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M
y's eyes widened the moment that David made it into the room; he had spilled just what was going on with him. The event with the baseball bat played in the back of her mind, and she knew she needed to step in before he lost himself.
She looked over at him, and she could see the pain in his eyes; she had to admit that he was no longer the same boy she had grown up beside. He was more mature, caring, and compromised. She smiled a little bit before she could say anything; she noticed that Anthony had walked into the room from the back. He stood there with his arms crossed and carefully listened to every word that David had to say regarding the events that had happened and the effect they had on him.
Finally, when David had finished speaking, Anthony stepped out into the center of the room and cleared his throat. His dark hair was falling over his forehead as he pushed it back with his fingers.
“You’re right; I think it’s time we put an end to the whole situation.”
David nodded his head and spoke.
“What do you guys have in mind? He’s branched out since the last time we stood opposed to him. He has more people trained, not to mention the tricks he pulls. If he does something like drugging us again, we won’t stand a chance.”
May stepped forward and spoke.
"We'll go prepared this time; I mean, come to think of it, David, you know every move they could make when it comes to a battle. You just need to be focused, and you have the best time by your side; we can do this."
David flinched a little as memories from his childhood stormed to the back of his mind; he sighed as he placed his hand on the back of one of the huge couches in the lounge. He knew that bringing back everything, everything he had done as a child, would have consequences. It wasn’t just bringing back what he had been taught, and it would mean that he would have to pull his old self out, and he had spent so much time trying to change for the better. He feared in his heart that if he brought back the person he used to be, he may not be able to pull back this time.
He looked up at both Anthony and May, and deep down, he knew that she was right. The only way they were going to win this fight was if he truly let go.
He took a deep breath.
“You guys know what will happen if I take the route you want me to.”
May sighed; she took a step closer to David.
"Look, David, if you want to half-ass this thing, then we can do that...but don't be mad when we end up like we did the last time."
Before he could say anything at all, she took a step forward, too; she looked over at him and spoke.
“You know this too deep down; you want to win this thing; you’re going to have to go all in.”
The silence seemed to spread through the room like wildfire as the moment came when David knew that he had to make a choice. All the memories flashed before his eyes, all the pain that had been caused in his childhood and the fights he had been through, including some he had never thought he would make it out of alive.
As the room began to drown in complete silence, David finally spoke.
“You guys are right...It’s time he got hit by his moves, he won’t see it coming, and we’ll have the upper hand.”
He looked up, but when his eyes landed on both May and Anthony, he noticed that they were looking over to the huge flat-screen TV on the wall across from them; their eyes were fixated on the screen, and they barely even heard what he had said. The TV was muted, but as David’s eyes shifted to what they were looking at, his heart immediately dropped down to his stomach.
Upon the huge TV screen, he could see an image of him and Angela holding hands on the red carpet, and as the slideshow kept on going, the pictures of them folded through, and David flinched. Anthony turned to him and spoke.
“If you go through with this plan, you know what you have to do, right?”
David knew what needed to be done; he sucked in a deep breath; he didn’t want to be thinking about it now. He didn’t dare suffer anymore. He moved forward and grabbed the remote in one swift motion, and he turned the TV off. He faced them as he spoke, clearing his throat.
"That's my mess...I'll deal with it; I need you guys to start planning. We need to map out the entire thing before we take a hit. We need a team of our own. Maybe we can ask the people we have known from the start and the others to help; money is no longer an issue; tell them they'll be heavily compensated."
David knew that when he had disappeared, he had left a lot of people behind without an explanation of any sort, and now that he was back and he needed them more than ever, he had to make amends. He was still lost in his thoughts when he heard May’s voice from behind him.
"I know you want them by your side, but before you reach out to them, make sure that you don't try to buy them off with the money."
He knew deep down that the advice she gave was always on point, and he didn't know what to say to it.
He was a little lost in his thoughts when he heard her speak again from the other side of the room.
"Why don't you deal with the whole crew situation and the Angela situation? Until then, Anthony and I are going to start doing a rundown of the opposition and see exactly how many people we are dealing with; we'll gather all the intel we need to make a move. You have three days, David...no more."
David gulped; the words rang in his head. He knew what she meant by the Angela situation, and he didn’t know if he could do what he was expected to. He didn’t know if he could leave her behind...
He knew that if he really needed to win this war and keep her safe at the same time, he needed to get her out of his life. With her around him, he knew she would always be in danger if anything happened to her; because of him, he would simply never be able to forgive himself. He knew that he needed to keep her away for her own good; he just wondered if he had it in him to be away from her. Angela seemed to be the only person on Earth who made him feel at home, but he had to let her go.
