Adriana P.O.V.

I swallowed my mouthful of meatloaf as me and Zero sat in front his mother, who was staring at me with tears in her eyes. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with a crumpled tissue, mumbling,

"I knew you were his daughter the second I saw you... you have his eyes..."

I reached out and held her hand, which was shaking slightly.

"I'm really sorry Miss Andrews..."

She gave a slight chuckle and clutched my hand tightly,

"It isn't your fault it was mine. In the end I was the one who was with a married man."

"It wasn't your fault, mum."

Zero stepped forward and hugged his mother, who was now silently sobbing. She buried her face in his shoulder, crying on his red polo shirt. I swallowed another mouthful of meatloaf, feeling slightly awkward as I watched my brother and his mother cry together.

I still couldn't believe I had a brother; I was stunned really. Even if my Dad and I never saw eye to eye sometimes, I had always known he had loved Mom. Or so, that's what I thought till I found out he had a kid on the side.

Miss Andrews turned to me and pulled me into a hug and whispered to me and Zero,

"We are family now, don't you worry Adriana. I will take care of you if you ever need me."

I smiled and hugged her back, for the first time in years, feeling like I had a mother again.

Another plate of meatloaf, two cookies, and some karaoke later, the mood and morale were back up again and we were all laughing and dancing in the living room, like a family.

Zero and I laughed when we saw Miss Andrews dancing to Rich Girl on Just Dance. She was totally nailing it too.

"Miss Andrews, would you like some help doing dishes?"

She glared at me and smacked across the head,

"That's Crystal to you! You make me sound old!"

She winked at me and went to go do the dishes. Zero and I were just getting California Girls fired up on the Wii when there was a frantic knocking on the door. Zero and I tackled each other running for the door, trying to both get their first. Zero pinned me down, ignoring my loud complaints, and opened the door.

My heart stopped when I saw Jake glaring down at me.

~~~~~~~

"Do you have any idea of how worried I was?! You were attacked at school then POOF! You vanished! I have been looking for you for HOURS and when I finally find you, I find you underneath some...some...DUDE!"

Zero tried to placate the fuming Jake,

"It isn't like that, Jake, it really isn't."

Jake glared so hard at him it's a wonder he didn't burst into flames,

"You can shut up pretty boy!"

Before I could say anything, Jake had me on my feet and was dragging me to the Limo waiting outside. I yelled quickly,

"Good-bye Crystal and Zero!"

They waved good-bye as Jake drove off, still fuming.

When I turned back to Jake he started yelling again,

"How could you do that, Ri?! I thought you were different than the other girls!"

I started to get angry,

"Some stuff happened Jake, I'm sorry but you don't own me! First you assume I'm your girlfriend without even ASKING me! Now I'm not allowed to go to a friend's house?! Give me a break!"

He glared at me,

"My mother had a dinner party tonight but now we are going to be late and she is going to take that out on me! God, you require so much attention and EVERYTHING is about you isn't it?! O wo is me! My life is terrible so I'm going to take it out on other people!"

His voice went mockingly high and dramatic as he imitated me. Tears welled up in my eyes,

"Jake stop I wasn't trying to be selfish."

He only said,

"You don't have to try, that's just the way you are."

Tears started to fall now, damn my day just couldn't get any worse could it?

"Stop the car Jake I will walk!"

To my surprise, he quickly pulled over and shoved me out before speeding off.

Yep, definitely couldn't get worse as the sun started to fall.

~~~~~~~

My feet started to ache as I walked towards the Collin's house, on the long stretch of quite highway. The sun was completely down now and the night sky was pitch black with no moon. I struggled onward and tripped over rocks and trash on the highway I couldn't see. I would have used my phone except it was completely dead. I must have done something to anger God today, because it seemed like everything was against me.

Cold tears started to fall down my face, making me shiver. I sniffed and wiped at my face. I wonder how everything crumbled so quickly. Just yesterday Jake was kissing me and comforting me and now he dumped me on the highway. I know he didn't mean so things, he only said them because he was worried and hurt, but that didn't make me feel any better. I shouldn't have to be anyone's verbal punching bag.

I continued my trek down the long dusty highway till eventually, a pair of bright headlights landed on me, casting long shadows down the pavement. I squinted and turned around, ready to sprint away if it was a pervert or molester or something. Instead, all three of those things stepped out of the Lamborghini. I rolled my eyes,

"Dammit Norman could my day get ANY worse?!"

Norman walked over to me, looking cute in a tucked in white shirt and a green plaid bowtie but I wasn't in the mood to appreciate this pervert's good looks.

"Common Adriana, I just wanna help you out."

I glared at him and continued walking,

"Like hell you do! I'm never falling for that again, moron."

Norman actually looked hurt,

"Look Adriana. I messed up, that's a given. I was used to be given what I wanted. But all I want to do now is drive you home. No strings attached, and nothing in return. You don't even have to talk to me or touch me or whatever. I just want to drive you home."

I raised an eyebrow, looking him up down.

"No funny stuff?"

He placed a hand over his heart and gave a slight bow,

"No funny stuff."

I cautiously moved towards the car, keeping an eye on Norman the whole time as I slid into the back seat.

Norman slid into the driver's seat and started to speed down the highway. After a long period of silence I hesitantly asked,

"How do you know where I live?"

He shrugged and glanced at me in the rear view mirror,

"I had some people look it up, not to be creepy or anything."

I scoffed,

"Totally not creepy...yeah right."

Norman chuckled,

"Not as creepy as Jake implanting a tracker in your phone."

I gawked at my phone, feeling anger bubble up in my chest. That possessive freak! He really was like one of those possessive werewolves from Wattpad books!

I leaned back against the soft leather chair and closed my eyes, feeling exhaustion wash over me. I started to doze, only to be abruptly woken up by Norma announcing,

"We're here."

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself looking at my old apartment. I frowned deeply, why had he taken me here?

Norman tilted his head when he saw me frown,

"This is your house isn't it?"

I decided it would be bad enough for me to ask Norman to drive to the Collin's house, seeing as he had already gone out of his way to rescue me from the highway.

I opened the door and slid out of the car. Before I closed the door I stuck my head in again and muttered,

"Thanks..."

Norman smiled softly at me,

"No problem. I hope we can put the past behind us and be friends."

I didn't say anything, just closed the door. The chances of me trusting him to be friends were as high as a snowballs chance of staying in Hell. But then again, I was a forgiving person so who knows? Maybe Hell is cold.

I dragged my feet towards the apartment, reluctant to go inside. There was barely anything in there accept the musty old couch and my tiny twin bed. But it would do till morning.

I reached inside a flower pot and pulled out a key to the front door. I shoved it in and cautiously opened the door.

There was something that the hairs stand up on the back of my neck the second I opened the door. Adrenaline pulsed through me as I tried to back up and run, but I was too slow and numerous hands reached out and grabbed me, dragging me inside the apartment.

Hot breath brushed over my neck, making me wince and shift away as someone whispered in my ear,

"Ya really are stupid, aren't ya?"

I tried to scream and thrashed around, feeling my feet connect with various bodies and body parts. Someone grunted after I landed a kick on what must have been a sensitive spot.

"I've had ennuf of dis bitch. Turn on da light."

A light clicked on, making the darkness unbearably bright. When my eyes adjusted I looked around and saw...

Tom.

~~~~~~~

My fighting instantly stopped and he smirked. He hadn't changed, he still was covered in tattoos and piercings and he was still bald. It was like he had stepped out of my memories.

Tom walked towards me, smiling sinisterly.

"You've changed a lot haven't ya, little Adriana? Marcus was always so proud of his little girl."

He ran his fingers through my hair and stroked my lip with his thumb, making me feel physically dirty and nauseous.

"Now I know why he was so proud."

When he looked slightly distracted I bit his thumb as hard I could. He snatched his hand away, staring at me incredulously. Then, a slap so hard my teeth jarred was brought down on my face. Tom snarled and walked away, sitting on a chair in front of me. He mockingly waved to a wooden chair behind me,

"Please sit. We aren't criminals; we know how to treat a lady."

His men crackled and taped me to the chair, putting a gag was too tightly in my mouth. Tom snickered to his friends,

"She looks kind of hot all tied up like that. Maybe we will have to indulge a little."

A whole new fear swept through me and they laughed when they noticed. Tom held up his hand for silence then looked at me,

"Ok kid, here's' the deal. Your Daddy borrowed alotta money from us. Like enough, your pretty head might not be able to understand. Well, he never paid us back so we had to collect somethin' of equal value."

Anger replaced my fear. My Mom was worth more than any money!

Tom smiled when he noticed my anger,

"Our boss ordered us to do dat. We have a new boss now, one just as good. He is around your age I think honey. He should treat ya real nice."

The sound of a car from outside caught our attention and he perked up, grinning at me,

"That must be him. You were all he ever wanted honey, you should be happy he let his property stay away from him so long."

I was no one's property what the hell?! Who the hell was this guy anyway?!

The front door opened behind me and Tom and his guys fell silent instantly. I tried to turn around but the duct tape held me to chair firmly. The first thing that came into my view was a black biker boot with black jeans.

When he was finally in my view I realized I felt like I was looking at a Jake. He grinned at me, showing me perfectly aligned teeth. He had a naturally dark skin tone with black hair that was tipped with crimson falling over one eye. He had tribal tattoos all the way up his arm and shoulders. He wore a white muscle tee and let me tell you, he was RIPPED. He had broad shoulders and long arms and was extremely good looking.

But the thing that scares me the most was his eyes. They were a dark navy blue but they were so cold, so cruel they sent shivers down my spine. They looked like Jake's.

He gave me a sweeping bow and gave me a crooked grin,

"Hello my love. I am Ajax. You might know me by my precious cousin Jake."

~~~~~~~