I tugged my jacket closer to me as a cool breeze swept my hair back. Although the weather had begun to warm up slightly, this only brought cold rain and muddy puddles, giving the air an earthy scent. We still had a ways to go before I could put my heater back into storage, but seeing as March had just barely begun, I hoped for nicer, sunnier days to come.
With the thought of warmth in mind, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and attempted to fool myself into believing that Spring was coming soon. King's leash tugged on my wrist as he pulled forward, excited to go and adventure outside our home. With a click of my tongue, he relaxed slightly and the leash sagged from my wrist.
"He's very well trained," Declan commented from my right, "until he's trying to bite your face off..."
After I managed to pull myself together from my embarrassing breakdown earlier, Declan suggested we go for a walk, saying he wanted to show me something. He refused to tell me where we were headed, but I was too tired to push the topic. My hangover had dulled to a steady throb and I was extremely grateful for whatever Declan had given me earlier. Nonetheless, I was still exhausted from... whatever happened last night. Everything was still extremely foggy and my recollection of the previous night's events felt like a word stuck on the tip of my tongue. It was driving me mad trying to figure out what drove me so over the edge as to get so wasted...
I shook my head of the thought before I could depress myself further. So instead, I turned my head to Declan and gave him a small smile.
"Who ever said I didn't train him to do that?" Declan gave me a pointed look and I chuckled. "Joking. He's just protective is all."
Declan looked down at the dog who was trotting along happily in front of us. "I'm glad you have him then."
I gaze followed down to King and I smiled. "Me too." I take a breath and look around the crowded streets of Dartwell, trying to figure out where exactly we could possibly be going. "So are you ever going to tell me where we are headed or are we just going for a nice stroll?"
"It's a surprise," he replied cryptically.
My face scrunched up in displeasure. "I hate surprises."
"Well today you're going to have to suffer through one."
I paused.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
Another pause.
"How about now?"
"No."
"What about now?"
He paused in the middle of the sidewalk to turn and face me with narrowed brows. "Are you going to do this the whole way there?"
I shrugged. "You are making me suffer through a surprise, I am making you suffer through my presence."
I gave him a few moments of precious silence before opening my mouth again.
"Are we there-"
"Alexa, I will tell you the moment I lay eyes on it when we get there."
"But I wanna know-"
"Alexa, so help me if you ask that question one more time..."
I let out a huff before reverting myself back into silence, watching King trot along happily. I glanced around the city and watched cars pass by when an idea suddenly came to mind.
Pop.
I kept my gaze forward but held back a smile as I watched Declan's confused gaze out of the corner of my eye. He looked like he was about to say something when he just shook his head and turned forward again.
Pop.
Declan gave me a sideways glance but didn't say anything.
This time a waited a few moments. And then...
Pop.
This time Declan stopped and turned to face me, eyes narrowed. "Do you really have to act like an ass?"
I gasped and spun around to meet his annoyed gaze. "That ass's name is Donkey you uncultured swine. And like Donkey I'm bored and you refuse to amuse me, Shrek. So I must amuse myself."
Declan raised a brow. "Uncultured swine? Shrek?"
My lips twisted in thought as I stared him up and down.
"You're right," I paused, "that's an insult to Shrek."
Declan's eyes narrowed before he placed a hand over his eyes and rubbing his lids.
"You need to stop hanging around Jordan."
That's when we both came to a halt in front of a tall brick building with lively green vines creeping up its edges.
Declan gazed at the building with relief. "Anyway, we're here."
I looked at him and the building skeptically. The unkept vines and broken windows around the front made the building look old and abandoned, as if no one had stepped foot inside for years. When I turned back at Declan he was already making his way down the alley to the buildings right. He glanced over his shoulder to tell me to hurry up before I quickly scampered after him. When we reached a rusty old garage door, he punched in the code before it raised up noisily. It got stuck about halfway up, causing Declan to groan before hoisting it up himself. When the door was finally up he gestured me inside with a wave of his hand.
"After you," he nodded inside.
I glanced between him and the garage before skeptically trotting inside.
"This looks like the type of place where drug deals go down," I mumbled, only half joking.
Declan waved me off. "Don't be ridiculous. The drug deals happen a street over."
I gave him a pointed look to which he concealed a ghost of a smile.
He was only joking... I think...
The garage door creaked and groaned as Declan closed it behind us and I pulled a string hanging from the ceiling to light the dimly lit area.
In the newfound light, I glanced around the garage to see a wall lined with tools and tables on the right and a two large vehicles being covered by matching green tarps. King beat me to one of the vehicles and stuck his head under the tarp, tail wagging as he filled his nose with new smells. I made my way over to the first vehicle and lifted the covering slightly, revealing an ugly, banged up mustard yellow beater.
"Huh... I was expecting-"
"Bennett's beautiful crimson red Aston Martin?" Declan asked dreamily. Than he cleared his throat and nodded his head to the next car over. "'Cause that's that one. Just don't lift the tarp. Its rigged to trigger the alarm system."
My eyes widened at this as I covered up the ugly beater. "Why have this hunk of metal than?"
Declan approached my side and smoothed out the wrinkles in the tarp. "It makes this place look worth less than it really is. That if someone breaks in, they see the beater and assume there is nothing worth stealing."
"Until they see the rich person car sitting right next to it," I commented.
Declan shrugged and turned to walk towards a creaky old door.
"Yeah, well, usually it's not here. Which means the rest of the guys must already be inside."
My eyes widened as he reached for the handle and I quickly jumped in front of him.
"Wait, wait, the rest of them are here? You promised you wouldn't tell them! Declan, you-"
"And I'm not going to," he cut in, "I told you I wouldn't and I won't... that doesn't change the fact that I think you should, but..."
I frowned at the comment and my eyes found their way to my toes.
"I know I will eventually... I just want to find the right moment..."
Declan cocked his head and softly said, "is there really going to be a right time for something like this though? It feels like you want to put it off until they find out for themselves."
I chewed my lip in thought. I wouldn't admit it, but he wasn't exactly wrong. I really just didn't want them to know at all, but I had already told Declan I would tell the eventually, and I haven't been the best at keeping secrets.
I let out a long sigh and leaned against the door.
"Okay... by graduation they will know. I promise. That way, we will all be homeless and practically broke when we go off to college looking for apartments," I joked.
Declan didn't laugh. He only stared at me a moment longer, concern clouding his eyes, before shrugging his shoulders.
"It's your secret to tell," was all he said.
I felt guilty at his words but stepped to the side nonetheless as Declan reached for the door handle. He twisted the knob and gave the door a shove, allowing it to creak open to reveal a dusty, dark room. I waited for him to lead the way but was confused when he stood rooted to the ground. I stared at him oddly before taking a step forward.
"So are we going to go in or-?"
I was suddenly cut off when Declan yanked me back, just as something small and long whizzed passed me. A quiet thump echoed back towards us and I gazed towards a dart board across the room with a sharp dart full of liquid sticking out of the cork. I swallowed at the dart and whipped around toward Declan.
"Were those tranquilizers?!" I hollared.
Declan cringed at my shouting and touched his right ear.
"Yes, and no need to shout," he grumbled exasperatedly.
I stared back at him in shock. "No need to shout? A warning would have been nice! A simple, I don't know, 'oh hey, by the way, the entire placed is rigged, so don't do anything that will send a tranq in your rear end'!"
Declan rolled his eyes and waltzed into the now (hopefully) safe room.
"You do remember that little fact about how we're in a gang, right?" He glanced back at me with a brow raised. "Are you coming?"
I raised a brow right back at him. "Am I going to be shot at again?"
Declan rolled his eyes but I didn't miss the slight smile playing on his lips.
Assuming it was safe, I took one step into the room, waited for a moment, and then continued. Hopefully I don't trigger some other wild booby trap in this place.
The room we had just walked into matches the state of the garage. The whole place was run down and dusty. A busted rocking chair sat lying on the floor in the corner while an ugly stained rug spread across the dusty wooden flooring. A small bit of light filtered in through the windows up near the ceiling, the rays of light illuminating the particles of dust that floated around the room. Bookshelves decorated two of the four walls, the pieces of literature it held looking as if no one had picked them up in years. I ran two fingers over a small table with a lamp resting on its surface with my fingers coming back gray and dusty. The whole place seemed to have a thin layer of dust blanketed over it, giving the room a musty old smell.
I wrapped my fingers around a small string to turn on the lamp and pulled down when I head Declan shout.
"DON'T PULL THE STRING!"
It was too late however, as I had already pulled the cord down with a soft click. The warning nearly scared me out of my skin and I jumped back from the lamp with my arms covering my face, preparing for some sort of dart or spray to assault me.
A moment passed. Then another.
I pulled my arms away from my eyes and peered around me. Nothing happened. Then I looked down at the lamp only to see a dim light flickering from the bulb. Laughter erupted behind me and realization set in. Turning slowly, I glared at Declan, who was laughing hysterically at his own prank, leaning against a creaky wooden chair to support himself from rolling over laughing. King, who had also seemed startled by the sudden command, seemed to be glaring at Declan with me.
I folded my arms and scowled at him, huffing out through my nose. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You're hilarious," I growled out monotone.
He tried to say something back but only burst out laughing again, burying his face into his arm as he leaned heavily into the ancient chair. I smirked when an idea came to mind and stalked towards him. He was too busy laughing his head off he didn't realize I was right next to him until I landed a firm kick into one of the chair legs. A loud SNAP echoed throughout the room and before Declan knew what had happened, he was flailing his arms and stumbling onto the ground.
He groaned and sat up slowly with one hand cradling his nose. He checked for blood but luckily saw none. Now it was my turn to laugh.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said between chuckles, "it must have been booby trapped."
I laughed a moment longer before meeting the famous Declan Lynch glare. Shivers ricocheted down my spine and I took a step back as he attempted to get up. I gulped when he was standing and watched as he checked again for blood from his nose.
"You..." his eyes snapped back towards mine as he smirked with narrowed eyes, "are dead."
In that moment, I knew it would be best to run. But when I turned and was only met by a wall of books, I stopped short. I turned back around to see Declan marching towards me and gulped.
I'mtooyoungtodieI'mtooyoungtodieI'mtooyoungtodie.
I whipped back around towards the book shelves as an idea came to mind. I made a bee-line for the shelves and jumped to the highest shelf I could reach before scaling up the rest of the way. The wood creaked and groaned under my weight and I knew Declan wouldn't be able to climb up without breaking the shelf. When I reached the top, I swung my legs up just as Declan jumped to try and grab one of my ankles. I panted at the fast climb and tried to still my racing, fearful heart. Then I managed to chuckle down at the grounded, angry Declan below me. Then that chuckle turned into laughter.
Declan rolled his eyes below me and leaned up against the bookshelf on the left wall with his arms folded.
"Yeah laugh it up. What's your plan now? You'll have to come down eventually."
My laughter began to subside and I gazed around, realizing he was right. There was nowhere to go. And the tops of these shelves were nasty. Cobwebs and mouse droppings littered the tops and corners. My face scrunched up in disgust as my eyes landed on a dead mouse in the corner.
I glanced back down at Declan with a raised brow.
"I could just throw a dead mouse at you." I shrugged.
Declan's face twisted in disgust as he took a step back.
"Please don't," he mumbled.
I chuckled and glanced back at it. "Fine... but only because that would mean I would have to touch it."
I realized with surprise that King looked somewhat relaxed below me, not growling or barking menacingly at all in Declan's direction. For a protective animal seeing his person basically be chased and treed, he seemed monotone.
"I think he is warming up to you," I mentioned to Declan, "he didn't growl at all when you chased me... the one time I actually needed him but whatever..." I mumbled the last part resentfully.
Declan gazed down at King with a look of surprise. "Really? Now you like me?" He paused for a moment before outstretching his hand towards his head.
I chuckled from above as a thought occured to me. "You two look like Hiccup and Toothless..." I smirked, "Except this dragon is only a three feet long and can't bite your head off in .2 seconds."
Declan sent me a disapproving look before returning his attention to King. He reached further forward and when his fingers were only a few inches away, King suddenly let out a load growl before snapping at his hand. Declan pulled his hand back in the nick of time and King continued his low growl. I laughed from my place on the bookself.
Declan rubbed each of his precious fingers, making sure they were still in tact. "I think your dog is bipolar."
I laughed again, silently approving of my little guardian. "He'll come around." I paused to let out a sigh and lounged back against the wall. "But since King is becoming so fond of you, I suppose I will just have to wait until one of the others comes to my rescue."
Declan looked baffled. "Fond?"
I smiled to myself. "Trust me, he's gotten at least 3x more comfortable around you than he is around most other human beings."
I suddenly paused as I realized something. "Wait, where is everyone anyway? I thought you said they would be here?
A smirk suddenly returned to Declan's lips as his gaze skimmed across the books to his right.
"Ah, yes, that reminds me," his eyes landed on a book in particular and he reached for the crimson cover, "I haven't fully introduced the base to you, have I?"
My brows drew together at the words as I watched him pull the book forward. A clicking sound was accompanied by the turning of various gears that seemed to be echoing all around me. Or more specifically, right below me.
In a state of confusion and disorientation, I suddenly felt the wall leaving my back as the bookshelf swung forward. My arms flailed as I attempted to regain my balance, but all too late as I found myself falling backwards toward the ground below.
The force of my body hitting the ground was enough to make all the air leave my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath that I couldn't seem to inhale. King was at my side in seconds, whining and trying to lick my face while I shoved him away.
"Oh I'm sorry," Declan said, the smile apparent in his voice, "it must have been booby trapped."
I was still gasping for breath but managed to spew out a few short words.
"Declan..." I wheezed, "you little... peice of shi-"
"What was that thu-" I managed to glance up behind me to see Naomi's upside down figure, her face doused with shock. "A-Alexa?"
Naomi's shocked gaze switched to anger the moment her eyes landed on Declan. "What did you do to her?!"
Declan's smug look was replaced by shock as he looked between Naomi and me. "Wha- no! I- she- she tripped me! So I-"
"Dropped her 10 feet to the ground?!" Naomi hollered as she glanced up from the bookcase to my place on the floor.
Declan looked shocked and ashamed, like a little boy being scolded by his mother.
"W-well, I-"
Naomi shook her head and buried her face into her palms. I took the moment of privacy to mock laughter at Declan and stick my tongue out at him. He gaped at me and looked back and forth between the two of us.
Naomi sighed and grumbled, "she's not Jordan, Declan. You can't be this rough."
"Waut?!" All of our heads turned to see Jordan with a sandwich in hand, half of it drooping out of his mouth. He swallowed the food in his mouth before whining, "so it's okay if he does it to me but not her? How is that fair?!" He huffed and made brief eye contact with me before sending me a nod. "Hey Alexa." He turned back to whine again when he did a double take.
He let out a short, high pitched squeal and dropped his sandwhich on the ground.
"Ah! Alexa!"
He looked down at his beloved sandwich on the ground and fell to his knees.
"Ah! Sandwhich!"
Suddenly, King materialized in front of him, devouring the sandwhich in seconds, before poor Jordan even knew what hit him.
"AH! DOOOOG!"
I cringed as Jordan mourned over his lost sandwhich while King trotted back to me, happily licking his chops.
While Jordan was still sulking, Noami suddenly appeared in front of me.
"He'll be fine, he can make another sandwhich," she hurried out as her eyes scanned over my face and body for any injuries. "Are you okay? This knumbskull didn't hurt you too bad did he?" She asked before sending a pointed look in Declan's direction.
I could feel the daggers of Declan's eyeballs being fired into the back of my head but somehow managed to ignore them.
"Yeah... I'm fine now. Just a little bruised," I muttered.
Naomi visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. "Good."
It took her a full half a second for her face to transform from releif to anger. She punched me hard in the arm, causing me to grab the aching muscle in response.
"Ow-!"
"Where did you go?! Don't you realize we spent half the night out there looking for you?! You just disappeared without a trace, smack dab in the middle of Downtown Dartwell, injured and alone, in the middle of the night on gang infested streets, doing what exactly?! Just going for a midnight stroll?!"
She huffed and dragged a hand through her hair before pulling me into a hug. "We were worried about you."
I blinked and suddenly she pulled away, back to glaring daggers at me. "Now, don't ever do that again, young lady!"
My head was spinning from her ever changing emotions, causing me to simply blink back at her and nod my head. When I processed what she had said, my nodding head turned to shaking. "Wait, young lady? Aren't you forgetting who is older here?"
Naomi waved me off before granting me a hand to help me to my feet. "That's besides the point."
"Uh, hello," Jordan interrupted, bringing our attention back to his sulking form where he sat still hunched over where his precious sandwhich once resided. "So we are just going to dismiss the brutal murder of a BLT, here?"
"A better question would be, why is she here?"
Everyone turned to see Bennett leaning against the hallway wall, arms folded and brows narrowed slightly at Declan and I. I glanced back at Declan with a look of confusion before fixating my gaze back on Bennett.
"Why am I under the impression that I'm not meant to be here..." I mumbled with uncertainty.
Bennett ignored my question and glanced at each of the Musketeers before nodding his head for them to follow.
"Gang meeting in the conference room. Now."
Declan swallowed while Naomi and Jordan stared at Bennett in shock, glancing between myself and him.
"Bent..." Jordan mumbled quietly, his gaze flickering towards me.
At first I was confused as to what he was implying until I realized Bennett had specifically used the words, "gang meeting".
Bennett glanced back over his shoulder to glance at Jordan then myself, his gaze lingering for a moment. Then he shrugged and turned back around.
"It's nothing she doesn't already know," he said nonchalantly.
Naomi and Jordan's eyes both widened as their eyes snapped towards mine.
"You know?" Naomi blinked in shock.
I folded my arms and shrugged. "It wasn't much of a secret to be honest."
Naomi and Jordan blinked back at each other before Naomi finally shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it really wasn't." Naomi then turned the each of the guys with a raised brow, "I mean, seriously guys? You all go by your gang name in a place as public and rumor filled as a high school. What are you thinking?"
They each opened their mouths to reply but then looked at one another in speechless silence.
"Exactly," Naomi concluded.
Bennett shook away the thought before nodding back to a corner room where each of the Musketeers disappeared one by one. He paused in the doorway and glanced back at me with an emotionless expression.
"Just... stay."
King didn't even give me the opportunity to scoff before he gave a low growl for me.
Bennett glanced down at him for a moment before narrowing his eyes back at me.
"And he better not pee somewhere-"
"-he's housebroken don't worry," I grumbled. When I peered down and noticed King dangerously sniffing around the carpet however, I began to rethink my statement. When I glanced back up Bennett was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
I clicked my tongue at King to get him to stop his suggestive sniffing around and pointed my finger down for him to sit. He obeyed and I slowly tip-toed towards the door. Quiet voices made their way to my ears as I leaned towards the wooden frame.
"-bring her here?" Bennetts voice scolded quietly.
Declan replied, exasperated, "she already knew about the gang. Who cares if she knows about this?"
"We do, Declan. We're a team, and we make these decisions together. Especially when it includes Alexa. We still barely know a thing about her. She seems to know too much about us compared to what we know about her. Especially with what we discovered yesterday," Bennett's voice faded.
Declan's voice sounded confused when he said, "discovered? What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
Yes, Bennett. What are you talking about exactly? I thought, taking a step closer to the door. I swallowed and my eyes darted with anxiety.
There was silence for a moment before Jordan said, "I did a search on her yesterday."
My eyes widened and my irises darted towards the door in shock.
"You what?" Declan said at the same time I murmured, "you what?"
"It was when we were looking for her when she dissappeared yesterday night," Naomi mumbled, "we thought we could find something to help us know where she might have gone."
My eyes narrowed at this. First Declan with the tracker and now this? I understand that they were concerned but this is a huge invasion of my privacy.
I nearly stormed into the room right then and there but stopped myself.
They were prying... and the measures they were taking were definitely unnacceptable... but I knew a part of me deserved it. With everything I was lying to them about and everything I knew about them... it seemed unfair. I knew so much about them - things that could seriously get them in trouble - yet I was practically a stranger. I didn't know how I should feel about this... this mutual untrust. I didn't know how I was allowed to feel about this. So I was glad when Declan came to my defense for me.
"Naomi, you too?" Declan muttered in shock, "what are you doing? You know that's against the contract-"
"The contract was made to promise our protection and friendship," Jordan interrupted, "we were trying to protect her."
There were foot steps of someone moving across the room. The sound of rolling wheels against the floorboards made me think of an office chair being pulled off to the side. I imagined Jordan taking a seat.
"But, if it makes you feel any better, we didn't find anything."
My chest fell with a sigh of releif.
There was silence for a while on the other side. I was confused as to what was going on until I could hear the almost inaudible sound of a keyboard tapping.
The tapping stopped and the chair wheeled around again.
"Because she's a complete ghost. Declan, it's worse than Dominic. For Dominic we at least had information about him until he moved. But Alexandra Reeds?" There was a pause before a tapping sound. "She didn't exist until the beginning of this semester. She just materialized. The only digital fingerprint of her existence is what is on the school database. Look here, there's her date of birth, which is wrong considering that she told us she was eighteen going on nineteen. This makes her seventeen going on eighteen. And for her home address? It doesn't even exist. It's a postal office. Family consists of one phone number that leads to nowhere. Emergency contacts? Same number. Nothing.
"I'm sorry, but remind me when you started caring about this anyway?" Bennett added, "A few days ago you were the one that wanted to know more. That wanted to break the contract. We did it, so why do you all of a sudden care what the contract states?"
Declan was silent and my teeth clenched at the memory of Declan sticking a tracker on me.
I suddenly felt angry by everything. All the distrust, the lying, the secrets... I'll admit, I was to blame for a lot of this too. But I'm not the only one at fault here.
"It's because-"
But I didn't care to listen to the rest of Declan's explanation. I was too angry. I just needed to take a step back and cool off. I thought I had forgiven him and everyone else earlier today, but I guess I still held a bit of resentment for what he had done.
I took a deep breath and stepped away from the door, stuffing my hands into my pockets and shuffling into what appeared to be a livingroom. Part of my anger turned to awe. The place was beautiful. Natural light cascaded into the room through an enormous window that took up an entire wall of the room, giving an impressive view of the city. I assumed it was one-way glass since I didn't see any of this from the outside. Just to the right of the window was a curving staircase that lead to a second floor. Gorgeous metal banisters blocked my view of whatever lied on the second floor, but I assumed it was lined with bedrooms or games like pool and air hockey. Just below the overlook that branched off the staircase I noticed an impressive looking kitchen, with tools and utensils that I didn't know the names of neatly lined up on the wall. I noticed some bacon on a plate and toast peaking out of a toaster leftover from their lunch. My mouth watered at the smell but I refrained myself.
King however did not seem to have the self control.
"King! No! Bad dog!" I hollered as he raised his front two paws onto the counter while he continued to gorge himself on the greasy deliciousness.
I quickly ran up to his side and yanked him back down, but only after he managed to snatch up the last strip of meat. I picked up the plate, dissapointed, before whipping back around to scold my dog. King seemed to be too excited to be in a new place however, and took off towards the lineup of couches that surrounded a glass coffee table and a colossal flat screen TV on the wall.
"King!" I shouted in an attempt to get him to calm down.
But he only continued in his full on sprint, jumping up on ottomans and running laps around the furniture. Somewhere during his hyper episode, he managed to jump onto the TV remote resting on the arm of a couch, unpausing whatever the Musketeers had been watching before Declan and I interrupted.
In one final lap around the room, I finally managed to grab him as he came barreling around an armchair.
"Gotcha, you little beast..." I grumbled while his tail thumped against the ground furiously. He looked up and gave me a wet kiss on my cheek that I was quick to wipe away. I tsked before rising to my feet with his leash in my hand.
"-identified the body as 34 year old Tyson Lee, a man with a long criminal record of theft, sexual harrassment, and numerous records of disorderly conduct."
My eyes were drawn to the television screen, where a news woman sat behind a desk with a solemn expression as she recited the news. My brows drew together as a sinking feeling that I couldn't quite identify filled my stomach.
"Police say the body was discovered just this morning, with the previous nights rain storm washing away most evidence. Now we have Lisa Romirez at the scene now to fill you in. Viewer discretion is advised."
There was a moment of silence before the screen changed to another scene. A brunette women stood in front of a taped off alley way with a microphone in hand, her face flashing different colors from what I assumed to be ambulance lights nearby. The sinking feeling in my stomach grew as I realized this place was familiar. But how did I know? What happened? It was a faint memory but it was there, on the tip of my tongue...
"Thank you, Jen," Lisa started, "I'm here at the scene of the murder where just beyond this point police are retreaving the body of Tyson Lee and gathering whatever evidence can be salvaged from yesterday nights storm. Police say they believe a fight broke out near the street and made it's way back deeper into the alley. The only known witness is a man that an ominously made a 911 call after hearing the gunshot. Right now he has not left a comment. Currently there are no suspects of who finished this fight, though it is thought that Lee is the one who started it. However, police have reason to believe that this was no act of self defense. With multiple stab wounds and broken bones, it is clear that whoever murdered this man was angry and out for blood." Lisa paused and turned around as a team of medics carried out what must be the covered body of Tyson Lee.
A police officer approached the group and pushed them back to make way for the medics, trying his best to block the view of the camera. The camera man sidestepped the officer and recorded the body being loaded up into the ambulance.
My face went pale. My memories began to trickle back. But I wasn't looking at the body bag. I was looking at the familiar yellow M across the street.
Because if that's Mc. Donald's... that alley is the same one where... where...
When I looked back at the screen I was back to staring at Jen in her cozy news room. Only this time, a big, unmistakably familiar image of Tyson Lee's mugshot took up the entire right side of the screen.
That's when I remembered. Tyson Lee with his beady black eyes running over the length of my body with a knife to my throat. The fight between him and Raymond. The sound of his pounding feet as he fled into the alley like a rat in a sewer. But more importantly the blood on the cement as it began to rain. The nagging voice that told me to turn around as I ventured further into the direction where he dissappeared. The puddles of blood. The knife glimmering crimson.
Tyson's bleeding pores and lifeless eyes.
Then I drank it all away... I drank away the fact that he was murdered by-
"You."
The room was silent.
The only motion was the rising and falling of our chests and my eyes darting between each of the Musketeers, whom I only acknowledged now had entered the room.
"You... you said you wouldn't..." I mumbled with the hurt and disgust clear in my eyes.
Bennett stood staring at the screen in a way that looked as though he were trying to put together a puzzle with missing peices.
"You broke your promise..." I muttered quietly.
"Alexa, we-"
"Give me your pinky," I interrupted.
He gave me a weird look. "Wha-"
"Because I am going to BREAK IT!"
Then I lunged.
I didn't make it far before two strong arms yanked me back.
I growled and thrashed but Declan's grip was firm.
"LET ME GO!" I screamed.
King jumped in and began to bark and growl, eventually resulting in Declan releasing me.
My chest rose and fell in an angry rage.
"Liars..." I grumbled, shaking my head, "you lied to me..."
"We didn't lie to you," Bennett said sternly.
I made a scoff like sound and gestured to the television screen.
"Then what is that?"
Bennett's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. "If you could spare a moment before jumping to conclusions, I could tell you. We didn't kill him."
I gave him a look of disbelief and shook my head. "You four were the only other people to know where he was other than Raymond, and he was with me the entire time."
"Well obviously someone else knew," Declan added.
I shook my head at the thought. "No. There was no one else. I didn't see a single other soul when this all happened. I went back there, guys. When I left Bennett's apartment last night I went back to that alley and I saw him. All of that blood... one person couldn't have done that... and it looked drawn out... slow... someone had a vendetta with him. You four are the only ones that knew what he did to me. Maybe you wanted revenge-"
"Wait," Jordan interrupted. He was silent for a moment with his brows drawn together, thinking in intensely.
"Go back... you said he was in the alley when you found him dead."
I blinked back at him, not seeing where any of this was going.
"Yeah, so what? Does it matter where it happened? He's dead isn't he? You got your wish-"
"No," Jordan shook his head at me, "no, your not getting it. From what you told us, you guys were fighting and eventually he ran away down that alley. Then you and Raymond left in his car." He hesitated and pointed to himself and the others. "We didn't know about any of this until late evening the next day."
I looked between them, still not understanding his point.
"So? What does that have to do with anything?"
"No... Jordan's right..." Naomi added, seeming to understand this gibberish much better than me. Then she looked back to me to try and explain.
"Alexa, why would he still be in that same alley hours later? Even if these guys had gone after him, he wouldn't still be in that alley. He would be long gone. Whatever happened to him happened right after you were attacked."
Finally, their words clicked and I understood. But this only lead to more confusion.
"Someone else was there?" I thought outloud. "I... I didn't see anyone else...but who? Why..."
Somewhere in my hurricane of thoughts, another point occured to me.
I gazed at each of the musketeers and cursed, burying my face in my hands.
"You guys really didn't do it." I looked up to see them all shaking their heads. I sank back down into the couch and rubbed my aching head.
"And here I am threatening you all for it..." I let out a long sigh and gazed up at the pleadingly. "I am so sorry... I didn't think... I should have known better. You guys wouldn't-"
"We can understand where you're coming from, Alexa," Declan interrupted, "it really does seem that way."
I shook my head once again.
"I know, but I... I should have trusted you guys better-"
Jordan waved his hand in dismissal. "I think we could all work on the whole trust thing."
Naomi nods. "Trust is just something that takes time... and I think we have all been trying to rush it a bit."
We all nod in agreement.
"So from now on... let's just let this friendship grow on it's own," Bennett declares. "We won't push you for answers as long as you are still willing to open up to us every once and a while."
I thought about this for a moment. It still wasn't complete trust but like Naomi said, trust takes time. Besides, I could never ask them to trust me wholeheartedly without telling them everything first. I wasn't ready to tell them yet... but I think that we will get there. Because for the first time, I'm beginning to trust them a bit more.
I glanced over at Declan then back at Bennett. "I think that is a good idea."
"However..." Jordan mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck, "if we are talking about trust... I should be honest."
Jordan took a deep breath and closed his eyes, flinching back as if prepared for me to explode.
"IKindaSortaDidABackgroundCheckOnYouAndIKnowItWasWrongButWeWereJustWorriedAndPleaseForgiveMeIAmSoSoSorry."
Jordan waited, still flinching back in preparation. After feeling no pain, he peeked out of one eye. I stood in front of him with crossed arms and rolling eyes.
"I'm aware, Jordan," I stated simply.
Jordan took a moment before the words registered.
"Wait, what?"
I rolled my eyes again and sighed. "The walls aren't exactly soundproof... and I was eavesdropping... since we are trying that whole honesty thing."
"So," Naomi began in a surprised tone, "you're not mad?"
"Oh no," I corrected, "I'm pissed. It was an invasion of my privacy... however, I have given you all a lot of reasons not to trust me. And I'll admit that. Like you said, we're working on trust."
"So," Jordan stepped forward, "why was it all blank? There was nothing on the school file of you..."
I clicked my tongue and shrugged, smirking up at each of the baffled faces in front of me.
"What?! Your not going to tell us?! What happened to, "we're working in trust-""
"Consider this revenge for invading my privacy. I'll tell you... but as punishment, I just won't tell you right now," I interrupted, giving them each a half joking glare.
I almost thought I saw a smile on Bennett's lips before he said, "I guess that's fair."
Jordan and Naomi each gave him an are-you-serious look.
"It is?" They both stated.
"Yeah," Bennett continued, "we took it too far when we shouldn't have. It's only fair."
My eyes glanced to Declan who had remained silent during all of this. His eyes had remained on the carpet while the others bickered. When his eyes flickered up to meet mine, I could see a flash of guilt. He must still feel bad about the tracker. Other than guilt however, I could also feel the tinge of resentment in the atmosphere. I know it must be killing him knowing everything he knows and having to keep it from the others. He must be screaming at me to tell them already. To take this opportunity and just get it all off my chest.
But I wasn't ready yet.
I turned back to Bennett to see him already staring at me. I had only barely glanced at Declan but Bennett had caught the exchange. He must have decided to ignore it for now though because he gestured around to the building around him and spoke.
"Well, how about we start with a real tour of the base."
Since Bennett was pretending, I decided to ignore the fact that he was probably suspicious as well aqnd perked up at this.
"Sooo you guys aren't going to kick me out of your hideout?" I grinned.
"Weeell..." Naomi shrugged as she shuffled to a closet in the corner. She returned with a basket full of cleaning supplies in one hand and a mop and broom in the other. "There is an initiation."
My face fell slightly as I took the supplies from her hands.
"Joy," I grumbled with the most sarcasm I could muster.
"Does this mean we can go out to lunch?" Jordan perked up.
My eyes widened as I looked back and forth between each of my friends, "wait-"
"I'm thinking Mad Hatter."
"Can't get any better than that."
"I'm down."
"W-wait!" I stammered as they began to make their way to the entrance.
Jordan looked pointedly at King then to me. "Sorry, but I'm hungry because someone ate my lunch."
Naomi glanced back at me and shrugged, "sorry, it's initiation. We'll bring you back something."
I pursed my lips and nodded to myself.
This is karma. This is what I get for keeping secrets.
I was about to get started when I noticed Declan hadn't left yet. I glanced over to see him still staring at the television screen.
"Do you have any idea..." he asked, gesturing to the screen.
I looked back at the image of Tyson. Reluctantly, I thought back to that night. Tried to recall there ever being someone else who could have seen. Anyone I knew that may have found out. I couldn't think of anybody.
"None."
*
*
*
Two Days Ago...
Unknown Pov-
I watched her from the rooftops. Her long mahogany curls bouncing with each hurried stride. Her stormy grey eyes wide as they scanned the street. Clouds of warm air slipped between her lips and into the chilly night. She pulled her hoodie closer to her and stuffed her hands into the pockets.
I realize it all seemed stalkerish, but I was only looking out for her. I only wanted her to be safe. I had failed at that recently and I realized these last few years must have been hard on her, but I couldn't reach out to her. Not with all the danger I brought with me. I needed to make sure she was safe, and interacting with her would do just the opposite. So I watched from a distance. A shadow. A silent gaurdian.
Her eyes landed on something and she picked up her pace, leaving behind the club she performed at. I scowled at the sight of it. I hated that she had to go back to that place with those disgusting men. I knew how much she hated the job.
Don't worry, Lex, I thought, I can help you soon.
She hurried her pace as she approached a man smoking against the wall. While she talked, I plucked the cigarette from my own mouth and frowned down at the shrinking roll. I exhaled and two clouds of smoke exited my nostrils. She hated smoking. Her mom had died of cancer because of an unlucky coincidence while she watched others abuse their lungs and put themselves at risk for the heck of it.
I clenched my jaw and reluctantly crushed what was left under my foot.
I'll try to do better for you, Lex.
When I looked up again, my brows furrowed at the scene. Lexi's eyes were wide with fear as she looked up at the man in front of her while he waved over a boy with brown hair that seemed to be about her age. The boy picked up his pace and suddenly Lex was running. My head shot up from its resting place on my arm as my eyes followed her movements.
I glanced between Lex and the boy in confusion. Who was this kid?
When the boy started running after her however, this is when I began to feel my feet moving.
My feet padded against the cement rooftops as my eyes darted between the running couple and the rooftop ledges in front of me.
"Hey!" The boy called, "stop!"
My nose crinkled and my lip turned up into a scowl. Before I knew it, I was cocking the gun in my hand and clicking off the safety.
I continued my sprint and was so consumed on the direction they were heading, I nearly launched myself off of a building ledge. My eyes widened when I noticed the end of the rooftop and I skidded to a stop, flailing my arms in an attempt to maintain my balance. My chest rose and fell with deep heavy breaths. My eyes scanned over the building I was on and the one in front of me. I noticed a fire escape ladder on the building across from me but there was too far a gap to jump. I groaned and searched for a way around.
As I looked, I noticed it was silent. No screams. No pounding of feet. Just silence.
Then, a little ways away, I faintly heard the sound of a can clattering across the cement followed by cursing.
I grinned at the sound. She got away.
I allowed myself to relax slightly after this and clicked the safety off before shoving the pistol back into its holster. I chuckled to myself and shook my head. Smart girl.
Even though she was able to get away didn't mean she was safe though. Though she was wearing a hood, the skinny jeans and heels were still very feminine. This late at night in this part of town... I needed to keep an eye on her. At least until she got home safe.
I looked around for a way to get across and began to walk to the edge of the building to get a street name in case I lost my way. There were no ladders down on this building, and in order to get across I needed to either get down or take a route around that was way out of the way.
I had only gotten a few yards when a strangled cry stopped me cold in my tracks. It lasted only a moment before it was harshly cut off, but I would recognize that voice anywhere.
My head snapped in the direction of the scream, my eyes wide and face pale with fear.
"Lex..." I mumbled quietly, "Lexi!"
Driven by a mix of fear and rage, I broke into a full on sprint toward the edge, never faltering to think about how far I would have to jump. Not slowing to think about the height I was from the ground. The broken bones I would surely receive if I fell. All I thought about was Lex and how to save her. I needed to save her. She needed me. She needed me.
Suddenly I was at the edge and with one final leap, I was soaring.
There was a brief moment of weightlessness. Nothing but me and open air. The wind lashing at my face and rushing into my ears. The slow but steady descent as I felt gravity clawing me down to earth. The rungs of the ladder falling out of reach one by one.
And then the slam of my body against the brick wall as my fingers gripped around the last rung of the ladder.
I groaned at the heavy impact and attempted to suck in the air that had been knocked out of me. My left arm tingled and felt like fire. I must have slammed my funny bone into the wall just the right way. Attempting to ignore the pain and blood dripping down my arm from scrapping it against the bricks, I heaved myself up one rung at a time.
Another faint scream was followed by a loud slap.
"Shut up!"
A man's voice.
My hair bristled and my jaw clenched. Any pain I felt faded as adrenaline and rage pumped through my veins. I clammored for each rung as I darted up the ladder. I scrambled to my feet and yanked my gun out of its holster. I ran across the rooftop and skidded to a stop at its edge, peering down at the alley below in search of her. It took me a full two seconds before I spotted her.
Her eyes were shut tightly in fear with glimmering tears leaking out of the edges. She seemed to shrink as far back into the wall as possible, with some filthy piece of trash pushing her further with a knife to her throat. My blood boiled as he pressed his slimy lips to her neck and I raised the gun as she screamed.
I need to be careful... I can't hit her...
I clicked the safety off.
Closed one eye.
Clear shot... right in the back of the head...
Finger on the trigger.
And-
BAM!
Both my eyes shot open when the man on Lex was suddenly thrown to the ground.
My gun followed the two men as they wrestled eachother, both grappling for the knife or each others throats. Somehow the man that attacked Lex got on top of the other guy, giving me a clear view of their faces. The attacker I didn't know, but the boy who had just entered the fight was the same boy that had just been chasing her earlier. Lex must know him somehow and if he's risking his life for her he must be on the same side as me.
Good thing I didn't shoot him, I thought.
A scream of pain interrupted my thoughts, bringing me back to the fight. The attacker had just plunged his knife into the boys leg and was now edging the blade closer to his throat.
I raised my gun once again and aimed for the attackers head. My finger was resting on the trigger, itching to pull when another flash of motion interrupted me.
I pulled the gun away and cursed under my breath as Lex yanked the guy off her friend. They rolled over each other, preventing me from getting a clear shot until Lex was suddenly straddling him, I shinning knife in hand as she raised it above her head to plunge it down into his heart.
I held my breath. Was she actually about to do it?
But it was no surprise when she hesitated.
I groaned and growled out softly, "damn it, Lex. Now is not the time to be all morally righteous."
I was raising the gun again when the man suddenly slashed the knife at her torso. She dodged, but not quick enough. Blood was now seeping out of the open gash, causing Lex to instinctively grapple at the painful wound. He attempted another slash but Lex grabbed his wrist and twisted the blade from his grasp. I almost felt proud at the move before a flash of movement wiped the grin from my face. Using both her hands to occupy his weapon left her defenseless to the oncoming slap from his other hand.
The loud crack echoed through the alley and Lex fell to the side, seemingly dizzy and disoriented. My jaw clenched and my fingers curled around the weapon in my hands. The rage I felt multiplied as he snatched up his weapon and ran away like a filthy rat cowering to the sewers. My eyes followed his movements and I rose to my feet to chase after him, sparing one last glance at Lexi and the boy.
I glanced between her and that scumbag that tried to take advantage of her, not knowing who to follow. I groaned and the next thing I knew, my feet were carrying me down the alley.
Lex had that boy. He would help her. I wasn't going to let this coward get away with what he's attempted. Now or ever.
He'll never hurt anyone again.
I ran across the rooftops, eyes scanning the alleys below me until my eyes found his pathetic hunched over form, cursing like a sailor. My run slowed to a trot and that trot turned into a leisurely stroll. My eyes narrowed into the deadliest glare I could muster, and for a moment, I just watched him. Like a lion stalking its prey. Giving him that sense he gave Lex. That feeling of being watched while a predator lurked just out of sight. Waiting. Plotting.
He must have felt the looming aura because his cursing quieted. I watched as he nervously glanced around, knuckles turning white around his knife. He was still for a few moments before he shook off his nerves. He wiped his nose - which was still pouring buckets of blood - and smeared the crimson color across his face. Then he shook his head softly and scoffed to himself.
He walked about three steps around a corner when I dropped from a gutter drain directly in front of him.
His ugly black eyes widened and he scrambled back, tripping over his own feet along the way and tumbling to the ground. When his eyes met my own deadly pair, his lips turned up into a scowl.
"And who are you, brat?" He growled.
I ignored the question as he raised to his feet and slipped on a leather glove over my hand.
"We can't leave behind any evidence now can we?" I said more to myself than him.
He seemed startled by the statement before he glanced down at my ungloved hand and scoffed. A flash of silver caught my eye and I watched as he produced a long silver blade.
"So that's how you wanna play it, cripple?" He growled.
I flinched at the word. My hands balled into fists and suddenly he was rushing me, blade raised and ready to spill blood. In a flash my gun was in my hand, loaded and aiming directly at his left eye socket. He halted in his tracks, his thin eyes widening to the size of saucers. I watched his adam's apple bob as he swallowed and he took a small step back.
He glanced down at the gun and raised his arms slowly before meeting my eyes.
"Okay...W-what do you want?" He asked tremulously, "m-money? 'Cause I- I can get you money. Anything you wa-"
I slammed the butt of the gun into his temple and he staggered to the ground, dropping his weapon in the process. Before he could recompose himself, I landed a swift kick to his gut as well.
"Shut up," I spat coldly as he wheezed and coughed.
I sighed and crouched down to his level. I rested one arm on my knee while I used the other to itch my temple with the barrel of my gun.
"What I want," I growled as I moved my gun to his head, "is to eradicate you from this world."
His wide eyes glanced between my own and the gun at his head. His hands were shaking and his adams apple bobbed again.
I scoffed at his fear and snarled, "tell me, how does it feel? The fear, that is... that sense of hopelessness..." my finger slipped over the trigger and I leaned forward as he tensed, "the feeling of being... prey... to someone."
I watched him squirm in terror a moment longer before standing back up and slipping my gun into its holster. The man pathetically scrambled for his knife before rising to his feet.
"However," I began as I leaned leisurely against the brick wall beside me, "I hate it when a fight is unfair and a gun is just so..." my face scrunched as I thoughtfully weighed the word in my mind. "Quick."
Instead, I pulled my own blade from a holster around my calf and twirled it around my fingers.
The man broke into an evil grin as he scoffed and shook his head.
"Stupid boy."
He lunged forward again and I skillfully dodged, slicing the blade over his cheek. He hissed and grabbed at the wound before examining the blood on his fingers. His cold eyes snapped up to mine and I smirked.
"Oh good," I chuckled and dragged a finger across the scar along my jaw, "now we're matching."
His eyes clouded with rage and he charged again, swiping the knife sloppily towards me and making it almost too easy to dodge. With each dodged attack, I retaliated with an effective swipe of my own across his arms and torso. With each cut, his anger multiplied, making his attacks blinded by rage and sloppy.
"But," I said between ducks and slides to avoid his blade, "there's still one thing missing..."
He swung one last swipe at me before I kicked his legs out from beneath him. He fell roughly and I almost winced when his chin roughly collided with the ground. I wasn't dawning on it for long however and what seemed to be missing suddenly occured to me.
"Ah, I know."
My movement caught his eye and he attempted to raise his blade all too late. I drove one knee into his ribs while the other held his forearm to the cement. I pulled my blade above my head before plunging it down through his hand, feeling the bones pop and snap beneath the metal. I winced when I felt the metal collide with the cement on the other side of his hand and wondered about the damage he had caused to my blade. His scream was agonizing and I punched him hard in the jaw to make sure no one would hear the cry.
"Now we're both 'cripples'."
I pulled the blade from his flesh while he replied with a strangled scream as I rose once again. I frowned down at the blade and my jaw clenched.
"You chipped my knife..." I muttered. I must have jammed it into the cement pretty hard...
I glanced back up to see him attempting to run and rolled my eyes. It was simply a waste of my time for him to try and prolong it.
He was faster than I thought but eventually I caught back up with him. Deciding I couldn't risk losing him again, I plunged the knife deep into the back of his thigh, causing a river of blood to run down his jeans. Again, he screamed. And again, I shut him up.
I tsked as he attempted to crawl away, dragging his useless leg behind him. Glancing back, I shook my head at the mess of blood we were leaving behind and thought about how he would die of mere blood loss if I didn't hurry up. That seemed too peaceful compared to what he had tried to do to Lex. And I wasn't done.
I turned back around and saw he had gotten somewhat far. Yet it only took a few easy strides to reach his pathetic form again. Grabbing his shoulder, I flipped him back around and was able to get a thin swipe at his throat when he surprised me with a slash of his blade. My eyes widened and I jerked back to dodge it, but I was a moment too late. My hand shot to my right eyebrow as I groaned at the deep slash he had created. It had just narrowly missed my eye too... maybe this guy had a little more fight left in him after all.
He laid down on his back, propped up on one elbow as he shakily held his knife towards me. His teeth were gritted in pain and his eyes were swelling shut from my punches. I sighed and shook my head before easily kicking the blade from his weak and trembling hand. I dug the blade into his shoulder, but the shout of pain was strangled. He was fading already.
But my anger was still bubbling. I wasn't finished. Everytime I looked into those disgusting black eyes all I saw were the same eyes that Lexi must have had to stare into while he touched her. While he hurt her. Made her afraid while she didn't know how or when it would end. This man would never do it again. To anyone.
I attempted to end it but he continued to fight back. He was even able to land a few hits on me. But everytime he attempted to stop me, I would just slash at his arm or leg if he tried to kick me away. Eventually, he stopped fighting. I picked him up by the front of his shirt and threw him into the wall by the dumpster. He coughed and blood sprayed the cement.
He wheezed and looked up at me from the ground. I only scowled at him as I wiped the blood off my knife and on my pant leg.
"Why..." he was able to force out in a mere whisper, "why are you... doing this...?"
My brows narrowed and I shot him a look that could kill.
I silently pulled the gun I had been avoiding using and raised it to his head.
"Simple," I growled, "you tried to hurt what was mine."
In one last attempt to save his disgusting life, he reached for his blade that was just inches away before the crack of a gunshot made him still.
I stared a moment longer into his empty eyes before turning the safety on and shoving the gun back into its holster.
What a waste of ammunition.
I was turning to walk away when I felt something vibrate in my pocket. I pulled my phone from my pocket and examined the contact. I sighed when I read the name "cowboy" on the screen. The contact image showed an adorable blue eyed puppy wearing a cowboy hat. I shook my head at the contact information. Fox must have gotten ahold of my phone again.
I glanced down at the body and then back at the ringing cellphone. A tinge of shame filled me. I debated answering the call, but obviously now was not a great time. But I hadn't been picking up my phone ever since I left town a couple months ago and eventually the kid had just given up calling...
It could be important, I thought as I pushed the green button.
I took a deep breath before saying, "hey, kid."
There was silence on the other side for a moment and I almost repeated myself before a response came through.
"Holy crap... Holy. CRAP! HOLY CRAP YOU REALLY ARE HERE! I KNEW THAT WAS YOU! I SAW YOU UP ON THE ROOFTOPS AND-"
"KID!" I scolded, "take a deep breath. What is it? What did you want?"
"O-oh! Right! I thought I just saw you across from Charlie's Place but then I thought, 'what? No, that's crazy. He's not supposed to be back for another month,' but then I looked again and I'm like, 'no way, that's totally him, he's actually back in Dartwell," but then I thought, 'woah what's he even doing here?' and then I tried calling you but you didn't answer, so I tried again and again and I was just beginning to think maybe it wasn't you when-"
"Kid!" I let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose, "do you understand the concept of breathing? It's a little necessary for human survival."
There was a pause at the other side before he responded, slower this time.
"Right. Sorry. But what I'm saying is... are you really back?"
I smiled slightly and nodded.
"Yeah... I'm back kid."
He gasped and a rustle on the other side made me believe he was moving.
"Where are you?! And what were you doing on the roof? I just saw you run off like a mad man! Where are you at right now?! I can help-"
"No," I said quickly, "no kid, it's just... it's something personal. It's just about someone I know, okay?"
I sighed and pinched my nose again. When I closed my eyes J saw her wide, fearful eyes. The tears glistening on her cheeks. The overall sadness I could sense a mile away. She was lonely.
"Ohhh is it about that girl?"
I could sense the smirk in his tone and the wiggling of his brows in that short sentence. My own brows furrowed at this however.
"Who told you about that," I spat in a cold tone.
There was hesitance on his side and I imagined his shocked expression when he stuttered, "F-Fox mentioned it... one time... you know how he is. He's a story teller. I was just curious because you never talk about your... your past..."
I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head softly. Fox and his big mouth.
"You don't have to worry about that. I'll tell you everything when I meet up with you tomorrow."
I was about to hang up when he stopped me.
"Wait! So... did it work? The procedure? You have been gone for so long I figured it must've and you were just going through physical therapy at this point..."
I gazed down at my left hand and willed each finger to curl inwards. For some reason I still had trouble willing the pinky to flex but the doctors said it would take time for my body to adjust. Other than my pinky, my hand was fully functional. I could do anything anyone else could do. Open doors, drive my motorcycle, cut up vegetables (despite the fact that I couldn't cook to save my life), and crack open a cold can of beer with ease. I had missed that last one especially.
Yes, I was perfectly normal except for one minor detail.
The thing at the end of my arm was completely composed of metal.
The metallic fingers curled into a fist as I longed for flesh and for feeling, but thousands of dollars and top notch doctors could only get me so far.
I had stayed away for so long because I had to go through rehabilitation and physical therapy before I could maintain full control of the prosthetic. I didn't want to go back and have people see me as weak. As a "cripple". I refused to return until I was strong again, and I finally was.
"Yeah," I responded as I glanced between my metal hand and the man that couldn't kill me with two real ones, "it works just fine."
I looked between my hand and the corpse for a moment longer as he attempted to regain my attention through the cellphone. I pulled the phone from my ear and gazed down at the contact with a melancholy gaze. He couldn't find out about this. Neither could Lex. They can't know this was me. I couldn't imagine the horrified , disgusted looks I would receive. No. They can't ever find out.
"Hello?" A quiet voice repeated throught the speaker of my phone, "hey, you there?"
I shook the thoughts from my head and raised the phone back to my ear.
"Y-yeah, I'm here. Sorry... look, kid, I think you outa head back home. It's late and I don't want you in this part of town. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
He sighed and there was more rustling on the other side, "yeah, whatever. And for the record, I can take care of myself."
I rolled my eyes at the statement. "Sure you can, kid."
"Okay... well, goodnight, Axel."
"Yeah..." I responded as I gave the bloody corpse in front of me one last glance. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky, giving me one final look of what I had done before a crash of thunder silenced my thoughts.
"Night, kid."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finally. Done.
So sorry this took so long to get out, I've been focusing really hard on Semester tests but now that the school year is over I'm hoping to get more chapters out faster. Thank you guys for being so patient... or... bearing with me at least. I'm really happy to have the loyal readers that wait so patiently and give me such encouraging comments, so thank you guys. Also, I understand it is hard to wait for chapters, I'm a very impatient person as well,but just remember that I do this of my own free will and it takes A LOT of time to get a chapter out. When I write, I write in spurts, so when I start writing it takes literally the entire day. And even at the end of the day, I still have so much left to do. Writing this requires a big sacrifice of my time and though I love doing it, I can't be writing every second of every day. So please be patient!🙏♥️
And... just a heads up... please don't hate me...
But I am going to be gone the next three weeks.
I know, I know, and I am sorry! But at least I was able to get this out to you guys before my trip. If it makes you feel any better, it's for a great cause.
Every single one of you are so blessed, even though some of you may not feel like it. I mean, you have a device in your hands right now that some grown adults all around the world can't even afford the luxury of. Sure it may not be "the latest model" or "the color you wanted" but at least you have something. Hopefully you all have clean water and food on your tables and a good education or friends and family you can trust. All these things are luxuries we take for granted. Luxuries not everyone can afford.
So, for the next three weeks I'm going on a little trip to help those who may not be as fortunate as me.
Some things just have to be prioritized over others and though I love you guys and I love writing, this is more important. I'm sure you guys understand, right?
Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter even though it was kinda rushed... but anyways, I thought I had finished all the Q&A but recently remembered I had totally forgotten that I had never done one for Naomi 😭... so here she is!
Naomi: *enters*
Macey_mouse: Naomi I'm so sorry I forgot about you.
Naomi: *shrugs* It's okay. I'm used to being forgotten.
Macey_mouse: *cringes* Well then...
Naomi: I'm just joking, haha. It's really no big deal. What's the first question?
Macey_mouse: Y-yeah, right. Um... the first question is by @TheDaughterOf_Hades . She asked,
"Would you punch Raymond again? And where?"
Naomi: *chuckles* As much as I would love to say yes to that question... I really don't know. As hard as it is to beleive... Raymond has significantly backed off and I feel at this point, punching him would only provoke him to pick back up where we've left off. I don't know if I can ever forgive him for what he has done, but I'm not going to despise his every breath and live my life just continuously hating him. If I were to ever punch him, it would be if he tried to attack the people I love.
...But as to where?
The balls. Definitely the balls.
Hey, if I'm going to do it, it's going to be worth it.
Macey_mouse: Next question is from @buymeoreos . It reads,
"Do you think Jeclan will ever be a thing?"
Naomi: *blinks* That's a thing...?
Macey_mouse: ...where have you been?
Naomi: *runs neck* Well... they're polar opposites and they argue all the time... but I sense a brotherly relationship there. Between all the guys. Maybe it could happen though... they do say opposites attract...
Macey_mouse: this question is from @MissF_redRose . She says,
"Do you have any feelings for guys especially Bennett?"
Naomi: W-what?! Okay, hold up, are you guys trying to get Jordan and Declan to be gay or not because my shipper senses are tingling... I mean, the guys are my friends! A-and there is the contract that talks about this sort of thing!
Macey_mouse: A contract you ripped up...
Naomi: W-well, I didn't know this was going to happen! I can't just choose one of them! Our whole friendship will be destroyed between me and the guys as well as the guys amongst themselves. Especially if I do date one of them and it doesn't end up working out... I just value my friendship with them too much to make that decision...
Macey_mouse: That really is a tough spot to be in...
Naomi: Precisely...
Macey_mouse: The next question from @fezeka_happy_bee also has to do with the guys, but not in the way your thinking.
"Why do you feel that you don't deserve the guys your amazing and smart."
Naomi: *blushes* *shakes head* It's just... I feel like they think too much of me. They have done so much for me and I've only pushed them away and gotten angry at them so many times in the past. I feel like they think I deserve the best when I am far from deserving everything they have given me. But it's also because they value me over each other. They have known each other for years. They're practically brothers with all they have been through together. And out of nowhere I join the group and suddenly they are willing to fight each other to win me. I'm not worth years of built up friendship.
Macey_mouse: But they all like you for a reason. Your a survivor. And even through the bullying, somehow you didn't end up cold and cruel like your tormentors. You're compassionate towards people that don't deserve it and though we all have our hiccups in friendships you were always willing to put in the effort to fix cracks in your friendship and make sure it didn't fall apart. Friendship isn't one sided. It requires effort from both sides or else it falls apart. And since it hasn't fallen apart yet, I'd say you deserve them plenty.
Naomi: Well... I suppose you make fair points. I still feel that they have done a lot for me, but I guess I'm still getting used to this whole "friends" thing. Thanks.
Macey_mouse: Next question is another from @MissF_redRose , saying,
"Naomi, don't you feel lucky to be friends with 3 f***ing hot bada** boys?!!! Can I be you?? Pllllzzz."
Macey_mouse: Why do I even sensor these things...
Naomi: *laughs* Yes I do feel very lucky for my 3 amazing friends. I always feel so grateful to have them and couldn't have asked for better people to have in my life.
And sorry but you will have to find a machine that can commence body swaps first.
Macey_mouse: The next two questions are from @golden_ink_mist .
"Why do you get to be so lucky?"
Naomi: I... don't really think I am. Not to be a pessimist... okay that's exactly what I'm being right now, but I was bullied for eleven years. ELEVEN. YEARS. Yes, I have the boys now, but they are my first group of friends since Dominic. I went through eleven years of feeling alone and the boys were my first sense of "luck" in those eleven years. And those same three boys give me a heart attack half the time because they are constantly in danger. Not just a daredevil breaking his leg kind of danger, but the guns and knives life or death gang rivalry kind of danger. If I were lucky, I wouldn't have to worry about them dying 24/7.
Saying this... I know I am lucky in other ways. I don't live in poverty, I have both my parents who love me, I have my friends, I live in a country with laws that protect me and give me basic rights... so perhaps I have it better than some, but I'm far from a privileged, perfect, incredibly lucky and blessed human being.
Macey_mouse: In this sense, I think everyone has a little bit of "luck" when they really search for it. Even in just having simple things like eyes to see and hands to feel and a life to live.
The second question was,
"Do you like Dominic?"
Naomi: *bangs head against table* Why does every Male-female relationship have to be a romantic one?!
Macey_mouse: I'm taking that as a hard no.
Next question is from @TanishaArora6 .
"Do you think Alexa should be in your gang?"
Naomi: I think... that some day she could be. But just having friendship requires trust. The gang... that requires a family like bond. The gang isn't some elementary school secret, it is life and death. I think we would need to know more about her and who she is before we can commit to accepting her into something so important and life altering as the gang. I could definitely see her joining the gang someday though.
Macey_mouse: Yeah, I can see the reasoning for your hesitance. Well, this just about wraps up the Q&A! Oh, but one more question before we go. This is from @fezeka_happy_bee .
"(Out of the boys) Who would you most likely choose to be alone with again 😏."
Naomi: *bangs head against table* UUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH.
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