{ON HOLD} Where My Loyalties Lie (Vanoss Crew Fanfic)

Chapter 9

Haley's POV

What was I thinking? I thought incredulously as I walked down the basement stairs. Pouring out my feelings to the leader of the gang that had kidnapped me, and then even giving him a kiss on the cheek? I should've been yelling and screaming and cursing him out for taking my girls and I. And for imprisoning my brother and my boyfriend. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

But, another side of me thought, he's compassionate. Just look at the way he feels about the little girl. He stood up to her when that other asshole was screaming. I had been sitting on the bottom of the steps just like Vanoss had told me too, so I had heard the whole argument about Alice.

That doesn't change that fact that he's still heartless.

If that were the case, why'd you give him a kiss, hmmm? Remember, Bobby sitting down here in the basement.

I was just trying to get his guard down so I could see what his crew has.

You're calling him heartless? You just want to exploit these people.

Not people! KILLERS!

My two sides raged with each other. I thought back to our time spent on the roof. He had seemed so broken, so honest with me; I actually found myself leaning towards the side of my mind that was supporting Vanoss. He had taken us, sure, but earlier he had apologized to me profusely, saying that he was sorry for taking me prisoner, and then had provided us a place in his family. I'm not saying that I don't like my own little group; my girls and I survived as long as Vanoss and his crew had. But I saw the concern and care in his eyes as he said that, and I felt myself soften a little.

My foot hit the hard cement floor of the basement, tearing me out of my myriad of thoughts. I saw my own group stretched out on the floor of the whole basement; Vanoss had unlocked the door to the cell before he left. When we heard the door close behind him, my girls had suggested running out of here and killing Vanoss and his crew, and the boys were all too eager to agree with them. But I wanted to see what Vanoss was going to do, so instead, I told them to settle down and to get some rest. There was a bit of grumbling, but they eventually claimed spots on the floor and went to sleep.

I was tired myself, so I sought out an empty spot on the floor; finding one next to Bobby, I walked over, laid down, and rested my head on his chest. He looked down at me, opening one eye, and smiled. "Hello, Beautiful." Bobby whispered. I smiled and snuggled deeper into his chest and Bobby wrapped his arms around me. We stayed that way for a while, locked in our embrace. Suddenly, Bobby said, "Haley?"

"Hm?" I mumbled.

"How did you guys survive down here in the basement?"

I shifted my head and looked up at him. "Some guy snuck in and gave us food. Why?"

He gave me a smile. "That person may or may not have been me."

I gasped. "Are you serious?" He gave a small nod; Bobby had snuck into the base of a well-armed group to deliver food and water to my little group? I stared at him in shock, and then just squeezed him tight in a hug. I chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "Nothing I wouldn't do for you, Haley." He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. "Now go to sleep. You need your rest." I didn't complain. I snuggled into his warm chest and fell asleep, with his arms wrapped around my body.

Evan's POV

I woke up with a start, opening my eyes, only to be greeted with darkness. I had heard a sound in my sleep, causing me to wake up. Living in an apocalypse forces you to adapt and to develop some new and essential habits. For me, one of those was becoming a light sleeper; can't say how many times that had saved my life. I skimmed the room with my eyes, finally landing on a person wearing a blue hoodie, sitting on one of the couches: Jonathan. He was leaning forward, with his face in his hands.

What is he doing here? I thought. I was still furious about what he did to Alice, blaming her for our troubles, and accusing me of being disloyal. I sat up slowly, and opened my mouth –

"I'm sorry."

I blinked. Did Jonathan really just apologize to me? Jonathan wasn't the type to say sorry to anyone, no matter what he did. The only way you could tell that he was sorry was if you knew him and could pick up on the signals he gave.

"I was being a dick, and I stepped out of line." Jonathan paused for a bit, and turned to look at me. His hockey mask covered his face, but I could see the regret in his eyes. "I didn't mean to blame everything on her, it just came out, you know?"

"You still said it though." I said in a low voice.

"I know. And as I said already, I'm sorry." He let out a puff of air and chuckled a bit. "Shit man, you know I'm not good at this feely shit."

"Yeah, I do," I said cracking a grin, "you still never apologized to me for shooting me in the arm that one time at the shooting range."

"It was an accident!" Jonathan protested. I just laughed. We sat there in a comfortable silence for a couple moments. Then Jonathan said, "The only reason I don't want you to bring in Haley and her group is because I don't want to bring anyone else into the family. The crew is out thing, our family and I don't like the fact that she's going to be a part of it."

I sighed. "Well, there aren't that many other options. We need the man-power, and right now, Haley is the only one that I can semi-trust. Everyone else we know is dead. I already talked to her, and she's cool with it."

Jonathan was silent for a moment. "Okay then. It's your call Evan." He stood up, gave me a small nod, and walked upstairs. I could tell that he still wasn't happy with my decision but would still go along with it. I sat there in silence. But is Jonathan right? That me inviting Haley into the crew is a mistake? There was no way for me to know for sure until I introduced the crew to Haley and her group. All I knew was that if it didn't work, things would go sour really quickly.

Out of the blue, a yawn fought its way past my lips, which reminded me of just how sleep deprived I was. Lying back down, I had one horrifying thought before I fell into the darkness of sleep. Am I leading my family to their doom?

Hey guys, it's been a while. Again. Anyways, I'm sorry, blah blah blah. For real though, I am sorry. I had plenty of time to make this chapter, but I just didn't feel like it. Doesn't help that it's shorter than my other chapters.  Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Peace.