The Easton's

1

Dozza, Italy

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Soft panting filled the space as the male crouched behind the bar. He felt confined by the mask on his face but he knew removing it could be deadly for him. He slowly crouched and walked towards the end of the bar to take a peak when a gunshot went off whisking past his face. He jumped back, settling against the bar and grabbed the gun from his side.

"Come on out pretty boy." The voice taunted him as he tried to figure out what to do. He knew this was the biggest job he'd ever taken on and all his training had never prepared him to fight his own group. Jestion eventually went to peek around again and shot the guy in the leg bringing him down when the doors to the bar bursted open.

Jestion caught a glimpse of the men that just entered the room and let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in. He stood up walking over to the wounded man and kicking the gun away from him before walking over to the group. The leader of the group grabbed him by the waist pulling him close to him before removing the mask from his face.

"I told you to wait for me." Riley smiled at the smaller male as he leaned in to kiss him. After the short kiss Jestion turned back towards the man on the ground and shrugged. "You also knew I wouldn't listen." He trailed off teasing his fiance. He separated from the man to walk over to the guy he'd shot a kneeled down removing the mask from his face. His face shifted into anger as he saw an entirely different man than the one he wanted to see.

"That mother fucker!" He yelled as he stood up kicking the man. He turned to his fiance and sighed, taking his hand up to pull his own hair. "It's not him." Jestion said bitterly before storming out of the building. Riley stared at the back of his retreating fiance and sighed.

"Get him up and take him to the basement." He told his men before following Jestion to their car.

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Jacksonville, Oregon

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I sighed as I walked home from school. I was bundled up as much as my mother could get me to. I had always been one to get sick easily so she never let me leave the house in the winter without at least two layers of clothes. I'd been living in the small town with my foster family for five years now and as I slowly approached my senior year I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I didn't have friends, but my mother and father made it worth living as they took care of me and gave me the love I'd searched for. As soon as I got home I was welcomed with the scent of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I smiled knowing my mom must've closed the bakery early that day and kicked off my shoes before walking into the kitchen.

"Welcome home honey!" My mom said happily as I walked over to her looking at the cookies. She was covered in flour and it was all over the counter as she rolled out pie crust. I gave her a peck on the cheek and went to sit my things down so I could help her.

"How was school today?" She said as she grabbed my apron from the wall to hand to me. I sighed and smiled putting on the same facade I had for years. School wasn't bad, school wasn't anything. I went, I learned and I went home. "It was great, I'm glad it's winter break though." I told her as I tied the apron on and went to wash my hands.

"Do you want to go to the cabin for Christmas or stay home?" She asked as she went back to rolling out the dough. I thought for a second, we hadn't been to the cabin in three years. I loved being there because I felt so free and I always seemed to paint more when we're there.

"How long is dad's winter vacation?" I asked as I went over the stove to stir the apple pie filling. She paused for a second thinking before she let out a small sound and turned around. "Oh guess what! He got promoted so he gets two weeks off this Christmas." She said happily. I turned from the stove and smiled. My dad had been waiting for the promotion for months.