It was nice waking up to someone knocking on your door and calmly telling you it was time to get out of bed.But it would take some time to get used to.Emmie slid out of bed and dragged her feet to the door, opening it in the process. She stared at an amused-looking Felix in the hallway. “Took you some time,” he said.The girl sighed and tiredly nodded. “Sorry.”The man frowned at the apology and shook his head. “You’re a teenager, Emmie, you might as well start acting like one.”The girl smiled when he turned around and started walking down the stairs. “Your breakfast is almost ready, hurry!” he said on his way.“Okay,” Emmie mumbled and walked to the bathroom.Getting dressed didn’t take as long as usual now that she didn’t have to worry about what would be accepted by her mother, and neither did the makeup that didn’t have to be as perfect. She bru

For the next couple of weeks, everything continued the way it had before, with a few simple differences.The gang had all come together, introducing themselves to each other in the privacy of a classroom where every couple could act as they wanted without being observed and used for rumors by other students at the school.Ramsay and Christopher ended up bonding over mutual sarcastic insults. Ani and Josie were fast friends with their similar experiences with families and siblings. Reggie and Mateo shared an interest in poker and made up a secret handshake with a promise to go to a casino together, screw over everyone else there, and become millionaires once they were both twenty-one.And even as teenagers with so many differences bonded, it was still Olivia and Emmie that managed to surprise everyone.The two girls had left most of their conversations about their shared nephew and niece behind and started sharing deep discussions about life. They combined

The tiny hairy man stood in the technology room, two men sitting in front of him, working on details on the computer. All three of them were wearing headsets and watching the show go down.Never had they taken on such a risky mission. Kidnapping a girl from one of the most respected Northside families was nothing like taking one from the Southside without parents that nobody would miss.But, even as they had already bid the girl off to a nasty buyer in Switzerland, Beast was not doing this for money. His objective was to capture both of the Jones men, leave the Vipers without leaders, and then take them all down, one by one.The adrenaline he got from the operation helped as well.“Butterfly. Cameras are on,” they heard from the headset.The bony man behind the computer who was referred to as Butterfly because of his high voice and colorful outfit choices, clicked on a button Beast didn’t comprehend, and one of the huge screens on

Emmie was woken when some footsteps stopped by her door. Her eyes slowly opened, exhausted of the crying and panic attacks she had throughout the night and day, and her mouth fell open, the lack of air making her thirst even worse.As the door opened, she didn’t care if she’d get another slap or punch in the face or stomach and stared at the figure standing in the bright light. “Water,” she said in a croaky voice.The man said nothing and took a few steps closer to her, at which Emmie flinched and pressed herself against the pole behind her back. Her breathing accelerated when two other men walked into the small claustrophobic room of hers.That was when the light was turned on.Her eyes shut involuntarily while she fought against it, and by the time she could see again normally, two of the men were sitting down on chairs that apparently were in the room, one of them not present anymore.Emmie noticed that the one on the lef

Emmie and Ramsay had to spend one more night at the hospital. Felix stayed with them during the day, but the two teenagers made him go home for the night and try to get some sleep. Obviously, all three of them knew he wouldn’t get much of it, but he would at least be comfortable in his bed (or Christopher’s that Emmie had suspicions he had been staying in), and a backache wouldn’t be added to his problems because of the uncomfortable hospital chairs.The next morning, the man came to tell them he’d be picking them up in the afternoon when the doctors agreed on letting them out. Emmie and Ramsay nodded, and once Felix left, shared a look.“He hasn’t been sleeping,” the girl whispered while cuddling further into her source of safety.“I know,” Ramsay murmured, nuzzling his nose into her blond locks. “Let’s hope he’ll be okay today with whatever he’s forced to do…”&ld