Welcome to the Family

66

Troy smirked, slamming the cage door in my face and locking it. I lurched forward, scared. "You know what you have to do."

I banged on the metal, shaking my head. "Please - please don't make me do this."

He scowled, the crowd cheering, wanting a fight. "Don't beg, it makes you weak." He backed down from the stairs and looked at me with anticipation.

I turned and faced my opponent, a little girl, Calliope. She cried, her hands covering her face. "Do it, fight her," Troy yelled from behind me. "Fight her or I'll beat you both."

"Fight!" A loud, booming voice called from the speakers, Elias. "This should be a quick one, ladies and gentlemen."

I woke up in a sweat, panting and gasping for air.

Sebastian hovered over me. "Hey, hey," he murmured, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "You're safe. It's just a dream."

He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his thumb over the top of my hand. I blinked a few times, trying to recover from the night terror. Sebastian didn't say a word, comforting with his presence.

"Do you-"

"No, I don't want to talk about it."

I burst into tears, covering my face in the pillow. Sebastian leaned closer and stroked my hair. "You're safe, I'm right here. Cameron is sleeping, but I can get him if you want."

I shook my head. "No. No don't bother him," I said, sniffling. "I'm sorry ... I'm so sorry."

Sebastian reached over and wiped a tear from my  cheek. "Don't apologize." He stayed with me until my eyes became too heavy to keep open. Eventually I fell asleep in his arms, taking comfort in his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest easing my anxiety, soothing me back into a slumber.

***

I waited for my bagel to pop, leaning my head against the fridge. Cameron, Jaime, and Sebastian sat around the table, stuffing pieces of bacon in their mouth and slurping coffee like there was no tomorrow.

They were anxious to get into town and get back before it got busy. Not the city, like I'd hoped. I wanted to see Evie and Eden. And of course, Hazel
and Harry. I missed them.

I hadn't forgotten.

The fights kept creeping into my thoughts, bloody faces. I shook my head, trying to distract myself by flicking toast crumbs onto the floor.

"Maisie, stop that," Cameron snapped, glaring. "Now you get to sweep them up."

"Mase, can we ask some questions?" Jaime asked, looking up from his laptop.

"Questions about what?"

"The fights ... we want to understand."

I glanced at Cameron, who met my gaze. "It's up to you what you wanna tell us," he said, "but it might help know more about Giovanni."

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell us about some of the other girls."