Darlings of the South.

e l e v e n

I shift uncomfortably in my spot and lock eyes with him. He has a devilish grin on his face and he begins to take a few steps closer to me. I didn't want him to come any closer because if he did I might not be able to control myself. 

Clearly someone was not listening to my wishes because Julien continued to near me, and it seemed to take forever. He was torturing me. 

"Julien? What are you doing?" He has a confused look on his face but takes my hand in his.

"There is so much I can't tell you but so much that I want too. You have turned me into someone I don't recognise, you've made me go slow and become gentle. But right now, I want you." As the last words come out of his mouth he pulled me into him and pulled my face up to his. I had no idea to reply, I was full of emotions. I knew he was bad for me, so why couldn't I just forget him and move on? What was it about him that made me stay? Before I knew what hit me, his lips were on mine. His hands were exploring every inch of my body, his caressing touch causing me to melt into his body. This was bad. I broke free from our embrace and readjusted my dress which he somehow managed to semi undo and twist around my body. "Maia?" I gave him a quick smile and walked over to the window. "What did I do?"

"I know about the Crimson Adders." He grabs my arm and whips me around, anger brewing behind his eyes.

"Noelle told you, didn't she?" he was fuming, and I was beginning to feel scared, I didn't think he would react like this. His grip was beginning to tighten even more and my arm was hurting. "Answer me!"

"No! My Dad's a cop, I just put two and two together and looked up your tattoo and gangs in NYC. Now can you let me go, you're hurting me." I lower my voice as I say the last words and he realises how tight he's actually holding me. He quickly let's go and I look at my arm to see a red handprint. I look at him and it's clear he sees it too. "I should go." I turn away from him and try not to cry. He says nothing so I walk out of the room, leaving him and our kisses behind.

Surprisingly I find my way out and leave the complex. I guess he didn't want me knowing, but what was going to happen now that he knew I did? I wanted to call Ashley, but she didn't know about this. My only option was to call Noelle. I pull out my phone as I walk down the pavement, each step taking me further away from Julien. I go into my contacts and press call when I see her name. 

It takes a moment for her to answer but when she does it's with her usual chirpy voice. "Maia! Hello, how are you?" 

"Noelle, I know about the gang, Julien knows I know and he's very angry." 

"Oh dear, I'm gonna have to talk to you about this in person. Can we meet at the diner?" She was calm, but I could hear the sense of urgency in her voice. "Maia? It'll need to be now."

"Yes, okay. I'll be there in 10." I hang up and briskly walk to the diner. A group of expensive cars drive past me and I turn to see them pull into the apartment complex. They must be apart of the gang. I continue walking and try not to think about what had just happened. 

I near the corner before the turn off to the diner and take a moment to collect myself. 

I see her car parked in the diners parking lot and walk slowly towards it. From what I can tell, she's not sitting in her pink chevrolet meaning she must be inside. I ignore the blasting sun and walk into the diner, I send a smile to the waitress on duty and look around for Noelle. I see her brown hair seated in my usual booth, tapping her fingers on the table. As I sit down into the seat opposite her, she locks her phone and gives me a worried look. She goes to take my hand, for reasons unknown but I suddenly become aware of the bruise developing on my arm. She sees me pull away and of course asks where it came from. 

"Was it Julien?" She looks me dead in the eye.

"No." I lie. "I'm not sure where it came from."

"You're going to tell me. But first, what do you know?" 

I look around to make sure no one is listening then fill her in on my neighbors, my dad, the warning he gave, and how I ended up doing my own research and put two and two together. "Shit, you're smarter than I thought. Listen, with what you know, you're going to be safe. Julien is just pissed that you know because he wants to keep you safe. He was so hesitant in pursuing anything with you because of us."

"He scared me."

"I won't defend him. But I will say that he has some things to work through and can get very angry very quickly." She pushes her hair behind her ear, displaying a silver bracelet on her wrist. it was delicate, and had jewels that matched my ring. "Maia, you have to swear you won't tell your dad about us, or anyone." 

"I swear." I suppose this meant that I would have to become a good liar, dad was easy to convince but Ashley knew how to get things out of me, easily. I watched her pull out her phone, and saw she had a few missed calls. She instantly became tense and muttered profanities under her breath. The name read Hugo, and I wondered if that was someone from the Crimson Adders.

"I would stay longer but I'm going to have to go and reply to these calls. Don't be mad at Julien, he didn't mean to hurt you." She gets up and gives me a brief hug and her hand grazes the bruise. "This wasn't supposed to happen." She walks out and the bell signals her departure. I was alone with my thoughts again, I considered going back to see if Julien was okay but decided against it. He probably hated me.

I check my phone for the time, and see that I too have missed calls from David. I couldn't be assed dealing with him right now so I paid for the coffee that Noelle had ordered mid conversation and walked home. I was ready for some dinner and sleep. If I could even sleep.