Represent

Chapter 34

Liam's Point of View.

A few days passed without mention of the Death Saints. I ain't bring up Red or his crew, and the guys knew better than to cross me, so it just went on like that. I kept waitin' for someone to ask me about my necklace or my ring, but either they ain't notice or they ain't wanna try me. Good, because underneath it all I sure as hell ain't know what I was gone do about this situation. I mean, shit, Red made a direct attack on my set. It was obvious to everyone that we had to make a move that not only matched that, but completely overshadowed that. And they basically left Louis for dead, which meant the only way to actually outdo that was to... No. I couldn't think like that. We weren't like that. Red might be a soulless son-of-a-bitch, but the Blood Knights weren't with cold-blooded killin'. Despite everything that had happened, I couldn't let myself slip that low.

Then again, I had to do something, I just ain't know what. And until I knew what, I was perfectly content with letting everything slide by. We all handled our grind. Louis raked in the money from his sellin' while he healed. Niall and I guarded Terio's trap, and Niall even hung around Louis' for protection. Zayn and Harry kept makin' moves with their singin' grind, and everything else just fell into place. Deja kept me updated about her school, her brother, and anything else she could think of. Each time she told me something, it made me think more and more that I had to try harder to keep her separate from my life. With Red actin' like this, there was no tellin' what he'd do next, and I ain't want one of the few people I cared about to be a victim. Yet, each time I let her come over my place, or each time she showed up at Louis' for a few video games, I could see the lines between her life and my life blurrin'. Hell, she even tolerated Cori's presence. Watchin' her and Cori interact was like watching my past and my present meet each other, and I'm pretty sure that type of shit creates time warps. It was dangerous lettin' Deja get that close to any of this. If I let anything happen to her, it'll be another life on my hands.

My struggle was internal though. The guys ain't know how heavy shit was for me, and they ain't need to know, either. When Louis would invite me over to chill, like he did on one particular Sunday afternoon, it freaked me out a little because I just knew each time was gonna be a confrontation. I knew they'd call me up, invite me over, and give me shit for not leadin' the Blood Knights like they felt I was supposed to, like they presume Nico would've. They never did, though. They just acted like nothing was wrong. Time and time again, I was relieved that I didn't have to face it yet. I had hoped that Sunday would be another one of those times.

I arrived at Louis' house feelin' a bit less stressed out than usual. I was beginnin' to relax about the whole situation since the guys had yet to bring it up. I sauntered up the old concrete stairs, six -pack in hand, and rang the doorbell. Louis swung the door open without even lettin' the tune chime out, causin' me to jump a little.

"I brought Budweiser," I said, extending my hand out for a shake.

"You brought the bud?" Louis asked, pullin' me in for a pat on the back.

"Bro, you the supplier. You got the bud," I replied with a laugh, swiping my hand over my new buzz-cut. We walked inside, but Louis immediately started headin' toward the basement. "Where you goin'? Ain't the TV up here?" I asked.

"It's too hot up here," Louis answered somewhat lamely. "The AC travels better in the basement."

My instincts kicked in. The basement was way too secluded, way too inescapable for a simple game of 2K. Years of the streets let me know something was up. "Shit, whatever," I mumbled, hoistin' the pack of beer on my shoulder. Louis didn't even try to convince me otherwise. He just opened the basement door and started his descent.

I almost had whiplash from the overpowerin' scent of loud that rushed into my face as the basement door swung open. I could hear ambient shufflin' that alerted me to the presence of others in the basement. My heartbeat quickened as I became more aware of the strangeness surroundin' this visit. Louis looked over his shoulder and we locked eyes for a second, but he ignored my glare and turned forward again. We rounded the corner of the crooked steps and the other boys came into view. Zayn was in a comfy chair, twiddlin' a lit blunt between his fingers. Niall and Harry were sitting next to each other on the couch as Niall texted on his phone and Harry simply stared at the wall. Harry's face was hard, and his eyebrows were furrowed, as if something was weighin' heavy on him. Of course I knew what was goin' on, but I still felt the need to ask.