DO YOU UNDERSTAND [29]

Asher

I couldn't sleep. I need to talk to her. She thought I was mad at her. Not at him. She thinks I'm blaming her for this.

Does she really think that low of me? I stood up and walked out of the room quietly.

I walked to her room and found the door closed. Why is it closed? I made sure to keep it open for her. I knocked on the door but she didn't answer. I knocked again a bit harder. But still no answer.

I twisted the handle and pushed the door open. I scanned the room but there was no sign of Sara. I went to the bathroom and checked but still, there was no sign of her.

I went downstairs but still no sign of Sara at all. My breath escalated. Where is she? Oh no.

She was so mad at herself. She thought she deserved what happened to her. She thought that she was at the wrong and I just made it worse.

She thought I was mad at her and that I would hit her. She still thinks that I would hurt.

She believes I'm blaming her. She thinks I think she brought it to herself. She blamed herself and thought I blamed her too. And now she is gone.

This can't mean anything good. I rushed back upstairs and took my phone. I started calling her but heard the phone ringing in her room. She left it here, damn it!

I got inside the room quickly and flashed on the lights. Chris jolted up which made me feel a bit guilty but this is an emergency.

"What happened?" Chris asked alarmed while Alex groaned in annoyance. "Sara, she is gone," I told them and they both sat up quickly.

"Gone. What do you mean gone?!" Alex asked. "I went to check on her but she was nowhere to be found," I told him.

"I'm afraid she will do something to herself," I said to them and they got even more alarmed.

" What do you mean 'do something to herself', Asher? I need to know why was she upset" Alex said and I owe him that.

"She blamed herself. She thought she deserved that. And when she told me that I got mad" I started and his eyes darkened, he was as mad as I was.

"But then she thought I was mad at her. She thought I was gonna hit her Alex. She thinks I believe that too." I told him anger visible in my voice. She really thinks this low of us.

"Did you think that?" He asked me. And that got me more mad. "Of course not Alex," I said. Does he believe that?

"Then why didn't you f***ing say that to her? Why make her f***ing overthink it." He shouted at me. And he is right. I should've made myself clear instead of shouting.

"This is not the right time for this! We need to search for her" Chris said and he was right.

"You are right Chris. I'm sorry Asher I'm just worried, okay?" He apologized and I nodded. He had every right to be mad.

"Where do you guys think she will go?" Chris asked and I just couldn't think of anywhere. We don't know her that much. To be honest we don't know her at all.

We didn't bring ourselves to know her. We didn't care. But now we do. She became one of us.

"I mean I know she goes running when she is mad or upset but nothing else," Alex said and that brought something to my mind.

"When I followed her the last before the accident. She seemed like she was running toward the hill. It was next to the river. We used to go there when we were kids. Do you guys remember? " I told them and they nodded. She must be going there.

"Let's go in my car" Chris suggested and we nodded. We quickly put on our jackets and shoes and headed to the car.

We all got in and Chris started driving. He was way above the speed limit but he didn't care. We all didn't. It is a matter of life or death.

"Go left. She was running in that direction" I told him and he nodded. We parked the car when we reached the end of the driving area.

We started walking to the cliff. "Sara" Alex shouted.

"Sara, where are you?" He shouted again.

We kept searching until our eyes laid on a girl sitting on the very end of the cliff. It was Sara.

I know her everywhere. "Oh my god," Chris said sighing a sigh of relief. "Sara please tell me you are okay?" Alex said approaching her. But she didn't move or respond. I don't even think she knows we are here.

I walked to her and touched her shoulder and she flinched quickly standing up.

"Hey hey it is us," I said to her. Her face was as pale as a sheet. "Sara it is us," I told her again. And you can see her physically relax.

"What happened? Is everyone okay? How did you guys find me?" She asked quickly taking a step backward away from the cliff.

"You scared us to death Sara!" Alex shouted at her. And her body tensed again. "I'm so-r-ry. I thought I would come back before you guys woke up" she stuttered. She was practically shivering.

"Don't you ever go out again without your phone Sara. Do you understand me?! " Alex shouted at her again. He took a step toward her and she took another back. He was worried but didn't know how to express it.

"This is unacceptable! It is 4 in the morning! Didn't you even think of telling us? Maybe send a fu**ing message. Don't you ever go out without telling me again Sara! Do you understand? " he shouted again. He took another step toward her and she took another back.

Chris tugged Alex back giving him 'the eye'. Alex took a breath in and backed away.

Sara was shaking uncontrollably looking at the ground. She was looking at the ground her nails digging into her palms. She was digging them so deep that you could see blood dripping down.

"Sara, are you okay?" Chris asked but she didn't answer. I walked to her and touched her shoulder and that seemed to bring her back to reality. She flinched away looking at me with eyes full of fear.

"I-I understand" she stuttered out. "Sara, are you okay?" I asked her. "Why do you care? Weren't you mad at me?" She replied walking away.

"Where do you think you are going?" Alex shouted at her. "Home" she shouted back not stopping.

"This gir-" Alex started but Chris stopped him. "Let her go man she would not get in a car with us," Chris told him.

"But it is not safe for her to walk alone," Alex said defeated. "I'll walk her. I need to fix what happened earlier" I told him and he nodded permitting me. I was gonna go regardless even if he said no.

I run to catch up with her. The moment I was close to her I slowed down. "We need,to talk," I told her.

"I don't want to" she replied. I caught up with her and gently grabbed her arm. "Please let's just sit down and talk," I told her pointing at the benches.

She let out a shaky breath and nodded. We walked to the benches and sat down. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine just went for a run. And ended up there" she replied. She was lying but I couldn't catch which part was the lie.

"You scared us. We thought something happened to you" I said to her and she looked at me for a solid second then looked back down.

"Well, wouldn't that be a delight? You would finally be rid of me" she said. And that made my stomach turn. She thought we didn't want her around us.

"Sara don't say such stuff," I said to her and she looked at me and said. "Yes sir".

"Sara" I sighed and she just kept her head down. "Is this what you wanna talk about ?" She asked.

"No. Sara look about earlier" I started but she cut me off standing up. "It is okay Asher. I understand why were you mad at me. I would be mad at me too" she said trying to dismiss the conversation.

"See Sara that is what I wanted to talk about. You don't understand. I don't think it was your fault. I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at whoever made you feel like that" I told her standing up too.

And that was the moment we locked eyes. Hers were willing up with tears her lips quivering. "You don't think I deserve it?" She asked slowly not believing what I said. Like she doesn't believe someone would say that.

"Of course not Sara. I would never" I said to her hugging her. I held her close to me as she broke down.

I sat her down as she cried. And every sob that left her mouth made my heart shatter.

She cried while I hugged her. She was trembling so badly and I wished I could take the pain away.

"I'm so sorry Sara. I'm so sorry that I made you feel like this" I whispered in her ear.

She quickly pulled away wiping her tears away. "Don't say that. It is not your fault. I tend to take things to my head. It is not your fault I promise." she said locking eyes with me.

She is even blaming herself for this. How can someone be such an angel? "Just don't say that again okay? It could never be your fault. You were never in the wrong" I said to her and she sighed.

She sat back and looked at the sky. "Can I ask a question?" I asked her. And she nodded.

"Did you really think I would hit you?" I asked and she looked at me and stood up. "Can we go home school starts in an hour or two?" She said avoiding my question and I just sighed.

The walk to the house was silent. But for the first time since we met it was the comfortable silence.

We reached the house and got in. She went directly to the kitchen. She started searching for stuff and putting out ingredients.

"What are you doing?" I asked her confused. She is tired. She shouldn't be making anything.

"I'm making you guys breakfast."She replied simply. Like she is obligated.

"You don't have to, you know that right" I said to her. She looked at me for a couple of solid seconds trying to figure out if I was being genuine or not.

She felt obliged to do it. "I want to though," she said in a small voice. And then I remembered. She wants to think.

That's why she wanna cook something. She has a lot on her mind.  God, how I wish I could take it all away. She has suffered enough already.

I nodded and left her alone. I walked up the stairs and found the boys all dressed up. I went to the bathroom. Took a quick shower and changed into new clothes myself.

When I got out, Alex looked at me and asked. "Is she okay?" Alex asked looking tired. "We sorted everything out, but she isn't okay" I replied. It is the truth.

He sighed. He also knows it is the truth.

"You need to tell your parents Alex. She needs to talk to someone. Maybe they will book her some therapy sessions. She need to talk to someone. And it is not gonna be us" Chris suggested. And he is right, but before any of us can reply the door opens.

"No, you are not telling them," Sara said to us. Shit.

"Sara they need to know,"  Alex told her. His eyes poured into hers. They had sadness swimming in them.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm not pathetic! I'm not going anywhere and they will not know" she shouted.

"Sara, you know this is not the case. They are our parents. You seem to forget that sometimes" Alex told her.

"They wouldn't believe it!" She shouted her eyes watering. "Yes, they would Sara"  Alex told her. She thinks they will blame her.

"No! This is my story to tell! I will not allow anyone to think of me like I'm a slut! I said no!" She shouted a few tears leaving her gorgeous eyes. She got out of the room and shut the door behind her. The door slammed shut.

"She thinks they will blame her," Alex said kicking a chair. "She doesn't know them, Alex. She is scared" I told him.

"But she shouldn't be! No one should be scared of their own parents" he said. He will be shocked by the amount of people who are. I was one of them.

"We are gonna be late. Let's eat something and go to school" Chris said changing the subject. And we. nodded.

We all walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. And the moment we stepped foot in there we were welcomed with the delicious smell of pancakes.

We saw plates on the table. She has assembled three plates filled with blueberry pancakes. She even put cups of orange juice next to them. She made them for us.

We all sat down and stared at our food. "Did she make this?" Alex asked. "Yeah. I mean I knew she was making breakfast. But that is a five-star hotel breakfast" I replied.

I took a bite and moaned. This tastes even better than it looks. It is simply delicious. The boys dug in too. Alex sat back in satisfaction.

"This is amazing," he said with a mouth full of food. Sara came down ready for school. She is going.  I didn't think she would want to go.

"I'm going to school. I'm better I'll drive myself" she said. "Sara let us drive you," Chris told her and I nodded.

"No thanks don't wanna bother anyone more with my existence. Here I told you sir can I go now?" She said to Alex. She is mad at him. And I understand.

"Don't do this Sara. Please. You know I didn't mean it like that. I was worried" he said to her.

"What a way to apologize" she sarcastically said taking her keys and heading to the door.

"Let's go too," I said and they nodded in agreement. We all took our jackets and headed to school.

I was still driving my car. The bike should be delivered here tomorrow.

We arrived at school but there was no sign of Sara's car in the parking lot. Where is she?

It was still early for class. It doesn't start till another half an hour. The boys arrived seconds after me.

We all walked to the back of the school. There were a group of people there but they quickly got up when they saw us.

"What at we gonna do? It can be someone from school for all we know." Alex said sighing.

"You should have thought about that before you lashed out at her earlier. She doesn't even wanna sit with us. Forget about her telling us anything." I said to him. I was so annoyed with him. He knew she felt guilty and he just had to make it worse.

"We can't let her be alone. She might get cornered" Chris said. And the thought of that alone scared me. He is right.

I was about to get my phone out to call her. We need to know where she is. My phone.

Alex and Chris looked at me. And I shrugged. I took out my phone and looked at the caller's I.D. It was one of our men. I quickly answered.

"Capo, l'abbiamo trovato." He said through the phone and a smirk crawled to my face. Got you bastard.

(Boss we found him.)

"Sei sicuro che sia lui?" I asked him. They gotta be sure it is him because the amount of inhuman things I wanna do to him couldn't be counted.

(Are you sure it is him?)

"Sì capo, è al magazzino. non abbiamo fatto né detto nulla. proprio come hai detto tu." He said and I clenched my fists.

(yes boss he is at the warehouse. We didn't do or say anything. just like you said.)

"Sto arrivando," I said hanging up. Alex looked at me with eyes full of hope.

(I'm coming)

"Please tell me this is what I think it is?" He asked. And I looked at him with a smirk.

"They found Sara's assaulter," I told him. "Finally," Chris said.

"Where is he?" Alex asked. "In the warehouse" I replied.

He practically jogged towards his car and we all got in with him. He quickly turned on the car and sprinted out of the parking lot.

He was driving way over the speed limit. "Slow the f*** down man. You are gonna get us killed before we kill him" Chris said to him from the back.

Alex completely ignored him. We arrived at the warehouse. The moment they saw us the guards opened the door.

Alex parked and we all got out of the car. He marched toward the room they had put that bastard in.

He swung the door open and we saw him. He was tied to a chair. He was sweating heavily but no injuries.

"Well well well. Look what we have here" Alex said with a scary smile on his face. I know this face anywhere. Thus boy will suffer.

"Who are you? What did I do?" The guy said breathing heavily. He was so scared. It was so obvious. Pathetic.

"Well don't act like you don't know. That will just make it worse" I told him my voice low.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he said trying to act tough. He had a silly smirk on his face.

Oh, how I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face. I looked at him with a smile before sending a punch to his face.

He fell back taking the chair with him. I motioned for our men and they got him back up. He was smiling blood pouring down his nose.

"What hand did you use to touch her?" Chris said taking a knife from the table beside him. The table had every type of torturing tool in the world.

"No no please" he begged sarcastically. Just like he made her beg him to stop. He was f***ing joking about her begging him to stop. "Wrong answer," Alex said giving Chris a nod.

Chris played with the knife to scare the guy. He then with a swift motion stapped it in his right hand.

The guy let out an ear-piercing scream. He gritted his teeth. "Is that all you got?" he said pain obvious in his voice.

And that made me even more mad. "Of course not we are just getting started," Alex told him to get ready. He took a metal chain from the table and wrapped it around his hand.

"Say that again? " Alex said punching him in the face. The guy's head went in the other direction. His mouth was bleeding.

He started coughing. We don't have enough time for this. Alex punched him again and the guy's face was a mess.

"He told me to scare her but she was so cute. She kept begging," he said smiling through the blood. "You bastard. Who told you to do that" I shouted kicking him and making him fall to the ground.

I marched to him and started punching one after another when I heard a piercing shout.

"Stop! Please stop it!" Sara's voice echoed through the room.

How did she get here?!