~

My head pounds harshly at my every attempt to remember what happened. The last I remember was entering a van. I can't recall what happens after, or how I get here.

My eyes widen to take in my unfamiliar surrounding. The room is blue with beautiful murals on the wall. It contains a large neatly made bed, two black straight-backed chairs, a large white vanity table with led lights draped around it.

I try to move, but a sharp pain passes through my wrists, forcing me to stay in place. My hands are in a handcuff behind my back. The handcuff is then attached to one on the bedstands, making it impossible for me to move or stand.

Is this some 365 Dni shit? I thought the movie was cool, but this is actually terrifying in real life.

What if my Mafia is a fat old man with a big belly and mouth that smells like alcohol?

Shut up, Dove. Things like that don't happen in real life.

But what if they do?

The door to the room opens, pulling me out of my bizarre, unnecessary thoughts.

The light in the hallway prevents me from seeing the face of the man that walks in. His body shape looks young, though. He was probably in his late teens.

The closes the door behind him, and his face comes into view more perfectly. An unfamiliar face he is, with twinkling green eyes and slicked-back bronze hair.

"Hey, Dove, " He greets with a smile, a strong Australia drawl to his voice.

He knows my name. Why does he know my name?

"Who are you?" I ask, inching farther away from him, even though I couldn't move much due to the handcuffs.

"That doesn't matter, " He waves a dismissive hand. "Consider me your guardian angel, " he winks.

"What kind of guardian angel engages in kidnapping, " I snarl and move my hands to enable the cuffs to make a noise.

"A bad one?" He raises his brow.

I stare at him with a tilted head, unable to decipher what he wanted from me. He looks like a harmless cute teenager, not the type to kidnap a person.

"What do you want from me?"

He smirks slightly and bends, so he's staring straight into my eyes. "Don't worry. We aren't going to hurt you."

We? So there's more?

"Then why am I here?"

"We just need your help with something. I promise you won't die if your knight in shining armor isn't dumb, " He whispers in a soft, taunting voice.

He stands up and walks to the dresser, grabs an Ipad from it before turning to me. "Anyway, what do you want from Macca's?"

My brain is still ringing with his vague previous words. "I don't have any knight in shining armor. Please just let me go, " I plead, trying to keep my voice as level as possible to avoid showing any signs of weakness.

"You would be surprised at how many people want you alive, " he smacks his lips and wiggles the tab in his hands. "So, food?"

I've watched enough movies to know you don't eat at the enemy's lair. Or this case, castle.

"I'm not hungry."

He chuckles and folds his arms over his chest. "Are you sure? You'd need energy for what's coming next, " he says, a knowing look on his face.

"Oh my God, you're going to kill me, " I gasp, feeling my eyes moisten with tears.

He laughs louder this time and sits on the bed next to me. "Don't you think you're being a tad dramatic, " he says, gesturing with his finger.

I couldn't hide my shock as I raised my head to stare at him. "You brought me here with a gun, made me blackout, handcuffed me to a bed, but somehow, I'm the dramatic one?" I scoff.

He narrows his eyes and purses his lips. He opens his mouth to say something but closes it again. "Well, you got one thing wrong. I wasn't the one with the gun. That was Jelly."

He immediately clasps his hand over his mouth as if that would prevent him from slipping up again. But his words were enough for me to know why I was here.

I am the bait to catch Gray.

Suddenly, fear paralyzes all my body, scared of what was going to happen next. Gray acted on impulse almost all the time, and if he knew I was here-

I shake my head, trying not to think of the multiple ways things could go bad.

The guy notices my reaction, and his expression relaxes a bit. "You know, " he says. His eyes darken as he stares at me. "He could die because of you."

I raise my head slowly, my eyes red from me trying my best to hold back all my tears, my body shaking slightly. "He won't die."

He snorts and folds his arms. "How are you so sure? Are you psychic?"

"Why him? What did he ever do wrong?"

"He's trying to leave the gang. He says he wants a normal life that no Cager can afford. He's a Stone, yet he wants to leave. He's a selfish bitch, and he's not considering us in his decision, " The guy yells at me.

"He's considering his family," I spat back.

"We are his family too. We were his family when he had no one, yet he just wants to leave because of some fucking dumbass bitch. And yes, I'm talking about you, " He fumes, standing from the bed and pacing around the room.

"You knew me before now?" I frown, examining his attitude.

He looks at me and frowns, shaking his head. "No."

"You're lying. It seems like you have a lot of pent anger towards me. Something that had been building up for years. You must know me or might have heard something."

"Yes. Fine, I knew you. But that was only because Gray never stopped talking about you when we first joined the gang."

That didn't make sense. "When did you first join the gang?"

"When we were 14. Why?"

I didn't meet Gray until I was 16. Instead of talking, I just shake my head and stare at the ground.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "You should have just stayed away from him, " he continues.

"Don't blame me. If even he hadn't fallen for me. They could have used his sister or mother."

The guy raises a finger to stop me from talking. "They wouldn't have touched them either. They are Stones too," He cuts me off, firmly.

"What is that sup-

My words cut shut when the door flies open, revealing two men. Actual men that look like they'd be in their late twenties. I recognize them as the men from the days night. The ones that best Gray the other day.

"Jessica!" One spreads his arms tauntingly. "Can you imagine how stupid I looked, asking around for a Jessica?" He laughs.

When he reaches me, he bends his knees to get a closer look at my face. "Did you know that there's not a single Jessica in your school. Zero Jessicas?" He places a hand on his chest in disbelief.

"What?" I gasped, matching his sarcasm. "I could have sworn my mum called me Jessica when I was born."

In a split second, I feel a ringing sound in my ear, my cheeks fiery and hot. My mouth opens in disbelief at what just happened. He just slapped me. Hard.

The other two guys pull him away from me, locking his arms behind his back. "Are you crazy? The boss said not to touch her, " the other man growls at him.

The younger guy that was here earlier rushes over to my side. He gasps upon sighting my face and places his cold hand on my cheeks. "Are you okay?"

I grit my teeth in anger, angry at my inability to defend myself. My eyes were watery, but I blink back the tears, refusing to let them see me cry, knowing that would just give them joy. "Yeah. I'm fine."

The older two guys were still arguing about the slap when my phone rings at that moment, silencing the entire room. One of the men glares at the guy next to me.

"You didn't switch off her phone."

His eyes widen in shock, and he bites his lower lips as he stares at my phone. "I forgot."

The man who slapped me walks to pick it up. His eyes glint evilly at the screen, "And the devil calls," he chuckles and picks up the call, placing it on speaker.

"Kelch," Gray's voice pierces through the air, sounding strained and concerned, bringing me to tears.

"The name's Jelly," the man replies, a permanent smirk on his face.

I hear Gray's prominent intake of breath. "Where is she?"

Jelly kisses his teeth and shakes his head. "No, hi or hello?"

Gray heaves deeply, his uneven breath getting louder. "Where is she?"

Jelly chuckles and walks over to me. "Maybe you can say the hello, " he grins.

The urge I felt to punch him in the face was strong. Very, very, very strong.

"Kelch?" Gray calls, his voice softer than before.

I bite my lips hard until I feel the metallic taste of my blood. I couldn't speak. I didn't want to speak.

In movies whenever the girl gets kidnapped, the first thing she says to her boyfriend over the phone is "don't come here"

They tell and scream for their significant other not to come, but all I wanted to do was ask Gray to come and get me.

I don't know how a girl asks her man not to show up when she's frightened and alone. Or maybe it's because she's frightened she asks him not to show up. Because she knows he'll always be there.

I was scared in a room filled with scary-looking men and didn't want to be there anymore, yet I knew he couldn't take them on by himself and didn't want him to get hurt.

So I keep quiet.

"Speak. Let him know you're here, " Jelly widens his eyes, his annoyance oozing out of him.

I glare at him through my lashes, my teeth digger deeper into my lower lips. Jelly's eyes narrow when he sees my defiance.

He raises his hand to hit me, but the Australian guy holds his hands down. "Don't hit her again"

"Again?" Gray seethes through the phone. He chuckles bitterly, his laugh strained and forced. "Jelly, how would you like to die?"

"Fucking bastard. Be at the cage by 11 if you want to see her alive." He replies with a serious tone and cuts the call.

He calls the other guys with his fingers. "We need to get ready. Enzo's son's coming."

~~~~~~~~~~

After hours of attempting to set free from the handcuffs, I finally did it. My hand was burning red and torn in a few places from trying to set free.

I had only been able to set one hand free, while the other was still in the handcuffs. I look around the room and grab a marble vase as a weapon.

While I was waiting for someone to come on so I can hit them with the vase, I hear loud noises coming from outside. Almost as if someone was scolding them.

Figuring that I could use the time of their argument to slip out, I slowly open the room door and walk out into the hallway.

This place is definitely a castle. I had thought the room was big, but the rest of the house was bigger. It felt like a maze, and I couldn't get out.

I hold on to the vase with a shaky hand, terrified of getting caught as I crouched to the ground. With no idea of how to get out, I slowly prayed for God to show me the way.

I kept turning corners, my heart pounding in my mouth with fear and anxiety. I follow the sound of the voices and tiptoe into the living room where four guys were standing. Two people had their backs turned to me, while I recognize the two I could see as Jelly and his evil friend.

Their voices were loud, making it hard to make out the different voice, yet something felt familiar. They were speaking a different language, probably Spanish.

I drag my eyes back to the men and focus it on the two guys that had their backs turned to me.

The stance. The clothes. The hair.

"Donde está la chica?" He asks, his voice thick with authority.

I didn't know Spanish, but I knew what chica meant. After years of listening to Latin rap music, it would be dumb of me to not know what chica meant.

Chica. Girl.

Me!

I was kneeling behind a cream-colored sofa which made it impossible for them to see me. Jelly points in the direction of the hall I came out from and the guy who asked the question turns to stare.

That's when I see his side profile. That's when I recognize him. He was the last person I'd expect to see here. The last.

My mouth opens in shock, and a loud gasp escapes my lips. I stumble on my toes as my butt lands on the floor, allowing the vase to slip from my hand with a loud shatter.

All eyes slowly turn to look in my direction, including him. His angry eyes lock with mine, and I feel the tears swelling in my eyes.

It's official. I hate my life.

•••••••••••••

QOTD: Who is your favorite YouTuber?

>>Mine used to be Alissa Violet. She hardly posts videos again, but I still love her. Recently, I've been enjoying Jin and Juice. They are awesome.