When we got home, they dragged me into the living room, yelling for everyone else to clear out and for Liam to join me as I sat down on the couch. As tense as I was, a small sigh of comfort came out of my mouth as I sank into the soft cushion of the couch. My back was sore from the night in the holding cell, and the cushions were heaven. "Do one of you want to explain this?" Ryan said quietly but with a firm voice that let me know he was at his breaking point. His voice raised to a yell as he continued, and I flinched back into the couch. "Do you want to tell me why two of my kids went out last night to go to a friend's house and only one came home? Then, this morning…" He let out a bitter laugh as he stood over us. Terry was sitting on the couch across the coffee table with her elbow on her knees. One hand curled in, her thumb holding her chin up with the knuckles on her fingers pressed against her mouth. "This morning, I received a call that the kid that wa

I walked into my room and looked around. It was huge. There were three beds spread out around the room. It had its own little, I mean really little, kitchen, plus a bathroom and three small closets. I walked over to the bed with nothing on it and dropped all of my stuff. Opening the closet door next to my bed, I started unpacking. My speakers were taken out first. I set them on my tall, skinny dresser and connected my phone. The music blasted through the speakers, helping to take my mind off of everything. So far, the school didn't seem too bad, but I wasn't happy about having to start over again. It was a new place to live, new people to meet, and a family I had to leave behind. It wasn't like I would never see them again, but it wouldn't nearly be as often. I started to sing the chorus as I bounced around, taking everything out of my bag and finding a home for it. I heard the door open, so I stopped singing and turned towards the entrance to the room once it was closed. She had

I won the first game, and so she challenged me to another. She racked this time, and I went to break. I leaned over the table and lined up the cue ball. I pulled my arm back to take my shot when someone came up from behind and placed their hands on my waist. "Hey, baby. How you doin'?" I groaned in disgust, and Cheyenne heard and saw my face. My tongue ran over the front of my top teeth as I tried to hold back my anger. I stood up straight, and he turned me around, pushing my butt against the table. "It would be wise for you and your balls to walk away." I looked up at him and glared. He smirked down at me. "Sounds like you like to get rough. I can get down with that." He smirked bigger and added a wink. "Seriously, Trent? You have no clue what she can do. You're going to want to walk away now." He smiled at Cheyenne over my shoulder as I lifted the pool stick, ready to skewer it through his foot if he didn't let me go. "I like a girl with ski

I tensed, expecting to see Jessie. There was something about my past that just seemed to stick with me like a curse. I could sense the train coming, but I couldn't get out of its way. It was a separate life. I wanted to keep it far, far away from my current one. Jessie was an immature relationship, to say the least. Him, his friends, our school… everything about it was toxic, and I wanted to rid myself of that history and those memories. The man who approached wasn't who I thought, but I knew he was friends with Jessie. That association immediately made me dislike him more than before. Alex. He was the man who had covered for Jessie one time at The Shack and was a complete asshole when I was grieving the loss of my best friend. He had treated me like trash and made me feel unwanted and unwelcome. "Hey, do I know you?" He tilted his head to the side, looking at me. I licked my lips, nodding as I tried to hold back my anger. The dark chuckle tha

Crusher approached me cautiously, with his palms raised toward me as if I were a beaten animal trapped in a corner. "Alright, girl. You did well. It's over." My head turned a fraction of an inch, wanting to look to Hans to confirm it was, in fact, over and to make sure it wasn't a trap, but I was smart enough not to take my eyes off of the man in front of me. As soon as I did, he could end me. I took a fast step back when he took another step forward. The moment he realized I was still prepared to fight, he moved back to the other end of the cage, placing his back against the fence. That meant nothing to me. I've seen how fast some of these guys could cross the small, confined space. The click of the metal door unlocking, followed by the squeal of it being opened helped to shake me from my fog. Mark walked in front of me, his warm hands wrapping around the tops of my fists, lowering them to my sides. "You were amazing." He whispered as he grabbed my c