Chapter 4: Strength
A/N: There is no exuse to why I'm this late with this update, I've had my worse wirters block ever. I really wish I could say it's gone now but I don't think I can make that promice. In the months as I tried to figure out what to write for this chapter I got disstracted with ideas for new stories (one was Star Wars inspired, one was a mix of the movie Jurassic Park: The lost world and the King knog videogame and anouther one was a story where Emily is a neard and creates a new secret persona on a costume party and loses controll and the last one was basically a Paily version of the movie 12 feet deep.) I don't know why but when I get Wirters block I just get ideas for the first chapter of new stories and then I just end up getting stuck on those stories.
Emily's Pov-
"I am such an idiot!" I yelled in anger and sorrow as I slammed my can of beer on my table. I just couldn't believe my luck, I had invited Paige to a barbecue and she already had a girlfriend. It felt like my heart was shattering repeatedly as I punished myself for my idiocy.
Hanna, Spencer and Aria were all with me, after I had seen Paige and her girlfriend I eventually made it home and when Hama called to ask how it went I couldn't keep quiet about my dumbest move ever.
The girls had hurried over to my place right after Hanna had called me.
"Em, are you absolutely sure that girl was Paige's girlfriend?" Hanna asked, there was a hint of fear and worry in her voice.
"Yes, I'm sure! Oh, and guess what they live together!" I blurted out as I felt that my heartbreak mixed with the alcohol from my beer was starting to make me hysterical.
"Come on Em, Paige was willing to die for you when those thugs…"
"And me." Hanna said interrupting what Spencer was saying.
"I was also getting saved by Paige." Hanna said as she got a very stern glare from Spencer who then turned her attention back to me.
"Paige risked her life to protect you and Hanna, she must have felt something for you." Spencer said.
"Do you really think so?" I asked as I grabbed my beer can, to my disappointment it was empty.
"I am very sure about it, I mean why would she otherwise fight off the attacker? It's not like she is secretly a vigilante?" Spencer asked.
I let out a ridiculously loud laughing noise when I heard Spencer saying that.
"Em, maybe you should take it a bit easy…" Aria said.
"What I've only had one beer." I said as I walked to my refrigerator on wobbly legs to get something stronger than beer.
With every step I took it got harder to keep my balance and when I was just a few steps away from the refrigerator I felt something hit the bottom of my left foot and I lost my balance. I lost my footage and landed hard on my butt.
"Fuck! That hurt" I yelled as Spencer and Hanna walked over to lift me up.
"That's it, I'm cutting you off." Spencer said as she and Hanna got me up.
As they pushed me towards my bedroom I let out a whining "Whyyyyyyyy?"
"For starters, you just tripped on the edge of a carpet." Aria said as she opened my bedroom door.
"You really shouldn't drink, you can't handle your alcohol." One of the girls said but at this point I couldn't tell which one was which.
I was lead into my bedroom and my friends got me into bed and once everything went dark I couldn't tell if the lights were out or if my eyes were shut.
I just let my head fell onto my pillow and felt a comforting pat on my back as I dozed off.
Paige's Pov-
I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, I kept thinking about the fight I had, I remembered how lucky I got this time since I had the advantage and it was just one guy, but if I would get surrounded by several thugs again I'd need to take a few punches and for that I'd need protection.
I knew that I couldn't just walk into a gun store and buy a bulletproof vest since that would raise suspicions, not to mention all the paperwork I'd have to fill.
I opened my laptop and started to check different sports sites instead, I decided to narrow down my search to ice hockey gear since it seemed to be strong enough to take a few hits.
I looked at what a goalie would wear and the pads looked like they could resist hard hits but the leg pads would prevent my movements. I kept searching for torso protection knowing that the next time I'd end up in a fight the thugs are most likely to target my chest.
I kept browsing trying to find what gear that would give me an edge in a fight.
As I scrolled the random sites I heard the creaky sound of an opening door. Without thinking I slammed the laptop shut as Sydney got out of her room. She looked over to me as I was sitting in front of my closed laptop.
"Morning." She said as she walked up to the table and her eyes got stuck on my glass of orange juice.
"Hi." I answered her and tried to very discreetly push the laptop further away from the table, out of her line of sight.
"Is that orange or pineapple?" She asked and pointed to my glass.
"It's orange, do you want some?" I asked.
Just as soon as I answered Sydney she snatched my glass and took a sip from it. "It's good." She said and sat down at the other end of the table still holding my glass in her hand and kept drinking.
"You could just have gotten your own glass." Was all I could say as she placed the now empty glass on the table.
"It's ok I don't mind." Was all she said and then she pulled out her cellphone from the pocket of her sweatpants.
"Got a hot date?" I asked her and she scrolled through her phone and said, "Just checking my schedule, not sure when Matt was going to come over." She answered.
I remembered Matt from last time I saw him. He was Sydney's art project and I could clearly remember him being very comfortable with his body.
I must have made some sort of uncomfortable face since Sydney suddenly asked "You're not freaked out because of my art?" She asked very defensively
"Just give me a heads-up so I'll know what to expect." I answered and Sydney instantly calmed down.
We both sat down quite after that until I remembered that Emily had invited me and Sydney to her family's baroque.
"You got any plans for next week?" I asked Sydney as she kept checking the calendar app on her phone.
"I got us invited to a barbecue." I answered.
Sydney gazed her eyes away from her phone. "How did you manage to do that, I mean the only time you were outdoors was when we went home from the hospital?" Sydney asked sounding very surprised getting this info.
"Emily invited us." I answered just to be answered by Sydney's confused look.
"The girl I was talking to when we went home yesterday." I explained.
Sydney was now really trying to think back to remember whom I was talking about. I wasn't surprised it took her some time to remember since she wasn't interacting with Emily when I met her.
"Was she that sexy lady?" Sydney eventually asked.
"I'll point her out when we're at the barbecue." I said, partly because I wasn't sure if Sydney was thinking of Emily but mostly because I knew she'd tease me if I'd say that it was her.
Once Sydney heard my answer she sank down a bit in her seat which proved to me that I was right.
"Ok, sounds like a plan." Sydney said and she got up and walked up next to me.
"Sooooooooooo?" She asked, using a very long emphasis.
"What were you up to before I interrupted you?" She asked as she nodded towards my laptop.
"Nothing!" I quickly answered, which right away proved to be a mistake since now Sydney got more curious. "Baseball score nothing or porn nothing?" She asked in a suspicious voice.
"It's nothing really you don't have to… HEY!" I noticed too late that Sydney has snatched my laptop and she was about to open it.
"Sydney… put the computer down." I said in this almost hostage-like situation.
"What? I'm not going to judge you by your browser history." Sydney said standing in a position to get ready to run and even though I was fast enough to eventually catch up with her She'd just ran into the bathroom and lock the door.
"Besides, I'm open with you about almost everything." She continued.
"Yeah, but this isn't what you're open with me about." I answered.
"Good point." Sydney said and I slowly took a step towards her.
"Let's see what gets you on." She said and opened the laptop just to be surprised to see a site with sports equipment.
"I was not expecting that." She said as she handed me my laptop.
"I'm thinking about playing some ice hockey for fun." I lied. I haven't decided yet but it helps to know about the quality of the gear so I won't get hurt." I continued.
"Well, just make sure to use protection." Sydney said.
After that she went to her room to arrange her painting equipment and started to set up a background for her next art project and I went back to the site and ordered a package called 'Ice hockey protective package for rookies' figured if I bought a full package I could pick out what I could use to get the best protection without limiting my mobility for the next time I'd have to fight.
Emily's Pov-
"Oh God…" I groaned as I woke up with a horrible hangover. I was never much of a drinker so the few times I'd get a hangover I felt like throwing out all alcohol and swear to never drink again.
I had an aggressive headache, my eyes felt sore and I felt like I was going to throw up, but there was one good about this hangover, it made me think of something else than Paige, until I got that cold hard slap of reality.
I couldn't believe myself, how could I both fall for Paige and let her break my heart without even finding out that much about her?
She was a stranger to me, but I felt that I wanted more. How could I have been such an idiot?
After a while I forced myself to get up, I groaned as I held a tight grip on the bed frame as my wobbly legs tried to find the strength to stand upright.
I really hated that my bedroom was upstairs, getting out of the bed was hard enough so getting downstairs would be impossible.
With the option to stay in bed getting more tempting by the second I tried to make my way downstairs.
As once I was halfway down the stairs my stomach growled aggressively, I more than enough starving to make it the rest of the way down and enter the kitchen.
At this point I was willing to eat stale bread and expired milk just to still my hunger.
A second growl echoed from my empty stomach as I opened the cabinets searching for any kind of food.
"Emily?" I heard Aria's voice as I was searching among the many condiments and spices.
"Are you alright?" Aria asked.
"Food, need food." I responded with a slightly parched voice.
"Ok, I'll cook you something." Aria said in a faint voice, I guess I slightly scared Spencer, but then again, I was acting more like a savage than myself at this point.
I went over to the refrigerator finding a very present surprise in the form of an orange juice packaging.
I opened it right away and started to chug the juice, feeling my throat recovering from each passing second.
"Emily, you're just like my brother." Aria said in a discussed once I had stopped drinking and put the now almost empty juice packaging back in the fridge.
Just as I sat down Hanna and Spencer walked into the kitchen.
"Good, you're awake." Hanna said, instantly getting an annoyed glare from Spencer.
"I mean… how do you feel?" Hanna quickly changed her reaction to seeing me.
"I didn't expect you guys to stay the night." Was the only thing I could bring myself to say as Spencer walked up next to Aria and helped her cooking breakfast and Hanna went over to the coffee maker.
"You needed us so we stayed for you." Spencer said.
I couldn't help but smile when Spencer said that, it was in moments like these I knew I was blessed with good friends.
"And you did even eat while you waited?" I asked.
"Well we were but Spence…" Hanna said getting a stern look from Spencer.
"It just wasn't right to eat your stuff while you were asleep." Aria said.
"Thank you, but really I wouldn't have minded at all." I said.
Hanna let out an annoyed groaned and turned to Spencer. "I told you she'd be fine with it."
Her comment was quickly answered with a quick slap to the back of her head.
"Um… I mean waiting just felt like the right thing to do." Hanna said as she rubbed the back of her head.
I couldn't help but let out a brief smile as I remembered how much we had changed since high school and how a few things still had remained the same.
Paige's Pov-
"Hey Paige look!" Sydney almost screamed as she pointed to the Tv.
It was a news report where a poor store owner had been the latest victim of one of the street gangs.
I may have been some distance away from the Tv but I could tell just how bad the damage was,
windows were shattered, outdoor furniture's had been smashed and the wall was covered with ugly markings from spray cans.
I moved up closer to the Tv and sat down on the couch and Sydney grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.
The reporter was standing in front of the store, she was fairly young and had brown hair that was tied up in a bun, she was wearing a gray blazer and she was very calm for being right at a crime scene, or maybe she was just good at hiding how she really felt.
"We, still don't know who is responsible for vandalizing Mr. West's deli but police are still trying to find clues to narrow down the possible suspects." The reporter said as she moved up much closer to the crime scene heading to one of the police officers.
She nudged him and without waiting for him to turn around she asked "How bad would you say this is?"
As the police officer turned to face the camera I could tell that it was my dad.
"As of right now all we can tell this could have been the acts of some drunken teens." My dad answered putting on his best calm face.
He was maybe fooling the rest of Rosewood but growing up with him I could tell that he was concerned, maybe even nervous or worried.
The reporter kept her eye contact with my dad, not letting him go yet.
"Is there anything you've found to help narrow the search down?" She asked.
"Nothing yet but if this investigation can continue I'll make sure to get whoever did this." My dad answered as two other officers walked up to the reporter to let her know that she was too close, she quickly looked into the camera and said "And that's all I can show for now, but stay tuned for more updates and all your news, I'm Claire Tolchuck and you're watching Channel six news." The Tv show returned back to the studio but I had already seen enough. I got up and put on my shoes.
"Where are you going?" Sydney asked.
"Downtown, I'm going to see my Dad." I answered as I opened the door and sprinted out.
I hurried to the crime scene as fast as I could and I made it just as I saw my dad was just leaving the perimeter.
"Dad!" I yelled to get his attention and it worked, he noticed me right away.
"Paige, what are you doing here?" Was the first thing he asked as he walked up to me.
"I wanted to make sure you were alright." I said and nodded to the vandalized deli. "We used to visit this place when I was younger." I said.
"Oh, I didn't remember that." My dad responded clearly focused at his job.
"Do you think it was the same gang that attacked me?" I asked.
My dad quickly reacted to what I've said. I had never seen a more panicked look in his eyes when he asked "Why would you even ask that?"
"I'm just worried those bad men will find me again." I lied, I always hated acting the damsel in distress but I knew it was the only thing that would calm my dad down.
He instantly calmed down and he placed his hand on my shoulder. "You might be all grown up now, but you'll always be my little girl and there is nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe." He said. there was a part of me that felt better just hearing him saying that, guess parts of me still remember what it was like when he and mom raised me.
"Hey! Detective we've found something!" A police officer yelled and I gave my dad a nod to let him know he could get back to work.
My dad hurried over to the officers behind the blocked off area and I stood there looking at the damage whichever of the gangs had caused. I was worried, this wasn't a well-planned heist just some simple vandalism. The gangs here were in control and they knew it.
"Look at that, the daddy's girl is waiting for someone to pick her up." I heard a mocking voice say, I looked over my shoulder to see that Noel Khan was standing just a few steps away from me.
"What are you doing here Noel?" I asked.
"Well, since I'm the mayor's son I should let him know when these type of things happens." He said looking at the deli almost like he was admiring it.
"Doesn't he watch the news?" I asked.
"The mayor never watch the news, he makes them." Nole responded being as arrogant as always.
"Go to hell." I mumbled and Noel fished up his cellphone and took a few pictures of the vandalized deli.
"Not bad, I guess that's what your dorm must have looked like after you've cleaned it." Noel mocked as he almost looked like he was admiring the result.
"Well, hello there." He suddenly said and turned his attention to something else.
I glanced over to see what he was looking at, I saw a group of women in their early 20's, they were taking a jog in very tight yoga pants that clearly had captured Noel's attention.
"Don't bother Noel, those girls aren't into pig's." I answered as he was almost drooling.
"What about you?" Noel said as he still eyed the joggers. "You can't even keep the attention of one girl." He said.
"Whatever happened to that hot chick that visited you in the hospital, I wouldn't mind paying her a visit and treat her real…"
That was it, I had enough. Before he had any chance of finishing his sentence I clamped down my hand over his wrist and threw him to the ground.
"You fucking…" Was all I let him say before I moved my foot just above his throat cutting him off completely.
"You're not going to do anything to her, you'll stay away from her." I said and pressed down slightly on his Adam's apple so he'd get the message.
"Is that clear?" I growled.
Noel was clearly not used to have anyone standing up against him, there was a fear in his eyes and he let out a whimper as he nodded, probably worried I'd squash his throat.
Once I got off him he crawled away and really clumsy got back to his feet.
"This… This isn't over, psychopath." He said before he started to run away from me, probably to hide in his father's mansion.
It's just like I learned in the army, first when you got your back against the wall your true colors are revealed.
If the positions were reversed I knew Noel wouldn't have spared me, but I was never going to drop to his level.
Emily's Pov-
"Hey Em, are you alright?" Hanna asked me as I rubbed my head.
"I've been better." Was all I could answer, lousy hangover.
"Here, have some more coffee, maybe that will help." Aria said as she poured up a cup for me.
"No thanks, I think I've had more than my daily dose." I declined, I had probably had more coffee this morning than what I'd drink in a week.
"Do you think you can walk?" Hanna asked, after hearing that stupid question we all gave Hanna our best are-you-serious looks.
"I mean do you think you can be outdoors." Hanna corrected herself.
"Just give me a few more minutes." I answered. I was not fully recovered yet, but at this point I felt better than I did this morning.
"Anything planned for today?" Aria asked
"Well, I was thinking about starting the first chapter of my new book." I said trying to sound like I had an idea of what to write.
"Nice try Em, but I can tell that you're lying." Spencer said.
"No, I've just… fine I got nothing." I said, after all it was Spencer I was talking to, if she even caught a scent of a lie she'd be on it like a bloodhound.
"Hey, it's ok. Your latest book series was a tremendous success, I mean you could retire now if you wanted to." Hanna said.
Everyone stared at Hanna, surprised over the word she had just uttered.
"What?" Hanna asked confused.
"Do you even know what the word 'tremendous' mean?" Spencer asked.
"Sure I do. Tremendous means extraordinarily large in size, extent, amount, power, or degree. It can also mean really marvelous and fantastic." Hanna said, sounding like she was quoting a dictionary.
"Wow, I'm impressed." Aria said.
"Well, thank Spencer and her word of the day calendar." Hanna said.
We sat there for a while and then Spencer got a call from her mom, she told us it was a meeting about the campaign. I could tell she didn't want to leave but I assured her that I was feeling much better now to ease her conscience about leaving.
A few minutes later Aria got a call from her brother Mike, for some reason she had been very secretive about him and whenever she'd see his Caller ID on her phone she'd walk into another room and act like normal but we could tell she was overacting every time. She excused herself as she left.
"What do you think is up with her brother?" Hanna asked.
"Maybe he is dating a girl Aria disapproves of, remember how protective she got when Prudence Finn was flirting with him?" I answered.
"Yeah, that senior who pretended to be into him just so she could steal his dads 'computer and get herself recommended into college." Hanna said.
"Yeah, poor Mike though." I said. "He must have been devastated when his dad caught her and reported her to the police." I continued
"Can't blame him for falling for her tricks. He was young and she distracted him with her big fake boobs." Hanna said.
"It would explain why Aria is protective over him now." I said trying to not think about it too hard, after all that was none of our business.
"How's your head?" Hanna asked.
"It's fine I think I can get outdoor now." I answered.
"Are you sure?" Hanna asked.
"Yes, besides I really need some fresh air." I said and then I got up and Hann followed me to the door. I quickly moved my had to my face to shield my eyes from the stinging sun rays.
"I think I should have stayed indoors for a little longer." I said and I slowly moved my hands off my face so my eyes could adjust to the sudden light I had exposed them to.
"Maybe we should go back indoors, I mean what's one wasted day?" Hanna asked.
"No, it's fine. I can do this." I said to motivate myself and once my hands were away from my face I just felt a slight stinging that already fades away.
"Dang Em, you recover fast." Hanna said sounding impressed.
It wasn't that big of an achievement, I had recovered from my hangover and now I was feeling much better.
"Wanna go somewhere?" Hanna asked.
"The supermarket, I've promised my dad to get him some supplies for the barbeque. And I've also promised my mom I'd make something healthy for dad." I explained.
"Ok, but I'll drive… you know just to be on the safe side." Hanna said.
She made a good point, I might pass an alcohol test but I didn't feel like I was back at one hundred percent. I handed her the keys to my blue Volvo and she drove us to the store where I got a shopping cart and started to fill it with steaks, burgers and chicken.
"Whoa, are you throwing a barbeque or raising a Tyrannosaurus Rex?" Hanna asked as I filled up the cart.
"Or two?" Hanna asked.
"My dad really loves to grill." I explained.
"I know I've been to his barbecues before I just never realized how much food he had." Hanna said as her eyes widened at the sight of the pile of frozen meat in the cart.
"I know, my dad would always say better to have too much than not enough." I said.
"Besides he'll invite all our families and a few of his friends from when he was a police officer." I said as I threw in a garlic marinated T-bone steak, my dad's favorite flavor.
"Come on let's get some vegetables." I said and Hanna nodded in agreement.
As I turned to cart around I felt a strong resistance and when I looked I saw that Hanna had grabbed the cart and was now holding onto it like she was trying to prevent me from going anywhere.
"Hanna what are…" Hanna brought her hand up to her mouth and made the shushing sign.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"Don't look behind you." Hanna said and I could tell her eyes were focused on something.
I slowly looked over my shoulder and to my horror I could see Paige and Sydney. I almost gasped for air as I turned my head back to Hanna in horror.
"Oh my god that's Paige. What do I do? I need to get out of here." I whispered.
"Ok, let's just avoid making eye contact and maybe she won't notice us." Hanna said.
"Won't notice! I've got a cart full of meat here." I hissed.
At this point I was considering jumping into the cart and hide among the several types of frozen meat I had picked.
I slowly started to push the cart praying that the wheels would make any squeaking sounds as I pushed it far away from where I had seen Paige.
"Was that other girl Paige's girlfriend?" Hanna asked.
"Yes, I know it's her." I said.
"So, are we going to hide until they leave?" Hanna asked.
"That's the idea." I said trying to peek around a corner to make sure Paige wasn't heading towards me.
"Why don't we just pay for your stuff and go?" Hanna asked.
"It's about 25 different items in the cart, there is no way they'll scan all of them before Paige gets to the line and then she'll see me and I just can't handle that today." I explained.
"Ok, I'll keep watch and give you a heads up if Paige's coming." Hanna said and walked up ahead of me to act as my lookout.
I was about to push the cart further ahead when I saw something I couldn't believe.
Sydney was standing a few feet's ahead of me and talking with a guy, and she was not just talking she was flirting with him.
When she suddenly kissed the guy, I felt an anger bubbling up inside me, she was cheating on Paige.
"That bitch!" I blurted out in anger.
"Who are you talking about?" I heard a husky voice ask.
I turned around and saw Paige standing right next to me.
I tried to talk but all that came out were stupid noises and weird slurring, followed by an almost bizarre laugh.
"Hey calm down." Paige said as she grabbed my shoulders, her hand felt so strong but gentle.
"Is everything alright?" She asked.
"Uuum yeah, I just didn't expect to see you here." I said.
"Or your girlfriend." I said without thinking and nodded over to where Sydney was standing.
"Whom? Sydney?" Paige asked.
"Yeah isn't you two… you know together." I awkwardly asked completely dumb folded.
Paige suddenly started to burst out laughing and I had no idea what was happening.
"Sydney isn't my girlfriend." Paige said.
Now I had no idea what was happening, is this a dream?
"Emily, I've lost… Paige!" Hanna cried out as she came back and noticed that Paige was here.
"Hi Hanna." Paige said.
"We were just, buying meat." Hanna said in an attempt to make a quick excuse.
"I see that." Paige said as she glanced over to my cart.
I snapped back to reality "It's for the barbeque, my dad wants to grill as much as is humanly possible." I explained.
"So out buying groceries with your girlfriend?" Hanna asked.
"What girlfriend?" Paige asked, this time sounding confused.
"That girl you were with." Hanna explained. "She is welcomed to the barbeque as well if you want to bring a plus one."
"Well, thank you but Sydney isn't my girlfriend we're just roommates." Paige said.
When I heard Paige say that I felt that I was brought back to yesterday when I saw her and Sydney, if I hadn't been so dumb and jumped the gun I wouldn't just have made a huge fool of myself.
"Well she is still welcome." Hanna said, now I wasn't sure what Hanna was doing.
Hanna kept talking but I wasn't listening, I was trapped in my own world after I heard that Paige wasn't dating anyone. I wanted to push her up against a shelf her and kiss her all over right here and now, but I restrained myself from doing so.
Damn, why do I get like this around her?
Paige's Pov-
I had no idea where Emily would have gotten the idea that Sydney and I were dating, she is more like a little sister to me than anything else.
"Well, I should probably bring this to the cashier." Hanna said and started to push the cart down the aisle.
"So, how are things?" Emily asked.
"It's ok… or well as ok as they can be for a person who got out of the hospital." I answered.
"Oh right..." Emily quickly answered. "I don't think I got the chance to really thank you for saving me." She continued.
"I really wish it'd have ended in a more heroic way." I said remembering how my fight against the N.A.T members.
"You fought against four guys at once." Emily said as she put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a comforting squeeze.
She looked at me and I almost got lost in the gaze of her brown eyes as she let out a simple but sincere "Thank you."
When I saw the sincerity and goodness in Emily's eyes I felt a strong urge to do anything I could to make sure she'd never ever experienced anything like that again.
"You play ice hockey?" Emily suddenly asked and I noticed she was looking at my cart where I had packed enough hockey protections to be mistaken for an enforcer.
"Just been thinking about trying it out, for fun." I lied.
"I'm into hockey too, maybe I can teach out some moves." Emily said with a mix of both excitement and hesitation in her voice.
"That'd be great, I'll give you a call when I've made up my mind." I answered.
If I had told her that I was really going to wear the hockey gear as protection for the next time I'll fight a gang she'd probably think I'm crazy or think I was joking, either way I wasn't going to take that chance.
"I promise you it'll be fun… oh and you're going to need a helmet." Emily said and I looked up dumb folded.
"What?" I asked.
"A helmet, you'd want to make sure your head is protected if you're going to play ice hockey." Emily said.
"Oh, right." I answered.
I really wanted to stay longer with her but when she got a text from an inpatient Hanna we had to say our goodbyes.
Sydney and I got home to my apartment I put the hockey gear in my closet for now.
After a quick lunch I went downstairs to throw out the trash in the dumpster behind the apartment.
As I was going back I heard a shady voice say "You better get ready for tonight."
I slowly sneaked closer to where I heard the voice coming from.
"I know, the initiation right." Another voice said.
I moved closer until I reached a fence, I could have climbed over it but I could hear the two men talk, they were close and would defiantly hear me if I'd try to climb. Instead I leaned against the wall right before the fence and tried to listen to as much as I could hear.
"You are responsible for teaching the new guy the rules." One voice said, it was a man's voice, about later 30's from the sound of it.
"You think he's got what it takes to be a Black hood?" the other voice said, this one was a younger man, could be much older than 25 years.
"He's got spunk, but he'll need more than that if he wants to roll with our gang." The older man said.
After that both men kept wagering on how much it'd take for the new recruit to break, I kept my back pressed hard against the wall and leaning towards the fence as much as I could without being in sight of the two men.
"So, the usual place then?" The younger man suddenly asked.
"No, there has been a slight change of plans." The older man said.
"The boss told me our 'donator' is proud of what we did to the deli and he'll give us a small bonus tonight." The older man kept going putting an emphasis on donator like this was a normal thing for him, I knew they were talking about the Khan's but I couldn't prove that it was one of them they were talking about.
"Where do I meet him?" The younger man asked.
"Sorry, you're not trusted enough to meet our donator and after what happened to Jerry last night we better do things a bit more… subtle." The older man said.
"Our donator wants you to go to the same place as Jerry was when he got ambushed, there is after all a very small chance that lightning will strike twice. When you get there you'll get a text on this phone where our donator will say where he put the stuff." The older man continued.
"And what if I'd bump into the same person who attacked Jerry?" The younger guy said.
"Then you better do what Jerry couldn't, it was probably just some punk from the N.A.T gang trying to show off anyway." The older man said.
"And if it wasn't a onetime thing?" The younger guy asked.
"Then the boss will be out for blood." The older man answered. "Remember, midnight where Jerry got jumped." He continued.
After that both men walked away and when I knew for sure it was safe to leave my hiding spot I got back to my apartment.
I got to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. I guess I'm going to find out how much beating the hockey gear can take tonight.
That night:
Sydney had just gotten to bed and I was struggling to put my baggiest hoodie over the hockey gear. The thick pads maybe were meant to give protection from hard tackles but now I started to wonder if I had made the best choice since I now noticed that the protection was a little bigger than I thought and it could give me trouble to move quickly if I'd have to dodge a punch.
I had gotten out through my window and climbed down the fire escape so I wouldn't run into someone in the stairs, I already looked like I was wearing a life jacket under my hoodie and that'd be hard enough to explain to anyone.
I hurried to the park where I had fought the last guy from The Black Hoods, I quickly looked over the area, I was half an hour early so I had enough time to scout out the area so I'd know the best exits if I'd have to make a quick run for it.
There were two potential exists in the park, ruling out the main entrance, a tree that just reaches over the fence, an excellent choice if the guy would have brought back up.
The other was a hole in the wall where a grate used to be, the hole was big enough for me to crawl through if I'd have to sneak out and the main entrance would get blocked off.
Maybe I was overthinking this, but when I was in the army I had to quickly adapt to my environment so now I'd at least have some advantage if things wouldn't go as planned.
I also scouted out a good place to hide and get the drop of the gang member, my options were limited so I chose to hide in the grate opening, it'd keep me hidden and I'd get a good view over the park.
I had some trouble getting into the opening since the hockey gear wasn't flexible and it limited my movements.
When I had finally gotten into a semi-uncomfortable position I waited for the man to show up.
I had five minutes left until midnight so I knew it wouldn't take long for him to show up, the older member he had been talking to earlier had a determent voice, he wanted the guy to be there on time so I knew he wouldn't be late.
After a few minutes I saw a shady guy in a black hoodie walking into the park, he stood by the park bench close to the sandbox and he was holding a cell phone in his hand.
I slowly got out of my hiding spot and put my ski mask over my head. I had to make sure he wouldn't see my face.
As I sneaked up to the thug his back was turned to me and he was impatiently shaking his phone waiting for the message from their donator.
I moved up closer and closer until I was close enough to smell the bourbon on his breath.
"Expecting a call?" I said in a very dark voice.
The thug quickly jumped and tossed the phone at me. I reach to catch it but the shoulder pad got stuck and I couldn't get my arm in the right place to catch it.
The phone hit me right over my eyes and before I had any chance to recover I was tackled to the ground.
The thug walked up to me and laughed. "Seems like Jerry just didn't know what to do with you." He said and kicked my side as I tried to crawl up and I fell on my stomach.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to make that mistake." He continued and kicked me again.
This wasn't good, the hockey gear was doing more bad than good for me, they might have dampened the kicks but now I couldn't get up.
"This is too easy." The thug said and grabbed me by my shoulders and started to force me up.
I used this to my advantage, he wasn't seeing me as a threat so he got uncareful. Once he had pulled me up I quickly slammed my knee into his groin and the sudden impact got him to lose his grip on me and fall onto the ground.
"What was your donator going to give you?" I yelled as I kept my distance from the thug.
He cried out in anger as he got up wielding a knife, with one swing just missing me I jumped back but once again the hockey gear failed me, I slightly lost my balance and as the thug noticed that he ran up and pushed the knife into my chest.
I could feel the hockey gear crack and a few pieces of it fell out of my hoodie.
I couldn't believe it, I was going to die. My mind went into overdrive as I realized that I had been stabbed in the chest, but then I noticed that I wasn't feeling anything, the knife had not reached my chest, it had just broken the hockey torso I was wearing.
The hockey gear might have saved me this time but now there was nothing that would protect my chest if he'd stab me again.
I threw a heavy punch at the thug and he lost his grip on his knife that was jammed into the broken pieces of the cracked hockey gear.
I grabbed onto the knife's handle and tried to pull it out, but it was really stuck and I couldn't budge it.
I looked up and the thug noticed the knife and a sudden look of great fear covered his face.
"What the hell are you?" He cried out as I walked up to him.
In fear he tried to throw a right hook at me, but his fear gave him away and I could easily dodge his strike and before he had time to react I grabbed his wrist and brought his arm down on my shoulder, breaking his arm.
He cried out in pain as he cradled his broken arm.
"I am vengeance." Was all I could bring myself to say.
The thug was terrified of me as tears fell down his cheeks.
"Don't kill me please." He begged.
"Go to the police, tell them who attacked the deli." I said.
If he was fearing me more than he feared his boss this would prove it, and if I could scare one thug I knew I could eventually terrify their bosses.
"Yes, I'll tell them everything." He pleaded and I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him to my eyesight. "If you haven't before last night I will hunt you down." Then I knocked him out so he would believe I was something more than just a human, after all what does a terrify a man more other than the unknown?
With the thug knocked out I went back to where he had thrown the cell phone at me, I reached into my hoodie and threw out all the shattered pieces of my chest protection, I knew I couldn't use those anymore but the shoulder guards and wrist guards could still be useful.
The cell phone was a few feet away from where he had thrown it at me. I picked it up to see if I could find out what the contact was going to tell him.
I pressed the power button but nothing happened, apparently the phone broke when he threw it at me.
"Shit." I grunted a threw the broken phone, this night wasn't much of a victory for me but maybe Rosewood will be one gang member short tomorrow.
This was all I could do tonight, without any leads or ideas were either of the gangs was going to strike next I had no choice other than to call it a night.
I got back to my apartment and climbed back up to my room through the fire escape which was much easier now when I had less restraining and could move more freely.
Once I got to my bedroom I peeled off my hoodie to see how deep the knife had gotten into the hockey protection I had used.
I grabbed the handle of it and pulled as hard as I could to try to get it out, I even wiggled it from side to side but I was careful to avoid accidentally pushing it in further and stab myself.
After a great effort I had finally managed to pull the knife out and then I could also take of what was left of the broken hockey gear. Once it was off I noticed a small scratch on the lower part of my chest not much bigger than a fingernail, the very end of the knife tip had broken through and just grazed me.
Even if it was a very small scratch I was in panic mode, I could have died.
Now I knew I had to take a different approach, this way would just end up killing me unless if I'd manage to find a stronger protection that still allowed maximal movability I couldn't keep fighting gang members, and this was only one guy, if I'm going to keep doing this I'll end up having to fight multiple enemies at once.
Those thoughts made me drop the knife on the wooden floor with a thud.
I had to focus, what people didn't know about me was that when I was off traveling last year I studied fights and even took martial arts classes because knowing I could defend myself was a huge confidence booster for me, even in the army I'd go a few rounds against some of the guys in hand to hand training.
Now it was like I had forgotten all that and I couldn't tell why.
I kept going through my head how I could have done things more differently from all fights I've had since I returned to Rosewood, if I were more focused I knew I could have won all fights especially when I tried to defend Emily but ended up knocked out. Maybe some sleep could clear my head and I'd get a fresh start tomorrow.
That morning:
I woke up early and when I went to get some breakfast before Sydney drank the last orange juice.
When I got to the kitchen I noticed that Sydney was already up and she was about to put on some coffee.
"Morning" I said.
Sydney got caught by surprise since she lost her grip on her coffee cup but just managed to catch it before it hit the ground.
As she held the cup I started to applaud her. "A little more practice and you can soon star juggling." I joked.
"You're such a dork." Sydney said trying to hide that she was laughing.
We sat down at the table and to my misfortune we were out of orange juice, instead I just took a glass of water.
"Are you sure you don't want any coffee?" Sydney asked.
"No, I think I need to take a break from it." I answered.
We kept eating and Sydney turned on the news where they revealed that a man had turned himself in last night and when I saw the mug shot of that man I noticed right away that it was the same guy I had fought last night.
"Wow, he must be in deep trouble if he is willing to turn himself in." Sydney said.
The news switched over to Mayor Khan who was holding a press conference, no doubt taking credit for everything.
All cameras turned to him as he stood up and said "Like you all already know a gang member has now given up and is behind lock and bars. He did the smart thing because under my leadership no one will ever have to be afraid at night this I assure you." He said stroking his own ego for something he didn't do.
"Remember, to survive you need a leader who knows about one thing. Strength. With strength you can keep fighting, you can win and take everything…"
Having enough of his bullshit I turned off the TV.
"Can you believe this guy?" I blurted out to Sydney whom just sat quietly.
"He acts all like he is willing to roll up his sleeves and get his fingers dirty while he really hasn't worked hard for an entire day of his life." I almost yelled.
"And he knows about as much as strength as an evil cartoon character." I kept going before I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down.
"Paige, what does strength mean to you?" Sydney asked once she was sure I had calmed down.
I looked over to her and She shrugged and said "Never mind, I was just curious."
I got up and looked out the window to see the sun, I don't know why but for some reason it felt like it was glowing brighter today.
I smiled and said "Strength is the ability to make the which you believe in a reality."
A/N2: I hoped you liked it and in addition to trying to write more for my stories I'll work on making the fights better becouse when I wrote this chapters fight I kept feeling that I can make it better than that, next Chapter will have the Barbeque.