The Fifth VK (book two)

5.

When we found Mal, we told her everything. "If you guys never would have brought him here, this never would have happened. What were you thinking?" Mal shouts. "He was gonna come with or without us. We just wanted to protect him." Evie says. "Yeah. And we completely blew it." Carlos says. "Okay." Jay stops the two. "So what are we gonna do?" I ask. "We are not doing anything." Mal corrects. She walks up to us. "This is between Uma and me, and she's a punk. And guess what, now I have to go get him."
"Woah, woah, woah, Mal, you're still gonna have to go through, Harry Hook and his wharf rats." Carlos explains. "Yeah, you're gonna need us." I add. "Uma, said to come alone." Mal reminds us. "Mal, come on." Evie says. "She said to come alone." Carlos repeats. "I know one thing. I'm not going anywhere." Carlos sits on the couch. "We'll be here when you get back." Jay says. Rupert sits down next to Carlos. Mal walks away. I sigh. "I'll be back." I stated. "Woah, woah." Jay gets in front of me. Rupert stands. "Where are you going?" Rupert asks. I turn around. "CJ told me something. I want answers." I explain. "What did she tell you?" Carlos asks. "You don't even know if she's telling the truth." Jay adds. "I know. That's why I have to find out on my own. I won't be long." I stated. I turn back around. Jay gives me a look. I give him a confident smile and a wink. I walk away.

I was walking in the street again. The old rotten smell filling my lungs. It's been a while. Not one person that I walked past hadn't had something stolen from them by me. Guilt started to form. I saw a few kids sitting against a box. They were dirty; they looked starved. I had to look away. I breathed out from my mouth. I pushed out my thoughts of guilt and empathy. I had to focus. I had to know if my mother truly did what CJ said. I'm not sure if there's anything that I could do, but I'm going to try. A dog walks past me. I stop immediately. I turn around. "Shark?" The dog looked back at me and wagged his' tail. Tears started to form in my eyes. "Come here, buddy!" I called. The dog ran over to me. I dropped to my knees, and Shark jumped on me. I didn't care. I missed him so much. He was so skinny and dirty that I could barely recognize him. I can't believe my mom threw him out on the streets. I scratched his sides. I guess that was her way of vengeance against me. I kissed the side of Shark's face. "Good boy, come on." I stand back up, and he follows.

When I get to my mother's tower, I freeze. I know she won't be inside. It's the afternoon, but she will only be back around 1am. That was what she normally does. She would usually be hanging out with her 'friends' or getting food, or whatever. I didn't really care where she went, so I didn't really listen. I walked to the back where the door was. I opened it and quietly walked up the stairs. Just in case she would be there. I open the door slowly. It didn't do me any good. It squeaked with every move. Shark walked in from behind me. I made him sit by the door. His nails made noise against the rock flooring. I looked around the tower. No one. I looked in the kitchen. There were multiple dishes. I guess she hasn't gotten to them. There were clothes on the floor. Definitely not my mother's. It was a blue shirt. I sigh. My bedroom. I walked to my door and opened it. Everything was completely different. My mirror was gone, and my dresser had a bunch of knife scratches on it. My makeup was gone. The window was destroyed. I looked out of it. There were my makeup products. I bit my lower lip. My foot stepped on a piece of glass. I noticed muddy footprints on the floor, too. They led out the room. I could hear Shark growl. It was a deep throat growl. That meant he heard something. "Shark, here." I command. I hear his paws tap on the floor. He came in, wagging his tail. I patted his head. "Good boy." I hear the door open. I look up alarmed. Shark started to growl again. I hushed him. I faintly heard a voice humming a heavy metal song. I could recognize the beat. I quietly get to the door. I try to look without being seen. Was my mother being robbed? I see a young boy. He was holding a beat-up apple. It was brown on a few spots. He took a bite out of it and threw it out of the entrance. Where my mom usually went through. I take a deep breath out and reveal myself. I walk to the kitchen. The boy looked alarmed. "Who are you?" He asked. I placed my hands on my hips. "I'm Mother Gothel's daughter. Who are you?" He scoffed a laugh. "We have similar titles." He says. I wasn't sure how to react. "What's your name?" I ask. "Gordon." He answers. "I'm Y/n." I introduced. He crosses his arms. "I thought I was my mom's only child." I huff a laugh. "So did I." He smirks. "How do you know you're mom's kid?" He asks. "Because I lived here since birth."
"Well, that's weird. I guess I've never noticed you until now." He says with sarcasm. "How long have you been here, Gordon?" I ask. "My whole life." I narrow my eyes. "You sure?"
"Yep." He says with confidence. "I know you're lying." I stated. I didn't know how to corner him any other way. He doesn't stand down. "I thought we were both doing that." He says. "I never lied."
"Nether have I." He bites back. I sigh. "Fine. I won't fight you. I just wanted to know if the rumors were true." I stated and started to walk to the door. "Wait." I stop and look at him. "What?"
"What rumors?"
"One of my friends told me that my mom had another kid. I just came to see if it was true." He walked towards me. "Why do you care?"
"Because I wanted to help my younger sibling from our mother. She's manipulative and narcissistic."
"Ok, so what? She is a monster, no crap." He snaps. I walk up closer to him. "Listen, I can help you get out of here." I stated. "Who says I want your help, or that I need you to save me?" He gives me a confused and angered look. "Gordon, I can get you off the Isle." His attitude changes. "Are you one of the VKs that went to Auradon?" He says with surprise. I nod my head. "Oh, no way. That's why I never knew you." He says understanding now. "So, do you wanna come?" I ask. "I heard it's boring there, and we can't have any fun." He explained. "It depends on your definition of fun, really." I stated. "Can I steal?" He asks. I press my lips together. "No, but -"
"I don't want to go, then." He stated and crossed his arms. I take a sucker from my purse. I open it and hand it to him. "What's this?" He asks and takes it. "Try it." I say. He slowly puts it in his mouth. His eyes widen when he finally tastes it. I know the sugar went right into his bloodstream. "What the... "
"It tastes amazing, right? It's apple flavor, but what an apple is supposed to taste like."
"Is this magic?" He asks and takes it out of his mouth. "No, actually. It's candy."
"Is there more of these in Auradon?" He asks and puts it back into his mouth again. I nod. "Well, then let's go." He walks to the door. I giggle. Gordon, Shark, and I leave the tower.

"What about mom?" He asks. "She's a villain. She has to stay here."
"No, I mean, what happens when she finds out I'm no longer here?" I exhale to think for an answer. "She can't reach you in Auradon. You can make your own decision there." He has hope in his eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah." I ensure. We were walking in a busy street. We hadn't said anything to each other in a while. He was too busy devouring his sucker. I smiled while watching him. "Did you know about me? Like, actually." I turn to him.
"Not until today." He nods hearing my answer. "What about me? Did you know about my existence?" I move out of the of a man carrying a box. "Mom always talked about a girl she used to know or something. I didn't really pay attention. I assumed she meant Rapunzel." I nodded, too. Things went quiet again. I truly hated quiet. It lets people's minds wonder. I sigh. "Do you have any friends?"
"I'm not a loser if that's what you mean." He quickly bites back. I huff a laugh. "No, I mean, any gangs that you're with? Are there any gangs that you've started?"
"Oh, yeah. I made a gang." I waited to hear more. "Who's a part of it?" I asked since he didn't have more to boast. "Oh, you know. A few popular villain kids. You probably don't know them since you went to Auradon." I hold down a smile. This kid just straight faced lied to me. Looks like mom starts early. "Try me." I wanted to see how far he'd go. "Well, there's... " He stops to think. "Uh-huh."
"Dr. Facilier's son." Doesn't have one. "Shan Yu's son." He is a lot older than him. He would never join. "John Ratcliffe's daughter." He doesn't even have kids. "Interesting. Can I meet them -"
"No! I-I mean... I don't want them to find out that I'm leaving, you know?" I press my lips together to hold my smile. "Yeah, totally."