Welcome to the Family

59

Trigger warning.

Extreme violence.

***

I woke up, moaning with discomfort. What happened? Where am I?

Woozy and dazed, fierce aches flared in my joints. It felt like my head was splitting, like my bones were cracking open. Unsteady, I tried to sit up, hands grazing the pavement but pain soared up my spine and air rushed out as I hit the ground hard. My wrists were restrained, held together with a zip tie, tight.

"Fuck," I hissed, clutching my side. But I needed to push through the fog and get up, to stand and fight. Clouded and fuzzy, the events of the day came back to me in flashes.

Ashton?

Where was my brother?

Hello, sweet cheeks.

I cringed, realizing Troy and Royce had found me. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. From what I could tell, I was in some sort of garage or mechanic shop.

Everything was dim, the only light from the flickering lamp over tool bench in the far corner. Next to the bench was a metal door, with a tinge of light underneath.

First thing, I needed to find Ash. Well, after I got out of these ties. I didn't know how many people or who Bryce had with him.

I stood, crying out in pain, but with the support of the wall, managed to stay upright this time. Years ago, Jaime taught Ash and I how to free ourselves from ties like this, when he trained us to fight. He made us do it until we perfected it, until we could break free with one, sudden and blunt movement.

I held my arms high in the air and stretching my wrists as far as possible, before slamming them down hard against my stomach.

The plastic tie snapped, freeing my wrists. I smirked, these asshats won't keep me down for long. I moved towards the exit door, wondering what was on the other side.

I didn't know the time or how many hours I'd been knocked out for, but I had to find my brother.

I reached for the knob, stumbling at the last second and crashed into a bucket of tools. Screwdrivers and nails crashed to the floor.

Well, if they didn't know I was awake, they would now.

I heard muffled voices, my heart speeding up with fear. I whipped my head around, ignoring the pain, and searched for a place to hide.

Nothing.

Fuck sakes, I had shit luck.

I'd have to fight my way out.

I picked up a wrench, readying myself for when the door opened. When it did, a burst of light illuminated the room and in front of me stood Troy.

He stumbled back as I smacked the wrench across his face, head snapping back. "Oh, sweet cheeks," he said, clutching his nose, with a sinister grin crossing his lips, "you shouldn't have done that."

I kicked his knee and felt a rush of satisfaction as he yelped in pain. It didn't quite stop him from grabbing my foot, pushing back hard enough that I collided with the ground.

Troy flipped the light on and I shielded my eyes. He chuckled. "I'm impressed, I didn't think you'd get out of those restraints so quickly."

I smirked, glaring at him. "You underestimate me," I said and stood once more.

The sight of him made me sick. His dark eyes pierced mine, hungry. Clean shaven and hair holding too much gel. He wore a tight black shirt, one that showed off his tattoo sleeves on both arms.