𝘿𝙀𝘾𝙀𝙋𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 • 𝙇𝙍𝙃

08. blood

BLOOD

"How about this one?" Ashton holds a neon yellow shirt that says live, love, pineapple on it, facing Lila with a childish smile.

She stifles back a laugh before shrugging. "I like my clothes to be a little more .... casual."

The boy huffs but returns the shirt to the rack of clothes and continues his search.

Lila learns something new about these guys every day. And today she's learned their taste in clothing is the equivalent of trash. But they always manage to look good, so maybe they just can't pick women's clothing.

"Okay, but you would look hot in this." Michael holds up a black crop top that's about four inches long as he wiggles his eyebrows.

She shudders and scrunches her face. "I don't want to look hot, I want to be comfortable."

She's chosen a few items that she liked, and Michael promised they would stop by the drug store to get a few other necessities you wouldn't find at a mall.

Lila is pulled by the sleeve of Ashton's hoodie towards another store. The guys refused to take Lila out of the hotel if she wasn't heavily covered up. She's decked out in an oversized hoodie and a pair of sunglasses. She's received a few weird glances, though she's chosen to ignore them.

"I think I'm gonna pay Victoria's Secret a visit." Michael bobs his head towards the direction of the store before giving a curt wave and walking off.

"Not without me you fucker!" Calum yells, now chasing after him.

The girl presses her lips into a thin line. "They don't get out much, do they?" She can't help but smile at their immature actions. The boys almost remind her of her friends back home.

"Is it that obvious?" Ashton grins and guides Lila to a section of clothes.

Granted, the gang did go out frequently, just not to malls or the movies or restaurants. They were typically found at banks, high-end museums, empty fields, and dark alleyways with red-stained hands.

"Want to hit the food court once we find you a few outfits?" The boy asked. He hadn't gone on many shopping trips in his day, and now he clearly sees he wasn't missing anything. The food court would be his saving grace.

Lila hesitates a moment before a hushed "sure." leaves her lips. The whole kidnapping thing seems to be messing with her stomach. Food doesn't sound appealing to her, even though she's been borderline starving since she's been with these guys.

At first, it started as a control thing. Luke could take her from her world and force her to sleep in a dark basement, but he couldn't make her eat. It made her feel powerful.

But now, the food court is the last place she wants to be. She feels sick because she's barely eaten, but putting food in her stomach makes her feel even worse. It's a lose-lose situation.

Lila shuffles through shirts with dump phrases, crop tops small enough to be a bikini top, and she even saw one or two ugly Christmas sweaters before she averted her attention to the shaggy haired boy.

"If I ask why we had to come to Brooklyn, would you tell me?" Lila puts on her best puppy dog eyes, hoping he'd be easier to crack without the rest of the boys.

"Money." He simply stated, leaving out what the group had to do to acquire the large sum of cash. Here's a hint: it involved blood.

Her shoulders slump in defeat. "You're all so cryptic, it makes it kind of hard for a girl to figure anything out."

He softly smiles at Lila, her innocence and doe-eyed expression was refreshing. "It's better for you that way. You clearly see the world differently than we do. Be thankful for that."