The Bad Boy’s…What?

“Was there a storm on the radar?” I ask uncertainly as I take a step closer to Drew’s frozen frame. He seems to have the same eerie feeling that I happen to be experiencing.

“Drew, Khloe, you guys still there?” Kohl calls out from his spot on the stairs. I nod before remembering we’ve been completely submerged in darkness.

“Yeah,” I answer. Drew and I simultaneously and carefully tread up the stairs, the three of us heading for the upper hallway. A bolt of lightning flashes though the sky followed by thunder making me jump slightly and a tightening feeling descends upon my chest. Like a warning I bolt past my brother and Drew and head straight for Lucy’s room, I get there just in time to see a dark figure stepping in through the window. A window I’m sure to keep locked. I lunge for the crib and take a protective stance in front of it, footsteps thunder as they near the room. The figure turns to me, I don’t recognize any of his features through the darkness but a muffled chuckle can be heard through his ski mask. I didn’t know criminals still wore those, I guess it comes in handy when you’re doing some sort of home invasion.

“Back away,” Drew screams as he comes through the doorway. Without any sense of fear he walks further into the room, pulling a gun from the diaper drawer by the door and pointing at the man. How did I not know there was a loaded gun in this room? I turn to grab Lucy and then move behind Drew, whose anger seems to vibrate in the otherwise still room. Just a couple of minutes of being a couple and we’re already getting ambushed, it’s like a movie. Arms try to pull me out through the open doorway but I’m not quite sure about leaving Drew alone. I turn around and can barely make out Kohl’s figure trying to pull me out into the hallway. I shake my head and place Lucy in his arms before moving around to Drew’s side. “Get out,” he hisses at me through clenched teeth but feeling just a tad defiant I stand my ground.

“No, if you stay I stay,” I murmur. He redirects his gaze towards the observant figure in the room which is better for me and my bladder. I’m pretty sure can make someone pee themselves by just glaring at them. Shit’s real. “So, why are you in our house?” I decide to address the elephant in the room. I swear the eye roll from Drew was audible but I have no time to ponder over that as in that moment Adrian bursts into the room. How do I know? He’s the only person who can use that amount of profanity almost artistically.

“Khloe get out,” he orders. Am I a pet, did somewhere around the time I started hanging out with these guys I grow ears and become some sort of fragile puppy? I’ll admit my athletic prowess is laughable but that doesn’t mean I can’t give a good kick in the shins.

“Why?” I fold my arms across my chest.

“Khloe, go look for Lucas and your brother if not I am going to make you regret it,” Adrian threatens. I look over at Drew for help.

“I’m with him,” he nods towards the door and I stomp my way out of there. That’s how they want to play it then fine. Lost in anger I forgot I was walking in complete darkness and I crashed into someone.

“Is that you Khloe?” I hear Sammy ask.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“You’re the only uncoordinated person in this house. Well, except your brother when he’s around Kim,” she explains. I can’t even argue with that. “Come on, we have to find Lucas. He’s checking the security system to see how someone got past the gate of the house,” I feel her hand clasp around mine before helping me up from the ground. I was going to ask about Lucas’s ‘mad skills’ but I didn’t want to offend anybody.

“Wait, if the power’s out your dad is sort of out in the open, we have to keep the guys from going in the closet,” I whisper to her. She grabs her phone from her pocket to guide us around the hall and I feel her nod. We walk around the hall until we stop at Lucas’s room door. We don’t bother to knock because that’s kind of alerting anyone out there where we are. It’s all part of Home Invasion 101. My jaw drops as I see Lucas handing a gun to Kohl from that chest he claimed has special clothes in it.

“Clothes, huh?” I point out.

“Only you would believe that,” Lucas snickers before placing a cold metal object in my hand. I try to pull my hand away from the gun as if it were on fire but he grasps my hand firmly, enclosing it around the weapon. “It’s just in case it is absolutely necessary, if you have to shoot aim, hold the gun steady and try not to shake. If you’re shaking it’ll just mess with the trajectory of the shot, when you pull the trigger brace yourself for a bit of force,” he looks me directly in the eye as he explains. I gulp hard and nod. I give Sammy an odd look as she grabs a gun and a pair of knives, putting one in each of her boots.

“What, I like to be prepared for anything,” she shrugs as she notices me. I have a feeling she’s been prepared for something like this for a while now. She does seem like a badass.

“Where’s Lucy?” I ask into the darkness. I hear some shuffling before someone replies.

“She’s right here,” I recognize Kim’s voice. Of course she’d be Kohl’s first choice. This might be completely inappropriate and it’s so not the right time for this but something’s not rubbing me the right way. And I mean that literally, like I’ve got this wedgie but I don’t want to fix this minor problem with a whole bunch of people in the room. I try stretching one leg out far enough to see if that’ll fix it but it’s completely useless. I guess since we’re in complete darkness no one will really witness what I’m about to do.

“Khloe, what are you doing?” Lucas asks from somewhere in the room. He can’t possibly know, right?

“What do you mean?” I question uncertainly. I hastily fix my backstairs problem before leaning on a wall.

“Why were you scratching your ass?”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“I wasn’t scratching it,” I have a little more finesse than that.

“Then what were you doing?” he throws back.

“I had a wedgie, how can you even see me?” I huff out.

“Night vision goggles,” he explains. That makes sense. I want some, I have the urge to whine but I’m too scared it’ll sound too childish coming from me. I was about to pimp slap somebody as I felt someone near my face but stop myself as I find myself seeing in the dark, Lucas smiling at me as he placed some goggles on my face. He knows me so well, that or he knows just how clumsy I really am and is trying to prevent any major disasters. “Come on, the cameras I set up caught something suspicious downstairs. I think someone’s hiding in the coat closet,” he pushes our group out the door. I grab Lucy from Kim and trail behind Lucas, the rest of us trying to figure out a way to explain or hide Drew’s dad down there.

“If you feel attacked just shoot,” he commands.

“Like to death?” I ask. I can sense everyone’s eye roll at my question which I myself find very valid.

“Just hurt them bad enough not to hurt you,” Lucas sighs while shaking his head. Hey buddy, I’m not the one that burned her eyebrows off, just wanted to point that out. We make it downstairs and as Lucas begins to head to the closet we hear some sort of commotion from the kitchen. “Khloe, Sammy, go check out the kitchen. We’ll clear the closet,” Lucas grabs the doorknob.

“How about you and Kohl check out the kitchen and Kim, Sammy and I will check the closet,” I suggest nonchalantly.

“Why?” Kohl smirks.

“Uhm, because almost everyone in the movie dies when they go check out the kitchen. You’re practically sending us into our own deaths and I just don’t find that quite fair. I’m with child,” I point out the baby in my arms. Now I know why people have children; it’s to milk it as long as they can. And give them lots of love of course. Lucy turns around to look at me as if she knows what I’m thinking. I whisper a barely audible ‘sorry’ just in case.

“Fine, we’ll go to the kitchen,” Lucas and my idiotic brother head for the kitchen and we immediately step into the closet. Damien, Drew and Sammy’s dad, looks up as if he’s been expecting us. That or we just know how to make an entrance.

“They were here for Lucy,” we explain as I hand my gun over to him.

“What?” he exclaims before stopping himself, his eyes locked on the baby in my arms. I smile and place her carefully in his arms. She looks at him curiously before giggling and placing her small hand on his cheek. Tears brim his eyes but nearing voices cut the cute moment short.

“Go into the hall, all the lights are out. Just remain out of sight until the guys have cleared the house out, we’ll come find you later,” Sammy explains, grabbing her sister from her father’s arms. He nods and we walk out and he disappears around a corner just as the two boys come around.

“Was there anything in there?” Kohl asks innocently. He wants to push this as far as he can.

“Nope, completely clear,” I shrug.

“Well whoever was in the kitchen left, let’s check the rest of the downstairs area,” Lucas heads for the hall.

“What about Drew and Adrian?” Kim points out. Yeah, what about them.

“I just spoke to them, seems like they’re having some trouble with the guy up there,” he explains. I can just picture Adrian pinning the guy down with a string of profanities coming out of his mouth, Drew standing stoically to the side with a barely there smile. We separate into different sections of the house and I somehow got separated from the group. It’s probably because I was just looking around to see how cool things look with these goggles. Like they should have some daytime ones, just forget I even suggested that. Everything was going fine and dandy until I get pulled into one of the downstairs rooms with a hand over my mouth. And I gave my gun to Mister Collins, this is just great.

“Ssh,” someone whispers into my ear. Yes, because I am so going to listen to the criminal in my house. There’s only three criminals I listen to and that’s Lucas, Adrian and of course Drew. I try to bite his hand but it’s gloved and it really has no effect. He carefully lets me go and I step away from yet another disguised figure.

“Who are you?” I ask curiously. He shrugs before walking around me in a circle, looking me up and down.

“You should leave,” his muffled voice comes through.

“You’re the one in my house,” I point out. Dark eyes look back at me in the silent dead of the room, a flash of amusement passes through before he blinks it away.

“I’m trying to help you, things are going to go downhill for everyone here very soon. You’re going to discover the truth about many lies that have been told to you, starting with that brother of yours. You better know whose side you’re going to be on,” what does he mean my brother? What’s with the cryptic speaking.

“What do you mean?” I step closer to him. He flinches away from me immediately, someone’s a bit coo-coo.

“This thing with Drew’s family, it has a lot to do with you too. More than you’d think, it all goes back a lifetime ago.”

“Who are you really?” I ask.

“Let’s just say I’m family,” he snorts and I shake my head in denial.

“I don’t have any other family,” I protest.

“Or do you? Ask Claire and Roger, better yet, ask Damian himself.”

“Are you telling me not to trust them?”

“No, I’m telling you to learn the truth. It’s the only way you know who you can really trust,” our heads snap up towards the door as we hear footsteps.

“Why should I believe you?”

“Whether you believe me is up to you, but don’t worry. I’m closer than you think,” he winks before leaving through the open window. There was something unnervingly familiar about that dude. Damn, can my life get any more dramatic, I could write my own series with all of this. Kohl’s voice calls out my name just as the lights come back on and he steps through the door.

“Come on, that guy managed to escape and we need you to tame a pissed off Drew,” he motions with his hand.

“Have you lied to me?” I ask after taking the goggles off. A brief emotion swims through his brown eyes before he blinks it away just as fast as it came. I wipe my face from any emotion just to let him know how serious I am. He steps closer to me and I back away, that miniscule moment of uncertainty not settling too well with me.

“Khloe, what’s wrong?” he looks at me with concern in his eyes.

“What did you lie about?” I ignore his question.

“What I’ve lied about doesn’t really concern you, not really,” he rolls his eyes playfully. I open my mouth to protest but an angry looking Adrian flings the door open.

“You. Drew. Now,” he points me out the door and I roll my eyes before heading for the living room. I try to ward off any bad thoughts concerning my brother, he wouldn’t betray me. Of that I’m sure of, but what could he possibly lied about.

“Khloe,” my name comes out of Drew’s lips like a sin and everyone in the room seems to loosen up in relief. He’s not that bad, he’s like the grumpy cat. Cute and adorably pissed off. I move over to Drew’s side and he slings an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him with a slight smile on his face. I breathe in his unique scent to calm my frayed nerves.

“Are you sniffing me?” I can hear the amusement in his voice.

“Yep,” I pop the ‘p’. He shakes his head before kissing my forehead and I suppress the shudder that ripples down my body, my heartbeat speeding up for a minute. Only Drew can have that effect on me. I look up and look him in the eyes until I notice a small cut on his forehead, I reach up and wipe a small droplet of blood. “What happened?”

“I dodged a knife,” he shrugs. Well alright then Tris, I grab his hand and pull him up the stairs to clean the cut. He follows behind silently, not even seconds after the door closed am I pushed up against the wall with a warm pair of lips enveloping mine. Drew slips a hand onto my lower back and pulls me impossibly closer to him, our breath becoming one as our hearts beat in sync. “I’ve wanted to do that since you agreed to be my girlfriend,” he smirks as he pulls a couple of centimeters away.

“Okay,” I breathe out stupidly.

“Okay,” he smiles.

“Stop flirting with me,” I tease and slap his chest. He rolls his eyes before they dilate with a foreign emotion as I begin to feel the ridges and contours underneath his shirt. He pulls me in for a chaste kiss before backing away and clearing his throat.

“I need a nurse, I’m dying,” he jumps onto the counter with a smirk. I find myself liking this playful side of Drew, it’s riveting.

“Yeah, that one drop of blood is really killing you,” I smile before grabbing the small aid kit. I clean the small cut before sealing it with a butterfly bandage. “There,” I smile at my handiwork before putting everything away. I was just about to step back when he grabs both of my hands in his. I look up at him questioningly.

“My uncle wants to talk to us tomorrow,” he sighs.

“Mr. Pine?”

“How’d you know?”

“I eavesdropped one day, accidentally of course,” I try to play off my nosiness. He smirks not believing me one bit.

“He said he has something important to tell us,” he explains and I nod along.

“What do you think it is?” he shrugs before stepping aside and letting me walk out of the bathroom first. I slap his face twice harshly as I catch sight of a tall shadow scurrying out of the hallway.

“What the hell?” Drew looks at me like I’m crazy.

“There was a bug on your face,” I grab a hold of his face until Damian’s shadow is completely out of sight. “Hey can you put Lucy to sleep, I have something I need to do.”

“Where are you going?”

“To my parents’ study, I need to do something,” I explain vaguely before heading off into the hallway. I catch sight of Damian and motion him into my dad’s old study, I make sure to lock the door behind him. I take a deep breath and he seems to wait calmly in a chair, giving me time to ready my questions. I don’t even know where to begin with all of this.

“Just start simple,” Damian suggests as if reading my thoughts. I heave a sigh before speaking.

“How did all of this start and why am I involved?” his vibrant green eyes glaze over in memory before he starts to explain. I have a feeling it’s story time, get the popcorn.

“A lot of people think they have a lot in common. They’re looking for prosperity, love, happiness but there’s one fact a lot of them fail to realize,” intrigued I take a seat and lean in closely.

“We all want or have somebody to die for, at a certain moment in time and space there will be somebody you’d give your life up for. My wife gave her life up for her kids, I’d give my life up for her and my kids. Your parents would’ve given their lives up for you and your brother in a heartbeat and that’s exactly what they did. Tell me, do you have someone you’d die for?” he looks at me expectantly. I was just about to shake my head when flashes of a blue eyed girl swim through my mind, my brother, the guys, Roger and Claire, and Drew. Too attached to them, I think I’d give my life up just to save them.

“I bet that if you’d have had the chance, you would’ve given up your life for that of your parents. Sometimes, it is that very person we’d die for that keeps us human and alive. Why do you think some people need counseling after they’ve lost a loved one? It’s a method of healing and even then it is not certain you’ll ever be the same again. Your dad had a brother, a brother who rivaled him in every way. Even though your dad met your mom first, your uncle fell in love with her shortly after being introduced,” he elaborates. Oh, this is like Damon and Stefan: the human version.

“So, what happened?” he gives me a flat look before responding.

“Gee, I don’t know Emily married your uncle. You and Kohl don’t exist.”

“No need to be sarcastic. You really did raise Adrian, didn’t you?” it’s so obvious where he gets his personality from. That and he’s just naturally mean.

“Like my own son,” Damian leans back in his chair.

“Why did my dad never mention his brother?” I wonder out loud, but in the back of my mind I vaguely recall a family member. An older man that used to visit but I think I was too young to really make out his face. “He did mention him,” I answer myself.

“Until you and Kohl were around four. He tried to coerce your mom to run away with him, when she refused he threatened her with you guys. She went to Kayden and they came to me and we devised a plan. We met shortly after they got engaged, in a car accident, really. Remember when I told you my kids wouldn’t be here without your parents?” I nod. It’s baffling how everything seems to piece together.

“As you know Drew’s around a year older than you, you’re parents had you guys shortly after they were married. But my wife and I had been in a very bad car accident one day, we couldn’t get out and she was very pregnant with Drew. Do you know how many cars passed us by and did nothing to help us? All I could do was pray that she make it out alive and safe with our baby,” his eyes grow sad as if remembering the exact moment. I shudder just thinking about the possibility of Drew not being born.

“Your parents passed by and u-turned just to see how they could help. They had come from your father’s business launch ball and your mom went into the ditch in her gown and heels. They even followed the ambulance into the hospital and stayed until they were sure we were safe. We became friends of course and when they found out I was the leader of the gang, they didn’t judge me. They didn’t treat my family any different.”

“That’s why they came to you for help, you had the power to do something,” I finish for him and he nods in agreement. “So, why is it still going on? Did you like ‘take care of him’?” I drag my index finger across my throat.

“I’m not a killer, well not in cold blood. Your father wouldn’t have allowed it, I hired him as my right hand man to keep a close eye on him. The thing about me is that above being a leader of some gang, I am a father. In between keeping up with my family and my men in line I didn’t notice he was making his own plans for revenge. He used his own money and resources to take your parents out and I didn’t even notice,” he finishes. I flinch at the reminder of my parents’ death.

“So what does he want now?”

“He wants you and your brother out, I don’t think he wants any reminder of Emily’s rejection. On top of that he wants what your parent’s built from the ground, he believes an empire will keep him happy.”

“And Lucy?”

“He now knows that I was just trying to help your parents, he wants revenge on my family as well. He wants to start with my youngest,” a hard look overcomes Damian’s features. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to cross him either.

“Who is he?”

“They call him ‘Mason,'” he answers.

“What did Kohl lie to me about? I know you know,” just as Damian was about to answer the doorknob jiggles.

“Khloe, open the door,” Drew calls out. Just as I was trying to hide Damian somewhere in the limited space, the door is kicked open and Drew steps in. there are no words for the look of utter betrayal that lines his features as soon as he steps in. “I knew you were hiding something,” he states emotionless. Somehow it feels like I’ve just placed a great amount of distance with my ‘somebody to die for.’

That or I’m getting indigestion from the tacos I ate earlier.