Lucky's (Mis)Fortune: CHAPTER ELEVEN

This whole atmosphere was completely unfamiliar to me. I had never been to a place like this, with nothing adjacent. I never went to a party during high school because when my parents were around, they were strict and when they were gone, well, I didn't find much joy in rebelling like other kids my age would.

So, I looked around, completely lost and out of place, just as I felt. There was a drink in my hand that a stranger had shoved into it as soon as we approached the crowd—which I planned on not drinking. I'm not stupid. Aiden stood at my side, inches away, with his boyfriends by his side. Leo and his friends had disappeared the second we got there. I wish I had been smart enough to follow them; I would've been better off with them. After we had gotten acquainted, I had decided they were nice enough to hang around, and I was starting to like them. I could look around for them, sure, but this whole thing felt dangerous, so I decided to stay close to people I knew.

I paid close attention to the place for the first time since we arrived. Right away, I noticed a division. Different groups of people were here, not just one. Everyone had their own corner (not literally) and they mostly stayed away from the others. I frowned, wondering what each division meant. There were at least three, I could see. Was it because of race? Some people were in one group and others in another. It made sense.

"You should drink that before it goes hot," a sweet voice said in the middle on my self-pity party. I probably looked stupid here, alone, my three bosses practically beside me ignoring me, talking with others.

I look down at the red cup before looking up. "Not really an alcohol person."

More like a not risking anything type of person but this petite girl looked nice, tough, but nice. "Ah, understood," she said, nodding. I wasn't sure what she meant by that but I decided to follow along, agreeing with her. "I'm Jessica."

"I'm Jordan," I told her with with a grin, trying to seem as friendly as possible. Maybe this was my out to solitude. I wouldn't look like a complete loser, at least.

"I've never seen you around before. Where do you belong?" She questions, pointing at the scorpion tattoo on her thigh.

I frown but that's when I finally noticed that the people around here wore one of three tattoos; The ones furthest to us I could spot a man with a scorpion on his bicep, a woman next to him had that same scorpion and upon further inspection many other people did. The middle group had a cobra snake. I look at Aiden but I don't see a tattoo on his body, none that were visible at least. I look to my other side and see Mykel, his shirt now off and on his back there was a lion tattoo.

I didn't know how to answer this question without looking completely clueless. Based on common sense, I had to belong to one of these three groups. Mr. Sawyer had said that I was under their protection and based on the tattoo Mykel had I could guess that I had to say the lion but what if that was wrong? There had to be an actual name for these groups, right?

She laughs. "I guess you're like completely new. No worries. I'm sure whoever owns you will explain soon enough."

I frown. "No one owns me."

She smirks. "Keep telling yourself that but once you're in, there's no way out. We're all owned by our group. Don't worry, you'll learn." She pauses. "Here, I was taking this to my friend but I think you need it more. Just drink it, one doesn't hurt and I swear to you on my dead mother that I didn't touch it."

I take the cup and stare at it for a long time before taking a small sip. "I can tell that there's divisions here and that's your side," I say, nodding to the opposite side. "What brings you here?"

"Look at you, learning," she laughs. "Honestly, you guys just have better drinks." She shrugs, taking a sip of her drink, encouraging me to take a sip as well, a bigger one this time.

There's an arm around my shoulder some time later, startling me. I turn my head to see Aiden's head close to mine, his eyes glaring at the girl in front. I wouldn't have thought that sweet Aiden could have such a hateful and serious gaze. "What are you doing here?" He asks coldly.

Jessica smiles pretentiously. "Don't worry, I was just leaving." She looks at me and winks, "See you around Jordan."

"What did she want, Jordan?" Aiden questions, grabbing my shoulders.

"A drink. She said she was getting a drink," I respond, confused. Was this really that big of a deal?

He turns to watch her walk away with suspicion before looking back at me. "Jordan, you have to listen to me when I tell you, you cannot associate yourself with anyone that doesn't wear a lion tattoo. A scorpion or snake tattoo means that they only have bad intentions when approaching you."

"Why?" I ask, getting frustrated. It felt like there was just this big thing going on and I was the only one not understanding. Why couldn't they just tell me everything, they should've before bringing me here. "If it's so dangerous, why didn't you warn me, Aiden? You know, I'm completely clueless here. I don't even know what I'm doing here, honestly."

He bites his bottom lip, running a hand through his hair. "You're right. You could've gotten yourself in trouble because of me, because I didn't tell you right from wrong and what to expect." He pauses, looking around. "But for right now, just know that there are three groups here and the only one is on your side, the ones who won't hurt you are those who bear the tattoo of a lion. Yes?"

It takes me a second to process but I finally nod in agreement. He smiles at me and takes my forearm, "Come," he says.

I didn't know where we were going, but surely he knew better than I did, so I decided to trust him. Everyone made way for us as we walked. Well, they must be making way for Mr. Sawyer, who was leading us with Eliott's hand in his since Aiden was preoccupied with me. I had a feeling that he didn't want to risk losing me as much as I did.

I glanced at Aiden, who seemed to glide effortlessly through the crowd, his confident demeanor a stark contrast to my own uncertainty. There was a slight smile on his face, as if that was his default expression and I envied him slightly. How could he smile so effortlessly? How could he be so care-free? Nevertheless, I like his smile just like he said he liked mine, as hard as that was to believe.

As we moved further into the party, the groups became more distinct. The first cluster was loud and boisterous, their laughter ringing out above the music as if they didn't care about who they were disturbing. They exuded a carefree attitude that I found intimidating. The second group was more subdued, their conversations quieter and more serious, as if they were here for business while also holding some degree of mischievousness. They glanced at the first group with a mixture of amusement and disdain, as if they considered themselves above the frivolity. The third group, scattered and more difficult to define, was a mix of individuals who didn't seem to fit neatly into either of the other two categories. But they did seem to be the friendliest so I was glad when we headed that way. Everyone greeted my bosses as we walked through, straight to the front and I finally figured out where we were headed.

To watch the race, of course.

In front of us were two cars. Both were sportscars, the only thing that really distinguished them (at least in my eyes) was the color. The one furthest from us was a blood red and the other one was a sky blue.

There was excited chatter all around but I couldn't stop wondering what this whole situation was. Clearly, it was illegal racing. Gangs did that, right? My head was spinning by the time that I realized that perhaps I was between three gangs... And these people had dragged me here without warning me. What if I said the wrong thing and had gotten myself killed?!

The car's engines are on and revving and a woman walks to the middle. She smiles, looking at the two drivers for confirmation before shooting a gun up.

I flinch. I feel myself tremble as the cars race off. I clench my teeth together, hoping to stop my shaking but to no avail. Fuck PTSD and fuck everyone here.

Someone wraps their arm around me and I take deep breaths, hoping to calm down. By now I knew that it was Aiden. It was getting embarrassing to get put into these situations. I wanted to run off but I knew better than that, now more than ever that I knew where I was.

I shouldn't have blindly followed them here.

Aiden takes my hand and takes me away from the crowd. We get away where everyone's cars were parked and where it was completely dark compared to the site of the race.

We stay silent for a while until I finally speak, "I don't think you should have brought me here," I bluntly utter shakily, not one hundred percent sane yet. "You should've warned me. I could've gotten myself killed here."

Aiden seems to be frozen.

"C- Can I just go home now?" I was starting to feel dizzy and I wasn't sure if it had been the drink or the stress I was feeling.

Someone is leading me somewhere, my eyes half-closed.

"I- I think-"

I think someone drugged my drink, I never get to say.