brenton's girl

forty

Leah's pov

"We are wayside, damnit!" Brian yelled stepping closer and grabbing my shirt collar, he lowered himself to my level. "Who are we?"

"Wayside." I spoke up for the first time in two days.

"And what's the law?"

"No waysider left behind."

"What's the second law?" Brian yelled.

"We don't hurt our own."

"And the final law?"

"Unity." I said with a strength in my voice I hadn't heard before.

With that, Brian backed away and the crowd around us began hooting and shouting, hitting each others backs and stomping their feet.

"Unity!" Brian shouted. "That is what makes wayside! We are a family for fucks sake!"

I looked around and looked at Petey, then at Small Tooth, they both smiled. Petey was the one who found me after the Gallows took me. I looked down at my wrists where the blue bruises were framed. From where I was framed.

"Welcome to wayside Leah Jackson. You'll be needing this." Brian said, he was passed a black jacket, then he passed it to me.

"Leather jackets? What a cliche." I said but happily excepted it.

"This jacket represents the third law. Unity will be the one thing that keeps us from falling. That keeps all of us all from falling! We will not fall if we are united."

Again, the over active crowd cheered and stomped in the beated up bar that was called the Cold Croc.

I looked around one more time, seeing Brenton who had a closed fist and clenched jaw, I smirked and began shimmying off my casual sweater. The crowd slowly quieted down while I tossed it on the cold ground, then slipped into the fitting black leather.

"You're officially a waysider." Small tooth told me, wrapping a heavy arm over my shoulders. The bruises are still present and the pain only follows, bringing back memories of the Gallows and their cold torture.

Two days before

"You can not stop me from going out dad!" I shoved past his shoulder and grabbed my car keys. "You keep your secrets and I'll keep mine."

"My secrets?" Dad shouted.

"You don't think I haven't noticed where all of this money comes from dad? You have a mediocre job with a mediocre boss. Now explain to me how exactly you can afford all of the things you by? Riddle me this; where are you at night dad? When you're 'at the office'?" My dads jaw clenched and he gave me a look of pure anger. "You can keep your shady business and your secrets, but you will not keep me from leaving this house."

With that, I slammed the door and climbed in my car. I haven't spoken about dads business to anyone, the only person that knows my theories is me, but i clearly tickled a nerve and that was all the evidence I needed. My dad was guilty and it wasn't for forgetting to turn the lock to his office.

The car ride was simply quiet, I didn't play music and I didn't call anyone, nobody needed to know where I was. I told Brenton about my plan to show Brian that I am more than some trick, to show him I actually want to be apart of wayside, and he blew me off. So, I took matters into my own hands, did some research and some digging and learned that the Gallows like to with hold vital information from wayside.

My phone rang and I quickly answered it, not taking my eyes off the road. "This is Mayor Stonewood, who's speaking?" Lying was my thing, I was great at it, Dooley had no idea who I really was.