Just Call Havoc

Arm in Arm

Rachel:

It has been five days since our Albany attack. Things have settled down a bit. I can't say I'm happy with that.

Adrien is the most dangerous when he's quiet. He's plotting and I don't wanna be in the middle of whatever that plot is.

I have been to Havoc's gathering place. It's basically a huge walled place with a raised platform in the dead centre. I swiped the place with a bug detector. There weren't any.
I've been keeping my eyes out for the mole ever since but thus far, nothing useful.

I've also been to Fuller Elementary. Alex is registered as Lara's emergency contact. We went there with the marriage certificate and got me registered as her primary guardian. I also added Vera as her emergency contact.

I've accustomed myself with Lara's routine. She was already enrolled for after school activities along with dance classes at Callum's studio. I didn't change anything. She needs to be surrounded with familiarity or she won't be able to cope with Lucas's death.

It works out well for me anyways. With her safely off to school I can work without worry. We've spend all of our evenings together, getting to know each other. She really is quite premature for her age. I would never have expected her to be as strong and wise as she is. We found common ground in dance and music. She loves dancing and from the bits she showed me, she's really good at it. I want to go with her to her classes sometimes, but I haven't managed to get the time yet.

Today's a Tuesday, which means Lara will be going straight to her dance classes from school. Ashley goes to the classes too and the two girls have been pretty much inseparable since the funeral. And that has resulted in Havoc driving Lara around everywhere along with Ashley. I could have protested, but if being with Ashley makes my girl feel better then I'll be damned if I let it stop.

Havoc would never hurt Lara. They would even die protecting her. That's the one thing I'm sure about. So I pack her two boxes on Tuesdays and hand her over.

It's 5 in the evening now and I'm wondering what to make for dinner when the doorbell sounds. I open it to find The girl gang at my doorsteps with a fuckload of packets.

"What are you guys doing here?", I ask bewildered.

Vera just grins at me as all seven of them pile inside and into the guest room.

"We have grilled chicken sandwiches"

"And nail colours"

"And face packs"

"A spontaneous sleepover?", I ask them with a smirk.

"Pretty much", Hayley states. "But also, it's your initiation."

I raised a brow at her.
"What's the deal with that? Slice our palms and mix our blood or something?"

"Nothing that dramatic", Bethany says chuckling, then turns serious. "When someone new joins our rank, we sit and share our darkest secrets. Things nobody else is aware of. It's our way to bond together."

I'm proud of myself for keeping a straight face but my smile has disappeared. My pulse is racing and I can feel the leathers and the metal.

The pain in my stomach is blinding and I feel the hands around my throat, cutting off my air supply. Dark spots appear in my vision and I welcome the oblivion just as another sharp pain rips through my mind pulling me right back to reality. I can't breathe. I can't escape. I'm stuck in an eternal nightmare. I wish they'd kill me. I need this to end. The rips of agony keep coming. Again and again and again. I plead in my head each time.

Kill me.

Kill me.

Kill me.

Kill....