Diego looks at Hunter, his hand clenching the water bottle that he managed to grab. I can already tell that he is not happy.

"With who's permission?" Diego asks with a calm voice, his calmness is scary.

Hunter sighs, scratching the back of his neck. I can tell that he is having a hard time with forming words; but he better hurry up before Diego cuts us both to pieces.

I am not easily scared unless I sense danger, like right now. Diego has a way of scaring me without even trying; I can stand up for myself, but Diego's calmness is too much for me to handle.

"Diego, can we please talk about this later?" Hunter murmurs when he finds his voice, his attention on Diego.

I can hear the plead in his voice making me know that whatever happens here will not be good for any of us, me mostly.

"No." Diego states with the same calmness he had before, but I can now detect the anger in his voice.

"Diego, please not now.... not in front of Ms Rowland." Hunter glances at me for a second before looking back at Diego.

I really want to tell them that I can leave. But my mouth remains shut, my tongue feels heavy and my mind is telling me to shut the fuck up.

Do I listen to my thoughts? Yes, I do.

Even though this conversation revolves around me, this is still not my battle. I refuse to throw myself in the lion's den just so I can seem like a hero, hell no.

I would have said something if it was someone else, but it is not someone else. The people that are about to argue are two known gangsters, people I never want to anger.

I still need to make my parents proud. I might be stubborn to them, but I also love them. My parents sacrificed a lot for me, and I know they are still counting on me to go back to them; legs, arms, shoulders, bones, mouth and everything else intact.

This is Hunter's battle. He called me here, so it is his fault and not mine. I am not wicked, I am looking out for myself.

You have to protect yourself sometimes. What is the point of getting hurt when you know that the person you are fighting for is going to be alright in the end.

Diego and Hunter are friends, brothers. They will end up talking and smiling with each other before the day ends.

Family always gets back together, especially when there is love in the family.

"Why can't we discuss this infront of her? This is my house, a home that I built. I do not need people coming in and out of here. That is invasion of privacy. She is invading my privacy, something that is not legal, right Ms Rowland?" Diego asks looking at me.

I swallow when both their attention turns to me. I swear I have bad luck.

My mouth keeps opening and closing like a dying fish. I want to talk but my mouth still feels heavy.

Can the ground open up and swallow me already?

My heart slowly prays for a miracle, a monkey to come swinging in from the window just to take me away can do.

There are trees all over this property, I am sure there are animals here as well.

I really wish I was rapunzel, I would have used my hair to slide down the window.

I might sound dumb right now, but anyone that would have been in my place can feel the same.

Plus everyone knows that the mind comes up with stupid thoughts when under pressure. I am human, I have to think crazy sometimes.

I must take long to respond because I hear Hunter's voice defending me.

"Diego, this is just stupid. Ms Rowland is here because I called her here. We both know that I can't allow anyone to come here without a background check, I ain't that careless and stupid."

I feel like slapping Hunter for doing a background check on me. That is invasion of privacy, something that is illegal.

"Oh, so you called her here. Do you want to fuck her or something? Has she already charmed you?" Diego asks with hatred in his voice.

I feel tears of frustration as I hear the words. Does he think I am that cheap? Do I look that cheap to him? Do I look like someone that opens her legs when the wind goes south?

"Diego, that is rude, even for you." Hunter says shaking his head, annoyance in his voice. "You don't even know Ms Rowland, why would you say such a thing to her?" Hunter asks with folded fists.

Diego is about to respond to him, but I interrupt. I finally find the courage to talk, I am not going to let him or anyone say shit about me.

"Look Mr Martino.... I am not like the sluts that you meet. I ain't cheap nor am I a hoe. My parents raised me better than that. And I am just here to help you. I am here so I can help you. I can't lie and say that I want to live here, I have a home that is always open for me. But I can't turn back now; I argued with my parents for this. And I ain't no quitter, your ass will just need to accept my presence for a few weeks till the hearing." I say with seriousness in my voice.

Do I still feel scared of him? Yes, I do.

Do I regret what I just did? No, I do not.

I am not going to let anyone talk bad about me. I might be scared of the man, but I am not going to let him downgrade me.

I know that me choosing to stay even when I know that I am not welcome is dumb. But I said that I am going to help him, something that I have chosen to take seriously.

And I also can not go back to my parents in less than twenty four hours. I know that they will welcome me with open arms, but I promised to make them proud, something I am always going to take serious.

"Alright fine." Diego mutters with frustration. "Do whatever shit you want, just don't do shit while you are here." He says walking out of the room.

It hurts to know that he will not apologize, but I have chosen to ignore him.

I look at Hunter who has a tiny smile on his face. I really want to punch him for bringing me into this mess.

And that's what I do. I walk up to him punching him in the face with as much strength as I can master.

Hunter's head swings to the side, his hand moves to touch the spot I just hit.

But his reaction is not something I expected, he chuckles looking at me with the same smile he had on.

"Welcome to the Martino household, iron lady." Hunter murmurs making me swallow hard as I remember Diego's face and words.

Lord please help me, please.