Thirteen: a gun to my lips
Temperance
"Take my gun Temperance." With trembling hands, she places her gun in my palms.
"W-what? What's going on?" My heart races as I feel the weight of the gun.
"Hide it so he won't see." She whispers, her eyes not once leaving the truck.
I lift my hoodie and quickly tuck the gun in my waistband, half of it sticking out.
"Fuck I promised Alec and the guys that I wouldn't let anything happen to you." She whispers, mostly to herself.
I pull my hoodie back down and stand beside Emaline, who looks petrified at whoever is inside the truck. The passenger side is facing towards us, making it difficult for me to see who is inside.
We hear the vehicle turn off and someone opens the door. What sounds like boots clack on the concrete after hopping out of the truck. He walks around until we can fully see him.
He has several ear piercings. He has caramel color skin with a faded black tattoo on his neck. His dark hair is flipped, and his stubble makes it look like he's missed a few days of shaving.
"Ah, Emaline. I've missed you, baby." The end of his mouth turns upward, a sinister look displaying across his face.
"What do you want, TJ?" Her voice trembles but I can tell she's trying to act strong. She reminds me of how I look when I'm trying to stand up to my father.
He looks at me and cocks his head to the side.
"This your new friend?"
"Leave us alone."
"When are you coming back?" Fear strikes me, causing my legs to tremble when he takes a step closer to her.
"I'm not coming back." She takes a step back, placing her arm in front of me to bring me behind her.
As if time has slowed down, I watch in slow motion as TJ lunges at Emaline. She shoves me to the side, causing me to stumble as he grabs a handful of her blonde hair. I stand still, in complete shock as I look at her. Her body is bending backward from how he pulls her hair.
"You're coming back with me." He whispers to her, loud enough for me to hear. With those words, he pulls her hair back harder.
As if a switch in me has flipped I feel my brows furrow. Anger runs through my veins as I look at the monster in front of me.
I've dealt with this shit my whole life. I'm not gonna let her go back into that hell hole.
Within the span of a second, I lift the bottom of my hoodie, grabbing the gun out of my waistband.
I extend it away from my body, the barrel facing TJ.
He cackles at my attempt to scare him, making my strength falter.
"Do you even know how to shoot that?" He asks with a big grin plastered across his face.
I don't answer.
"She knows how to shoot." Emaline lies, struggling with the words coming out of her mouth.
"Who taught her?"
"Her boyfriend is a leader of a gang. Obviously, she would know how to." Emaline tries to yank herself out of his hold, only to fail with a painful gasp.
I can't tell If she actually thinks we are dating or If she knows we aren't. I don't know why I'm thinking of that right now.
"She looks too innocent."
His words make me rage.
I am NOT innocent.
I've seen my mother's dead body.
I've beat every fucking day.
I was raped three times now.
I have been in the middle of a deal between gangs.
I am ANYTHING but innocent.
I struggle to cock the gun, feeling relieved as I hear it click into place. I ponder if it's on safety or not, not understanding how a gun works. I shrug off the confusion, telling myself I'll find out when I pull the trigger.
I place my finger on the trigger, narrowing my eyes at TJ.
"Woah, Woah now, little bird. Hold on." He let go of Emaline's hair, causing her to fall onto the rough concrete.
"Why should I?" I grit my teeth, seething at him. I hate people who hurt others.
People think they are better than others. People that try to throw others down. People that prey on innocent people and violate them.
Those people aren't people. They are monsters. The monsters always find prey, they trap them like a fly in a spider's web.
Although I might be the fly caught, I won't let Emaline share a similar fate.
"I don't think you'd wanna go to jail." He runs his fingers through his hair.
"My boyfriend will get one of his men to get me out. It's not a big deal." I shrug it off. I know he would do that for me, even if we aren't together. I know as long as I have Alec on my side, then I will be able to get away with almost anything.
"Just leave us alone." Emaline stays on the ground, looking defeated. I know how she feels.
I feel that way every single day. Every single time I see the one person that is supposed to protect me. He was supposed to protect me from the world. Like a father should. But instead, he beat and starved me.
"You don't fucking tell me what to do." He looks down at her.
"And you don't fucking talk to her like that," I yell at him. He takes a step toward me, and Emaline grabs his leg, keeping him there.
He kicks her off and lunges toward me, causing me to fall to the ground. We both wrestled for the gun. My body can't take this much. I know that.
My nose starts to gush blood as he hits my face. I stretch my arm out for the gun and TJ places his knee on my wrist and grabs the gun.
He sits on my stomach, glaring down at me. "Now, what do you plan to do?" He smirks, placing the gun against my lips, daring me to speak.
I close my eyes, waiting for the bullet, but it never comes.,
I continue to feel the gun placed against my lips and I open my eyes. The sunlight hits my eyes but I can still see TJ hovering over me. His attention isn't on me anymore and instead
I turned my head to see Alec and Connor standing there, pointing guns at TJ. Zander is at Emaline's side, making sure she is ok.
"Get off of her," Alec demanded. His eyes are not leaving TJ.
TJ stands to his feet, seething at Alec.
"Temperance, Emaline. Get your asses over here." Connor keeps his eyes trained on him. I stand up, avoiding all the pain shooting through my body, and step over to Connor, stepping behind him.
I watch as Zander helps Emaline towards us, her face full of despair.
"I'm sorry." Emaline whispers an apology into my ear. I take her hand into mine, giving her a reassuring squeeze as I tell her it isn't her fault.
"Why are you here?" Alec questions him. "Just tryna get my girl," TJ smirks, annoyance lining his face.
"And what were you doing to Temperance?" He asks another question. TJ rolls his eyes, "Dumb bitch was tryna shoot me."
"Don't fucking call her a bitch, or I'll end your life here and now." Alec threatens, a glare forming on his face.
"Set the gun down." Connor steps in.
TJ bends down, puts the gun on the ground, and stands back up with his hands up.
"Go to the car," Alec's harsh voice makes me tense up. Emaline turns towards the car, taking me along with her. "I am so sorry." She apologizes for the second time.
"It's ok. You didn't know it was going to happen." I step into the backseat of the car, finally feeling secure.
We sit in silence before seeing the guys rush towards the car like children.
Next thing we know, the guys open the door and jump in the front with Connor in the back, and we are zooming down the street.
"What happened?" Emaline leans forward and asks. "Nothing important," Connor replies. She rolls her eyes and sits back in her seat.
We hear sirens behind us. Blue and red lights are flashing.
"Shit, this is bad."