Chapter Four
VULCAN laughed at me as I took another swig of my Sun Drop. I pushed my hair out of my face and took the controller in my hands more firmly. When we were ready the game started and we all scattered. I went to my favorite sniping nest and watched the ground below me for the guys. The bloodbath began.
Hours later, we were finally done playing Call Of Duty and I was exhausted. After the battle with The Signs and then relaxing with the guys for a few hours my body was ready to shut down.
I exited the clubhouse, pulling my hoodie more firmly around me to block out the chill in the air. I slid into the driver's seat of the car and started her up, letting the heat pulse through my car a bit before I started driving. I had the radio on and that's why I couldn't hear him.
Bruce came up to my window and tapped against the glass. I was getting ready to roll down the window for him when I noticed that Ronnie and the other Signs were standing a few feet behind him. My hand froze above the lever and I stared up at him with confused eyes.
"Can we talk?" Bruce asked, cocking his head to the side.
"I can't really. I have to get home and my hamster needs... cheese." I panicked and said the first thing that came to mind. He didn't need to know that I don't and never have owned a hamster.
After looking back at Ronnie for confidence he turned back to me. "I don't think you understand." He reached behind him into the back of his pants. "I wasn't asking." My eyes widened at the sight of a revolver in his hand.
My foot twitched towards the accelerator and my hand towards the gear shift but Ronnie had come up behind Bruce and saw my movements. "Not so fast, Sami. Even if you managed to get past us we'd just go and have a chat with your dearest D..." He let his words hang in the air and I knew he'd gotten me trapped. I'd easily give up myself to save my boys, especially D.
"Get out of the car, Sam." Bruce opened the door for me and I got out of the car with my head held high. I may have been terrified but I wasn't about to show them that.
"Okay, I'm out of the car. What are we talking about?" I flipped my hood up in an attempt to keep warm.
"I warned you that she was feisty, Bruce. She always was fun to be around..." Ronnie circled me like a predator and I barely repressed a chill that went down my spine. "Get her in the car and keep her quiet boys. We're going home." Before I could open my mouth to scream three of The Signs were on me. One yanked my hands behind my back and bound them with what felt like zip ties. Another got my feet and the third gagged me. They lifted me up and tossed me in the back seat of my car.
Ronnie got in the driver seat of my car and he fired her up. "What is this trash you're listening to? I remember you having better taste in music..." He messed with my presets and chuckled when I didn't respond. "Not so quick witted now are you, Sami? Cat got your tongue?" He laughed at his joke and pulled away from the hangout, the others following suit behind us.
While he drove he chattered away about nothing of importance and I completely ignored him, too focused on the circulation that was being cut off in my wrists and ankles. I twisted my arms this way and that but all I managed to do was move my sweatshirt and make my wrists bloody. I rolled over onto my stomach so I wouldn't stain my leather and turned my face towards Ronnie.
"-so I told him to hit the pavement." He laughed as though he said something utterly hilarious, I just rolled my eyes which was not my best idea seeing as how he chose that exact movement to look back at me. "Aren't you enjoying yourself Sami?" he asked in a clipped tone. "Maybe you'd prefer this." He brake checked us and I slammed into the seats in front of me before rolling back into spot. We'd been going about seventy and I was sure my cheek was going to bruise from that impact...
It wasn't long before the car stopped and Bruce pulled me from the car. He set me on my feet and I shot him the most lethal glare I could manage. His eyes zeroed in on my cheek and I knew I must have a red mark meaning, it was going to leave a nasty bruise in the morning.
"Samantha, I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen, you have to know that." He looked right into my eyes and I turned my head away from him. It didn't matter if he was lying or not because either way I was here and that obviously wasn't a good thing for me.
"Someone grab her!" Ronnie barked and before I knew it I was tossed over someone's shoulder, effectively knocking all the air out of my lungs.
I was carried into a building and tossed, rather unceremoniously, into a chair. I leaned back into the chair and looked around the room I was in. I recognized it immediately. I'd spent seven months in this room two years ago...
The walls were still the same dark green and all the furniture was the exact same. A queen bed with a yellow bedspread, an oak roll top desk with everything just as I left it, a white vanity and matching dresser. Everything looked just as it had two years ago although nothing looked dusty and there were no cobwebs.
"I kept it just as you left it," Ronnie said softly, coming to sit on my bed across from me. He rested his hands on his knees and smiled at me, "Do you like it?"
I looked at him blankly before he realized the gag was still in place. "My apologies. Precautions had to be taken so that your...friends wouldn't interfere with our reunion. I missed you Sami."
"Why are you doing this, Ronnie?" I asked, moving my hands up to touch my stinging cheek.
"I had to. You should know that Sami. After they took you away I looked for you for months. Then all of a sudden you just popped up with The Prides, as if you'd been with them forever. I had to wait for the perfect time to get you back. Back home where you belong." Ronnie's eyes looked so sincere that I was taken aback.
"Oh my gosh Ronnie, that was two years ago. They didn't take me! I ran away. From this!" I gestured my bound hands around the room.
Almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth Ronnie's palm was on a collision course with my sore cheek. Pain exploded on my face and I bit my cheek, the taste of blood filling my mouth. Tears welled up in my eyes but I kept them diverted from him.
"Look at me, Sami!" Ronnie shouted. I raised my eyes to meet his and when he saw the fear obviously mirrored in mine he raised his hands to me, palms out. "Don't be afraid, baby. You're safe. They'll never take you away from me again."
"Ronnie, what are you talking about?" My voice didn't come out as strong as I'd like. It was timid, something it hadn't been for years.
"You seem to need time to process. I'll go make some tea and I'll be back in a few minutes." Ronnie walked out and I was left speechless.
Today was the first time in two years since I talked to Ronnie. I hadn't said a word to him since I left, not for lack of trying on his part.
When I agreed to spy on The Signs for my guys they didn't just let me go in at first. In the beginning they still had to be sure they could trust me. They took me under their wing and taught me how to dance. That was my first lesson.
D always told me that dancing was the most important part. Ronnie was only a year and a few months older than me so D said we needed to have a lot in common, our passion for dancing being the thing that would bring us closest to each other.
Over the years the guys kept me a secret, meeting late at night or during school hours. They started me out easy, watching them then having me repeat it. It was almost like a game at first. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months things progressively got more difficult.
When they felt like I knew enough I was fifteen, Ronnie was sixteen. There was an old rollerskating rink in town that Ronnie and The Signs went to everyday after school. Marx, being the closest resemblance dropped me off everyday at the same time and was sure to yell that our mum wanted us home at nine. He put on quite the show for Ronnie and The Signs. Day by day Ronnie and I became closer until finally I was telling my parents that I was okay with going to boarding school in the fall.
Mum and Dad never knew that I wasn't staying on campus and that Ronnie lived a two minute walk from the main grounds. Ronnie lived with his crew in their mansion of a clubhouse. I was given my own room since I was "Ronnie's Girl" and I was free to sit in on all their practices. The Signs never danced with girls, always saying we were "too fragile" or "too emotional" to handle the stresses and physical pounding that we put ourselves through.
Every couple of days I'd go back to the guys and tell them what I could. They filled me in on everything that was happening with their battles and I was pleased to hear that they were making some real progress. An overwhelming sense of pride and belonging always followed me when I was with my crew.
When I went back to The Signs Ronnie was always waiting for me with a hug and kiss. Over the months we really grew to know each other. He became a good friend and if it weren't for the tension between The Signs and The Prides maybe we could have worked out together.
Before I knew it five months were gone and D wanted to pull me out. He was afraid that if I stayed much longer someone would figure out that I was working with The Prides. I never believed him but he was right.
Ronnie's older brother used to run The Signs before he went away to college. He entrusted his crew to the only one he could, his younger brother. Over Christmas break Stefan, Ronnie's brother, came home to visit for the holidays. I only left once during the week Stefan was with us but he knew that something was up.
Stefan confronted me when I came home that night and I knew that I was in for it. The way he leaned into my ear and whispered, "You're going to regret this," was forever ingrained into my memory. When he left five days later, if I said I was sad to see him go I would have been lying through my teeth.
Shortly after the holidays and Ronnie's eighteenth birthday in February JoJo told me I had to come home. I knew it was going to happen but I hadn't expected it so abruptly. I left him on Valentine's Day.
After I left I told the guys everything I knew and then it was like it never happened at all. I was training with them every night and everyday after school, the only difference being that now when they went to battles I got to join them. We exploded onto the dance scene and word travels quickly when you don't want it to.
Ronnie burst into one of our practices one night, months after I'd left him, looking for me but D and TT had me tucked away in the bathroom before he made it through the front door. After that I only saw him when we went to dance. Occasionally he tried to confront me but one or two of the guys always swept me away before he got the chance.
Looking back it seems kind of tragic but I always belonged with The Prides. Your crew was your family and even though I was with Ronnie and The Signs for seven months and wore their colors I was always a Pride.
I was torn away from my memories when the door opened. Ronnie came in holding two glasses of iced tea and he shut the door behind him. He had the same look in his eye that he used to get when we were dating and I knew what was coming next. He set the tea down on my desk and pulled me up to stand.
Ronnie embraced me warmly and gave me a kiss on the forehead. He held me close and my head rested on his chest. "You're home now, Sami. You're home."
~~
Here is the next chapter! That took way too long and I'm sorry! Do you know how many rewrites it took to get this just the way I wanted it? I hope you enjoy my plot twist and what you learned about the characters...
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♥Always P.H.