Promises | ✔️

Chapter 8: The Cage

I raised my eyebrows. "Stay here?" I pointed to the floor. "With you guys? With a gang?" I whisper-shouted the last part.

The girl laughed. "Yea, I mean..uh...you could...we would-"

Rocco interrupted her. "Basically, you've seen and heard too much, and we can't risk letting you go out. So you either stay with us or we kill you." His statement caught me off guard and I stood still, not knowing what to do. Damien was just staring at me, but I couldn't tell what his expression was.

Violet spoke up. "No. No. He doesn't mean that." She turned to Rocco and mumbled 'idiot.' She looked back at me. "It's just that you kind of know a lot about us, and it's not that we don't trust you. I mean, I personally trust you. You seem nice. But Damien and Rocco over there. You need to give them some time." I understood where she was coming from. She bent closer to me and put her hand next to her mouth, so only I could hear. "They've been through a lot so trust comes harder for them."

I still was unsure of the situation. "Uh, do I have to like...do...stuff? You know." I moved my finger across my neck, letting my neck fall, eyes close, and tongue stick out.

Violet laughed. "Oh. No. No. You won't actually be part of the gang stuff. We just want you to stay close to us." She looked behind her and turned back to me. "And I like you. We need some more girls around here, and I need a friend." She grinned wide.

Violet seemed like a really nice person. And I honestly didn't want to know what they would do to me if I left. "O-ok. I'll guess I'll stay." The girl's face lit up and she hugged me.

Naya. What did you just get yourself into?

***

"Welcome to the Scarlet Viper cage." Violet put her fingers up to mimic quotation marks. "Most of us just call it the cage, though."

I nodded.

She brought me outside of the other room, which I had learned was Damien's office. Violet brought me to a big room, filled with at least 20 people. To my right, I saw a large stage. On the left side of the room, there was a small bar. At the other side of the room, I saw some guys at a pool table and others playing darts. There were some tables and chairs scattered around. The place was dim, lit up only with a few ceiling lights.

"Wow." I didn't really know what to say.

"Let's get you a drink." Violet dragged me to the bar.

"Oh, I don't really drink much," I told her.

"Don't you work at the bar?" She asked me.

Damien must have told her. "Uh, yeah. But I only really drink at parties. "

She nodded her head. "Ok. Let's go meet some people."

Violet pulled me along, introducing me to people. A lot of them seemed intimidating at first but were actually nice once we talked. I even learned that scar guy's name was actually Frank, but everyone ironically called him Scar. However, when Violet introduced me to him, he just grunted and nodded. I don't think he liked me.

Violet brought me over to a girl who was sitting at a table, talking to one of the guys. She was wearing black shorts, a cropped white tank, and a leather jacket. She had straight black hair that she was twirling around her hair while laughing at whatever the guy said.

"Zoe," Violet spoke up, and she looked at us. "This is Naya. She's new."

Zoe looked me up and down, clearly not impressed. "What's your skill?" She asked.

"Huh?" I asked.

Violet spoke up. "She's not exactly...part of the gang."

"What do you mean? No one is allowed down here unless they're part of the Vipers." Zoe did not look happy. "Damien won't be happy." She folded her hands in front of her chest.