CRIMINAL.

CHAPTER 7

I wake up to the sound of a crash.

I sit up so fast that my head starts to hurt, but I don't put my hand on it.

The living room is dark, the red numbers on the clock next to the T.V. reading 10:45. I've been asleep for more than three hours.

I hear something drop and a voice that swears. It's coming from the kitchen.

Is it Ricky? He decided to leave me down here to sleep in peace, but the truth is I didn't want him to go. I wanted to feet the heat coming from him as he slept on the other side of the couch. I wanted to actually touch him, feel him, know that he was there.

I swing my legs over the couch and stand up, taking hesitant steps towards the kitchen. When I finally reach the doorway, I flick on the light switch to see Josh sitting at the table with a beer in his hand. He looks up at me, startled, but then quickly calms down.

"Damn it, Katelyn," he says. It feels weird to hear my name coming from his lips. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry," I say. I stand there, staring down at my feet. I want to fill this horrible silence, but I can't find the right words to say.

Thankfully, Josh fills the silence. "What are you doing up?" he asks. His voice is gruff and deep and it sends of shiver of fear down my spine.

"I just heard something in here and I wanted to see what it was," I say. "Why are you up?" Josh looks at me as if he's surprised by the question, but he smirks and takes a swig of his beer before answering.

"Couldn't sleep. Had a bad dream. Dreamt about The Riot coming here and killing Ricky. Shot him straight through the head." He uses his hand to make a gun and puts it to the side of his head before bending his thumb and making a bang noise.

"I'm sorry," I say, not knowing what else to say.

"It's fine," he says. "It was just a dream."

He seems to be saying it to himself more than to me. We're silent for another moment. I hear the water dripping from the faucet and cars rushing by from the open window.

"My brother really seems to like you," Josh says suddenly, making me look up.

"Really?" I ask I even sound breathless to myself.

"Yeah," he says. "Talks about you 24/7. He can never shut the hell up."

My heart is pounding so loud, I can hear it. I wonder if Josh can hear it too.

"He says he wants to move so he can protect you," he says. "To keep you safe. Says he doesn't want The Riot to kill you when they get here."

I realize that he says "when" instead of "if".

He looks up, his eyes glittering. "But I doubt that'll happen. Knowing my brother, he'll probably break their necks before they get to you, right?" His voice sounds sad. I wonder why. Is it because he thinks that Ricky loves me for than him? Is he jealous of me? I push the idea away. No, that's stupid. Why would he jealous of me?

"Plus, you know how to use a gun," Josh says.

When I don't say anything, he frowns. "You do know how to use a gun, don't you?"

I shake my head, my skin burning with embarrassment when I hear him chuckle. "Then we need to start training you," he says. "Ricky and Scott will probably be able to help you since they can work the guns like pros, and Sweet Pea is a master at the knives."

I nod, but I'm still not too sure about this. Guns? Knives? I'll probably end up shooting someone's brains out or stabbing someone in the eye. Just thinking of doing these things to Ricky by accident makes my stomach drop and turn sour, and I suddenly feel the need to vomit.

Josh must see how my face is twisted in pain because he asks, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I answer, my hand gripping the doorway. "I just need to-"

I stop when I hear a loud bang from outside and a crash that sounds like a window being broken.

It sounds like our window being broken.

Josh gets up from the seat so fast that his chair falls back and hits the ground with a thud. He rushes past me and into the living room. 

A moment later, I hear him yell, "Shit!", and he comes back into the kitchen, his eyes wide with fear.

"We have to go," he says.

"Why?" I ask. "What's wrong?"

"Now!" he yells. "We have to go now!"

Before I can even move, he's up the stairs and the hallway lights are flicked on.

I sprint into the living room and look around the dark room. I see a glittering pile of glass on the ground from the broken window and something on the ground. I step closer, trying to identify what it is. It's a rock and next to it is a note. I don't need to read to know that it's from The Riot. They're here. I hear the sound of feet thumping down the stairs.

When I see Ricky, my heart beats a little faster not just because of him but of what he's holding. A gun. A pistol that glitters in the moonlight pouring from the broken window. He's dressed in a black tank top with jeans and sneakers.

When he sees me, he runs down the stairs and gathers me up in his arms in a heartbeat. I put my hands on his chest, closing my eyes. Feeling his heartbeat underneath my fingers makes my heart settle down and he pulls away, looking at me.

"The Riot found us," he says.

"I know," I say.

"They want to have a battle with us tonight," he says. "While that happens, you need to stay here."

 "What?" I suddenly feel dizzy as if I'm going to faint. "No!"

"Katelyn, you have to," Ricky says. "You'll be safe here."

"No!" I say. "I don't want to! I want to go with you!"

"Do you even know how to shoot a gun?" he asks.

I'm silent, looking at the ground.

"Exactly," he says, and then tilts my chin up with his thumb.

My eyes are burning with tears, his face becoming a little fuzzy.

"I don't want you to get killed, Kate," he says. "That's why I need you to stay here."

"But you'll be killed," I say.

"I'll be fine," he says. "I know how to work a gun better than a knife. If anything happens while we're gone, take a knife from the gun room and lock yourself in my bedroom. Got it?" I nod and to my surprise, he presses a gentle yet fierce kiss to my forehead.

"Be safe," I say as the rest of The Wolves come down the stairs with guns in their hands. I see Sweet Pea holding a machine gun that looks to big for her. She catches my eye and gives me a small, reassuring smile.

"Let's head out," Josh says and in the blink of an eye, their all out the door, leaving me alone with the darkness as my comfort.

I can't stand the darkness, the silence of the room as I run upstairs, the burning in my eyes intensifying.

I burst into Ricky's room, the smell of cigarette smoke and cologne consuming me, and I lock the door behind me. I quickly scramble up to his bed before the tears start falling and I drown myself in his satin sheets. I push my face into his pillow as the first sob breaks loose and then it turns into a scream.

I scream and scream and scream until my throat is raw and scratchy.

I've never felt like this before.

Such rage, such sorrow, such violence.

I feel like burning down this house, burning down this whole city, and I don't even know why.