"Drop the gun." I said as I pulled my gun out of my waistband and aimed it at Charles. I don't usually carry my gun with me but I had a feeling I should be a little extra careful today and something in me just told me to take it with me. Thank god I did. God, I feel like I'm in a movie. "Ryder, I only came here to talk." he said as he cautiously made his way around the couch and stood behind Mia. "Then you wouldn't have pulled out your gun." I pointed out as I slowly began taking steps towards him.

"I just want to know if you really want to quit or if your little girlfriend right here is making you." he said as he placed the gun right next to her head, still aiming it at her. "Did your wife make you or did you want to? It's a different thing that you couldn't and you were forced to take it due to legacy. Don't you think?" I cocked my head to the side as I continue walking to him.

"She's not your wife though is she?" he raised an eyebrow at me challengingly.

"She doesn't need to be my wife for her to care about me or vice versa." I said because it was obvious. "How do you know she'll stay with you after you quit?" he questioned.

"Why does it matter? Whether she stays with me or not, I don't wanna be part of you little circus anymore, Charles. I am not supposed to be the one paying off the debt, I never was." I paused. "Think about it. If you owed someone money and ran away, would Theo be paying it off if he was alive?" I asked, trying to distract him a little and drop the gun so I could grab Mia and get her out of here.

"Don't try to use my tricks on me, Parker. Trying to distract me with conversation isn't going to work." he warned me. Well, just because he told me not to, doesn't mean I will.

"I'm not trying to. I'm just asking you, would he? Or would you even run?" I asked, just two steps away from Mia. "I would never run and leave him behind." he said sternly, trying to prove a point. "Well, my dad did. And now that he's here, instead of getting money from the person who really should be giving it to you, you're trapping me." I said without breaking eye contact with him and discreetly reaching my hand out for Mia to grab. "Do not grab that hand, Mia." he warned her, pressing the gun into the side of her head, making her shut her eyes tightly.

"I won't, even though I really want to." she said before she started taking deep breaths, trying to keep calm. "He will never pay you back unless you make him, Charles. He won't let me pay you back either." I let out a frustrated sigh and I dropped my arm and let the gun hand by my side. "He came here, asking me to go to LA with him because he needed help with work. He wanted me to run away, Charles. He wanted me to leave her here. He expected me to go with him when he just shows up at my door after years, asking me to go. That too for work? How believable does that sound?" I scoffed as I glared at Shane. "Why do you want me to stay in the gang so bad?" I questioned.

"Because you're like a son to him and he doesn't want to lose you." Shane said, joining the conversation. "Well keeping me trapped isn't really going to help either." I shook my head before turning my gaze back to Charles. "Are you willing to pay the money, dad?" I forced the words out of my mouth because I really did not want to call him dad. I don't think he deserved it.

"I'm willing to make him." Charles spoke up, as he put the gun away and stepped away from Mia. "You can move, sweetheart. Sorry for pulling the gun out even though I said I wouldn't." Charles told her and she immediately shot up and ran up to me and threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around me.

"Oh my god, I didn't get shot. Oh my god, I'm still alive. Oh my god. Oh my god." she hyperventilated while I hugged her back tightly. "Don't get too happy yet." Charles interrupted. "I don't want you to see her for a few weeks. You'll be leaving the gang soon and most people in it, aren't going to like that. Chances are you'll be in great danger and you seeing her, means she will too. We don't want her getting hurt now do we?" he asked me as he folded his arms across his chest. "Well we don't want him getting hurt either." she pulled away from me and stood beside me, folding her arms across her chest too. "She's a stubborn girl, isn't she?" he asked me with a little amusement on his face. "Very." I chuckled a little while nodding my head.

"Well then, you two can't be leaving town because there might be people tracking you down so you are both officially on house arrest. Whether that be in this house or that one, is up to you. I recommend you both stay in your own houses, at least during the day." he sighed. "Meeting in the night should be done in this house since nobody but me knows here is where she lives." he finished explaining. "Be careful, Ryder. Because as of now, you're still part of my gang." he warned before him and Shane left. "You got me out in the end, didn't you?" I asked as I turned to her after locking the front door. "You got yourself out of this one." she smiled as she grabbed my face and kissed my cheek. "Why do you do that?" I asked as I scrunched up my nose while looking down at her. "Do what? What did I do?" she asked extremely confused.

"You always squish my face up like I'm a baby." I whined while following her into the kitchen.

"Well you are a baby. Look at you, you're whining like one." she laughed as she put the ice cream in the freezer. Damnit, she's right. "I am not a baby." I argued while I leaned against the counter and she threw out some leftovers. "Baby, you are a baby." she said as she grabbed the sides of my head and shook me a little. "Am not." I folded my arms across my chest.

"Are too." she nodded her head while she tried not to laugh.

"We'll see about that." I raised my eyebrows before I grabbed her waist and began tickling her. It annoys her and that's the only reason I do it, well, also because it makes her laugh and she looks adorable. I stopped tickling her after 10 seconds to let her breathe for a second when she grabbed my hands and held them down against my chest. "You can't just tickle me like this!" she shook her head while trying to hide her smile. "No? I can't?" I asked her innocently.

"No, you can't." she shook her head before putting my arms around her waist and wrapping hers around my neck. "I fell hard for you, babe." I shook my head while smiling to myself.

"I bet you, I fell harder." she smiled.

"I'm pretty sure I did." I shrugged before pulling her closer by her waist and pressing my lips to hers. "I feel like painting, let's paint." she said after pulling away and breaking the kiss.

"Paint what?" I asked her with my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The sky?" she said but it sounded more like a question.

"You're gonna need help getting the canvases out aren't you?" I nodded my head knowingly.

"Yes, I probably am but I think I can handle the paints if you carry the brushes." she stated. We bought a lot of art materials when we were dating previously when she had an art phase.

One of her funniest phases I think.