Cleo

Choices

Liam was trying to stop me as I walked away, but I wanted nothing from him at the time. How could he sit there and insult me and bitch, then turn around and tell me he cares, that he just wants to protect me. Caring was not throwing shit in someone's face.

But I couldn't lie; I did the same thing not even a week ago. The hurt he had in his words was the anger he felt when I called him a heartless beast. I didn't really mean it, it was just said because I felt cornered and weak and vulnerable.

All my life, I never had to deal with so much. I thought picking a college was hard, that it was the most stressful thing I'd ever do. Writing the essays and making sure I had enough extracurricular activities. When I finally realized what real stress was, what real pain and drama was...I felt weak.

I even pushed away the hurt that I felt, buried the feelings I had about being taken. I acted like I belonged, like I wanted to run away. But I didn't. And when Jasmine came in, the same fight that I wish I had, the same pained, scared look in her eyes that I knew were in mine...I couldn't say no. I did feel for her. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let go, never let her hurt.

But when Liam confronted me, I should have said the truth. I should have stopped myself before getting angry. I was being childish. I knew it, Liam knew it, but it didn't stop him from hurting, and I never apologized.

When I finally made it to the kitchen, I was too upset to even eat. I grabbed a water and sat in the living room. I didn't look at anything, didn't read or listen to the TV or music. I kind of just sat there, feeling empty, thinking nothing. I didn't want to think, I wanted to be done. To walk away and never have to worry about gangs or drugs again.

But soon Niall was beside me, worry filling his voice. "You know those contacts I have?"

"You have a lot of contacts." I said slightly angrily.

Niall sighed, "The ones for the Cobras." I nodded, taking a sip of the water I had yet to touch. "They are planning something big, Cleo." He looked around carefully before speaking my real name. "I've been told we have less than a week to figure something out before we get the 'package' Manny has arranged."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Niall questioned, moving himself to my line of vision. "I give you a message about our pending doom and you just say okay?" I shrugged. "You need to straighten the fuck up, or we will look for someone else to lead us out of the mess you've created."

He didn't even hesitate as he dropped a box on my lap and walked away. I gazed at it slightly, my eyes scanning over the name "Manny." I said aloud. The box was presented nicely. It was a red colored box with a small silk ribbon around it. I didn't really want to open it, I had a feeling I wouldn't like what was inside, but there was no avoiding it.

I tugged at the ribbon and watched it fall from the box. Taking a moment to relax, I grasped the lid and pulled it open. I looked away almost instantly. My stomach nearly flipped as I tried to get the image out of my head.

I looked back and lifted out a clear case. Inside the case was a chunk of tattooed skin. A red cherry tattoo looked me in the face and I knew what it was. All my girls had one. Manny was starting to play games again.

I dropped the case back in the box and set it on the coffee table. I looked around and found Louis first. "Has Liam or anyone else talked to you about a plan?" He looked away and sighed. "I'm not going to get mad. I think we need to do it. Do you think you can get Jasmine on board?"

"She's already agreed. But she wants to take her dad."

I whined, "Is there any way we can change her mind?" He shook his head. "Fine. He can't go with her, but we will send him somewhere and she can be with him as soon as the dust settles." My hand touched his shoulder lightly, "We need to do this soon, Lou. I know I can count on you."

He smiled slightly before giving me a serious look. "Don't worry, she'll agree."

"Thank you." I walked passed him and found Niall sulking in his room. I sat on the bed beside him and just looked at the wall. We didn't speak for what seemed like days., but he finally got tired of the silence and asked what I wanted. "I need a favor."

"Why should I do anything for you?" He asked, glaring at a stain on the wall.

I bit my lip, "You're right about me. I'm slacking and it's unfair. I get it, we are under attack."

"What was in the box?"

"Nothing. Listen. I need you to get me four plane tickets. One back to my hometown, two to Albuquerque and another to Miami. ASAP." He nodded and listened carefully. "Also, contact Corrine and April, I'll need them both here until everything is in motion."

When he had everything mentally organized and was about to walk away, I called him back. "Tell Harry to run to the store, I need hair bleach and a brown dye." He nodded again and left me to find Liam.

He wasn't in his room or anywhere else in the house, so I assumed he had left. Zayn came up as I was nearing the basement. "Need me to do anything?" He asked.

"Actually, I do. I need you to find Jasmine's dad, Edgar. Tell him to be ready to leave for good." He looked at me confused for a moment but agreed and left me to sulk in my wine room.

I grabbed a random bottle of opened red wine and popped it open, taking a long sip. I sat on the floor and looked around before Jasmine walked in. I didn't speak to her, I just handed her the bottle and grabbed another one. She smiled slightly and took a good helping of the wine in seconds.

I knew how she was feeling. But I was giving her something I hadn't had the option to have in years. We were both finally going to have our old lives back. Well, as much of our old lives as fate was letting us have. As much as we wanted in the limited list of things.

I would have kept an eye on my family, but I was trained to be smarter than that. No one could know who I was or what my life was like before this. I knew some about my foreign boys, I knew there was family back home in the UK. I knew they loved them and wished they could see them. But they were pulling the same scheme since they were old enough to fend for themselves. They weren't much older than me, but they had more years away from their loved ones than I did.

They never talked to their family, they never looked to see where they were in life, what they were doing, if they were alive. They blocked out their lives before and lived in the moment, doing what they wanted, taking what they wanted.

I was their first person, actually. As they told it, they wanted someone to share their life with. When they saw me in the diner, a few of them had instantly wanted to take me, they watched me, gaining knowledge about me and they figured they could easily have me, easily train me to be one of them. And they were right.

I didn't put up much of a fight, at that point, I was looking for a way out of the norm. I wanted to experience new things. But I didn't think it would have come to me the way it did. I was scared and angry for the longest time, but I grew to love what I was given. It was fate. Fate handed me a twisted, screwed up piece of art.

I guess I got too cozy with my life. Because it was suddenly being taken away, as suddenly as it was given. My life was changing and even though I knew how quickly it was going to go, I didn't think it would be as quickly as it really was.