Blackwood

XXX

This was too much.

Why did we always find ourselves in these situations all the time? I did not like being in these situations at all.

I was groggy, and my face hurt from being knocked out, the side of my face was throbbing. Sighing, I peeled my eyes open wearily.

The room was dark, no surprise there. My eyes shut involuntarily as the pain became too much. Breathing in deeply I could distinctly hear Reds soft cries and jingling of chains.

Peeling my eyes open, I finally laid eyes on my girl across the room next to Jav. Why were they next to each other and I was all the way over here?

"Baby," My voice was croaky as I tried to clear my throat with no avail. "Don't cry."

She lifted her head up as I spoke, dark circles around her eyes revealed the bruises that she had as well. Frowning my heart stuttered. "Eli," She sniffled as more tears fell. "Why does this always happen to us?"

"It'll be okay." I shook my head as she turned away to the door, ignoring her question. "I'm sorry Red." She turned her eyes back to me, questioning me as the door finally opened.

"Fantastic!" The familiar voice I used to know called out as her heels clacked into the room against the concrete. "Two of three awake." I looked up at her from under my hooded eyes.

She was worse than when I had left years ago.

"I've been waiting for you to wake up," She purred as she dragged a painted nail across my cheek as I jerked my head away, causing her to push her painted lips out into a pout.

"Don't act like that Eli, no need to be rude." She went to touch me again and scowled when I moved again.

She roughly gripped my chin as I scowled back at the manipulative woman. "Don't make me get Hector, Eli." She smiled as I flinched back at the name of the man who was responsible for my scar.

"A little fears good sweetheart." She pressed her lips against my forehead before turning on her heel.

Silence filled the room as the wooden door slammed shut and I hung my head. I hadn't wanted Red to find out, hell I hadn't wanted anyone to find out.

"What the fuck was that?" Javier was the one who broke the silence, having woke up at some point while Charlotte was in the room.

"Someone from my past," I mumbled. My voice was carried throughout the bare room.

"Eli, what happened," Red spoke up, looking out I found the both of them to be deeply bruised, from the pain in my body I knew I didn't look any better.

I sighed knowing that I had to reveal everything that had happened from the past I wished I desperately could have left behind.

"I was in a gang." They were quiet as I talked, and I kept my head down and eyes on the ground. "I joined when I was practically a kid. My mom wasn't really ever around, I had to deal with the dead-beat assholes she brought around."

"Charlotte is a few years older than me, I didn't pay attention to her much. After I hit puberty she started hanging around me more, I was going up in the ranks. We started dating. Hector was my boss, I ended up being his left-hand man when I was 17. I went on doing drugs, being his bitch doing whatever he wanted, being a complete fucking idiot." I sighed shaking my head, thinking about the life I had now that I never thought I would have had before.

"My mom got pregnant. I knew she wasn't going to take care of the kid, I knew I was going to have to take care of him and I knew I couldn't do that when I was still with them, I told them I wanted to leave. Break off with simple ties, no hard feelings."

My tone turned hard as I glowered at the chains around my arms. "They beat me senseless. I didn't talk about it again until Mason was born, and I saw how my mom treated him. I would come home, and he was screaming his head off with a full diaper and starving. I went in the next night and told them I was done. Charlotte was pissed."

"Eli," I ignored Reds wobbly voice and continued.

"I wasn't an idiot, I knew she slept around. But she turned into a manipulative bitch in front of me then. Said that we were done. She watched as they threw me to the ground and beat the fuck out of me again before burning the tattoo from my skin. Everyone sat by and watched as she had her shot at me. She gave me my scar."

"Eli please," Her voice was quivering now.

"Hector wasn't satisfied, he deepened it and had thrown me in a van to drop me off. The girl in the back of it stitched me up the best she could as I went in and out of consciousness. They got to my house and they shoved me out of the car before driving off. The only reason I got up was because Mase was squalling. I healed, sucked up my pride and got a job at the warehouse and took care of Mason night and day."

The room was settled into quiet again as we were all left with our own thoughts.

"Eli, I'm sorry."

"Red, don't be sorry."

"We're gonna get out of this," Javier said, his voice solid as we immediately began talking strategies to get out of here.

I didn't think about Hero, I didn't think about my baby girl at home, I didn't think about all the people relying on us after we disappeared. I focused on trying to get out of here alive.

Sometime later, Javier had fallen asleep, all of us need our strength. But I couldn't take my eyes off of Reds squirming body. Something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" I finally questioned after watching her squirm for half an hour.

My stomach dropped when her glossy eyes met my own. "My milks full." A single drop fell from her eye as I left like I was going to hurl.

Usually, Ember would be searching for her food by now, squirming impatiently as she whined. But now she wouldn't have any food to fulfill her. We hadn't found any formula, we were too far away from anywhere. That's what this trip was for.

I felt the panic well up in me. If she started to cry, to full-on scream, everyone in our little safe spot would be in danger. Mason and Jasper would be in danger.

I left worry fill me as unbeknownst to us how long we will be in here as Red and I began to worry, with a hurried sense of need to get out of here even more.