Playing Poker [BEING REWRITTEN]

19| Gun

Third Person

The usual silence was interrupted with a loud bang downstairs which always had the same outcome and that scared her. Every time it was the same routine, she hid, he came, he found, he preyed. All the hiding spots she thought she found had been unsuccessful, to the point where she just accepted the fact she couldn't hide from him. She then heard a loud crash that sounded like glass breaking, indicating he was drunk.

"Don't hide, sweetheart." He slurred. She figured she would accept her fate as she slowly crept downstairs. He smirked when he saw her, a smirk that made shivers run down her spine. He started stepping, more like wobbling towards her and she backed away. There wasn't much room to move, she was now backed up to the wall with him towering over her.

"Don't look so scared. If I wanted you dead, I would've killed you, almost did. In fact, it's the special anniversary of that 'accident', right?" The alcohol on his breath burned Rayland's nostrils, not enough to distract her from the last part of the sentence. He read the confusion on her face and laughed.

"Oh, you don't know?" She nervously shook her head which made him belt out in more laughter. Rayland figured the best way to get information out of him was when he was drunk, he often let certain details slip.

"That 'accident' wasn't such an accident, sweetheart." He hiccuped again, the wheels in her head started turning as she thought about what those words would have meant.

Accident.

Car accident.

Car accident, two years ago.

Darren planned the car accident two years ago.

Darren killed her father.

She finally realized how dangerous he really was. He killed her father without a trace of evidence leading back to him. He meant to kill her and he got caught in the crossfire. Rayland never loved her father but it didn't mean she wanted him to die.

It also made her question, if she and Darren met when she moved in with Linda after the accident, how did he know who she was before it?

Darren never had it out for Rayland, he had it out for her family but why?

Today was the day.

Today was the day of the accident.

Today was the day I was going to fucking die.

I had always expected to die of old age, maybe even a common illness but I was blessed with brutal murder by my aunt's ex-boyfriend. I had no choice but to obey his wishes, he had undeniable power over me and there was absolutely nothing I could do. I didn't want my family to get caught in the crossfire, like my father.

Family is a strong word, a word that I don't use lightly, a word that was almost unknown before I got here. Even with Blake's glares, Liam's affectionate nature, Micheal's grumpiness, Paul's protectiveness, Hayden's playfulness, Jaxon's peacemaking abilities, Jayden's awkward niceness, and Jaylen's weird way to make people laugh, every single one of the Brown's became a part of my family.

Weston's kindness, Myles' annoyance, Matteo's confusion, Alexander's humor, Max's random questions, and Aria's shyness were all things I looked forward to when I entered the school building.

Last but not least, my twin brother, Ryan. The brother I just got back, I was gonna leave again because of some unknown family feud. My annoying, sensitive, weird yet caring, sweet, and funny brother was going to suffer the worst and I always reminded myself 'I am doing what's best for him.' But maybe I wasn't doing what was best for him.