Page 22 of Ruin

“Trust your gut. If you feel a breeze and your gut says it’s a warning, trust it. You get a good vibe from someone, trust it, but always, and I fucking mean always, watch your back. You can trust no one in here, and you might have to kill them because they won’t think twice about killing you.”

I shift my weight from foot to foot. I knew it was going to be bad, but it’s going to be so much worse than I thought.

“Lincoln and I will watch all the time. I have a man inside to watch over you. I’ve promised him his freedom if he doesn’t disappoint me.” Cain stops talking when I dart my eyes to him. He lets no one out of here. “You’re going in there a boy, but you’ll be coming out a different man than you were ever going to be. Learn. Focus. Listen to what is happening around you. Block out things which aren’t important. Lincoln or I will be here for the first week checking on things. After that, we will only be here now and again.” I know he will be watching the cameras when he’s not here.

All I can do is nod. I have no idea what to say to him. This is where my life will change, but it will give the family more power when we need it. I walk into the room and my sight moves to the fire burning, and the four men with masks on.

“Take your top off.” One orders me, I do it without even a second thought, and I feel my body trembling. This is it. Hell begins.

Cain talks to one of them, and he nods. Two men push me closer to the flame, then hold me down, and the third one puts a belt into my mouth. I see the bright three numbers moving closer to me.

The sharp, agonizing pain moves through my body, the smell of my skin burning hits me, my brain shuts down on me as the throbbing on my skin continues even when they remove the brand.

“Hey, you with us?” I blink a few times, removing the memory from my head, and turn to Hayden. “You’re with us now.”

When we found out I was going to The Pit, Hayden spoke to Cain and dad a few times hoping to try and change their minds. He wanted them to send him instead of me. They didn’t go for it, and Hayden hated the thought of me going there. He always wants to protect each of us.

“I know,” I reply, rubbing the burn scar on my chest. No matter how long it’s been, I still remember the pain these three numbers gave me when they burned them into my skin.

“Are you coming down to your own pool party?” Hayden walks over to the window to look down at the pool. “Mom called and said if anything breaks, you’re paying for it.” He laughs, knowing he will be the one who pays. He hates it when mom and dad are angry with me. He always tries to protect me from them. Even now, he still does it, but I’ll never stop him because it makes him feel a little better about my summer.

“Mason finding himself a girl to fuck?” I joke, as I get off my bed and grab my phone from the side.

“Has she come?” I ask. I told her she needs to be there today, and if she’s not, I’ll go to her house and get her.

“Yes, Mason is messing with a girl, and I don’t even know whosheis.” Hayden turns around and walks out of the bedroom with me, and we make our way to the pool.

“You can’t miss her, trust me.” Her fashion, crazy as it is, is growing on me. It’s different, but she rocks it. She doesn’t look out of place in it, she’s not wearing it to stand out, it suits her.

The music is loud, and there are a lot more people here than I thought. Which means my brothers invited their own crowd too.

Stephanie walks over to me, and goes to kiss me, but I quickly move so she kisses my cheek. Now I don’t mind her when I call, but for her to be around me all the time, it’s fucking annoying. The only reason she’s worth keeping around at the moment is because she’s making Trixie’s life hell at school.

“You like my bikini?” She takes a step back from me, puts her hands up so I get a good look at her. “I got it just for you.” I smile with a nod, and look over at my brothers talking to a group of girls in the corner.

“What is she doing here?” The annoyance in Stephanie’s tone tells me it’s who I’ve been waiting for.

I turn around, ignoring Stephanie saying anything she can about her. She’s wearing the same clothes she wore at school. It’s got to be my favorite look of hers.

“So, this is her,” I hear Miles behind me, and without turning around, I know Mason and Hayden are there too.

I’m here. Can I leave now?

“Have you finished the drawing I asked for?” I ask, not moving from where I stand. She nods, and looks through her bag for her pad, then opens it up and holds it out to me. “Your voice doesn’t work, but your legs do. Walk.” My brothers chuckle behind me when she does as I’ve asked.

Taking the pad from her, I look at the drawing. I burst out laughing when I see what she has drawn.

“Is that my head I’m holding?” I ask, looking up at her to find her nodding. She’s drawn a picture of me standing with blood g

Oozing out of my neck, and I’m holding my own head. This is brilliant, and a very detailed drawing.

“Follow me.” I walk to the garage, opening the door as I wait for her to walk in. I lean on the work counter. No one comes in here. This is my place. The place I come to when it’s been a fucked up day. Where I spend hours working on my car.

The door closes behind her, and she looks around. “Do you know how long it took me to build my dream car? Years, and in seconds, you and your friends took it from me. Then I’ve had to spend time finding a beat-up car, so I can fix it up again.” I push myself off the work counter and move toward her.

She takes a step back, and I continue until her back hits the wall. “The hours, the money I spent, all up in flames.” I close the gap between us, and move her hair away from her face. Looking at her face, I see a bruise on her cheek which she’s tried to cover up with makeup.

“How did you get that?” She stays quiet, but then again, I haven’t given her enough space to sign to me. It’s a question I will ask again later.

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