by Ivy Knight
The house is structured beautifully with tons of windows and a gigantic door.
I step out of the car when I spot the guys heading in. The beat of my heart can be heard from my ears as I take my first step in.
The house is modern with leather furniture, marble flooring and extravagant pieces of art hanging on the walls. Something tells me that this isn't just a designer's choice.
I stand there astonished. A house like this, was once my home as well.
"Change, and someone will come to take you to my office for our meeting," I didn't even realize Kai was standing in front of me until he spoke. I look down at his hands which holds out a t-shirt and pajama shorts.
"Should I even ask where you got these from?" I question.
"They're unworn is all you need to know," he says before leaving.
"No, wait!" I yell, but it's too late. He vanishes from sight. I sigh heavily.
Where am I supposed to change?
I look around at the empty foyer. No one is here to ask for directions, so I take up the challenge and decide to find the bathroom on my own.
I climb the stairs and walk straight down the hall. I pass many doors, but they don't seem right.
"Hey!" I hear a rough voice from behind. I turn around facing a guy who seems the same age as me.
"What are you doing out of your room?" he looks pissed. His face a light shade of red and the vein popping out of his forehead, isn't a great indication. Heavily, his footsteps land on the ground. Two feet away, his right-hand lifts ready to meet my cheek but before he can lay a hand on me, Cole stands in between.
The guy retreats before it's too late, "She's not a part of the supply, touch her and Kai will kill you. Let everyone know."
"What 'supply'?" I question. Cole dismisses the guy before turning around.
"You said you'd stop questioning us."
"I said, I'd stop questioning you guys once I have my box in my hands. Now answer my question, what 'supply'?" I try to hold the anger back.
"A supply of products that does not concern, or affect you in any way. Now, I can either show you the bathroom so you can change, or show you Kai's office."
I already know what the supply consists of but I needed to hear it from someone's mouth. If Cole isn't going to say it, I know Kai will.
"The bathroom," I reply. Ten minutes later, we reach the bathroom.
"You have twenty minutes, someone will come to take you down," he says as I enter the bathroom.
The first thing I do is take out my contacts. My eyes are starting to get irritated from wearing them for such long periods of time and they deserve a break. Then I quickly strip out of my dress and draw myself a cold shower. Letting the stress wash out with the dirt, I lather some shampoo and wash it out followed by conditioner.
I'm done in fifteen minutes. With a clean towel, I grab from the cupboard, I dry myself before pulling on the clothes I was given. Surprisingly, they fit perfectly. Just as I put in my second contact, there's a knock on the door.
Brody stands outside. A smile shows itself on his face when he sees me. I ignore it and keep a straight face. He let me down, I'm not going to forgive him so easily.
"Kai's in his office, waiting for you."
He knows I wasn't going to answer, so he doesn't wait for a reply. On our way to the stairs, I look left towards the hall I got lost in earlier. Behind those doors is something I fear to say out loud. All I can do is hope that it's not what I think, but in the pit of my stomach, I know it just might be.
"What?" Brody questions.
"Nothing," I didn't realize that I had stopped to think.
A turn after another, we're finally at the leader's office. Brody opens the door and I walk in. The first thing that comes to mind is the smell. It reeks of the musky cologne only his body usually wears. I guess this office has become a part of him seeing as his smell is the smell of this room. He probably spends majority of his day in here.
Books and files are perfectly lined on the bookshelf standing in front of the right wall. His desk, made out of dark wood, is sparkling clean with no loose papers. He, himself, sits behind the table on a cushioned seat as his mind focuses only on the computer screen in front of him.
I take a seat on one of the chairs across from him, and wait 'till he's done. He's still wearing the black suit and I can't help but admire how perfect he looks in it.
"You're late."
"Late, but here. I want the box," I state.
"Your box is waiting for you on the coffee table, in the foyer," he states. "But before you go, I have some things I need to let you know. One, you're training starts tomorrow. Two, we'll go back to school once your training is over. Until then, someone will bring you your homework. Three, your part-time job is at the cafe downtown. Again, it'll start after your training is over and you'll work Wednesdays and Thursdays only. Four, after today, you'll always have either Cole, Alec, Brody, or I with you when you're not in the house. Five, in this house, there is only Cole, Alec, you, and I. Rarely, will you ever see anyone from the outside except for security."
"Six, you will not question your mission under any circumstances. If you feel you know less, then know, that it's for a reason. Seven, if I get even the slightest hint that you're involved with another gang or are turning against me, I will kill you in a way that's so cruel, you'll feel the pain even after you die. Is there anything you feel I was unclear about?"
"Just two things. One, I have no clothes. Two, what's down that hallway?"
"We'll go shopping early morning tomorrow, and down 'that' hallway is our gang's way to making money."
"Please continue on," I exaggerate.
"They're all being shifted tomorrow, so don't waste your energy thinking about them," he suggests.
"Let them out, Kai. They're someone's daughter, sister or mother," I say.
"Even if I let the ten I have here, go, what can you do about the other five hundred?" I bite down on my bottom lip, helpless. "Nothing, because you can't save them all. Before you try to save someone else, save yourself. Maybe then, your efforts won't go to waste."
"I'm not at my best, but I don't need saving,"
I state. "I'm done with this meeting so where's my room?"
"The couch is your room for now."
"You're joking. Right?"
"The meeting is over, be awake by six."
"I guess I have no other option," I slide my chair back and get up.
"Summer," Kai calls and I stop at the door. "Alice was buried at the Chicago cemetery."
"Maybe you could visit her the day you realize what you did was disgusting," I state cold-heartedly. I twist the cold doorknob and exit.
The door slams shut behind me and I find my way back to the foyer. On the table, is my box securely shut. Satisfied, I pull out the recliner and lie down. The foyer seems to have dropped a couple of degrees as goosebumps appear on my exposed skin.
I ball up on the sofa in an effort to sleep. The bright foyer lights mixing with the cold isn't comforting but the thought of tomorrow exhausts me just enough to pull me into a deep slumber.
Chapter 16
"Where are we going?" a soft, anonymous voice wakes me up. From my fatal balled up position, I stretch my arms out as I sit up on the recliner sofa.
My eyes blurry, I blink several times turning my head to spot the person who the voice belongs to. In distance, I spot Alec helping some girls into a black van.
A knot forms in my stomach at the sight. When I make up my mind to stand up for them, it's too late. Alec gives the signal allowing the driver to take the girls to an unknown destination. Most of them will never be seen again.
After making sure the car has left, Alec turns around and walks in. Walking past me, he says, "Breakfast is an hour."
I don't reply. Instead, I get up and grab my box on the way to the bathroom. Once I'm in, I hide the box deep in a cupboard. Soon after, I find a new tooth brush and brush my teeth just before heading into a cold shower.
They all seem happy with a light conversation about who's a better a rapper Kayne or Jay-Z. I don't want to destroy a moment, I thought would be impossible, but it's too cold for my body to stay in a towel. To get their attention, I clear my throat. For a bunch of people who run a gang, it's weird they didn't notice me earlier. I guess they were into their conversation just as much as I was.
All their heads turn my way. Cole and Alec's eyes stay close to my head but Kai's eyes scan me from head to toe. A remote feeling finds a way through me making me uncomfortable. His stare makes me fidget, scared that the towel might not be covering what it needs to. I'm not sure if it's actually fear or something else. The feeling is too foreign for me to know for sure what it exactly is.
When the, now dark eyes, meet mine, they send chills down my spine. It's like they're approving me in a way. Why they're approving me? Is something I don't want to find out.
"Missing something?" Alec asks, his tone full of mockery.
"Just clean clothes," I reply not taking my eyes off of Kai's. It's like we're challenging each other to see who will give up first.
With my response, Kai's eyes close in realization, "Right. I'll grab you some."
I let him walk past me to get some clothes as I follow behind.
"I'll bring them to you," he says. We part ways at the stairs. A few minutes later, Kai shows up with clothes in his hands. He gives them to me and leaves silently. Without another thought, I change into the black pair of skinny jeans and a lose white hoodie.
I take out most of the moisture in my hair with the towel and leave the rest to air dry. After throwing old clothes into the laundry basket, I make my way down to the kitchen. Everything is quiet as the three boys eat on the dining table. On their plates, are pancakes and a side salad along with orange juice.
Since I don't spot any extra food on the table they're eating at, I walk closer to the kitchen counter only to find more of nothing. Guessing I'm not a part of the breakfast club, I find a box of gluten free cereal on top of the fridge and decide that's my breakfast for today.
When I look around the kitchen, I internally groan. The kitchen is massive with almost fifty cupboards and drawers. Starting the search for some dishes and cutlery, I open the cupboard closest to the fridge. I open ten different one's before finding the dishes and the drawer right beneath that cupboard holds some cutlery.
I take out a bowl and a spoon pouring some of the Nesquik cereal into the bowl followed by milk. Hungry, I start munching on the cereal right after putting the milk back into the fridge. When the only sound I hear is the crunch of my cereal, my eyes look up to see the three men staring oddly at me.
"Do you not know how to cook?" Alec questions.
I swallow the content in my mouth and reply, "Is it that obvious?"
The three men bob their heads, "Mom and Alice always cooked for me. Any other situation, I just bought food from outside."
Embarrassing, I know. Ever since I was a child, I've never cooked a single thing in my life. Life during my first fifteen years was easy. Minus the physical, mental and strategic training, practically everything was done for me. Even now, the only house chore I properly know how to do is my laundry.
They all start eating their food again, but without facing me, Kai says, "You're helping us cook from now on. That's the only way you'll be allowed to eat with us."
"I'm allergic to almost everything you eat," I state. "I'll manage."
"We'll adjust. There's no discussion about it," Kai ends the conversation. I roll my eyes and stuff my mouth with a spoonful of cereal to keep myself from starting an argument.
...♛...
Breakfast was over in a breeze. No one talked after Kai had decided that I was going to help cook from now on. After that, Kai and Cole left, leaving Alec to babysit me.
The first thing on our to do list, was to get clothes. Kai got some designers to show up to get my measurements so that I didn't have to leave the house. The designers were quite space invasive, touching me everywhere. I was more pissed off than uncomfortable and I had to deal with them for over an hour answering stupid questions like do you prefer the colour orange over red? Like no, I prefer black over everything, end of discussion.
They left just minutes ago sparing me some workout clothes for training today. One thing that wasn't so annoying about this morning, was finding out I get a room that belongs all to myself. That's where Alec's leading me right now.
Once we reach the top of the stairs, we take a right. This is the first time I'm going down this hallway. Even though it looks identical to the other two, something still feels different. We keep walking until we're at the end of the hall. As I inhale, the smell of Kai's cologne reaches me. I turn around thinking that he'd be standing there but he isn't. On my heel, I spin around, trying to determine where the strong smell is coming from. My eyes travel around until they stop at the door on my left.
"What's wrong?"
"That's Kai's room, isn't it?" I ask. Saying the words out loud still doesn't make me want to believe the possibility. Majority of the day I'm going to be spending with Kai and even at night, I'll only ever be twenty feet away from him.
"Ye-ah," Alec replies skeptically, "How'd you know?"
"Just a feeling. I mean, I need to be glued to someone every second of the day and so why should the night be any different, right?" my words drip with sarcasm.
"Right," Alec dismisses me. "This is going to be your room from now on."
I look at the door exactly parallel to Kai's. Before I can open the door, Alec adds, "There's hidden surveillance cameras in every inch of this house except for our four personal bedrooms. Even then, if you spend a lot of time in your room, someone will always come to check up on you."
"So clearly, privacy isn't really an option here," I correct him opening the door which allows the large room to come in sight. When I spot the king-sized bed, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes, training starts today," Alec says just before closing the door behind him. I take this as my opportunity to relax so I walk over to the bed, drop my clothes on the floor and belly flop onto my new bed.
The mattress sinks right in to the weight of my body. A smile appears on my face at the feeling. I thought that I wouldn't get to sleep on a mattress for a while so this was a total surprise to me. That too, a good one. Knowing that the day has still to start, I sit up and look around at the room.
The walls are painted black. The red, wooden exterior compliments the red and beige colored comforter settled across my bed. On the left of my bed, is a glass door leading to the balcony and another wooden door at the end of my room, probably leads to a bathroom.
Another door, next to a desk, hopefully is my closet. I walk over to it. The closet is like another room inside of a room. It's empty and I really hope that Kai isn't planning on filling it up because even after spending thousands of dollars, this closest can't be filled.
Remembering that I only have fifteen minutes, I head to the bathroom to change. The bathroom is also large filled with a Jacuzzi and a shower with a steaming system. As I change into the sports bra and leggings, I wonder why Kai gave me all this.
To be honest, I didn't expect anything but a small room with a creaky bed and a dirty bathroom as my room from him. I don't know what he's trying to prove, so I'll try not to get too comfortable with what he's giving me. He does have the power to take it all away and if he does, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of him watching me suffer from it.
When I'm done changing, I tie my hair up in a ponytail, but let some loose strands linger out. The loose strands of hair helped hide the tattoo that marks me as a part of the White Dragons. For me, the tattoo wasn't really a choice. When I got it, was and so I c
hose to get it on my tenth birthday.
The tattoo is a dragon's right wing curling around the back of my ear on my skull. The tattoo hurt like a bitch and I remember blinding myself with tears, but I never told the artist to stop. I wanted to prove that I wasn't weak, that I could be just as strong as my brothers. Thinking about it, at that time, I thought that was the biggest problem I would have to face.
Taking a last look in the mirror, I tell myself, "You're doing this for Alice, your family and you. Don't let yourself down, Summer."
With that, I head down. At the doorway, wearing basketball shorts and a loose t-shirt, stands Alec. The veins on his arms are more than attractive. His arms aren't too big, letting me know that he doesn't take steroids to get them.
I approach him as he types something into his phone. Once he's done, he acknowledges my presence by looking me up and down.
"A picture will last longer."
"No, actually my relationship will," Alec comments, heading out. I follow behind and enter his BMW.
"You, have a girlfriend?" shock evident in my voice. I mean any of them having a girlfriend is shocking to me.
"Yeah, two years."
"I should say something like a guy like you doesn't deserve love or hate on your relationship but all I wanna say is just treat her right. Finding love is hard, especially in this business." Alec looks surprised by my reaction, but he bobs his head letting me know that my words got to him.
I want to find love too. Sounds sappy and cliché but having a person that I can trust no matter what, is a constant craving of mine. Even after how many times I've been used, there's still hope inside of me saying that I'll have that one person soon.
To keep my mind off of the things to come later today, I turn up the radio. One Dance by Drake starts to play.
Nearly an hour later, we stop at a building located in the middle of nowhere. We exit the car and walk inside. From the outside, the building looks like an old factory but from the inside it's definitely something else.
At the back of the room are exercising machines, while close to us, is a fighting cage, wrestling matts, punching bags and a boxing ring. The whole room is brightly lit and air conditioned. For once, I'm more than surprised and impressed. This is definitely one up from where I trained as a kid.
