Liam's POV
My teeth chattered together as my body shivered while I curled into a ball to keep as much body heat as possible. My back was pressed against the ally wall so at leas part of me would be protected from the wind. Loud music poured out of the club I was leaning against but I didn't really mind it; it drowned out the sound of people screaming and police sirens going off.
It's been 12 days.
Well more like 12 days, 15 hours, and about 30 minutes. They would realize what they did soon and would come to find me.
They didn't mean it when they kicked me out. They were just mad, they always felt bad after a few days, I just needed to give them a few more days.
That had become my mantra for the past week and I honestly starting to get sick of it but I didn't have any other option. If my parent's didn't come find me then I was screwed.
I had no family other than them, I didn't have any friends to stay with for a while, and if I went to the cops they would probably figure out that I was the one who stole that car a few weeks ago.
So I was stuck here.
Sitting against an alley wall, filthy, starving, and probably going hypothermic.
"Okay kid," a voice called out from the mouth of the alley, making me jump. My head snapped up to look at him and he was honestly kind of terrifying. "I let you stay here all day and most of the night but now I need you to clear out. You're starting to scare off people and I can't have that so I need you to leave."
"Okay, I'll leave," I say with a sigh but I only said that to make him go back inside. My parents always found me here, if I left now they wouldn't know where to come get me.
"You said that last time and you ended up staying for the rest of the night. My boss is going to be pissed if I let you stay here tonight. Please just leave and save both of us some trouble."
When I don't answer this time the guy sighs and goes back inside, which made me feel a little better but I knew he would be back so I didn't let myself celebrate.
I allow my head to rest against the wall as I wait for the guy to get his boss. My eyes start to feel heavy and my stomach begins to ache as I ball up even more.
"How fucking hard is it to get a fucking kid out of an alley," some cursed as they came to the opening. I expected for him to stop there and yell at me like the other guy did but he doesn't stop until he's standing above me with a scowl on his face.
His black hair was tied in a messy bun and he had a mean looking scar under his eye as he looked down at me with pure rage.
"Get up," he seethed out but I only rolled my eyes as I looked away from him. His glare hardened as he reached behind his back and pulled out a gun before pointing it at me. "Get out of here before I unload all of this into your god damn stomach."
I can't help the small laugh that escapes me as I look at him. His glare turns into an unreadable expression as I push myself up and lean against the wall just to keep myself from falling over.
"We both know you aren't going to do shit," I whispered to him just so his friends wouldn't hear me.
I was honestly bluffing. I had no idea what he would or wouldn't do but my dad always said that I was really good at reading people so if I had a feeling, just go with and see where it take you. Come to think of it though, going with my feelings is how I ended up but here so I probably shouldn't actually take that advice anymore.
I must have been right though. The guy only gave out a sigh as he let the gun drop down to his side.
"What are you even doing at here? If you're trying to be a hooker or a dealer, you need to start dressing the part and you need to be closer to the opening."
"I'm waiting for someone."
"Go wait for them somewhere else."
"Why should I? It's not like you're going to do anything and I'm pretty comfortable right here." Another scowl forms on his face, he was obviously starting to get pissed off again but one of his friends lets out a laugh as he comes closer.
"Kid's got balls on him. Why not stick him in the warehouse until he gets scared off?"
"Great idea Barrett," the other one says as he joins his friend and his boss. "And then we'll get busted for all of it when he's scared off." Barrett frowns at that but his boss still stares at me with his scowl.
"Somebody throw him in a car and take him home," their boss said with a scowl.
"Wait, like our home?"
"No dumbass, his home."
"They'd call the cops on all of us if you did that," I say with a bored sigh. "Why do you think I'm out here?" The boss' jaw clenches at that. "I've dealt before though. I'm not leaving but I can a least work while I loiter."
"Nothing's better than free help," the serious one said with a guarded look but he continued to glare at me.
"I don't do kids," the boss said with another scowl as he turns back to the opening and begins to walk out. "If one of you want to baby sit him them go ahead but if not then knock him over the head and drag his ass somewhere else."
The other two only stared for a while longer, as if they were trying to figure out if it was worth the trouble.
"Do me a favor and bring me an extra hoodie and some shit down here," Barrett said with a frown. "I'll look after him for a while." The serious one only gives out a huff before he starts walking away but the second he's gone Barrett is smiling down at me.
"Jem likes you already. I'd stick around for a while longer if I were you."
Ryder's POV
It had taken nearly all week but I had finally done it. I found an insurance that would help my mom and took out bill of 3,000 a month down to only 1,000, which was still a lot of money but that was a lot more reasonable than I thought it was going to be.
Now all I had to do was find a job and try not to have a panic attack at it. That was easy enough.
"I want to try and find a job," I said almost as soon as I walked into Andrew's home office, making his eyes shoot up a bit in surprise.
"Well that's amazing. I take it your time with Patrick and your mom has been helping then?"
"It's been helping a lot but I still don't think I can take a full time job or something with a lot of people. Not yet at least."
"Well there are plenty of jobs like that. You used to read a lot before camp right?" I only nod. "What about working at a library or at a book store? I actually know the woman who owns the one in town. I can get you started by Monday if you want."
That honestly didn't seem like an overly bad job but would it pay enough?
"What would the hours be like and what's their hourly?"
"It would be no more than 20 hours a week and it pays 12.50 an hour right off the bat. I know that's not an overly livable wage but you end up having the same wage as Callum, he just works more than you."
"That would only be less than three hours a day though. It's almost stupid to get dressed and go to work for only three hours," I point out with a frown.
"She already has one other girl working with her, she's also from camp, you may even know her. You and her would end up alternating days. So you would work Monday for 6 hours and then she would work Tuesday for 6 hours. You would both only end up working 3 days a week since the store is closed on Sundays."
That actually didn't sound like an overly terrible idea. I mean sure, 6 hours a day wasn't ideal and I'm sure there will be days when that will be too much peopling for me but it was better than 6 hours every day. And it's not like I really had any other option; I need this money or the insurance will drop me.
"I guess go ahead and tell her that I'll take the job." Andrew's smile grew at that as he wrote down a note from himself.
"Anything else you want to talk about today? Have you taken everyone to see your mom yet?"
"Not yet. I know Liam and Jax will take it well but Callum will keep feeling bad and getting weird like he did when I first came to camp."
"Does Jax even know about her?"
"He knows that she was sick but I don't know if he knows she's still alive." He hummed at that.
"Do you even want them to meet her? Before you left camp you've been talking about how you can't wait for them to meet her and now that you all have the chance to, you won't let them."
"Not really," I say with a small shrug. "It almost feels like rubbing it in. Like 'hey everyone, come look at my mom even though all of you don't have one that actually cares about you'.
"So it doesn't have to do with the fact that you are trying to keep them from getting hurt too if something happens?"
It was times like this when I hated Andrew. He was right of course but it still made me mad.
I mean I've known for a while that she probably wasn't going to make it. I knew that before I was even shipped off to camp. I've accepted it, especially now that I've seen her condition first hand. But my boyfriends haven't and I knew them all to well.
If I took them to meet her, Liam and Callum were going to get attached even is she couldn't talk or give any sign that she was listening. Then she would die and they would be crushed. Why not same them that pain?
"Why let them get hurt if they don't have to be?"
"They'll be hurt regardless of if they knew her or not. They love you, so if you get hurt, they'll hurt simply because you are."
His words were comforting but I was stuck on one word in particular.
Love.
I knew Callum and Liam loved me and I knew I loved them but Jax and Carter were the problem here.
Did they love me? I mean yea Jax and Carter were amazing. If I told them I didn't like something, they worked on it. If something was bothering me, they often fought each other so they could help me with it. It's possible that they loved me.
But did I love them? I liked them a lot, that wasn't a secret. But love and like were so different.
I don't think I loved them. Not yet at least.
I think I easily could soon.
Last updated June 29, 2021