Chapter Four

   I woke up alone. The clock on the wall said it was after noon, almost one. I found a note and key on the coffee table. I got up, folded the blanket and stuffed the note and key into my pocket. I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my jacket and bag and left the apartment. I got outside and found the playground packed with kids. They all looked happy unaware of the darkness in the world around them.

     "Hey, you're that girl who punched Alex earlier." Someone said behind.

   I turned around to find that red headed girl behind me. She grinned at me.

     "What?" I replied. "What do you want?"

   She laughed and skipped up to me.

     "Did you know that you broke his nose? I heard he's going to get you back for that." She replied.

     "Whatever. I don't care." I hissed walking away.

   She followed me.

     "You should care. He has people in high places. They'll get you." She threatened.

     "Sounds like your looking forward to it too." I snapped. 

     "I am actually because you do not belong here!" She hissed. "I looked forward to seeing you get your a*s kicked."

     "Keep it up and I'm going kick yours." I offered.

     "Bring it!" She hissed shoving me back. She swung at me and missed.

   Someone grabbed her from behind and pushed her to the ground. I realized it the woman who got me here.

     "B***h!" She yelled getting back on her feet.

   The woman turned around and slapped her.

     "Go! Run and tell Jace who slapped you. He'll tell you that you deserved it too. Go!" She yelled at her.

   The girl ran. The woman looked at me.

     "Were you really going to fight her?" She asked.

   I nodded.

     "Good. Come on, I'm too close to the Crew for comfort." She sighed. 

   I followed her down a slim alley to a small parking lot. Her car sat alone. I climbed in and we rode off.

     "Where have you been all day?" She asked.

     "Well, I found the park and sat around there a little while. Some guy threatened to snitch and I broke his nose. I met another guy and fell asleep in his apartment." I replied.

     "And?" She laughed.

     "And I almost kicked that red haired girls a*s." I laughed.

     "Her name is Brittney Lane but her friends call her Blaze. She's not any different from you; she ran away from home to escape her problems. Get between her and her street family and she'll try to rip your head off." She said.

     "I understand that. I don't blame her but that doesn't give her the excuse to pester someone. She was only asking for problems." I replied coldly.

     "The streets made her a cocky little brat. Jace made her that way." She sighed.

     "You never told me your name by the way." I blurted.

     "Speaking of a cocky little brat. I'm Raven. Are you still going by Anna?" She answered.

     "I don't know. I haven't really been a social butterfly." I I sighed.

     "My little sister was the social butterfly. Everyone loved her. Mom loved to dress her up in cute cloths and by her things. I wasn't that easy. I liked the black leather and gold rings. I wasn't afraid to say what was on my mind, even if it would get me slapped. I didn't believe in the same things my parents did. My sister was their perfect little angel and I was their first mistake." Raven explained.

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    We drove around the city and ended up by the river and between a couple abandoned warehouses. We sat in silence in the car watching boats go by. 

     "I remember the night I met Jace." She sighed breaking the silence. "He was young and reckless and perfect. His friends were a******s." 

     "His friends ditched him and started following me around. Of course, being males, they thought the worst things. Dirty things. They knew the streets and they cornered me in a dark, dirty alley and they, um, took advantage of me. Jace found me and carried me home." She explained. 

     "How did he know where to find you?" I asked.

     "I don't know and I didn't ask. I didn't care." She answered. "I fell asleep in his arms like I was meant to be there. I didn't leave his side, not even after watching him kill his five friends." 

     "I earned my mark when I took a bullet for him. I got shot in the shoulder and almost bled to death but it was worth it. You see, when you truly love someone, you do stupid things to take care of them. I mean, we were young and dumb and very much in love." 

   

     

  

   

     

 

Reviews

[SweetNutmeg]

Haha, I like that last line. It shows our heroine's personality.

I don't know anything about gangs so I don't know if any of this is plausible, but it seems a bit far fetched that she would get so much help, right away. It might build the suspense more if she spent more time on her own being scared and worried. We would more feel the relief of her being helped by the woman and taken in by the man, if she had had a few more problems or close calls.

Our main character is a bit flat, too. She's not quite three dimensional. You're telling us what happened, but not really opening up her soul for us. I'd like to know more about her internal workings.

This is an interesting start.

[Jules]

I'm still working on the the main character. I was going to tell more about her in every chapter. I didn't want the reader to get a full dose of her in the first few chapters, I wanted them to have to read every chapter to learn about her.