I entered my house tiredly with dust, dirt, and all sorts of stains all over my clothing with Soldier mirroring my appearance. We both sank into the large sofa while the other guys plummetted down onto whatever they laid their eyes on. I even saw Austin stumble onto the floor and lay there as if it were his own bed at the moment.
"That..." Ogus trailed off.
We all nodded our heads in understanding and I ran my hands through Soldier's fur tiredly, and he whimpered lowly. I untied my mask and kissed his forehead softly, causing him to let out a small bark in satisfaction.
"I missed you boy," I whispered.
He licked my hand in response and Linda walked into the living room with water bottles in her hands and handed each of us one, "You all look miserable," she said in her sweet Asian accent.
"We feel like it too," Austin mumbled from the floor.
Linda giggled and led me up the stairs and into my bathroom after she told another set of maids to bring everybody up to their rooms and to give Soldier a bath. I didn't protest with her since I knew she was only trying to get us cleaned up and I watched as she filled up the bath with hot water halfway, and cold water for the rest.
"Did you finally do it?" Linda asked hopefully as she poured the soap and salts into the water.
I nodded my head and started taking off my attire. I threw the dirty, disgusting clothes into the hamper and sank into the lovely bath and let Linda wash my hair for me.
This feeling was so good, but the emotion I experienced earlier was much more amazing. After Jake had sealed off all the entrances and exits and set the base on fire, we just stood afar and watched the smoke rise into the air. The fire lit up the night and the screams of men inside was heard along with the cracklings of fire. We sat there for what felt like hours and my tired members had already left to get some rest, and I even gave them tomorrow off since I wanted them to be well rested before returning back to work as usual.
Finally getting rid of Uncle Amethyst, finally watching him die and hearing him suffer was pure bliss. Knowing that he's not going to be able to get in my head like he had before dissolved the hollowness from inside of me and replaced it with ease. It was one of the best feelings I had ever experienced in my entire life, just the joy that ran across my skin like electricity made me feel so relaxed and Linda's fingers massaging my scalp just added to it.
I played with the bubbles and smiled at a thought, "I have Soldier back," I whispered.
Linda giggled, "It hasn't even been a day," she pointed out.
I scoffed, "It's been too long already," I inputted.
I felt the water pour onto my head as I used a wash cloth to wash my body before Linda washed my back for me. I sighed in content as I felt her massaging it a bit and smiled unknowingly as I remembered the last time I had gotten a massage from her.
George had told me he had gained himself a boyfriend and that he was happy. I was supporting him the whole time, and I loved him just the same because no matter what George was or where he is, he's still my family either way.
Even though he's gone, I still considered him family because there were so many happy moments that we experienced together. His one mistake was a big one, but his love for me was bigger. I could never blame George for what he did because despite the fact that he was brainwashed he still felt reluctant about hurting me. He was hesitant and unsure and that's what let me know that George didn't fully hate me like he said he did. He never truly meant any hurtful words he said and I made sure to not say any wrong ones as well so he didn't feel the same amount of pain I had when he told me he hated me. I could never pain George like that, even if I was livid, I couldn't.
I smiled up at Linda as she held a towel out for me and walked out of the bathroom to give me some privacy. I dried myself off and wrapped my hair up and brushed my teeth beautifully clean and moisturized my body gracefully. My skin felt soft and my muscles were no longer tense thanks to the salts, and my back felt much more relaxed due to Linda's massaging.
She knocked on the door and I opened it to see some clothes in her hand for me to wear. I gave her a thankful smile and she nodded her head, "Dia, if you don't mind I have to go home now. Dinner should be prepared in five minutes," she informed me.
I nodded my head at her and smiled, "Thank you Linda, for everything," I said gratefully.
She smiled softly at me, "Of course Dia," she said before she walked out of my bedroom.
I changed into the black sweatpants and white cropped tank top she had given me and let my hair air dry as I walked back down the stairs.
I walked into the dining room to already see the guys passing around the plates and bowls of food while Soldier was sitting patiently in his usual spot next to my chair. The men's hair was all wet and so I only assumed they had just gotten out of the shower as well.
"Hey kiddo," Richard smiled when he saw me plop down.
I smiled at him, too tired to talk and filled my plate with the macaroni and cheese before taking some steak as well. I gave Soldier the signal and he started eating hungrily as the rest of us talked throughout the dinner.
"And then he tried going for my neck, but I got to him first!" Ogus laughed as he talked about one of the men he had to fought earlier.
We all laughed with him until I turned to Jake, "You happy you got to set someone on fire Jake?" I smiled knowingly at him.
He placed his hand over his heart and looked at me deeply, "It is an honor to be working with you Diamonds," he pretended to stiffle, "Truly," he said as he wiped away a fake tear.
I placed my hand over my own heart and feigned a look of sincerity, "Well it is an honor to have you here dude," I said stiffiling back a laugh.
The other guys laughed at our silliness and I saw a hand trying to sneak its way to my cookie before I smacked it away, "No," I said sternly.
Liam groaned, "Why can't I have it?" He whined.
I pointed the tongs of my fork at him and gave him a grave him expression that I saw send shivers run down his spine, "Dude. No," I said simply.
He sulked into his chair and continued to eat as he mumbled a few complaints under his breath. I chuckled from his behaviour and finished up dinner before we all made our way into the theatre room.
Williams, Ogus, Joe, and Richards all sank into recliners while the rest of us stuck with the comfy beanbags as I put 'The Millers' into the projector. Kai, Soldier, and I shared a beanbag with a soft blanket draped over us as I snuggled into my doggo's body and ran my hands through his fur. Kai snuggled against my body and chuckled whenever a funny scene would take place on the screen.
The rest of the men roared with laughter but were quiet a minute after while they watched Jennifer Aniston drench herself with water. I rolled my eyes at their sudden focus on the movie and snuggled myself even more into Soldier's fur.
The sweet feeling of being surrounded by those who loved me just as much as I loved them was overwhelming but also adoring. These men fought with me today, they could've lost their lives today but they went anyway because they were fighting with me. It was scary to see them getting a few punches thrown at them but I had to remind myself that this is our life and the only way out of it was through death.
They've given me love, they've given me their gangs, they've given me their fucking lives and I'm going crazy on how I could ever repay them for their actions. It's one against nine and I could never top the amount of things they've done for me; despite the amount of money and power I have.
They're absolute knuckleheads but I love them either way. They've done more than enough to make me happy and the only thing they asked for was my love. How could my love for them ever be enough? I'm just a small person, how could I have such an affect on large men?
I felt Kai snuggle his nose into my neck, "What are you thinking about princess?" He whispered.
I turned my head so he was looking down at me and smiled, "Just about how much I love you guys," I whispered back.
He smiled even wider and pecked my lips softly, "I love you so much my queen," he said so softly, I was surprised I could even hear it.
I placed a soft, quick kiss on his nose and smiled, "I love you so much more my king," I replied.
"Impossible," he said almost immediately.
I giggled at his behaviour and turned back around to face the movie. The guys continued to laugh as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep and dove into the sea of dreams that gladly welcomed me.
"I'll always come back to you Diamonds!" Emerald yelled as Uncle Amethyst sped down the street.
I sank down to the floor in failure and brought my knees up to bury my head as I cried silently. My body trembled and I hiccupped repeatedly at the sobs that escaped my mouth, and all I could think about was how I may never get to see M&M ever again.
It felt like hours but was really fifteen minutes before I felt a familiar hand on my knee. I looked up to see Jewels with tears streaming down his face but he kept a smile on nonetheless.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked shakily.
I jumped into his arms and sobbed uncontrollably as he cried silently onto my shoulder. I held him tighter as my chest constricted with pain and the whole time, I only repeated one thing over and over again.
"He's never coming back."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Jewels please!" I cried as I reluctantly pinned myself up against the wall.
He smirked mischievously and shook his head, "You deserve this Diamonds, don't think otherwise," he snickered as he arranged the knife in his hands.
My lip trembled and my body shook from fear as I closed my eyes while my sobs escaped my mouth like never before. My chest tightened as I pressed my arms to my side and Jewels taunted me by pretending to throw the knife at me.
"Jewels stop!" I pleaded.
He threw a knife at the side of my head, snipping off a few strands of hair and cutting my ear, "Learn to be tough Diamonds. Later on in life, I'm going to be much more worse than this," he said in a harsh, promising tone.
I shook my head and sniffled, "You're not you right now," I choked.
He chuckled humorlessly, "You don't know how true I am to myself Diamonds," He said.
"You hurt me, and soon, I'll hurt you even worse."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"She's one thousand dollars sir," Jewels said sternly as a man with dirty blonde hair and hazel-bluish eyes trailed my body up and down. I felt self conscious with myself because of my body even though I was wearing a hoodie, but I was still hoping for him to get the message.
I've been here for over an hour and many men have been circling my body with hunger all night. I didn't want to be here, I didn't like it here. I had school tomorrow morning and I didn't want to sleep during my classes. I needed to keep my grades in tip top shape at all times so I could get a scholarship somewhere and leave Jewels.
He hurt me so much and I've dealt with it for years, but enough is enough. I can't live through it anymore or I might as well just give up.
The man let out a small hum and nodded his head, "I'll take her," he said in a serious tone.
I shot my head up in shock and turned to Jewels with pleading eyes. He smirked when he saw the man counting the money and I shook my head, "Please, Jewels no-"
"Business is business," he simply stated.
I looked to the man who bought me with pleading eyes, begging for him to let me go but he just ignored it. He had two men lead me out the door and into a limo that I was forcefully stuffed into. I wringed my fingers and kept my head down as I felt the man's eyes on me from across the limo and only focussed on my breathing.
"Would you like a water?" The man asked in a softer tone.
I peeked through my hair to see him holding out a water bottle and I took it cautiously from him. He watched as I took a small sip from it and sighed when I swallowed it down.
"My name is Williams Richford, and you are?" He asked.
I cleared my throat and stuck my hand out for him to shake. He looked down at it in amusement before taking my small hand in his, "I'll give you my respect in return for yours," I said softly.
His amusement dropped to curiosity and he shook it gently, "Deal," he said.
I nodded my head and pulled away, "My name's Diamonds Illium," I whispered.
"Well Diamonds, you're going to become my new fighter. I'll be training you until you can go into the ring. You start tomorrow at dawn," he said once we parked outside of my house.
I looked out the window confusedly, "You're letting me go home?" I asked.
"I'll be picking you up tomorrow. For now, get some rest," he demanded.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••
"That's good Diamonds, go again," Williams commanded as he watched from the bench.
I got back into my fighting stance and arranged my hoodie a bit so I was comfortable. The man in front of me got into his as well and lunged at me quickly, but my reflexes kicked in and I dodged his punch and swept his feet from under him.
"Good, go hit the showers," Williams said as he started to get up.
I walked into the locker room and chugged down my water. I've been at this shit for months, and Williams says that I'm good, too good. But he's just taking extra precautions since it's the first time I'm ever going to fight and he doesn't want me to lose.
I slipped off my hoodie and looked at my scars and cuts through the mirror as I waited for the water to turn warm. I didn't even get a chance to react before Williams walked into the girl's locker room.
"Williams!" I yelled.
He snapped his head up from the papers he was holding and was about to say something before he saw my arms. He scrunched his eyebrows in apprehension and I immediately tried sliding my hoodie back on but Williams had snatched it out of my hold before I could get it over my head.
"Who did this to you?" He said lowly, examining my scars and cuts.
I shook my head, "It was just an accident-"
"Accident my fucking ass, who did this to you?" He hissed.
Knowing I couldn't keep it a secret any longer, I had to turn him in.
"Jewels. He did this."