CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

-•PRESLEY•-

It was Saturday and all I wanted to do was stay in bed. I was unlucky, because someone knocked on my door. I pulled the blankets over my head and prayed the person would come back another day, even if it was Haley...or Nathan. Frankly, I didn't want to see anyone.

"Kid," it was Red's voice. "The boss wants to meet us in twenty minutes. Don't be late."

I groaned into my pillow.

"Did you hear me, kid?," Red asked, still from outside the door. "Wakey wakey."

I pulled the blankets down and sighed. "Okay, I'll be there soon," I voiced loudly, making sure he heard me.

"Good to know your alive," he chuckled, then the sound of his footsteps indicated that he was retreating.

I threw off the blankets and freshened up in the bathroom. I shoved on a sweater and threw on a pair of dark jeans. My stomach gave a low growl as I put on my shoes.

Pancakes sound good right now, actually. Maybe if I eat fast, I can still make it to the boss's meeting on time.

I hurriedly unlocked my door and made it through the facility's quiet hallway. At night, the hallways always made me feel insecure because they were so dark, but during the day, it wasn't so bad.

As I made my way through the hallway that lead to the stairs, I collided with someone sturdy. I gasped as I stumbled back and hit the ground. My elbow throbbed. I looked up and found that it was Kevin who I had bumped into, the one who didn't seem to like me very much. He sneered down at me dangerously, his bulky form added to his menacing look.

"You're lucky Nathan favors you so much," he growled. "Or else, you and me would have some big fucking problems."

I gulped and hastily scrambled up from the floor. "I'm really sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

He scoffed and got closer to me. "Do you want to know something, Presley Flint?"

I didn't respond.

He continued. "You're not even a real member of our gang," he said lowly. He paused, then, "Ask me why."

I looked down at my feet. "Why?," I asked, it was barely audible, even to my ears.

"Because you haven't gotten jumped in yet," he said, then he laughed, it was a bitter sound. "And I'm sure you still get payed more than me, and I've been here for five years."

I didn't know what to say or if I should've said anything at all.

"I'm sorry," I finally said, stepping away from him slightly. "But, there's nothing I can do about that."

He stepped further into my space. "Why the fuck does he even like you so much anyway?," he asked, it looked like it was a genuine question. "He favors you too much if you ask me, I'm not even the only one who thinks that. Ask anyone else."

Suddenly I became self conscious, was everyone in the gang talking about me? Did Kyle, Red, Alvin or even Haley not like me as much as I thought they did? Did I not actually have friends? Did they just tolerate me because Nathan commands it?

No, Presley, stop being a pessimist.

"What's your secret, Flint?," he grumbled. "Do you jerk him off every now and then so he could pay you more?," he laughed.

I looked towards the ground again, my eyes watered with warm tears.

That's not what happens.

He laughed harder. "Is that it? Please tell me that's it."

I shook my head, still unwilling to face him. "You're wrong."

He stopped laughing. "I'm wrong?," he asked incredulously. I looked up at him and wiped my tears. He snarled at me. "I don't like when people tell me that. It makes me feel stupid, and that's one thing I'm not."

"I-I would never-," I started, but he spoke over me, cutting me off.

"I don't fucking care, healer," he spat. "All you need to know is that you'll never be prepared for what's coming."

With that as his closing statement, he shoved past me and sauntered down the hallway, leaving me to wipe the rest of my tears.

'You'll never be prepared for what's coming'. What did that even mean? He was probably just trying to scare me. There was no need to tell Nathan. He already had enough to deal with.

My stomach gave a persistent growl, but I was already out of time, now I had to walk into the meeting on an empty stomach. I sighed and rushed down the stairs to reach the boss's office in time.

When I got there, Red, Kyle, and Nathan were seated before the boss. There was an empty seat between Kyle and Nathan, I quietly seated myself there. Nathan didn't acknowledge me, all he did was glare at his father in front of him.

I suppressed the urge to feel betrayed by it.

What were we anyway? Were we even a 'we'?

"Healer, why were you late?," the boss demanded.

There's no reason to cry, Presley. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're going to be fine.

I gulped. "I'm really sorry, I just...," I trailed off. I didn't think I could tell the whole room about the incident with Kevin. They probably wouldn't believe me, even if they did, I didn't want to start problems.

Nathan looked over at me with the briefest look of concern, then the boss spoke and he directed a glare at him.

"Well?," the boss asked expectantly. "Is there a reason or am I to guess you left me waiting on purpose?"

Nathan's hand gave the slightest brush against my quivering one before he spoke up for me. "Are you going to tell us why you summoned us here on a Saturday morning? I have things to do, father, and so do my comrades."

The boss let out a grunt and leaned back in his chair. After a moment, he huffed out a breath and poured himself a glass of liquor. The smell of alcohol made me feel like I was back in Roberts house, taking beatings from him. I shook the thought away and settled my breathing.

"I talked to Tyler earlier this morning," the boss said. "And I've come to learn some new information about a friend of yours," he looked at me. "Ross, isn't it?"

I nodded timidly.

"What kind of new information?," Nathan asked, fully interested.

The boss folded his hands over his desk and leaned forward in his chair. "Tyler thinks that Ross might be from the K Blades," he huffed out.

"Wha-," I couldn't finish the word. "No," I stated quietly.

Kyle and Red peered to see Nathan's reaction. He only grunted.

"Listen," the boss grumbled. "He doesn't know for sure, that means I'm not going to do anything crazy, I just wanted you to be aware of what's happening."

Nathan cleared his throat. "What makes him think that Ross is affiliated with them?," he asked.

"Apparently there's some sort of match with fingerprints...," the boss said, scrunching his brows together. "Whatever the hell that means," he shook his head. "All I'm saying is, be cautious. Especially you," he pointed to me. "Understand?"

I nodded.

"Use your words," the boss demanded.

"Yes," I said, softly. "I understand, boss."

Nathan looked at me peculiarly. There was something on his mind.

"Now, get out of here," the boss waved us off. "I still want my checks from the businesses, go get busy."

"Yes, boss," Kyle said.

Red nodded.

Nathan waited for me to rise from my seat to rise from his. He walked behind me out the door. Kyle and Red bid us goodbye, they said they'd meet us at dinner. I didn't know what to say to Nathan, so I did what I thought was best. I started walking away from him and to the infirmary.

He wasn't letting me off the hook easily though. Nathan grabbed my hand and ushered me into a dimly lit hallway. I had never been through this hallway, it was sort of hidden. My back was against the wall as his hand still held mine. I kept my head down, not strong enough to look into his eyes.

Nathan dipped his head down and brought a finger to my chin, lifting it. When I looked at him tentatively, he had an expression of concern on his face. He scanned my eyes, then my lips. He brought his steady hands to my hips.

"What's bothering you?," he asked gently. "You were a little off in there."

I liked it when he talked to me like this. Gentle. Soft. Easy.

I couldn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I just wanted him to hold me.

He kissed my cheek. "Is it about Robert?," he asked, tracing his thumb over my bottom lip.

Seeking comfort, I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my face on his chest.

Warm.

Nathan encircled his arms around my waist and whispered in my ear, "Is it?"

I shook my head.

He held me tighter. "Then what is it?"

I didn't know why it scared me so much to tell Nathan about what happened with Kevin. Maybe it was because I knew he'd be livid, and I hated seeing him angry.

"Am I...a real member of this gang?," I asked quietly. Somehow, Kevin's words stuck with me.

'You're not even a real member of our gang.'

'Because you haven't gotten jumped in yet.'

Nathan pulled back slightly to look at me. He looked confused. "Of course you are. Why would you ask that?," his voice was still gentle.

No crying. No crying.

I shrugged and willed my tears to keep at bay. "I don't know," I whispered.

He shook his head. "Yes, you do. You're just afraid to tell me," he pulled me closer to him. "I know you're holding back, kid."

Kid. Again with that. I guess it was never going away.

"Kevin," I whispered. "He-."

"Did he hurt you?," Nathan cut in, his tone was murderous.

"I'm okay," I assured him. He seemed to relax.

"What did he say to you, Presley?," he asked, setting aside the murder in his voice. He kissed my earlobe sweetly.

A rush of heat swarmed my cheeks, but I demanded myself to push through. "He just...," then I started to cry.

Nathan cursed and I wept harder into his chest. He kissed the top of my head. "Hey," he whispered into my ear. "It's okay, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, love."

I didn't take my face from his chest when I spoke. "He said...that I'm not a real member of the gang because," I paused. "Because I haven't gotten jumped in yet."

Nathan didn't say anything.

"He said that everyone thinks that too," I cried. "Do you think that? Does everyone think that, Nathan?"

Nathan pulled back from my embrace, his hands still encircled my waist. "No one thinks that, Presley. I don't think that," he said seriously. "I promise. Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay," I whispered.

He studied my face again. "What else did he say?"

I had to leave out the part about 'jerking off'. Nathan would murder him.

He's probably already going to murder him.

I shrugged. "He was just complaining a bit, I guess."

Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Complaining? About what?"

I sighed. "I guess he thinks that I get paid more than he does."

He nodded. "You do," he stated matter a factly.

A slow blush crept over my cheeks. "Oh."

Before he could say anything, his phone rang. His hands fell from my waist as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone.

"What, Haley?," Nathan answered, voice radiating annoyance.

Her voice sounded frantic over the audio of Nathan's phone. Nathan scrunched together his eyebrows.

"Talk slower, Hales," he no longer was annoyed. His voice was steady as always, but a flicker of uncertainty flashed in his eyes.

I leaned closer. He caught my movement and put the phone on speaker and held it in between us.

Trust. He trusted me.

"Nate, this is really really bad," Haley sobbed over the phone. "They have Ally and Alvin. They tried to catch me but I ran, I ran so fucking fast. Oh my god, Nate, who knows what they want from us."

The urgency in her voice made me want to hide under the covers. The situation made me want to burry myself into Nathan's chest again.

"Haley, who's 'they'?," Nathan was trying desperately to keep his composure. "Where are you?"

Through the phone, it sounded like Haley was running at full speed. The wind was audible.

"Nate, I don't know who they are," Haley whispered. "They don't look like a familiar gang, they overpowered us. Alvin shot three of them but there was about six of them. They took us in the car and told us to shut up. Once they parked, I jumped out of the car and ran," she started to sob again. "Oh, Nate, does that make me a coward? I just left them. My two best f-," she didn't get to finish. Nathan interrupted her.

"Haley, listen to me," he said into the phone. Static from her end. "Are you listening?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Okay, by tonight, when you're tucked into your bed, they'll be here at the facility, safe. Just know that," he said calmly. His voice was soothing, I had complete faith in him, but then I realized the type of situation at hand and a fresh wave a nausea overcame me.

"Okay, Nate," she said to her older brother. "I believe you."

"Good. Where are you right now? Are you far from where they stopped the car?"

"I don't know exactly where, but I'll text you my location," her voice was wobbly. "I'm too scared to look around."

"That's okay, Hales, just stay there," he said. When he received her location, his face contorted in anger "I thought I told you not to hang out near the East side," he growled.

Haley started to cry again. "I know, I'm so sorry, Nate. I'm just...I'm really fucking scared, okay? I know I messed up, I knew better."

I placed a hand on Nathan's arm and gave him a pleading look that said you can scold her later. He took a deep breath.

"We'll talk about that later," he sighed. "How far did you run?"

"Probably about five minutes from where they stopped the car," she said, sniffling.

Nathan pulled me closer and placed his lips to my ear. "Tell Kyle this is code havoc," he whispered. "He'll know what to do. Tell him to to meet me in the garage."

He already knew what I was going to say. "You can't come, love," he whispered, shaking his head. "I need you here, preparing the infirmary just in case they're hurt. Can you do that?," he asked.

I gulped and nodded. He gave me a breathtaking kiss  and let me go like nothing happened. Nathan strode down the hallway with his cellphone to his ear. I turned around the other way.

Please let them be okay. All of them.

And please don't let this smoothness with Nathan expire.

Who I was praying to, I didn't know.