Five: hideaway

Temperance


I'm falling. Waiting for someone I barely know to catch me. To my surprise, he does with a grunt from impact.

"We need to l-leave," I tell him. I get out of his arms, ignoring my dad's screams. I open the passenger door, placing myself in the seat as he runs around to the driver's seat.

"What was that?" He asks, concerned about the new wounds covering my face. I sigh and lean my head back in the seat. "Just drive," I respond.

He starts driving down the road, and I relax.

"You better start talking before I take you back there." He threatens, bringing himself 
back to an asshole.

I look at him in fear. ‭He wouldn't... would he?‬ I don't know what to tell him.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I'm abused and raped a lot. But that's okay.

No, I can't tell him that. So I make up a lie. “See... I was about to get grounded. So I ran out of the window. Because I didn't want to be grounded." I know my lie didn't sound believable. It is obvious it is far from true.

"Totally." Sarcasm drips from his words.

Then it is silent. Again. We pulled up to his house. It is big. It is definitely bigger than mine.

"Do you want to stay here for a while?" He asks. I ponder on it for a few seconds.

I am too weak to go back. My body won't be able to handle the beatings. I am too weak. I can stay here for a little bit. Then eventually go back after a few days. Alec has more than enough room.

"If that's ok. I don't want to be a burden." I respond in almost a whisper.

"You won't be." He puts his hand on mine for reassurance.

I look at him as he parks. "I have three guys living with me. And several other people come in and out throughout the day." He gives me a heads up, even though I already ran past the guys only an hour or two ago.


"Because you're in a gang." I bring my attention to my legs. He looks at me and then back at his house. "Yes. That's why my house is never empty. If any of the guys give you any trouble. Tell me." He scans the outside of his house.

"Are there any girls?" I ask, a wave of jealousy rushing over me. I don't even know why I’m jealous. I shouldn't be. I don't care about this guy.

"My maid Ella. And there are a few girls in the gang. They don't stop by a lot. They are 
mostly at the warehouse or just frolicking around somewhere."

I nod at his answer and unbuckle myself.


***************************************************


Alec


After I get her into an extra room, I go straight for the guys.

"Zander, go get the report on Temperance Andrews. Now."

Something is up. I've known for a while. But when I went to get her. She seemed so weak. And whoever that was in her window. He looked mad. Furious. Dangerous.

She left hurt, but now that she's back, she seems different, from being more injured than before. Her moves are small, and sluggish as she tries not to hurt herself. Zander walks back in with a stack of papers in his hands.

All four of us, Damien, Zander, Ethan, and I sit down at the kitchen table. The door opens, revealing two other guys roaming around the mansion. They stop when they see me, and I immediately motion them out.

"Where is she?" Ethan asks.

"In the guest room."

They nod.

"Ok, tell me what you have," I demand, bringing my eyes to Zander.

Zander looks up, holding his breath. Something isn't good, I guess.‬

"She was rich in the past until her mother died in an accident when Temperance was ten. Temperance was in the car. Her mom died on impact, and Temperance was rushed to the hospital. Stayed in a coma for a week. Her father lost his job and began doing drugs. He got Temperance out of the hospital ignoring the doctor's regards." Zander takes a breath and looks up at me.

"Go on." I roll my eyes.

“Over the last seven years, Temperance has been in the hospital four times, showing up with severe beatings, severe dehydration, and starvation. She was taken by CPS three times but given back because they apparently saw nothing wrong with the situation. Temperance and her father both blamed it on bullies."

We all sit in silence. My face heats up with anger. My heart pounds with rage. This girl. This beautiful, shy girl that gets picked on is getting beaten. Her life has been fucking hell, and no one cares.

"She's been through so much." Damien sighs.

We hear a light knock on the kitchen door. "If it's you, Henry, then go away," I yell.

"Uh, it's me. I was looking for you.” Temperance peaks into the room, her eyes scanning each of us as the rest of her body hides behind the door.

I look at her. She seems so innocent.

"You can come on, Temp," I tell her, waving her in. She shuffles into the room, closing the door behind her, sitting in a chair at the table between Zander and me.

She looks so beaten up. She’s wearing a short-sleeve shirt that perhaps Ella put out for her. Her arms are covered in bruises, cuts, and whelps. I know that she feels insecure showing all of the injuries that are printed on her pale complexion.

"Are you ok?" I ask, referring to her bruises.

She nods and continues to sit in silence, her dull eyes memorizing the lines of the wooden table. I eye her. I can tell she meant what she said. She was okay. She was just quiet like that.

"Well, I would like you to meet my friends," I say. She looks at the three boys, slightly stopping at the view of Zander. "Zander is the one that's sitting by you. Damien is across from you. Ethan is across from me."

“I... know, Zander." She states shyly.

"Yo, boss. Come here. We have a problem." One of my guys walks into the room.

He eyes Temperance. "And hey, beautiful."

I frown at him. Irritation fills my body. I don't know why it makes me mad, but it does.

"Ok, you four talk and make friends," I stand up, walking towards the door to leave them be. I close the door behind me, focusing my attention on Connor, "What do you want?"

"One of our deals needs a little assistance. Lidia can't seduce the guy into giving us the gun load." Connor replies. My head shakes in disappointment.

"Where?" I can't help but ask. I should know what station she is at, but my mind can't comprehend much these days. "It's Jared's deal." He answers.

"They need you out there, boss," Connor adds.

"Lidia and her group have been working for me for over a year now, and they still can't do a damn deal without me?"

Connor stands in front of me awkwardly. I roll my eyes and open the door behind me that leads into the kitchen.

"C'mon, we are going to help out Jackson and Lidia's group," I order, unfazed. All the men stand, and Temperance's face is filled with familiar confusion.

“Please don't leave me here." She pleads desperately.

"Too dangerous," I respond, watching the guys leave the room to get prepared. She stands up with tears in her eyes and steps toward me. "Please."

God, I can't say no to her. Is it the look of innocence she has?

“It's fine, Alec. We won't let anything happen to her." Ethan comes back into the room, clipping the gun holder onto his pants. I nod, deciding to trust him.

"Flower, you stay by me the ‭whole‬ time. If you're not by me, you are with Zander. You hear me?" I glare at her, warning her not to disobey me.

She cowers back as if she is scared I'm going to scream at her. She pauses, nodding, agreeing with the terms. Fuck why did I do that? She's fragile. ‭I am so used to being a hard-ass that sometimes I‬ can't be gentle.

"Grab guns, Ethan! And extra protective gear,"

Let’s do this.