Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"You wouldn't dare. . . " Ivory whispers, her voice wavering with uncertainty. Tobias clears his throat, raising one eyebrow high as he slowly moves closer to Ivory.

"Wouldn't I?"

I watch as Ivory swallows nervously before glancing over at Emily, Jake and I stood by the wall. Her large eyes land on Jake and I watch her breathe out a sigh of relief —

"Jake, tell him to stop it. He wouldn't kill Ben, would he?" Ivory says, sounding like a child. There's a timid tone to her voice and I can see her hands shaking in fright. Jake tenses next to me before he clears his throat and drops his eyes to the floor.

"He wouldn't even hesitate." Jake responds back to her, his voice low. Ivory releases another whimper, her eyes landing on Ben who's passed out cold on the floor. It pains my heart to see one of my best friends engulfed by fear so I take a brave step forward.

"There's other ways to deal with this Tobias." I say firmly. For the first time in what seems like forever, his head turns towards me. When those dark eyes connect with mine, my breathing hitches but I stand my ground. The nerves inside my stomach begin to intensify until it feels like I'm going to throw up under his gaze.

"Tobias?" I question quietly, searching his eyes for the boy I've fallen in love with. Moments pass and they remain dark as ever, full of danger until eventually I watch them soften. His eyes drop to the floor in shame and for a brief second, his head hangs low. I feel an invisible fist wrap around my heart, squeezing until it feels unbearable to breathe.

"You're right." He murmurs under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. I blow out the breath I'm holding, my shoulders visibly relaxing from their tense state. Next to him, Ivory gives me a small smile, tears streaming down her face.

"You need to tell him what's going on Ivory so he can help you. We all love you and never want to see you get involved in something dangerous." I tell her, signalling at Jake and Emily behind me too. They both agree with me and Ivory sniffles, reaching up to wipe the tears off her face.

"I didn't expect it to go this far. . . " Ivory explains, her eyes flickering between all of us. She doesn't look at Tobias who's sat in front of her, his head placed in his hands. He's sitting completely still, barely moving a muscle. Even though he doesn't seem to be paying attention, I know he'll be listening to every word she says.

"Start from the very beginning and don't leave out anything. We want names too Ivory." Jake says quietly from behind me. Ivory slowly nods, her eyes landing back on Ben.

"Can we help Ben first, please?"

"No. He stays where he is." Tobias interrupts, his voice harsh. He finally raises his head, dark eyes burning in Ivory's direction.

"If you want to help him, tell us everything. Once you're done, I'll even drive him to the hospital. How does that sound?" Tobias says. Ivory doesn't respond at first but moments later she nods.

"Ben was approached by a friend he goes to school with. He was looking to recruit people to sell drugs but he was paying top cash. It wasn't really about the money at first. . . I wanted revenge." Ivory mutters, her eyes dropping to her lap. I watch as tears fall, landing in her lap. My features crumple in confusion and when I look around, everyone appears to be just as confused.

"Revenge on what?" Tobias asks her.

"Drugs. You saw what they did to me, I was hooked." Ivory cries, her hands flying up in the air. Tobias' confused expression deepens —

"You know how much drugs can ruin someone's life so you decide to sell them instead? That doesn't make any sense Ivory!" He argues with her, his voice laced with frustration.

"It makes sense to me!" Ivory hits back at him. She sits up straighter, tucking her auburn hair behind her ears.

"I wanted to be in control of the drugs. . . Not the other way round. I'm the one who sells them now and I'm earning thousands from it. I'm in control of something that almost ruined my life and killed me." Ivory explains, her words sounding completely insane. She looks at all of us desperately, wanting us to understand.

"I won!" She laughs, reaching for something inside her pocket. I watch in horror as she pulls out stacks of money, easily thousands of pounds. She throws them in front of us, each one landing on top of the other.

"Holy shit." Jake breaks the silence, exhaling deeply. I glance over at Tobias who's sat in complete shock, his eyes glazing over with tears. The sight of him causes my heart to hurt and I step forward but he shakes his head, signalling for me to keep away from him.

"Look at the money! Look at how powerful I'm becoming! If the guy supplying me with them didn't interrupt me and start asking for more money, everything would be perfect. I refused to pay him more and now he's sending people to come after Ben and I." Ivory finishes, a crazed money hungry look in her eye. Silence fills the room and I watch as Tobias breaks down completely, tears falling from his eyes. I've never seen him look so scared. . . so vulnerable.

"You did this . . . for power? For money?" He whispers, turning his head to face her. His jaw locks and his chest begins to rise and fall quickly.

"Yes." Ivory replies, holding her head high. Her eyes are bloodshot, her cheeks are blotchy and her body is continuing to shake. If she wasn't so money hungry, I'd guess she was also using her own product.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Tobias suddenly screams, slamming his hand into the coffee table next to him. The glass suddenly shatters, scattering around the floor. I jump in surprise, unable to believe what's happening in front of me.

"It almost killed me Tobias! It almost killed me but it didn't! I'm in control now!" Ivory yells back at him. He seethes with anger, standing up and bringing his face inches away from hers.

"You won't be in control when you have a bullet through your head! You stupid little girl."

"I can fix this, Ben will help me fix it." Ivory repeatedly says, sounding completely insane. Behind me, Jake shakes his head and walks up to Tobias. He places a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him away from Ivory.

"Get off me Jake! What the hell am I supposed to do with her? She's fucking crazy!" Tobias says, his tone almost pleading for help. Jake turns to look at Ben who's on the floor and back at Ivory.

"You're going to break up with Ben and owe these guys every single penny back. If you don't, I'm reporting you both to the police and I'll happily stand back and watch them lock you away for years." Jake says firmly. Ivory's eyes widen in surprise and so do mine. Jake Melvin hates the police and would never go to them, especially not over his family.

"You're going to rat me out?" Ivory gasps. Jake doesn't hesitate before nodding —

"I have my own family now and if you think you're bringing drugs and violence into this house, you're wrong. If anything happens to my baby or Emily, I will never forgive you. You have one chance to fix this Ivory, one chance only."

Ivory begins to breathe heavily, her chest rising and falling as she glances at everyone in the room.

"You choose. It's the drugs and Ben or your family." Jake says firmly, bending down to look directly in her eyes.

"We'll walk away from you and you'll be on your own. We don't want to be involved in this life anymore, not when we worked so hard to escape it." Tobias chimes in, his voice dark. Ivory snaps her head towards him, pain filling her eyes.

"Tobias — " she starts, her voice breaking. He shakes his head, silent tears continuing to stream down his cheeks.

"You have to make the choice Ivory."

With that last word, he stands up, his body shaking. I watch as he walks over to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I feel him weaken, leaning on me for strength so I place an arm around his waist, holding him tightly against me. Jake silently stands, walking to Emily's side before doing the same.

"You can't do this to me!" Ivory yells, tears streaming down her cheeks. I feel my heart break inside my chest and beside me, Tobias continues to shake.

"You have to make a choice." He repeats quietly, his head hung low. With that, we all walk out and leave her alone with an unconscious Ben and stacks of money.

Like Tobias said . . . it's her choice.