Chapter 48.5
" I have more nightmares about failing AP Biology than I do about you."
Rochelle Quinn's POV:
"Rochelle Quinn." My name left Royal's lips softly, his widened eyes fixated on me. "O perigo."
"Missed me?" My lips moved upwards, embracing the astounded stares off the brothers. I noticed Cole and Charlie gazing at me through the corner of my eye, curiosity overtaking the shock.
"Oh Meu bem ( My darling) , I have." The electrifying blue eyes turned devilish within a matter of seconds. He moved his stare until it was on his second to oldest brother.
Killian.
I swallowed, standing straighter. My fists remained at my sides and my gaze didn't falter as Killian's met mine.
The barrier in my eyes was back up and I swear I saw a wave of sadness flash through his at the sight.
But I wasn't here to reunite with any of them, or mess around playing games.
I was here to save my brother.
"Gonna tell me why you're here, Royal? I don't mean to be rude but I didn't come for reunion." My tone was callous, and almost cruel. I spat the words at him as though he was beneath me, which he was.
Brett stepped forward slightly, his eyes turned to slits as he heard the coldness in my voice. "We were told that some little cadela (Bitch) hurt a friend of Jay's. And of course we knew we'd have to get involved once we heard it was a Rossi."
I took a deep breath, shaking my head. "You shouldn't have come here, King. You're on my turf now." I clenched my fists as an act of warning, which didn't go unnoticed by either of them.
Royal smiled at me again, "You won't beat us, Rochelle. We're not leaving until Alec comes."
I tried not to flinch at the name but I failed, closing my eyes as I attempted to steady my breathing.
I could feel the concern radiating off Killian in waves but I refused to look at him. I couldn't risk it.
I caught Sky's knowing look, I glanced at his mouth as he spoke to me yet no sound was coming out.
"Run." He mouthed, "I can take it."
Never.
"Alec's not coming." I raised my voice, knowing that the gang and Jensen's would be able to hear me.
"Then Skylar isn't leaving." Royal spoke with the same amount of power I did, shaking the room to the core.
"Take me." I offered instantly, "Let Sky go and take me instead."
"No!" Killian and Sky spoke at the same time, their voices echoed across the silent room.
Royal observed the look of pain on his brothers face, his eyebrows furrowing. He looked at me, his gaze flickered to the scar on my wrist and then back to my eyes. "You think you can handle us again?"
I scoffed, "I have more nightmares about failing AP Biology than I do about you."
Lie.
"Fine." He turned to Brett and Elliot, signally for them to untie Sky's hands. "Let him go. Killian and Liam can hold Rochelle."
Sky shook his head, not moving his gaze away from mine.
Trust me. I wanted to say, but I knew he wouldn't be able to in this situation.
The scars ran too deep.
Sparks erupted on my arm as the warm, familiar touch embraced me. I bit my lip, ignoring the feeling as my hands were forced in front of me. Zip ties were wrapped around them harshly, making it seem almost impossible to get out of them.
I kept my head down as Killian stayed in front of me, checking the tightness on my restraints while ensuring they weren't loose enough for me to slip out of them.
Liam must've been stood behind me as I felt a blade jab into the small of my back. Gritting my teeth, I stayed silent as it dug into me and nearly broke the skin.
I turned to look at Sky, watching his fingers skim over his swollen wrists. He caught my gaze, shaking his head at me.
Looking up at Royal, he pleaded with his eyes. "Let me hug her, please."
There was one thing about Royal that I always respected, and that was his understanding to the bonds of family.
He nodded his head, causing Killian to release my arm and push me forward slightly.
Sky walked quickly up to me, throwing his arms around my shoulders so our mouths were lined up to our ears.
"Alec and the gang are outside the Cafeteria. Leave now and I'll make my way there later." I spoke in a hushed whisper, burrowing my face into his shoulder and welcoming the warm embrace.
"Why, Rock? I can deal with them and I don't want you to face them again, not after what they did." His free hands held my head tightly, as though he was afraid I would slip away.
"Because there's some lines that you can never uncross, Sky. I crossed mine a long time ago and I'm never going to let anybody hurt you again." I promised, wishing that my hands weren't restricted so I could hug him back.
He pulled away from the hug, his hands shooting down to mine. We were so close together that no one else would be able to notice the pin he shoved into the lock on the tie, loosening them so my hands could easily slip out.
"Go." I spoke with hostility, my stare hardening but he understood what I was doing instantly. I moved my hands around so it looked like they were still tied securely.
Liam and Killian were stood by my side the moment Sky moved away, walking out of the exit swiftly.
Cole's eyes caught mine, flickering between my eyes and my hands. I gulped, of course he would know. He always did.
The question is, will he tell his brothers?
My cellphone vibrated in my hoodie pocket and every single eye in the room was on me.
I shrugged, reaching both my hands into my pocket and pulling it out.
Alec
Tell the King scum that they aren't worth the trouble. They can have you.
Smart move Alec, smart move.
I smirked internally, watching Royal's face morph into a monument of rage within a split second. He threw the cell across the room and it shattered in mere seconds.
"Are you fucking kidding me!" I shouted in complaint, narrowing my eyes at him. "I liked that phone."
Killian pulled my arm back in warning, I pulled my shoulder away and sent him a glare.
"Don't fucking touch me." I hissed, avoiding his piercing stare.
Royal studied me, "Something tells me she changed."
I kissed my teeth, "No shit."
He addressed his brothers, ignoring my reply. "Take her to the car, I'll deal with the situation here. Brett stay with me."
Killian held my arm again, dragging me towards the Cafeteria exit. Liam's eyes sparked with mischief that showed too much resemblance to his brothers signature spark, yet once again Royal's voice halted our movement.
"Liam, for fucks sake. Go find Jayden now. The filho da puta isn't here." ( Son of a bitch.)
My eyes skimmed over the people in the room one last time. Students sat terrified at the tables, sending me looks of pity and respect. My brow furrowed slightly as I noticed something.
Layton was gone.
I didn't resist as the man pulled me once again, leading me through the hallway and into the parking lot. We made our way towards the Jeep, Charlie, Cole and Elliot trailing behind us.
I slipped my hands out of the zip ties, shoving them into my pocket. Killian didn't notice.
"I missed you." He whispered, not looking down at me. His voice broke on the last word, sending a poisoned dagger to my heart.
I always hated having weaknesses.
And it's easier to hate someone than it is to love them.
"Hm that's funny." My voice didn't sound anything like my own, it was cold and vicious. A perfect reflection of anger and pain. "I didn't think about you once."
Lie.
I only stopped thinking about him when I met Kenzie and the brothers.
Moving my shoulder, I faced him - daring him to look at me. Our eyes met, a piercing green to a gentle brown. Dark bags lay under his eyes, short stubble decorated his cheeks. His perfect lips rested open, small breaths coming from them.
This boy might have saved me, but he helped break me too.
"Jay!!"
I spun around without hesitating, catching sight of a limping Jayden moving towards the jeep.
Shit.
My breathing hitched as I realised he could ruin my epic escape plan right here.
Oh wow I did a number on him. His lip was swollen and busted, dried blood on his nose. The darkness around his eyes weren't natural and his jaw was almost black.
Oops.
"Who did that to you?" Elliot questioned instantly, moving to support his brothers weight.
Jayden's eyes met mine but I didn't let any form of emotion fall through.
If he told them, I would fight.
"Some dude who escaped from the Cafeteria. I didn't see him coming." Jay muttered to my utter shock.
"You mean Rochelle?" Charlotte stated without question, crossing her arms.
"It's Rocky now, Char." I spat with venom, remembering how her brothers taunted her with that name for years.
"Rocky?" I ignored Killian.
Cole stepped forward, shielding his sister from my sight. "Punch Killian and me."
I narrowed my eyes, "Why?"
He rolled his eyes at my suspicion, "Because Roy won't believe you escaped without a fight. Punch us and then run."
I swallowed, trying to figure out their intentions. "Why are you trying to help me? I'm the enemy."
Jayden tutted, wincing as the pain in his jaw must've kicked in. "You've never been the enemy Roche- Rocky, you were just a kid on the wrong side."
"That doesn't answer my question." I crossed my arms around myself, figuring that they had already noticed.
"We know what happened to you." Elliot rubbed his neck with his free hand.
Bulldog.
My heart raced as I took in his words, "Right. I'm leaving."
And once again a hand shot out to stop me before I could go.
I grabbed it, twisting it behind the boys back. "I fucking told you not to touch me so don't fucking touch me." I almost growled, tightening my grip until I heard a wince of pain.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Killian pushed himself away from me. "You need to hit me so Royal will believe you actually escaped and we didn't let you go."
"Fine."
I brought my fist back and slammed it into his nose, smirking as I heard the familiar crack. I gritted my teeth as a way to silence the cries of pain as my skin broke open.
"I'm sorry." I said without any form of sorrow in my tone.
Before he could reply, I brought my fist back again and hit him. It sent him flying to the floor, knocking him out cold. I bent down, pulling the knife out of his sock.
I shoved it into my pocket, and then held my hand out for Cole's knife. It was relatively smaller than the others, and would do less damage to anyone on the receiving end.
I spoke before he could shake his head, "Trust me."
He didn't speak but the knife was placed into my hand and I folded my fingers around the handle.
"Killian, pass me your shirt." I held my other hand out, using the knife to cut the flannel into two. Much to Killian's complaints.
I stuffed half of it into my mouth, biting down of the material and hoping it was enough.
Remember what you learnt in Health class.
"What the fuc-" Cole's voice trailed off as my muffled wince was heard. All of their eyes widened in an instinct, Charlie and Elliot looked away almost instantly.
I pulled the knife away from stomach, tears slipped from my eyes at the pain.
It was only a small cut, nothing too severe or hard to treat. And if the information my Health teacher gave me was reliable, nothing major would've been cut.
"You really are crazy. There's no way you'll get back before you bleed out, it's too long." Cole muttered, taking the knife out of my hands and smearing the blood onto his. "Have you actually gotten to a point where you'd rather die than harm everyone around you?"
I used the other half of the flannel to bandage my waist, securing a tight knot that prevented most of the bleeding.
"The things we do to survive don't define who we are." I mutter, wincing at the pain. "Do me a favor."
That caught their attention easily.
I mutter again, bitterly. "Tell Brett that if I ever see him again, I'll kill him for what he did to Ivan and Sky. And that's a promise."
*******
"Rock!"
"God." I muttered, shaking my head tiredly, "Can everyone stop shouting?"
The floor was moving beneath me, my head ached with exhaustion.
"Rock? What's wrong?" I heard Alec's confused voice approach me, gasping once he saw the blood stained flannel wrapped around my waist.
"They fucking hurt you." He raged, spitting the words from his teeth.
Someone caught me before I fell to the floor, a familiar scent drifted into my nostrils.
Lime.
Kenzie.
"Shush, you're okay, Rae." He soothes gently when I try to get out of his arms.
"No, no. I'm fine." I slurred slightly, feeling lightheaded.
"Ivan, get me the first aid kit in my bag. Now." I hear Alec instruct, but he sounds miles away.
Kenzie lay me down on table, sitting down next to me and holding my hand.
Alec must've moved closer to me because I could hear his voice move around me.
"Okay, Rock, I'm gonna take off the flannel and disinfect the wound. After that I'm gonna clear any blood and start stitching." He informed me, bringing a cotton ball to my stomach.
"Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?" Kade asked from out of sight.
"No." Sky answered while Alec cleaned up the blood, I gritted my teeth at the pain. "They'll get too suspicious and call the pigs."
I squeezed Kenzie's hand as the needle entered my skin. The disinfectant and blood loss had managed to numb it slightly, so all I could feel was discomfort.
But having a needle in my skin still freaked me out. He continued sewing until the wound was sealed shut,
I close my eyes and let the world swallow me up.
***********
Thank you for reading!
All my love,
Alaska xx