falling in love with a gang leader

chapter 26 (colby's pov)(sensitive⚠️)

colby: "EMMA!" i screamed as i saw mike carry her unconscious body over his shoulder.
colby: "MIKE YOU ARE SO DEAD!" i screamed, running after him as fast as i could. not my emma!
just as i approached mike, he hopped in an old,
creepy van with emma over his shoulders.
colby: "EMMA!" i cried, tears streaming down my face as i witness the van drive out of my reach. i ran after the van as fast as i could and as much as my lungs could take. once i saw the beat-down van that had emma in it turn the curb and speed off, it was already too late. i dropped to my knees in the middle of the desolate street and just cried, sobbing as loud as i could, screaming emma's name. not emma! i didn't care who heard me and who saw me break down in tears. i just want her back. mike is going to hurt her and take advantage of her and it hurts like you wouldn't believe that i can't help her. i
turn around to hearing footsteps trample towards me. sam, elton, and kevin came charging at me worriedly.
sam: "what the fuck just happened?" he asked, his voice full of anxiety.
colby: "mike took emma!" i sobbed.
all of their eyes went wider than you would believe and elton came up to comfort me.
sam: "he took her?" he asked in disbelief, distress evident in his voice. her and i had just made it official and then this happens? what the fuck!
i nodded, not being able to produce actual words. emma!
elton: "shit. shit. shit. shit." he mumbled in frustration, trying to come up with a plan.
kevin: "check her location! now!" he shouted. people were starting to come out of their houses and
wonder what the hell was happening, but i could care less. i'm focused on emma and only emma.
i struggled to pull my phone out with how shaky my hands were, but i managed and pulled up her location as fast my fingers would go which was not very fast. i was too shaken up. i handed my phone to elton, coming to the realization that i couldn't function enough to speak or look at my phone screen. sam finally came over to me.
sam: "hey, don't worry. we'll find her, i promise. i'm not going one second without knowing that she's not okay. i promise we'll find her."
elton: "okay, let's go! i have her location! sam, go lock emma's apartment up and meet us in the car!" elton and kevin ran to the car, while sam darted up
to her apartment. i quickly followed after elton and kevin, getting in the passenger seat. sam got in shortly after, holding emma's keys. while i sat in the passenger, i dialed emma over and over again but there was no answer. finally, the tenth time i dialed her in a span of a minute and a half, she answered.

colby: "EMMA! PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY!" i sobbed, putting my phone on speaker.
??: "she's in a bit of a situation right now." mike. i could picture him with that sinister smile on his fucking face.
colby: "MIKE, YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN I FIND YOU!" i screamed into the phone.
mike: "oh, colby, you're not going to find me." he chuckled.
colby: "oh, mike, you wait and see," i cried, mimicking him, "let me talk to emma!"
mike: "fine."
and then i heard her worry-filled voice break through the speaker of my phone.
emma: "b-baby?" she cried, her voice quiet and small.
colby: "EMMA, BABY! PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY!" i shouted, panicking. elton, kevin, and sam were just listening in, worrying, while elton drove to the location and none of them were bothered about my screaming.
emma: "no... ow!... i-i mean yes!" she sobbed.
colby: "I SWEAR TO GOD, MIKE! IF THERE IS A SINGLE SCRATCH ON HER, WHEN I SEE YOU, YOU'RE DONE FOR!"
emma: "please, help me!" she cried, "OW! MIKE, STOP!" she screamed bloody murder.
emma: "COLBY! PLEASE HURRY AND HELP ME!IT HURTS!" she sobbed, her scream piercing through the phone speakers and replaying in my head on a constant repeat. elton presses the gas harder and we zoomed off faster once he heard emma's screaming, running every red light and stop sign in sight. i felt my entire body tense up and go numb.
mike: "goodbye, colby." he said evilly, chuckling.
colby: "EM-" i was cut off by the phone cutting connection. please let her be okay... please let her be okay...

after about ten minutes of illegal driving, sobbing, and panicking, we pulled up outside of a creepy looking shed that was shown on the location where emma was. sam, elton, kevin and i all ran into the building without skipping a beat. as soon as we entered, there were two floors, both looking unstable as shit. old, wet wood that looked like it was going to cave in and completely collapse any second. we heard screaming and sobbing coming from the top floor as soon as we entered. emma!
emma: "PLEASE STOP! god, make it stop-p-p-p!" she sobbed and pleaded. she winces in pain and i start to cry and panic harder than what i already was.
colby: "sam and i will handle mike, you and kevin get emma and go to the car." i whispered to elton since he was closest to me.
we all nodded understandably and we walked upstairs quietly. once we reach our level goal, we were ridded of any and all emotions when we saw that emma was completely stripped with her hands tied behind her back to a chair. emma, baby! my face turned to stone when i witnessed mike withdraw his finger from her femininity. she had tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. i jumped in as soon as i could, not worrying about telling sam to follow me.
colby: "get off of her!" my face was stone, not asking him to get off, but demanding him too.
mike and emma both looked over at me. i almost killed mike right then and there when i saw that he had a fucking smile on his face.
emma: "c-colby!" she sobbed, begging for help with her eyes.
sam: "get that fucking smile off your face!" he shouted angrily. i looked around on the floor and saw a pistol lying on the open ground. i cautiously grabbed it, hoping it was loaded, and walked up to mike, knocking him in the big ass head that he has so that he fell back onto the floor. i stupidly threw the gun across the floor, not thinking, and i ran over to emma immediately after while sam stood over mike, kicking him in the stomach and speaking a ton of cusses upon him.
colby: "baby, baby, it's okay. i'm here. we're going to get you out of here." i breaded heavily, cradling her head in my hands. i cried at the sight of her. she said nothing and just sobbed and pleaded me to get her out of those ties. i untied her hands from behind her and i helped her put her clothes back on her. she sulked against me, completely spent, once she was free and it took everything in me not to run away with her... but i had to handle mike... for my own peace of mind, i needed to handle him.
colby: "elton is going to take you to the car, i'll be there as soon as i can, okay?" i kissed the top of her head, carrying her.
emma: "p-please b-be careful-l." she sobbed. i cried, passing her over to elton's arms, and him and kevin exited the shed quickly, making sure sam and i were okay before they stepped foot on the staircase. i wiped my face from the wet sadness that soaked it and turned to mike with the same cold-stone look that sam has on his face. mike stood up and i nodded at sam who had taken a small step back from him. sam and i gave each other the go-ahead and took no time to let him have it.
after what felt like forever, our very violent fight ended suddenly by mike grabbing his gun and holding it to my head. i glanced around the floor for the gun that i threw when we first got here, and it was too far. colby, you dumbass. i stood there under his gun for a second, just waiting for the right time to switch it around. very suddenly, i snatched his gun from him in a very difficult way that looks easier than it is, and he was soon in my previous position. he unexpectedly pulled out a spare from beneath his belt and pointed it at me, stumbling to stand up in the process. i had no choice. for my own peace of mind, this had to be done. sam came and stood next to me, the same hard-as-stone shown on his face.
colby: "fuck you, mike." i spoke in a cold tone, no emotion showing whatsoever. his eyes widened and he tightened his grip around his spare gun. i took a deep breath and my fingers squeezed the trigger, causing a very loud bang to echo through the sensitive walls. mike dropped instantly, a pool of blood spilling onto the floor rapidly. sam and i walked over to mike and noticed he wasn't conscious... he never will be. sam and i looked up at each other, same shocked look on our face.
sam: "holy shit. what do we do? the council is going to be on our asses for months."
colby: "it was out of self defense. if we ask them to cover up his death, they will."
sam: "okay, i'll call them right now." relief evident in his voice.
i nodded and he called them while i leaned down to mike's expired body.
colby: "shouldn't have messed with what's mine, buddy. i told you once and i told you twice... you had it coming for you." i mumbled.
sam: "they said they're on their way and that they would take care of it. we're not in trouble, but i have to call them back in a few minutes." he said, walking back over to me.
colby: "okay, perfect. well, let's go... i need to see emma." before he could say anything, i darted down the creaky staircase and sam followed hurriedly. i opened the door to the backseat where my dismayed emma was and i hopped in next to her. elton was back there comforting her, but he quickly moved to the front seat so that i could sit next to her. where's kevin? she looked at me and was quick to cling onto me tighter than ever. she sobbed at the top of her lungs and she was shaking out of her skin, gripping my t-shirt and clawing at my back gently.
colby: "shh, shh. it's okay, baby. i'm right here. it's over now." i whispered soothingly, stroking her hair down her back trying desperately to calm her down and make her feel better. she sobbed and sobbed, bellowing out the apologies that she didn't need to apologize for. she didn't cause any of this. it was ten minutes later she pulled away and gazed at me. her eyes were gloomy, her face was softened and crestfallen... she was completely and utterly dejected. i observed her face for bruises, but i didn't see any. the only ones i saw were on her arms and on her sides. i just want to take her home and let her know that it's okay. she doesn't deserve to be in this mess.
emma: "i-i'm so s-sorry. it was him, i promise i-i would never intentionally d-do that to y-you." she sobbed.
colby: "hey, hey. baby, it's okay. i know you didn't do anything, i'm not mad. don't worry. and don't apologize... for anything. you didn't do anything wrong." i whispered, tears falling down my face. she cried once more and i pulled her into my lap, laying my feet out along the backseat. she laid in between my legs, her torso laying on my own, and rested her head on my chest. i wrapped my arms around her, safeguarding her, and played with her hair to help calm her down. she eventually fell asleep in my arms right before sam got back into the car a couple of minutes later.
sam: "okay. everything is worked out. let's go."
colby: "shh, she's asleep." i whispered, bringing my finger to my lips.
he nodded and he looked back at emma who was laying comfortably on top of me.
sam: "is she okay?" he whispered, speaking cheerlessly.
colby: "she will be. she's going to need a lot of reassurance that it wasn't her fault, though. before she fell asleep, she wouldn't stop apologizing." i whispered. i gazed down at her, combing her hair with my fingers and rubbing my fingertips along her cheekbones. my poor emma...
sam: "was mike the one driving the van?" he asked, as if a thought had just occurred to him. i looked back up at him, my brows creasing.
colby: "actually, now that i think about it, no, he wasn't. someone else that i couldn't see was in the driver's seat." whoever drove the van is getting the same shit mike did... from me.
sam: "okay. we need to make sure that whoever drove the van, doesn't get to emma. we need to protect her at all costs." he spoke quietly, but still loud enough to emphasize his point. suddenly, kevin opened the car door to the passenger side. where was he?
kevin: "sorry, katrina called me and i had to explain to her what happened."
sam: "it's okay. but, emma is finally asleep and calmed down, so you're going to have to sit on elton's lap because we can't wake emma up."
kevin glanced at emma, "how is she?" he gazed at me expectantly.
colby: "she'll be better once she's in a comfortable environment."
he nodded, looking back at elton who had a bantered smile plastered on his face.
kevin: "don't make this weird." he rolled his eyes and laughed quietly.
elton: "come sit on daddy's lap, kevin." he laughed, failing to contain his humor. kevin chuckled, "dear god," he mumbled before he sat on elton's lap. sam started driving and we all quietly laughed at the jokes being made. this is why i love elton. he never fails to turn a traumatic situation into something hilarious and lighten up the mood. i will forever admire him for that reason. for the entire car ride, emma was fidgeting in her sleep and mumbling concerning things. i would give her a tight, reassuring squeeze while she lay in my arms and she would immediately calm down. she stays laying on top of me for the rest of the car ride, but after about twenty minutes or so, we arrived back at the bunker. i double checked with sam to be sure that he locked emma's apartment and he confirmed that he did. don't want something else happening on top of what just happened... that's the last thing we all need, especially emma. i carried emma inside and took her up to my room with the intention to get her changed. i laid her on my bed and grabbed some of my clothes from the dresser. i took off her clothes, which left her bare, and changed her into my boxers and and one of my oversized band t-shirts. not once did she twitch or wake up from me changing her and cleaning her up. i saw the bruises all over her sides from when mike buried his fingers into her when they were in the kitchen. i don't know what he did to her arms, but there was faint bruising on her shoulders and on her wrists. i took a deep, refreshing breath at the serenity that i have emma back in my arms and at rest. i gaze at her sleeping body for a moment, grateful that she's not too badly injured and the only thing running through my head was how precious she is and how she was traumatized for just being her. she did absolutely nothing wrong to deserve what had just happened to her. i climbed in next to her and covered both her and i up with the comforter that lays on my bed. she snuggled up close to me and i held her close. i kissed the top of her head and let my lips linger there for a few moments.
colby: "i love you so so much, princess. and i'm so so sorry this happened to you." i whispered, rubbing her back. she pressed herself closer against me and i gave her another reassuring squeeze. her bloody screams and cries replay in my head on a constant loop, but i tried my best to shake those negative thoughts out. i slowly closed my eyes after a few minutes of replaying what all had happened today. all of it ranking from when mike started all of this in emma's kitchen, to when emma agreed to be my girlfriend. i averted my attention from mike and focused on the positive that emma brought into my life and i was soon at peace with my favorite person on earth... emma rede... my emma rede... always...