Violence [Jack Barakat]

5

(Alex's p.o.v)

As I wake up, I realize that I'm not at home. My head was pounding and things looked fuzzy until I blinked my eyes to adjust to the light.

Where am I? Holy shit, I better had not had a one night stand type of association with someone, Lis would kill me.

"Awake yet?" A guy in a black t-shirt walked into the completely empty room that I was sitting in. A man. Oh no. Fuck no. Please say I did not lose my butt-ginity.

"Hey, man. Um, where am I?" I ask the guy, and when I try to get up onto my elbows and sit, I realize that I can't. I've been tied down to this bed. Oh god.

"Relax, Alexander. I just wanted to ask you something regarding your friends, what are they called? Oh, Charlotte Classter and Jack Barakat." He said in a somewhat sinister tone.

Oh, that's why I was here. They dragged me into their gang business. Thank god it didn't involve things sticking into other things.

"Yeah, they're my friends, what about them? Oh and do you think you could get me an aspirin, I'm a bit hungover." The pain in my head continues.

The guy already had the pills in his hand though. "I thought you might need this. Your hangover isn't the only thing that must be hurting you right now."

He began to chuckle to himself, leaving me confused. Then, I realized what he was talking about. There was a gauze bandage over my arm, and I noticed that pain was also being produced from there.

"What is this?" I ask him in shock.

"Let's just leave it at a small accident, no need for details. Now, tell me about your friends."

"I don't really know anything about them, I just know they're in a pretty big gang called the North something. Make a lot of money I think. Stop crime, I guess?" I listed the things I knew about their job.

"No, you idiot," The man almost yelled, "what do you know about Charlotte and Jack's parents? What do their parents do and what kind of family backgrounds do they come from?"

"Uh, Charlotte has a mom, a doctor for kids. I don't know anything about her dad, I think he died before she was born. And I've never met Jack's parents, but I know he moved here from Lebanon when he was 1 because of a war going on during the time." I stuttered and rushed through the facts I knew about their backgrounds.

"That's all you know, huh? Alright then, you can go. But we'll need you again later, don't tell anyone about what we discussed. And by the way, the name's Mike. I'm a close friend of Austin's, the guy who you spoke to at the party last night." He said as he disabled something from his phone, causing the ropes that I was tied down with to diminish. Mike and I exchanged numbers and I left the house after taking the aspirin.

Even though he told me not to tell anyone about this, I knew I had to tell Jack and Charlotte. But, I had no idea where to go from here and I didn't have my car. With my good arm, I reached for my phone in my pocket, which was thankfully still there.

(Charlotte's p.o.v)

I woke up from hearing a buzz coming from right next to me.

It was Jack's phone. He was still sleeping, so I had to reach into his pocket and check it myself. My heart began to beat fast when I read Alex's name on the screen.

"Hello? Are you alive?" I say right away after pressing 'answer'.

"Yes, I am alive and well. Except for the huge bandage on my arm." Alex laughs, which makes me extremely happy.

"I never thought I would hear you laugh again," I almost cry into the phone, and start to leave the room so I don't wake Jack.

As I step into the kitchen, I see a red-eyed Lisa preparing coffee. When she sees me on the phone, she immediately asks who I was talking to, and I smile to signify that it was Alex.

"Do you think you can pick me up? I'm not sure where I am but-" I cut him off.

"I know where you are already. I'll be there really soon." I hang up the phone and leave it on the nightstand next to Jack, along with a note saying that me and Lisa had left to get Alex.

15 minutes later, messy haired and pajama clad Lisa and I had found Alex a couple blocks away from the West end house.

It was a beautiful sight, watching Lisa run into Alex and embrace him in a hug, only to see him wince after she squeezes his arm too hard.

On the way back to the apartment, I had to explain to Alex what happened the night before.

"So I got shot in the arm?" Alex exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"Yes, and since no bullets were found in the room that you were shot in, that must mean it is in your arm and it didn't deflect off of your body." I pointed out.

We decided that after Jack woke up, we would all drive to our safe house and get Liam or one of the other medically trained members to remove the bullet from Alex's arm before it caused lead damage to his DNA.

Arriving back at the apartment, Jack opened the door and looked at me in confusion after Alex and Lisa had entered. He stepped outside with me and looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I ask, annoyed that Jack had been staring at me with a hard glare for 2 minutes.

"What have you done?" Is all he says.

"What are you talking about, Jack?" I say, because I honestly have no idea what he's accusing me of.

"Why are people saying you've gained control of the New York bank systems? Tom just called me and said that it's all over the internet." Jack looked at me with what looked like disgust, making a lump form in my throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Can you show me, please?" I say, trying to fight back tears. My anxiety always starts to act up when I'm falsely accused of something by a loved one.

Jack shows me an article on the Huffington Post, which I read closely. The headline reads, "David Classter Has Given Up His Accessibility to the Treasury". The article says that the chief of the New York bank systems, David Classter, has been caught performing major criminal offenses, and that the job has been transferred to his daughter, Charlotte Classter, as her name was written into the applications.

After reading it through, I was in shock. I didn't know that I had a father, I had always just assumed that he's been dead my whole life. And why New York? I've never been there, not even to execute a project.

"Care to explain, Char? As far as I know, your father is dead." Jack continued to stare at me with expectancy.

"That's what I know, too. My mom has never mentioned my dad, and I've never seen him so I just lived with the fact that he was dead. And the treasury stuff, I don't even know what it is, I've never even been to New York. Maybe they're talking about a different Charlotte." I almost choked trying to hold back the tears.

"No, I'm pretty sure they're talking about you, Char. We've already been notified from your mother, who was visited by the New York treasury's association this morning." Jack leans on the wall and starts tapping on it.

Before I can say anything, he speaks up again. "And read this one too," He shows me another article, showing that David already has his daughter set to spend the money for her own needs, and that she has already begun to do so, but she can't be removed from the job until 10 years of working in it, because no one's name is in the application after her's.

"What the hell, I barely spend my money on anything though, so this can't be me. And you know that too, Jack. All I buy is candy from like, Walgreens." I tug on his shirt and look up at him with sad eyes.

He interlocks me into a hug and smiles. " I was just acting, I'm not mad at you, but this is real. Someone's framing you, babe, and we'll find them. They don't know how to kick ass like you do."