STREET RAT, jj [ON HIATUS]

tread lightly .

20] TREAD LIGHTLY

Screams. All she could hear were screams. Synley pulled her tiny body out of her bed, dragging her stuffed bear along with her. Her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her small chest. She creaked towards the door, but she flinched away at the sound of glass breaking. Tears welled up in her eyes, she was scared.

But despite all that, she opened the door anyways.

"We want our money, Frank!" she heard an unknown voice yell out. It was deep and overall scary sounding.

When she made it to the edge of the dark hallway, close enough to where she can see into the living room, even more terror-if that were even possible- consumed her. In the middle of the media room, three men towered over two bodies. She assumed the kneeling figures was her mom and dad.

Synley wanted to scream, but nothing came out. Slowly she backed away, in hopes to hide in her bedroom. But she stepped on the wrong part of the floor, and it creaked loudly. The three figures all turned their heads, she could vaguely see the movement from the dark shadows of the night.

"What do we have here? That your kid, Brookes?" Syn could practically hear the evil in the mans voice. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she held back a sob.

"Run Synley!" she heard her dads voice scream out. And so she did just that. Her feet carried her to Selena's room. The older girl was gone, off with her friends. But her closet had a secret compartment in it, one she would always use as her spot when the two siblings would play hide and seek.

"Go get her, Happy." she heard the man from before order. And not long after, large footsteps drowned out her small ones.

Clutching on to her teddy bear with shaking hands, she shoved herself behind the piles of boxes in Selena's closet, making her way into the small cube. She slowly shut the door. The walls were indistinguishable around her. The dark adding to the fear that had settled into her stomach. As the footsteps got closer, she slapped her hand over her mouth, hoping to quiet her panicked breathing.

"Ready or not, here I comeee!" a voice sung out. It felt like years and seconds all in one. The man was standing right outside the door now. She could hear him laughing. It made her sick to her stomach.

Suddenly the door she was hiding behind swung open, "Got ya!"

Synley jolted awake, a quick rush of adrenaline shooting through her body as she was dragged back to consciousness. Beside her, a low groan filled the air, and she flinched again, straining her neck to look at where the sound came from.

JJ Maybank lied there beside her, mouth slightly open, and eyes shut. She let out a breath of air she didn't know she was holding, relief washing over her.

She unlatched the boys grip on her, moving his arm from her torso to his own as she sat up. Her back was facing him now, allowing her to scoot her way off the bed.