Set Free

Chapter 12: Watch Your Back

"I'm one of Jamal's three children." Reggy's voice whispered beside me as he cast his head down almost in shame. It was silent for moments, I had no idea how to even respond. "Sana?" He asked.

"How could you hide this from us?" I whispered on the verge of tears. Jamal had almost killed Aydin and Yuza, and while Reggy did get hurt it wasn't near as bad as them. I still couldn't believe he looked us in the eyes daily for a full month and had no guilt about not telling us.

"Listen, I never thought he'd meddle with us. I would get to leave, change my name, and never show my face around him again. But he found out the name I was being called after Aydin, Eddie and I ended the drug cartel business. Of course, we took every step possible to make sure he couldn't find our home or a reason to come after us, hell we even offered him the business!" Reggy explained getting more worked up each second. I grabbed his arm and motioned for him to calm down silently.

"Whatever procedure you three made to protect us obviously didn't work. He half blinded Aydin and almost took Yuza into a gross woman selling industry! He even beat up you, his own son. Reggy, tell the rest of our roommates or this is only going to get worse when they find out on their own. You and I both know these things always have a way of getting out on their own." I said facing him head-on.

His face was fear-stricken and his eyes peered sharp. "Are you going to tell them?" He asked and I went silent for a moment. I didn't want to be a tattle tale, but I also didn't want to risk the people I cared for getting killed.

"N-no I'm not. But you need to tell them soon. Call a roommate meeting when we get home or something, I don't care. All I ask is that you move fast before it's too late because all these things have a way at getting back at us, and it always involves someone getting hurt." Getting up I reached my hand forward to Reggy helping him to his feet. Taking my hand I yanked him up only for him to stumble from my mighty pull. He was as light as a feather when it came to a nearly six-foot kid.

Nodding to Reggy we both said goodbye before walking back to our classrooms and silently I was terrified of the conversation about to come, how the others would react and if this was the right move. Going into this whole emancipation part of my life I knew there would be some challenges but never did I imagine I'd be facing life or death with a bunch of strangers who had become my new family.

***

I sat cowering in the back of my classroom as others looked at me. Some even not-so-sneakily took out there phones to snap a picture. I was the only kid in the room wearing a hat, the only one dressed in a mash of grey and black clothes, and for the first time in years, my hair was not illuminated with the colour of a hundred blue jays. The most outstanding thing to my peers wasn't my shabby clothes or my lack of a hundred dollar headphones. It was the stupid eyepatch I wore. As quiet murmurs of words could be heard I blocked them all out by pulling a tattered book from my backpack which had my precious locket of Amy kept as a bookmark in the middle. Opening the two halves of a whole I peered into the picture that was part of my soul. As I was mesmerised the teacher left the room, and everyone seemed to notice besides me.

To my right a girl nudged me.

"What?" I say with annoyance and anger in my voice having a feeling I knew the question that was coming next.

Out of the corner of my eye that could see I noticed she tensed up a bit.

"What book are you reading?" Her voice echoed curiously.

Surprised it wasn't about the eyepatch I turned to face her. "I honestly don't know."

"How could you read a book if you don't know the title?"