DARK AND TWISTED

CHAPTER 55

I turned my head from side to side; a new look with my new hair. She styled it to be spiky and of course, with undercut like I wanted. I looked different, a good different.

"I like it, thanks. Do I have to pay for anything?"

"No, no. After what your parents did, this is the least we can do."

"Helen, can I ask something about my parents?"

She nodded while giving me a smile, "Go ahead."

"Did they search for me and my sister after we were gone?"

"Yes, they did. Christian asked his gang to drop every single activity and find his missing daughters. He asked me to find you as well."

"But, he killed a lot of people."

"Do you know why he killed those people?" She titled her head.

"No, I don't know," I rubbed my chin, thinking.

The teen in the basement did something to him. He called him a pig and scratched his car. He bought Kate and sold her to Lindsay. They kept mentioning how she bullied me. He got protective when Lindsay wanted to buy me that night. He didn't kill Renee and Tessa, other people did. He just helped them with it. He didn't treat Dan nicely because he knew how Dan treated me. Dolion, he killed Dolion when he was about to kill me. Could Christian was nice all along?

"Do you know your brother, Zayne?" She paused to see my reaction. I nodded. "He was obsessed with collecting stuff. He even sold a finger to my son once but I put a stop to it because I don't want a human finger in my house. Your brother was a unique individual, he came of as a deranged person from time to time. So people bullied him always. He didn't get along with other people and with the unfair treatment he received from people, he changed too. He used have dreams in his eyes. When he was a kid, he laughed and smiled all the time. He actually tried to be the best so people could see the best version of him but they never took him seriously. Being like that was his coping mechanism."

"Yes," I heaved a sigh. "He tried to scare me. He even said he killed my friend. I didn't really believe that because I believe my friend can protect herself. But, despite that, he protected me on my first day here."

"Exactly, all three of them were protecting you from someone else. Suzanne told me the other day. I don't know who but I know someone is out there to get you. Probably the person who killed three of them. But I can be wrong."

"But they killed people, they ate those people. That is just morbid," my voice got deeper.

"Hope, trust me. There's too much you don't know about them. Since we were close, Christian told me other nine gangs were looking for you and your sister. There was a rumor once that you and your sister were killed on the hands of the serpent gang. Ever since, Christian changed into a different person because he thought he lost his daughters. He was more violent, heartless, inconsiderate towards outsiders. He also killed a few people out of rage. But when he knew the news was fake, he continued searching. He failed every year. He blamed himself. He was in pain and suffered in silence. He changed too much over the years, Hope. It's true when people say pain changes people."

"He treated me nicely but the way he taught me manners was different."

"That's just how he learned it when he was your age. Your grandfather taught him like that. Do you know Christian had a gang?"

"I thought of it but I'm not sure about it now. He never told me about it though. Tiger, right?" I rolled up my sleeve, showing her the tattoo on my arm.

"Yes. Tiger. Number one most feared gang in Sy Cove. Mortal enemy of the dragon gang. The difference between them, tiger gang don't kill innocent people. They kill for certain reasons. Dragon gang is the opposite."

Dragon gang? That was Nyx's. I rubbed the bracelet she gave me and shed tears. That was embarrassing but I couldn't control myself. Nyx, I promised to find the person who killed you. so did Maya's killer.

"About the person who's looking for me," I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. "They won't stop until they find me, right?"

"Exactly, which is why it's safer if you stay with us first."

I stepped back, "how can I trust you?" I gritted my teeth, "every time people try to 'save' me, they're actually using me. You must be like them, aren't you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I get it. You can't trust people here. I swear I'm telling the truth. You can do and say whatever you want but I'll help you like your parents did."

Still, I couldn't trust her. She could be the next Dolion.