"Why are we just fucking sitting around!?" Adam screamed as he and his guys were sitting outside of the mansion gates.

They had been told almost an hour ago that they would be let in soon, and the men's impatience was starting to show.

Snake just wanted to go back to his little... business and get everything taken care of there rather than being here. And Kyle just didn't want to be there. Both of them knew about the situation with Adam's ex and the only reason that they were with him was because Adam promised them that they would get their turn with Scarlett once they got her.

But first they needed to find out where she was.

"Gentleman." They all turned and looked at the man and woman that were standing in front of them. They were wearing pristine clothing that didn't have a single wrinkle in sight.

"Bout damn time," Adam snapped as he rolled his eyes. The man and woman didn't even flinch at his tone.

"Come in."

They led the three men through the gates and up into their mansion that was worth millions of dollars. As they were led into the living room, they saw another woman sitting on the couch already. Except she was not wearing rich clothing and looked like she hadn't had her latest fix of whatever her drug of choice was.

Her clothes were old, dirty, and torn. Her hair was frizzy and tangled, looking as if she hadn't brushed it in a very long time. When she smiled the boys saw how yellow and rotted her teeth were. Kyle shuddered.

"And who is this?" Adam asked with disgust as he eyed the woman.

"This," Scarlett's mom said as she waved towards the woman. "Is our secret weapon."

_______________________

I woke up sweating from another nightmare.

They had been happening nonstop since I found out the news about my parents and since then I haven't been able to get a good nights sleep. Looking over at the alarm clock I groaned. It was only five in the morning.

I threw the covers off of my and walked silently down the hall and upstairs into the main area. As suspected no one was up here and so I went into the very back, into the kitchen to get something to eat. Looking through my options I shrugged before grabbing out a container of chocolate ice cream, a large bowl, and a spoon.

Once I got my bowl to where it was almost overflowing with ice cream, I put the container away and walked out of the kitchen. Sitting at the bar, I let my mind wander to what my parents and Adam could be planning.

Nothing could ever turn out good with those three being involved.

"Ice cream?"

I jumped and dropped my spoon back into the bowl, heading them clang together. Turning, I saw Alpha standing in front of my with his arms crossed, an amused smirk on his face. I relaxed slightly and turned back towards my ice cream.

"Don't judge until you've ever been craving it at this hour," I scolded him. He only chuckled and shrugged, taking a seat across from me on the other side of the bar.

"What're you doing awake at this time?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. What about you?"

"Same here," I nodded and we sat in an awkward silence for about a minute while I continued to eat my ice cream.

"Can I ask you something?" Alpha asked.

"Just did," I smirked.

He rolled his eyes. "Do you have nightmares about what Adam did to you?" He asked hesitantly.

I swallowed as my nightmares started to resurface. "Sometimes," I answered. I cast my eyes down and looked at the bar, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Scarlett," he whispered. His tone was gentle yet stern. "I promise you, that he will never get the chance to harm you again. Once we get him it's over. We don't take kindly to abusers here, and he will not stand a chance against all of us. I'm sure of that," he promised.

A tear dripped from my eye and trailed down my cheek as he finished.

"When I first came here I wasn't sure of what to think. But the more I interact with people here, the more I feel safe. It's been a long time since I've been able to be somewhere and not feel like I have to constantly be looking over my shoulder. The people you have here are amazing people and thank you for letting us stay here," I finished. My voice was starting to crack with the amount of emotion I was pouring into my words.

I jumped when I felt him wipe away tears from my cheeks. My eyes were wide as I watched him. His hand was still on my cheek, gently caressing it.

"You'll always be safe and welcome here," he whispered. I smiled. He pulled his hand away and we sat there in silence, basking in each other's presence.

"Why're you guys awake?"

I turned and saw Miranda and Ricky standing in the doorway that led down to the bedrooms.

I shrugged and stood up to take care of my empty bowl. "Couldn't sleep," I answered. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alpha agree with my statement.

The two of them eyed us suspiciously before shrugging.

"John said he couldn't come in today, so I'll be filling in for him," Miranda told Alpha.

"Did he say why he couldn't come in?" He asked.

She shrugged. "He texted me and said that you weren't answering your phone. Said it was a family emergency and that if he did come in it wouldn't be until later today," she explained. Alpha nodded.

"Who's John?" I asked.

"My main chef. He's not the only one that cooks the food because that would get to be too much, but he's the best one I have. And he's the main one that cooks," Alpha explained.

"I have another question," I said while laughing.

He smiled. "What is it?"

"What's your real name? It feels kind of weird to reference you as Alpha."

He chuckled. "It's Bryan darling."

I smiled.

"Bryan."

_________________________

"You two would be such a cute couple," Kali told me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm still healing from Adam and he's still healing from his ex-wife. I don't think either of us are ready for a relationship anytime soon."

"So you do like him?" Jessie asked while smirking. She brought her cup of coffee up to her lips as she eyed me.

"No I do not like him," I told them. But I didn't know exactly how truthful my statement was.

Ever since we got here I've felt attracted to Bryan in some way. He was a very attractive man and very well built, so it was obvious that even though he drank a lot he still had taken care of his body over the years.

I don't like him in the way that someone would a crush or a boyfriend, but I am attracted to him. The girls just didn't need to know that.

"I wouldn't mind you being my mom," Lilly said while shrugging. I was in the middle of taking a drink and coughed in surprise.

"What?" I asked once I had calmed down.

"Nothing," she smirked. I shook my head while all of the other girls laughed hysterically.

"You should've seen your face!" Kali cried. She was laughing so hard I could see her eyes starting to tear up.

I rolled my eyes and slapped the back of her head. She didn't even stop laughing.

"What's going on ladies?" Ricky asked as he walked over to us. Bryan was behind him.

"Nothing," all of us said at the same time. Although, Kali didn't say it without letting out a little laugh.

Ricky eyed us suspiciously before shrugging. I was too nervous to look at Bryan, I could see him staring at me from the corner of my eye.

What the girls said was starting to get into my head. I didn't know whether or not I was starting to like him, and I was scared to get too close to him. I knew deep down that he wasn't like Adam, that he would protect me instead of hurt me, but I couldn't help but think about what if?

I didn't want to get close to someone else only for them to let me down again. I didn't want to get close to him especially when he was getting over someone because I didn't want to accidentally hurt him either. He deserves someone who would know what to do. Who would be able to go right into a relationship with no issues to work past. Not someone like me who would have to unlearn the toxic traits from the relationship with Adam.

"Scarlett?"

I tuned back into the conversation and looked towards Miranda.

"I asked you if you wanted to go out for a bit?" She asked.

I smiled. "Sure."

"Let's go!" Jessie jumped up and downed the rest of her drink.

Lilly and Kali stood up as well and I followed suit. Ace, Ricky, Bryan, Ripper, Smiles and Key stood up as well

"We're going with you girls for added protection. No arguing," Bryan added when he saw Jessie go to protest.

"Let's go."

_______________________

Why did I agree to this?

We had gone into probably ten stores and had been at the mall for hours. My feet were hurting and my stomach was growling.

"Can we eat yet?" I whined.

"One more store and then we can eat. I promise." Miranda told me as we walked into another store.

"You said that two stores ago," Lilly protested.

"See!" I exclaimed as I pointed at Lilly to prove my point. "Let's eat then come back to this store."

"No, we're already in here. We'll finish up in here and then go. This time I really promise."

Lilly and I groaned but didn't protest any further. The guys looked like they had the same opinion as us but didn't want to face her anger. Jessie and Kali had no issue keeping up with Miranda somehow.

We walked around the store before I was hit in the face with an item of clothing. I pulled it off of my head and saw that it was a dress.

"Try it on!" Kali demanded.

I rolled my eyes and walked into a changing room. Putting it on, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fit me.

When I walked out of the changing room the girls whistled, causing the guys to pay attention.

Without meaning to I made eye contact with Bryan and noticed that he was intently staring at me. I felt my cheeks heat up and turned away, but I could still feel his stare on me. Making eye contact with Kali, she raised her eyebrows at me with a smirk.

We left the store when I walked out of the changing room. The girls didn't take no for an answer and forced me to buy the dress even when I argued that I didn't need it.

"Can we eat now?" I asked hopefully. I could see Lilly and the guys looking at Miranda as well.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes we can eat. Y'all literally have no tolerance for shopping."

_______________________

"Finally," I sighed in relief as I plopped down in front of the bar. Bryan had some of the prospects start to bring in the bags and while I felt bad that they were carrying my things, I was exhausted.

"Agreed," Lilly groaned as she sat down next to me.

Together we watched as bags after bags continued to be brought inside.

"Do your feet feel like they're going to fall off?" Lilly asked me.

I laughed. "They feel like I walked across nails before breaking my ankles."

She laughed and then we sat there in silence for a few minutes as we continued to watch the guys complain about bringing in our bags.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you grew up normal?"

I whipped my head to the side to look at Lilly who was already staring at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Was your life normal growing up?"

I shook my head.

"Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you did have a normal childhood?" She asked again.

I thought about it. Had I ever wondered what my life would've been like? Of course. Did it make me depressed whenever I thought about it? Yes. Is it something that I like thinking about? Absolutely not.

"How hard was it growing up for you?" I asked her quietly.

She looked away, but her eyes didn't seem to be focusing. It was as if she was reliving the memories.

"Everyday it was a question of what was going to happen. Whenever she came down into the basement where I was chained up I didn't know what was going to happen. There were some days where she didn't even touch me, I didn't even see her. Those days were lived in absolute fear because I knew that the next day she would have one of her surprises for me," she paused. She looked at me with a sad smile. "The main thing that no one ever talks about when they're abused is the toll that it took on their mental state. Without Ripper I would've lost it a long time ago. I still struggle with nightmares, and sometimes I have a hard time trusting people. I just wish that I got to know why she did what she did before she was killed."

"I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't help much but just know that if you ever need anyone I'm here for you," I told her as I reached over and placed my hand on one of hers.

Her eyes watered. "Thank you."

I sighed. "Growing up it was as if we didn't exist to our parents. They were always away on business trips and sent nannies to look after us. Even though they were filthy rich they didn't want us eating their food and so we had to get jobs in order to be able to feed ourselves. When they were home they acted as if we weren't even there. The only time they ever acknowledged us was when they were upset about something or they wanted us to "behave" when they were hosting one of their parties. The day that we were kicked out actually happened because we got into a huge fight. Ricky and I were coming back from the store and they were waiting for us."

My mind wandered as the memories from that night played vividly in my mind.

"Where the hell were you two?" Dad asked as soon as Ricky and I walked in.

"We were shopping since we still can't eat your stupid food," Ricky rolled his eyes as he held up his bags. This wasn't the first time a fight had happened over this but this time they looked angrier than usual.

"You missed the business meeting that required your attendance!" Mother shouted. "Do you know how awful that made us look?"

"What like your outfit didn't do that already?" Ricky shot back as he scoffed. I stayed silent because I knew that if I opened my mouth it would only make this worse.

Mother was fuming. "They were our leading business partners! They were offended by the fact that in a meeting that required our children's attendance we didn't even know where our children were!"

"You never know where we are!" Ricky shouted. "You never care! They only time you ever even acknowledge us is when it's beneficial to you two! All you care about is your money and your image!"

"Do not talk to your mother that way! For heavens sake we didn't even want one kid, let alone two!"

"Then why have kids?!" Ricky shouted. I could see that he was getting angry and I stepped forward to help.

"You stay out of this you little brat!" Mother shouted as soon as she saw me move.

"Now you don't talk to her like that!" Ricky snapped as he moved in front of me.

"You both are ungrateful brats! You should've died a long time ago as soon as you almost starved!"

Ricky went silent as he stared in shock at Mother. She had never said anything about us dying before.

"You took everything from us the moment you were born!" She sounded hysterical at this point. Gone was the woman who everyone knew to be put together and poised all the time. "And then when the bitch was born we thought that we could marry her off and get more business but you missed the fucking meeting!" She screamed.

"You were what?" I shouted, finally finding my voice.

She turned her glare to me and I flinched at how much hatred she was showing in her gaze.

"We were going to marry you off to the richest family in the world. We would finally have ties with them and our business would boom. But no, you two just had to miss it! Now we'll never be able to have any ties with them!" She screamed.

Ricky and I were in shock.

"Get out."

"What?" Ricky and I asked in unison.

Mother controlled herself and attached once again to Father.

"I said get out. The only reason we kept you around was for that business deal. We no longer have any use for either of you."

Ricky and I stood there.

"Get out!"

"We ran out the door," I told Lilly. "We never even got to grab any of our stuff. The only thing that we had were the few bags of food. We lived on the streets for about a week before one of Ricky's friends told his parents. His parents had never liked ours and they always loved us so they didn't hesitate to take us in. I don't know why they're still hooked on us though."

"Maybe they're still bitter that they didn't get that business deal?" She questioned, equally confused.

I shrugged. "Whatever it is, it's probably a stupid reason. Knowing them they're just being overdramatic."

"Who's overdramatic?" We turned and saw the rest of our little group standing behind us.

Lilly and I looked at each other and smiled.

"It's a secret."

They rolled their eyes and sat down.