I reach the docks, looking out at the water that flowed back and forth. I grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it out against the waves, watching the small pools that formed under each touch. I sat down on the wooden deck, the flat of my shoes unable to touch the wall waves that rolled beneath the dock. I had to think about it. Leo would constantly tell me to think before one day I ended up too much like my father. I knew I had to listen to him.
Footsteps stalked in the distance, but I didn't hear them until they were too close. A hand had me tight by my upper arm, and another was clamped tightly over my mouth. My screams and sounds of struggle were silent. So when my feet touched the ground, I stomped onto my attacker's foot. He hissed and held me tighter, bending my back backwards so that I couldn't fight.
"(Y/n), quit. It's just me." Leo's voice rang in my ear. My eyes widened, but I quit fighting him. I was instantly freed, but began to shake knowing that I was in trouble. When I turned, all the brothers stood with their arms crossed, my dad the most obvious of them all. Yep, I was in trouble. I frowned, shoving my hands down my pockets. Everyone was quiet for just a second. That was before Donnie spoke first. He took the easiest approach that he could find, his voice so soft that in danced with the air.
"Sweetheart, what are you doing out of the lair?"
"Don't sweet-talk her." My dad scolded. "What the hell are ya doin'?"
"I-uh"
"Cat got yer tongue?"
"Dad-"
"Raph, allow her to speak." Leo cut in. He crossed his arms at his brother and I stood like an idiot. Leo motioned for me to say something, but as my eyes swept over the brothers, I suddenly felt all too small.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Raph repeated. "You don't know what yer doin' out of the lair in the middle of the night, all the way on this side of the city? Do you know how dangerous this half is? Let alone this dock? What if someone attacked ya? Or grabbed ya up like a sack of potatos? What if ya got taken by Shredder and mutated? Or killed even?!"
"Dad please-"
"Yer fifteen years old, (y/n)! You cannot be out here! Tell me right now, why are ya out here?"
"I needed some time to think, okay?"
"Think about what exactly?" Raph frowned impatiently. I shrugged. "Words, (y/n). Now."
"I just... I had a bad dream. I needed some time to think and I just started walking. I really didn't plan it through." Raph threw his hands up, turning and walking off. Mikey placed a hand on my shoulder, wordlessly telling me that it was okay. Donnie and Leo tried to reason with dad, but he was so upset he wasn't thinking about what they were saying. He turned back around.
"Ya know what? Ya didn't think. One little bad dream ain't no reason to go runnin' around the city at night. Yer a big girl now, so act like it!"
"Dad-"
"Conversation over. WE are going back to the lair."
"Raphael." A female voice sliced the conversation in two. I couldn't see who it was because of the boys being in the way. "Take it easy, she's just a kid."
"Stay out of this, Jessie."
Jessie. The very name that had been haunting me this whole time. She was real, and she was here. I wanted to cry. The boys moved out of the way so that I could see her. She wore gear similar to theirs, but hers was more on the feminine side. I gaped at her for a good minute, catching her eyes look to me for a split second. He offered a smile, but I didn't return it. "Raph, honey, she's a kid. What stupid mistakes did you make at fifteen? This is a lesson learned for her, and she knows it. Look at how scared she was when Leo grabbed her."
