Mobster Boy

4

Pic of Ash on the side >>>

When I wake up, I immediately realize that Jazlyn isn't next to me anymore. For a few seconds I'm completely blank, not knowing why that's such a big deal. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks - my kidnapping, the house getting wrecked, my panic attack, two rival gangs trying to find my parents for unknown reasons.

'Did I accidentally sit on the remote...? Why is the TV on?' Sitting up, I hold the blankets in my hands and look around me. I balk when I see I'm not alone. "Morning." Ash greets with a wave. He's lounging on another couch. Jazlyn sits next to him with her chin resting on his legs. Seeing that I'm awake, Ash raises the volume, but doesn't make any other attempt to communicate or even look at me. 'I guess Chance gave him 'babysitting duties'...at least Jazlyn seems to like him.'

"Is there a bathroom I could use?" Ash nods down the hall, so I get up and walk over. Before I can get far, a girl I'd never seen before exits a door from the opposite side of the hall, bumping into me as she enters the living room.

"Oh! Oops!" She giggles nervously, wringing out water from her wet hair right onto the floor. I frown at the action. A pair of large earrings draw my attention, geometric shapes forming a unique pattern between rhinestones and semi-precious jewels. 'Who is this? Another gang member?'  I don't say anything to her, but the frown doesn't disappear. '...Another kidnapping victim?' "I uh...I was just leaving! Tell Yoshi I said goodbye, okay?" And with that, she rushes past me and down the halls. Distantly, I can hear the sound of heavy doors opening and shutting. I shake my head.

"Must be nice to come and go as you please." I mutter under my breath.

"It sure is." Blinking, I see Phaedra standing in the doorframe of that same room across the hallway, a blood red cocktail in her hand. "You look a mess, sweetheart." She approaches me, offering the cocktail. "Some hair of the dog that bit you?" The sharp scent of tomato juice and vodka actually makes me kind of hungry.

"I didn't drink. It's just rough sleeping on a couch in a strange house...full of strange people." 'No harm in being honest. It's not like any of these people actually care about me.' Phaedra's eyes widen slightly, her lower lip edging out in a pout.

"Chance couched you, huh? What a shame. You really should have picked me to watch over you. I'd have let you sleep in my bed." My cheeks warm at the blatant invitation.

"It looked like you already had a guest, though." I argue, trying not to stutter.

"It's a big bed." Phaedra smirks, her hand resting on her hip.

"I...I..." I thankfully get interrupted by Hideyoshi.

"Dang, Chance made him sleep on the couch?" Hideyoshi joins us in the living room, looking clean and freshly shaven. Ash lifts a hand to acknowledge him, but otherwise stays quiet. "I have no idea how he can be so cold to people." Hideyoshi frowns.

"I know, right? And he's so cute, too." Phaedra's expression turns sly, a decidedly nasty barb entering her tone that makes me wonder if her kindness last night truly existed.

"Maybe even cuter than your party favor last night." She smirks.

"Party fa-?" He stops mid sentence. "Is that where Miranda went off to?!" He cried incredulously.

"Oh, was that her name?" Phaedra's smirk grows wider.

"Phaedra!" His shout startles Jazlyn, who leaps off the couch. A chess table propped up next to her gets knocked down in her attempt to flee the living room.