CHAPTER 47: not everything lasts forever
vote and comment
After the disturbance of some gang news from Owen, I couldn't help but not be able to sleep that night. It was bugging me how just four hours away, a gang war was arising and we were all trapped in the confines of safety. The majority of us couldn't sleep or the whole thing bugged us completely.
"Owen?" I was awake at two AM last night to see Owen pacing in our room and after I finally persuaded him to come back to bed, I fell asleep peacefully until morning where Owen was gone again. Seriously, where does this guy go at night? Am I using the wrong deodorant or something? "for fuck's sake, where are you?"
I pulled the cover back from my body and grabbed one of Owen's hoodies from the side. Wait, or is this mine? I mean, it doesn't smell like me or anything. I shrugged before throwing it on and opening the door slightly to peak outside. There was a bustle downstairs in the kitchen so that means people were up.
"Brielle, hey." I turned around to see Coco with a book in her hand. She smiled as she pulled Michael's jacket tighter around her, "are you looking for something?"
"Oh no—well, yeah. Have you seen Owen anywhere?" I asked her as she thought about it for a second. Her hair was tied up into a low ponytail as she slowly pointed into the first room on the left of the stairs.
"Last time I saw him, he was in there on the phone with my dad. He's a bit antsy at the moment though so I don't know if it's best for anyone to talk to him, but if you're going in there, good luck, girl." she patted me on the shoulder before walking past me and down the stairs quickly. I followed after her and headed to the door that was slightly open. There was just silence in there before a growl of anger, which made me jump where I was stood. Shit, it sounds like someone let a tiger in the house, I thought. I made a face before tiptoeing away quietly and into the gym across the entrance where I could hear voices.
Yeah, I think I should leave him alone for now. Wouldn't want to be eaten alive or anything.
As I headed to the gym, I could hear Darren and Kelly talking inside. The doors were closed except for the tiny gap in the doorway. I looked through, making as little noise as I could. Darren was busy lifting weights as Kelly paced around with a stressed look on her face. She gripped her hair tightly in her hands as they formed into fists.
"Calm down...you're making me dizzy." I heard Darren pant out as a scoff followed, probably from Kelly. She was wearing Darren's shirt from the night before as she stood there in front of him, "will you stop worrying? I've grown up in this life. I'm used to it and you grew up with Owen and Jaxon. Shouldn't you be used to this as well?"
"Just because I knew them when we were younger doesn't mean they involved me in this life. If anything, they knew as little as I did, but I'm not stupid. Darren, this is dangerous. Liam is dangerous and reckless—"
"Which is exactly why you don't have to worry." he interrupted her and she only groaned in frustration, "if he's reckless, he'll make a mistake at some point and that will give us an advantage. We'll be fine. Come here."
There was a silence that followed and I decided to leave them be, walking through the house until I arrived to one of the main rooms. Michael was sat in the armchair reading a book whilst Coco sat next to him, tightly squeezed up against him. Looks like those two are more chilled than the rest of the house, I thought. I came in and smiled at them and Coco's eyes meet mine.
"Hey," she spoke, her voice quiet as Michael smiled and placed the book down as well, "how are you feeling? I know my cousin feels like shit. He barely got any sleep apparently."
I nodded, looking out of the window and seeing that Owen—who moved outside—was on the phone to who must be Alfonso. He was shouting, clearly agitated as I sighed, turning back to them with a tired smile of my own. Owen had been pacing all night until I tempted him back into bed and even then, he didn't sleep too well. I kept feeling the bed moving as I slept and in the end, I settled to get up early and get some exercise done and to relieve some stress.
"He's struggling," I spoke, "Liam's been bugging him for ages now. I'm not surprised he's finally snapped. To be honest, he's getting to the rest of us as well. I couldn't sleep until two AM this morning, you know?"
"Same and I heard Kelly couldn't sleep until four this morning. My cousin can get pretty angry when someone's taking what belongs to him." I could tell by the look Coco was giving me that there was more to what she just said than just Liam, "anyway, me and Michael need to finish packing. We're going back together today although, he still has yet to tell Cass he's coming with us."
Michael rubbed the back of his neck as I giggled. The whole house will be ruined by the time he tells her. She'll be upset, angry, frustrated and every other negative mood you could think of. It was like she had mood swings and there wasn't a way to stop her unless Michael apologises sincerely.
"Well, you better hurry. We might be leaving in an hour or two—" there was a sudden shout from the room next door. It was Owen and it must've been when he was on the phone. His voice was sharp in the peaceful air as the severity of the situation soon loomed over us. This situation was definitely getting to Owen and it was obvious to us that it was.
Michael soon lets Coco go as she pushes herself up from the chair, her face holding a plain look as she waved back at Michael. Her feet heavily carried her to the door and she looked back at us with a small supportive smile.
"I'll be getting ready. See you guys later," she spoke before heading outside and closing the door after her. Michael decided he needed to finish the rest of the book he was reading so I left him to get on with it.
I headed into one of the rooms where Owen was pacing around on the phone. He turned around suddenly and his cool blue eyes met mine, a small smile on his face before it quickly disappeared as quickly as it arrived. I sat myself down on the carpet across from where he was pacing as he continued to talk—well, shout—on the phone.
"Alfonso, I don't care! They're not getting Summer View even if it fucking kills me!" Owen was shouting on the phone this morning. He hardly slept that night and neither did the other guys. They were all worried out of their minds, "and they're not taking Brielle! What do they want from her?!"
"Owen, please calm down," I told him as I swatted a hand at him repeatedly, "please, we'll sort something out. All the stuff is in the car so come on."
I suddenly felt him freeze up in front of me and the worry started to flood in immediately. A sudden chill was sent down my spine and my fingers went numb. Owen finished his call and grabbed a hold of my hands before pressing them against his lips. He lifted me up to my feet, his own hands unbelievably cold. Okay, now he was making me worried.
"Owen, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked worryingly as his kisses peppered lightly on my hands. He only ever did that if he didn't want me to freak out about anything, "no, stop. W-What's happened?"
"Brielle..." he started, which only made my heart speed up even more, "I don't want you to freak out, but it's your mother. She was taken by some of Liam's men."
My throat went absolutely dry as I took his words in. My mother...was...taken. I tried to swallow as much air as I could, but it felt as if someone was strangling me. My breathing quickened as a sick feeling settled in my gut. Fuck, what am I still doing here? I have to get back and rescue mom. My feet wouldn't budge as I just stood there rooted on the spot.
"O-Owe..." I struggled to even get Owen's name out of my mouth as I stumbled forward. His arm reached out to catch me as my breathing quickened even more. Fuck, I feel so sick. I quickly pushed him away and ran up the stairs quickly to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and throwing up the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
My mother. My poor mother. Who knew what those horrible people were doing to her, but all I knew was I couldn't let dad and anyone like him hurt my mother again. She never deserved this amount of pain in her life so the sooner I sort this out with my father, the sooner my mother won't be brought into trouble again.
Of course Liam would be the person to try to take over Summer View whilst I was away on vacation. To be honest, I wasn't surprised, but I needed to make sure we all got back to Summer View before Liam could pest me any more than he already had. I wasn't worried about this gang war. His gang were weak, but they sure spat a lot of swear words in our faces like they knew everything. What I was worried about is Brielle's mother. She's all Brielle's got left and I couldn't let anyone lay a finger on her.
"Owen, we need to head back soon!" Jaxon called behind me as I groaned in frustration. Nicole was staying behind because her family were going there for the holidays and because Jaxon was insisting on it. Brielle was still in the bathroom after what I told her. I had to and if I didn't tell her that her mother was gone, she would only hate me later on when she found out.
"Darren, I'm going as well." looks like an extra passenger is coming along. I turned slightly to see Darren holding onto Kelly's shoulders as he glared down at her. Okay, maybe she isn't coming with us, "you're not my dad. I can go where I want."
"You're so damn stubborn, woman. If you come with us, you might get hurt—it's not even a might anymore. Chances of you getting shot is more likely now than ever so god, for the sake of my sanity, do you really want your father to end up alone without his daughter?" Kelly looked up at him with fear written in her eyes. Her eyes were wide and every ounce of courage coursed out of her. Darren let her go and walked off without a single glance back at her. She just walked off in the other direction, biting her lip and hiding her face in embarrassment. Darren's treatment of women might need improvement.
The opening of the front door caught my attention. Brielle was carrying her bag with a glum look on her face. I offered to put her bags inside, but she only shook her head, climbing into the seat behind mine. I sighed, closing the door for her and getting into the driver's seat before honking the horn a few times. It was a shame that every girl was staying behind except Brielle and Coco, but she had insisted they stay behind in case they got into any trouble. Darren got into the car, followed by Jaxon and we waved the others goodbye before heading off.
The whole ride was quiet except for a few calls and updates from Alfonso. Brielle had fallen asleep behind me, her soft snores indicating that sleep was the only peace she would be getting before we get back to Summer View.
Summer View was nearly taken from me once and even if everyone else thinks it doesn't matter because my gang move around a lot, then they're wrong. It was the pride of owning something for ourselves. My gang got to Summer View first, owned the favour of the Mayor as long as we kept him out of gang issues and now, thanks to that fucker, I could lose it all again.
Me and Jaxon were never satisfied with where we lived before Summer View and when we arrived—I didn't know what it was, but I knew this would be our home and it was. We felt at home here and we barely had anything to fear in this town. There wasn't a case of us having to run away whenever people in our gang were threatened.
That was until Liam showed up and messed things up.
"How was she this morning?" my brother asked me from the backseat where he rubbed Brielle's back in comfort as she slept. I shrugged, my eyes not moving back to look at her. I didn't want to see her upset and I most definitely did not want to see her hurt because it reminded me of what mom looked like the last time I saw her. That same pained expression like everything was out of her control.
"She was shaken up, naturally," I told him, my voice quiet as Darren snored quietly next to me. Michael and Coco were reading a book together as a strange feeling settled in the car, turning the atmosphere to something frosty.
"I heard she threw up this morning. Poor thing." this was exactly what I was fearing when I got into a relationship with Brielle. Well, when I got closer to her anyway. My mind was telling me to push her away and to not hurt her anymore than I already have, but yet my heart just had to be selfish.
My grip on the steering wheel tightened as my brother rambled on. If I had kept her out of my life and shut her out, would she still be here with me right now? Mind numb with anguish and pain? For starters, her mother would never have been kidnapped and second of all, she wouldn't be stuck with an ass for a boyfriend. Yeah, I've officially downgraded myself for the sake of my ego.
When we arrived, I carried Brielle inside the house. I decided to let her sleep because everything was crashing down heavily upon her so she must've been tired. Me, Jaxon, Darren and Michael headed to my uncle's office where he sat in his chair. We all stood around his desk as he rubbed his eyes in aggravation.
"Having a midlife crisis, eh?" Jaxon joked as Darren snorted lightly. I rolled my eyes, throwing them a piercing glare and they immediately shut up. Alfonso looked at them as if he was regretting ever bringing them up.
"Before I potentially kill you two, let's get down to business. Liam, the snake that he is decided to start the takeover of Summer View whilst you kids were out enjoying yourselves. Also, Layla, she's gone. I assume her daughter knows?" I nodded in response as he continued, "right, I assume they've taken her to their hideout because why the fuck not? They want us to find her and lure us in so that whilst we're distracted, they can make their move."
There was a ringing sound from my pocket. Everyone's attention averted to me as I got my phone out of my pocket. I raised my hands in apology as I answered it. The voice that met me ran a chill down my spine and the chuckle only made my blood boil.
No Caller ID.
"Bowers, as you probably know, the lovely Layla Thomson is now in our possession. If you want her back, you better start searching. You have three days before we strike again and next time, we'll take something...a little more precious. Goodbye." he ended the call and my hand shook with anger as everything began to kick in. Three days before something happens. Something bad and I'll have no way to control it.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed angrily, dropping my phone onto the table as it landed on the wooden surface with a thud. I raked a hand through my hair, tugging slightly at the dark strands. I swear I might go grey early thanks to Liam. My brother led me over to a chair and sat me down in it as I closed my eyes, my breathing coming out in hard pants. God, I need a drink, I thought.
"Three days, boys. We need to find her before they do something to her or anyone else here. Jaxon, I want you to start the search with the boys and Owen, I need to talk to you about Brielle. Michael, you can join Coco in the room next door. She's busy trying to hack into their systems, which I highly doubt is difficult. I mean, this is the Fire Devils we're talking about. Their technology is shit—also, no funny business, you hear me?" Alfonso laughed loudly as he headed to the door. I followed after him whilst Jaxon grabbed the keys to the car.
I wasn't in the mood to do anything except sleep with Brielle in my arms. That was all I wanted. I wanted her to feel safe and not fear anything, but obviously it's a lot harder than I intended it to be. To be honest, I always wondered how my mother put up with dad or even how dad managed to always be fearless. I found it to be quite the miracle sometimes.
I love her. So I can't let anyone hurt her like they did to my parents.
END OF CHAPTER 47
vote and comment