no such thing. For once, Idris actually listens. He turns to his men. "That's enough."

Josi rushes to Bradley's side all frantic once the beating ceases. The blood makes it impossible to tell his face apart. His lips have been busted open, eyes swollen and nose broken. The wounds on his body stunt his speech, but when he senses Josi besides him, he gathers the last of his strength for her.

"Don't . . . beg that bastard, Josita."

"Stop talking." Josi tells him. She takes his hand in hers and holds it tight. "I know I'm being selfish, but please don't mention this to anyone. Not to my mom or dad or Clarissa or Mia. Keep this a secret. Please."

Idris's face grows sour at the sight of the couple. "Cade."

Josi shuts her eyes close and soaks in the couple seconds she has left with Bradley. "Don't do anything stupid and take care of yourself. Don't look for me either because you'll get yourself in trouble. And don't forget about me . . . even if we never see each other again."

Bradley opens his mouth again, but says nothing. The weariness must have gotten the best of him. Or perhaps it's the blood loss. Still, he keeps his grip tight around her hand, as does Josi. And though it pains her to do so, she retracts that same hand away. Bradley struggles to hang on with what little strength he has left. But Josi leaves his side and heads for Idris.

Before she goes any further, however, Idris stops her. Josi's own sadness starts to give way to confusion, until he slips his hand around her necklace and - to her horror - rips it clean off. The same necklace Bradley had gifted her just days ago. Now it's all in pieces. Idris throws it to the ground next to Bradley's battered body and gestures for her to keep moving.

Josi isn't even given the time to mourn. She moves past Idris on her way out of the garage, heart heavy, eyes oveflowing with tears. Because she's just lost the love of her life.

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