"Tell me everything!" Juniper and Triston blurted as I walked up to our usual lunch table. We had gotten back to New York super early this morning, so I came into school halfway through the second block. I had missed English with them and haven't seen anyone in a couple of days since we left for Portland. I chuckled as I sat down at the round table, taking my usual seat.
"Ok, I will. So we went to the metropolitan grill, a restaurant that I used to love in Seattle. He even got my friends from my old high school together, talked to Aster, and everything about contacting them. We skipped all the sightseeing and Pierce drove us to a cabin that he rented out for the night. He gave me this envelope which said a star had been reserved for me over Aspen colorado which is where my mom named me after." I paused before showing them the silver ring on my hand.
"Oh my god!" Triston said in shock "He got you a promise ring?!"
"Well, well, isn't it Mr. Romeo." June smiled widely as Pierce walked up to the lunch table, leaving a kiss on the top of my head before sitting down next to me. I let out a chuckle as I pulled out an apple from my backpack, my eyes snapping over to Mercury who gave me a glare as she stabbed her fork into her salad.
"Oh so she gets a whole trip to Seattle and a promise ring but I couldn't even get you to buy me fucking rose?!" Mercury exclaimed, no longer holding back the anger that was rising within her. "Get over yourself." Pierce scoffed, rolling his eyes "Maybe you shouldn't have been such a fucking bitch when we dated and I might have been a little nicer."
"Oh, I'm the bitch? Not to remind you Pierce but you cheated on me with two other girls." She snapped "Just wait till he does it to you Aspen and I will be saying I told you to say. Pierce isn't the image he puts on."
"But he's the difference, Merc." I smirked back at her "I'm not a manipulative bitch that threatens her life anytime something goes wrong. You and I will never be the same, so how about you let go of that idea right now."
Mercury's brown eyes turned dark as they bored into mine, bringing the expression if looks could kill to life. She gripped onto her fork in a fist before throwing it into her salad, ripping her eyes away from mine as she grabbed her backpack and left through the cafeteria. I had known I'd face Mercury when I had gotten back and the jealousy that she built up within her, I just didn't think she'd burst out so soon.
"Don't listen to her." Triston rolled her eyes, pushing her blonde hair behind her ears "She's just jealous, you're never going to win a fight with her because in her mind she will never be wrong and you will never be right."
I knew Triston had been right, no one would win a fight against Mercury because in her head she will never be wrong. She was one of those people who would argue to death even if they knew they were wrong but just couldn't bring themselves to admit it. I sighed as I looked down at the apple in my hands, suddenly having no appetite whatsoever.
"How about you say we skip the rest of the day and all head over to the club?" Cypress suddenly changed the subject and I watched Pierce become tense. Pierce had pushed it past him to forgive Juniper but he still refused to even look in the same direction as Cypress.
"Sounds good enough for me. I didn't do my English homework anyways." Mars shrugged, tossing a crumpled-up piece of paper into the middle of the table. I shifted uncomfortably knowing what has gone down at the club and how uncomfortable the thought of it made me. I knew it'd be different now and Pierce would be the one to protect me instead of forcing me into something.
"Oh my god Mars, you have like a 60 in that class you're already failing." Triston rolled her eyes at him "It isn't even that hard. Mrs. Morgans is one of the most laid-back teachers there is. " Mars sent her an eye roll back in response, waving Triston off and I looked over to Pierce sharing a face of concern.
"You'll be fine." He said reassured, reading the look right off my face and knowing exactly what was wrong. Pierce leaned over, his lips brushing up against my ear as he whispered but his tone was serious and stern "No one is going to lay a hand on you unless they want a bullet through their head."
And for some reason, that statement didn't make me feel any better about what was to come.
* * * * *
We all agreed to ditch the rest of the day and headed over to the club. Mars, Cypress, Mercury, Juniper, Triston, Pierce, and I had all made our way to the club in separate cars. Pierce pulled up to his usual spot before putting the car in park. I sighed as I threw my head back against the passenger seat, turning my head to look over to Pierce.
"I really wish you would just make up with Cypress already." I admitted, "You made up with June, why can't you make up with him?" Needless to say, I was completely over the tension and passive-aggressiveness between Pierce and Cypress. He pushed past it and made up with June but Pierce would not budge with Cypress, they hadn't talked in over a week.
"Fuck him," Pierce muttered as he turned his away from me, looking out the direction of the window. "June's my sister, I couldn't ignore her forever but Cypress completely fucking broke the rules."
"The rules?"
"Yes, the rules." Pierce said in annoyance "The rules we agreed on when we were like 13. Which included not fucking dating any of my sisters."
"I'm sorry Pierce but you haven't ever exactly one to follow the rules." I scoffed a laugh in utterly shocked that this was his defense. Pierce and Cypress agreed on a set of rules when they were younger before Crestmont had even become a thing but out of all men in the world those two were not ones to follow the rules.
Pierce rolled his eyes at me, not even acknowledging what I had said because he had known I was right. I gave up knowing I wouldn't be able to get to either of them and they had to come to terms with it themselves. June liked Cypress and Cypress liked June, whether Pierce liked it or not they were going to end up together eventually.
"Anyways, how long have you known Ryker Anderson?" I asked out of curiosity. "Since I was 14 and he was 16 so about four years." Pierce shrugged in response "Why the sudden curiosity?"
"Just kept thinking about Rain and what she had at the hotel the other day, I mean everything about when she had gotten kidnapped." I could not get what she had said out of my head and how it felt like I was following exactly in her footsteps which began to worry me for where I was about to be headed.
"Don't worry about that and what she said, Rain was probably just trying to relate to you. We are all doing everything possible to keep you safe Aspen. I understand you're worried but worrying isn't going to do anything more than drive you crazy." Pierce tried to reassure and in the back of my mind, I knew he had been right.
I began to open my mouth but was stopped when I heard knocking at the window. My eyes snapped over to the passenger seat window where Triston knocked on the glass with her fist. "Come on love birds, you can have car sex later." She teased before pulling open my door.
"Wow, you just missed me that much." I teased back as I slammed the door shut and Pierce joined next to me. We headed into the club that had been open but. I recognized Archer's black mustang that sat in front of the doors, a sudden wave of nervousness washing over me.
"Great.." I mumbled as I nodded my head towards the car, signaling to Pierce that the devil himself was in our presence. Pierce's eyes flickered from the car to me as he grabbed my hands in his, intertwining his fingers with mine in order to keep me close to him. Entering the club all the lights had been turned on while Theo sat at the DJ station and began messing with the soundboards that were built into the club walls.
Mercury rushed back to the backroom in order to find Greyson while June and Triston made their way to their lockers. Pierce's hand didn't let go of mine as we made our way to the back with everyone else. Walking down the cold corridor I felt like I had been reliving everything over again when the man tried to force himself onto me.
A shiver went up my spine as I continued to feel as uneasy as ever. Pierce, Cypress, and Mars led the way and we soon entered back to the locker area that was provided for the girls. My heart stopped in my chest when I had seen Archer, Xander, and Tucker all standing in the middle of the lockers as they were engrossed in their own conversations.
"What the fuck are they doing here?!" I gritted through my teeth as I watched one guy who hates my guts for rejecting him and another who plotted out how to kill me. I couldn't believe Xander would let them both continue to be in Crestmont without any real punishment, it was like it had just been slipped under the rug.
I looked over to Xander as his face fell in the realization that he would now have to explain why in hell he would let them both back at the same time. "What Aspen?" Tucker bit his lip as he walked closer to me, his fingertips walking up to my shoulder as he pushed my shirt, tugging on my bra strap "Not excited to be a new employee."
"W-what?" I swallowed a lump in my throat, not wanting to think what Tucker was saying was true. New Employee? It had just hit me that I had turned eighteen and all the girls were required to work for the club when they turned eighteen. I looked over to Pierce, wanting him to say something.
Pierce took no time but to shove Tucker away from him, pushing him up against a wall as he clutched his shirt in his fist. "Fuck off Sutton." Pierce gritted as he released his grip on him, sending him a glare that could kill. Tucker straightened out his shirt as Pierce released him and Xander cleared his throat.
"Aspen as you know all girls are required to take part in the club whether it's stripping or prostitution, it's just part of being in the gang once you turned eighteen," Xander explained as he forced the words out, looking between Pierce and me.
"No." I shook my head in denial "I never wanted to join Crestmont you can't force me to follow some bullshit rules when I wanted nothing to do with the gang in the first place."
"Oh is poor Aspen scared?" Greyson gave a fake frown as she walked in a two-piece lingerie set, her make-up slightly runny and hair messy "I just had a 50-year-old man pound me for 500 bucks in the back room, it's not a choice sweetheart."
"That's right." Mercury smirked as she approached behind her "So you better open up those legs and take it. Rules are rules and I think you've broken enough. I also don't want to ever hear you slut-shame me again."
"She's not fucking stripping." Pierce sent Xander a glare of disgrace. "Actually, it has been decided Aspen would do best in prostitution with a body like hers. Guys will pay close to a grand to have sex with her, it's the look of innocence that she gives off."
Pierce took no time but to send a punch flying into Archer just as he finished his sentence. Archer stumbled back as he grabbed his nose in pain. Archer regained his balance as his nose began profusely bleeding, the blood dripping down his hands as he looked up to Pierce with a glare.
"Pierce." Xander sighed "You know I don't want to but it is the rules, I can't just exempt Aspen but have forced all the other girls to do it."
"They aren't rape victims!" Pierce shouted at Xander with no hesitation. My breath hitched as everyone soon became silent. He was right, the other girls weren't victims of rape which gave them a completely respective on sex although I wasn't saying it wasn't hard for them at times. When I was in the room with the man when I first joined Crestmont it made me relive everything with Cayde, a feeling I never wanted to remember.
"Oh suck it up." Mercury rolled her eyes at me "You have a client waiting in the back so you better go back now, we must not keep the guest waiting of course."
Archer and Tucker soon grabbed me away from Pierce and forcing me down the hallway. "No. No. No" I struggled to retract from their grip but failed miserably. Tucker quickly picked me up and threw more over his shoulder as he walked to the backroom. I fought back, doing everything I could to get out of the locking grip he had on me but couldn't even budge.
"Pierce!" I shouted, pleading for help as my voice began to echo through the halls. Tucker quickly placed me down as they pulled off my heels and my jeans. I clenched my fist and punched Tucker straight in the jaw, making him turn his face to the side from the impact. He clenched his jaw as he looked back at me and gave me a look of evil "You shouldn't have done that."
Archer ripped my shirt off which left me in a bra and underwear as I began to run back down the hallway but was soon grabbed by Tucker, being pulled back. Pierce came rushing down the hall as he reached out for my hand, me stretching for his hand as Tucker's arms wrapped around my body and pulled me back. My fingertips broke away from his and Archer blocked Pierce from me.
Archer sent a punch directly into Pierce's stomach, making him stumble just a bit. While Pierce became off guard and stumbled back Tucker had thrown me into the room, slamming the door shut on my face. I grabbed the doorknob, turning it over and over again but came to a realization it was locked.
I began pulling on the doorknob in order to make it budge but it had been no use. I clenched my fist and banged on the door "Let me out! Fucking let me out!" My pleas became muffled from the door as I heard yelling from the other side of the door. I froze when a man's hand snuck around my waist, his cold hands touching against my skin.
"I've been waiting for you. I paid a grand for you so you better make it worthwhile." His voice was just as cold as his touch, his hot breath faltering across my skin. I became as stiff as a board in fear and couldn't force myself to move as the fear began eating away at me. His hands moved down to my hips as he forced me to turn around. He kept my body pinned up against the door as he placed a fingertip underneath my chin, forcing me to look up to him.
"Pretty pretty girl." His lips turned up into a smirk as his eyes bored into mine. He had been about his late '30s to early '40s. He had already been undressed besides for a pair of boxers that hung loosely around his hips. The man had dark soft brown hair with brown eyes. Although his eyes had been tired and had a beard that was a little past the stubble stage but still short.
His right hand moved up to my breast, groping them over my bra and tears began to prick my eyes. He didn't move his index finger from beneath my chin and continued to stare directly into my eye. His body stayed pinned against mine, not allowing for any movement and I quickly pushed my knee upwards, hitting him straight in the balls.
His hands immediately dropped from my body as he grabbed them in pain, groaning a ramble of curse words. I turned around to face the door again, tugging and banging at the door. "Aspen!" I could hear Pierce's voice yell from the other side of the door as he banged on the other side of the door.
"Pierce let me out!" I screamed, tears beginning to race down my face. I watched as the doorknob began to shake from Pierce pulling at it from the other side. It had just been like last time except for this time Pierce was the one trying to get me out and not force me in. I was soon grabbed and pulled away from the door as the man threw me directly onto the bed.
"You shouldn't of fucking done that." He gritted at me as he grabbed his belt and pushed my face down onto the bed, smothering my face into the bedsheets. He pulled both my wrist behind my back as he tied them together almost as if they were handcuffs. I began to try and force my way out but they were so tight it felt like with every movement they got tighter.
He pulled my underwear off my legs, unclasping my bra, and flipped me over as he forced my legs apart. "Stop!" I screamed as tears streamed down my face and I couldn't believe I was reliving my biggest nightmare.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" My screams were filled with tears and almost ear-wrenching "Pierce please!" The man slapped me across the face in order to shut me up as the slap made my skin go bright red, the stinging feeling remaining.
"Shut up and be good or I'll fucking choke you." He warned as he pushed my legs further apart. I closed my eyes, forcing more tears out of my eyes as they made their way down my cheeks. The door soon then busted open and my eyes shot open to see Pierce.
Pierce grabbed the man off of me and I pushed myself back to the headboard of the bed as I covered myself with the sheets. Triston, June, Mars, Cypress, and Xander all rushed into the bedroom as the girls rushed over to me.
"Aspen." June's voice cracked as she and Triston pulled me into a tight hug. Cypress helped Pierce throw the guy into the wall, creating a hole as his body smacked against the drywall. They took their turns throwing punches before the man was beaten to a bloody pulp. Xander rushed in as he tried to pull Pierce away from the man but failed to fight him on it.
My eyes grew wide as I watched Pierce pull out a pistol, pointing it up to the man who laid in a bloody pulp on the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut as I looked away, not being able to watch what was about to happen.
"You don't try and fucking rape my girlfriend." He gritted before pulling the trigger. My whole body jumped at the sound of the gunshot going off, not daring to look while it happened. I forced my eyes open as I glanced over to the man whose bullet hole was prominent straight to his heart, an open wound in his chest.
The man began to gurgle as he gripped his chest. He soon fell to the ground and everything seemed to go in slow motions. "What the fuck! You just fucking killed him, Pierce, the cops are already on you!" Xander shouted in response as he shoved Pierce back and ripped the gun from his hands.
"He fucking tried to rape her!" Pierce shouted back, glaring back at Xander. Xander became silent as he had known he was in the wrong and Pierce was only trying to protect me from the sick bastard who was a rapist. Pierce ripped his eyes away from Xander as he took a seat next to me in the bed and pulled me into his arms.
I cried into his chest, gripping onto his plain white t-shirt as the numbness started to take over my body. Being numb was almost as scary as feeling pain, it was once you hit a certain point that you no longer knew how to handle it so all your body could do was to numb the pain in a response to the trauma you had undergone.
"I'm so sorry baby. I'm so fucking sorry." Pierce placed his lips to the top of my head as he rubbed his hand up and down my back, keeping the bed sheet placed around my naked body so it wasn't revealed to anyone else.
"Can we do anything?" Triston's voice spoke up softly but I didn't dare to look up from Pierce's chest as I didn't want anyone to watch me cry. "No." Pierce shook his head, keeping his hold on me tight "Just get everyone out for now."
I glanced over to June and Triston as they both gave me forced small smiles that weren't filled with one bit of happiness. Mars and Cypress walked over to the man who laid dead on the ground, dragging him out of the room to dispose of his body which left Pierce and me as Xander closed the door.
This was the thing about being in Crestmont, as much as it had felt like a family at times, I knew it wasn't. The highs were great where we all got along and were hanging out at the wedding with not a care in the world, other days were the lowest of lows where members turned their backs on you and you were once again forced to face the worst of the worst.
"P-please take me home." I stuttered, looking up to his crystal grey eyes. "Ok baby." Pierce didn't argue as he wiped away the tears from my eyes. I forced myself out of his lap but struggled to stay balanced as I couldn't begin to stop my body from shaking. Every time I closed my eyes I could see the man's face and could feel his touch on my body.
I had felt like I needed to scrub myself clean to escape from his haunting touch. I began to gather my clothes as I pulled them onto my body. I couldn't help but compare it to the same feeling after Cayde would take advantage of me, it was the same life-eating that had run through my body.
I pulled on the last articles of my clothing, now being fully dressed. I had felt comfortable covered from shoulders to ankles, not a part of my body showing. Pierce pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me as he hugged me tightly.
"I can't say how fucking sorry I am Aspen, I never wanted you to get hurt. I wish I would've gotten to you sooner." Pierce's voice cracked and I could tell he was holding back tears himself after witnessing what I had just gone through and knowing the pain first hand.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Aspen!" Aster and Evangeline's voice cheered as I entered through the doorway of the house. I hadn't even seen Aster or Evangeline since I had left for the trip because of how early I got home they both had still been asleep.
The cheerfulness that filled their faces soon fell as they scanned over me. Pierce stood behind me, completely silent and preparing for whatever flip out Aster was about to have on him. "What's wrong?" Evangeline asked, walking up to me and pulling me into a hug "You look like you have been crying."
"Pierce," Aster said warningly as he looked over to Pierce, wanting answers immediately. I pulled away from Evangeline and wiped the remaining tears that had pricked at my eyelids, making a haze over my irises.
"Archer and Tucker forced her into the back room at the club.." Pierce trailed off, his voice stern as he didn't want to talk about the subject either "There was a customer, he tried to rape her. I tried to get to her as fast as I could-"
"Where's the man?" Aster interrupted his voice demanding as he knew this wasn't leading to anywhere good. I looked over to Pierce who had clenched his jaw, his eyes flickering from mine to Asters.
"Dead."
Aster's eyes fell as he looked over to me, understanding the severity of the situation. "Are you ok?" His voice broke into pieces as he pulled me into a tight hug. I was engulfed by his arms, his warmth overcoming my cold body that still felt frozen and numb. I stayed in Aster's hug for a couple of moments before pulling away.
"I..I just want to get some sleep." I admitted as I just wanted to sleep and escape all of this, pretending it had never happened. Although I was sure my dreams would turn into nightmares and my sleep would be a repeating nightmare of my reality. They all nodded in agreement and I headed up to my bedroom, and Pierce followed behind me.
I kicked off my heels and pulled off my clothes, throwing on an oversized t-shirt and climbing into bed. Pierce laid down in my bed next to me, pulling me closer to him as my head rested on his chest and his arms remained around my body.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.." Pierce whispered softly "All I have tried to do is protect you since you joined Crestmont and I'm sorry I failed you, Aspen. I wish I could take all the pain away."
I had known Pierce would have gotten to me sooner if he could, he did everything he could have but we both were betrayed by Archer and Tucker. I didn't want or need him blaming himself for what had happened when he did everything he possibly could, not doing a second less of what he was capable of.
"Don't blame yourself, please." I begged as I stared down at our entangled hands "It wasn't your fault Pierce, you did what you could."
Pierce's finger began to trace the promise ring that was placed on my finger, the one he had just given me yesterday. His lips pressed to the top of my head before whispering quietly "I will never leave your side and promise to do everything I can to protect you. This will NEVER happen again, not to my girl."
* * * * *
A://N Sorry for the late update, my life has been really crazy lately so I haven't had as much time to write.
What did you guys think of this chapter? ROD has officially hit over 400 pages on a regular google document.
Thoughts on Tucker?
Thoughts on Archer?
Why do you think Xander let them back in?
Do you think Mercury is going to freak out about the promise ring?
Do you think the man may have any correlation to any other gangs? If so what do you think will happen?
What do you think about Pierce being able to shoot the man with no hesitation?
How do you think Aster is going to react once Aspen feels a little better?
Favorite Pierce and Aspen moment?
~ Ash