BAD REPUTATION , steve harrington

28. LET THEM GO

   Jonathan and Brooke run over to Nancy. "Nance? Oh my God!" Brooke falls to the floor beside the girl. Jonathan's heart leaps out of his chest when he holds his girlfriend's face in his hands, "Are you okay?" He repeats.

   Nancy lets the spit pool in her mouth for a second, too shocked to properly get words out. She's a stuttering mess. "Alright, let's just get her up, okay?" Brooke says and Jonathan nods.

    The two help Nancy down the stairs and to the cars. "Jonathan, are you hurt?" Brooke asks once Nancy is safely in the car. She scans over his scratched face and bloody hands. He looks down at his own hands, flipping them from the palm to the back, "I—I stabbed a guy."

   Brooke knits her eyebrows together and then her face softens. Whatever he had to do to keep himself alive, they will discuss at a better time. "Okay, okay? But....you're okay?" She asks.

   Jonathan nods quickly with a big gulp, "Yeah, yeah. Get in the car."

   Brooke wraps her hand around the back handle but stops once she catches Casey and Stella's concerned looks from their car, "I'm gonna go with Casey. We'll meet you there." Brooke doesn't give Jonathan time to question it, there is no time really to begin with.

    THE PLAIN GRAY WALLS in the room Paisley is stuck in is already driving her crazy. Ropes are digging into her wrists. It's useless to tug. The guards haven't been back since they initially threw her in here. The pain from being punched is becoming stronger and stronger. She's been punched from petty fights at school but nothing like that. Paisley is just thankful she can feel all her teeth.

   She has no idea where Robin is or Steve and she has no idea if the kids made it out. Her nose has been non stop sniffling because of her small cries. Paisley doesn't want to risk the guards hearing her so she's masking her sobs as best as she can.

   Paisley takes a deep breath and pushes herself onto her knees from the tile floor. "Fuckers. Stupid Russians. This is what I get for working at an ice cream shop, really? Why couldn't I have a normal life? Does Brooke even miss me? God," She talks to herself to try and keep some sanity but it just sounds like she's losing more of it.

  The big metal door swings open. Two guards in olive green suits with good and red accents walk in. Menacing smiles on their faces as they stare down at the young girl.

  "What the hell do you want?" Paisley curses at them. The older guard with a hat crouches down and grabs at Paisley's cheeks in one hand. His thumb presses into the forming bruise on her cheek and she winces slightly.

    "How'd you get here?" His Russian accent is heavy. Paisley narrows her eyes, "By pure luck," She answers sarcastically. The man lets out a sarcastic laugh and the other guard does the same. He roughly shoves Paisley's face away and she nearly falls on her side because of the imbalance.

   "Who do you work for?" He asks with his hands behind his back. Paisley feels like she's swallowing her tongue. All the sarcasm she's learned from Brooke over the years is trying to come out but she knows it'll only come back to bite her in the ass.

   "Scoops Ahoy. I work for Scoops Ahoy and so do the other two! We didn't mean to find this, okay? We're kids! Let us go!" Paisley pleads, her voice cracking at the end. The guards glance at each other. Some sick communication happens between the two of them. The younger guards harshly shoves Paisley's body in the metal wall. Paisley groans in pain and her head falls forwards a bit.

   "You're kids? How did some kids find this, huh?" The guard makes Paisley look him in the eyes with a push of her chin. The brunette's shoulders shake witty adrenaline as she glares at him, "I told you, pure luck!" She shouts louder this time.