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ASH
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About a week had passed since I last saw my mother. I chalked it up to being busy with work or needing rest, but I knew deep down that I was avoiding her. I was still hurt from the whole 'break in and attempted robbery' stunt that I didn't want to face her.

"Sup, Miss Cole!" Danny, a young boy from the neighborhood greeted me as he walked through the doors of the community center.

I worked as one of the counselors there. Not the type that sat the kids down and talked about their feelings, I'd be the worst choice for that, but the type likened to a camp counselor. I liked my job, for what it was worth. The kids respected me, despite the fact that most of them were bigger than me. It made my job easier to do when they actually wanted to listen to me.

"Hi, Danny," I smiled, ignoring the ache in my chest that reminded me I had nothing to genuinely smile about, besides maybe this boy. "How's your mom doing?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the dark skinned boy tucked his skateboard under his arm and leaned onto my desk. "She's always working, as usual."

"Mhmm," I hummed, raising a brow at him, causing him to chuckle.

"I know, I know," he said. "She does it so me and my sister can have a better life, but she's always so tired. I'd rather her be home and make less than keep doing this. At least then she'd be happy. What's the point in working if you never have time to live?"

Pouting my lips out in sympathy, I ruffled the top of his head, and playfully punched his shoulder. "You're a good kid, Danny."

"I am, aren't I," he replied, pretending to be smug.

"Alright, weirdo, go put your stuff in a locker. Everyone else is waiting in the gym," I told him.

"Ooo, what are we doing today?"

Normally, I don't tell any of the kids what we'll be doing early, but he was about to find out anyway. Plus, I happened to have a soft spot for Danny.

"Dodgeball, basketball, and then we'll have a sit down discussion on community safety."

Nodding his head, he ran off to put his things away and I headed into the gym, ready to get things started.

Hours later, my shift was over, and I started walking the short distance it took to get home when I suddenly changed my mind and headed in the direction of Hollow Street—The street I grew up on, and the street my mother currently still lived.

You can't avoid her forever. Might as well deal with things sooner, rather than later.

Keeping my head low, as usual, I walked down the alley always lined with prostitutes and junkies. I knew some of the women, which always broke my heart. Especially when I saw some of the girls I grew up with that weren't as fortunate as I. Where my father's reputation protected me from being forced into the sex ring, those girls weren't given that grace. In ways, it made me feel guilty.

My father was not a good man, at all. But, as ironic as it may sound, he was not a terrible father. It made me feel conflicted when it came to his memory. A lot of woman suffered because of him, my mother included, but somehow he managed to actually love and protect me, even after his death.

I struggled on how to reconcile who he was to me with who he was to everyone else, but it was nearly five years later and I still had no progress. Turning onto the street, I saw the old house from here, and a familiar figure standing outside of it, pacing.

"Ronnie?" I called out as I approached him.

"Ash! You...uh...you can't go in there right now," he warned. "Shai sent Paco over. He kicked me out. Told me to wait out here."

The black hummer parked curbside didn't go unnoticed by me, but I didn't let it deter me. Ronnie's look of anger and fear, however, did come across as unnerving.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I don't know. He just showed up and threw me out. Said he had business matters to attend to or some shit like that. I don't-"

The sound of screams cut him off before he could finish his explanation, followed by a loud crash. Running to the front door, my fingers just brushed the knob when I was yanked back and held against a body.

"Let me go!" I yelled, trying to get free.

"Come on, Ash. Don't do this!" Ronnie pleaded, attempting to pull me back to the sidewalk. "You'll get yourself hurt and they'll probably beat them twice as bad."

Stomping on his foot, I managed to break his hold and run inside, hearing him yell out for me to at least be careful. Ronnie was the closest thing I had to a brother from this section of my life, and I knew he cared, but I had to stop whatever was happening inside. He didn't have it in him to risk his mother getting beat if he disobeyed, but I'd be damned if I stayed outside and listened to the abuse. Especially when one specific voice rang out louder than the rest.

"Where is she?!" I demanded to know the second I got in.

A group of young women, faces I noticed were new to this house, just stared at me with wide, bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, I'm here to help, okay?" I said with a softer, but still strained, voice.

Their makeup was sweated out, clumpy, and the smudging let me know that they'd just gotten in from turning a few tricks. No wonder they were so spaced out. The occasional scratching and twitching were telltale signs that that were still strung out, rendering them useless at the moment. Sighing, I just ran past them, listening out for another scream.

"Let go of me!"

And there it was.

Rushing up the stairs, I could feel the desperation pumping in my lungs as I pushed through the idle bodies crowded around the door to my mother's room. The barely dressed women just stood there, dazed, which made them easy to move out of my way, but it also reminded me why I was so quick to leave the moment I turned eighteen.

They clung to each other naturally, acted like a family, like sisters. But, the moment trouble came, it was everyone for themselves. Like roaches scattering in the light. Classic case of survival mode, but I hated how fear was the easiest way to divide them. I always wished they could somehow realize that, together, they could fight back. It was dangerous—I wasn't ignorant enough to overlook that their fear was one hundred percent valid—but I still believed it was a risk worth taking.

It was also why I didn't hesitate to barge into my mother's room, and I'm so glad I did.

My fists were clenched so hard I could feel my nails trying to break the skin of my palms when I saw a man overtop of her, his hands tight around her neck.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt me!" the man growled, shaking her by her throat.

"Get the fuck off of her!" I yelled, attempting to push him off. He barely was shifted, considering I weighed next to nothing compared to him.

Resisting the urge to pull my pocket knife out, knowing that pretty much guaranteed that one of us would die tonight, I hurled my whole body onto the man. Clinging onto him, I began pummeling fist after fist at whatever part of him I could hit.

Cursing, he stood up and easily threw me off of him, slapping me to the ground. "YOU BITCH!"

My head hit the hardwood floor hard, and I had to blink a few times to clear my vision. Next thing I knew, I lost all the air in my lungs due to his steel-toe boot ramming into my side over and over again. After the third kick, I almost blacked out.

I kind of wish I fucking did, 'cause damn that hurt.

When he leaned down in my face to gloat, I could tell the last thing he expected was for me to headbutt him, but I would do whatever it took to stop him. In this situation, not even murder was above me. However, I couldn't grin in satisfaction when I saw the blood dripping from his nose because this was far from over.

Judging from the look on his face, he planned to do worse to me than he did my mother. Glancing at her, I let out a sigh of relief that she was at least still breathing and tried to steady my own breaths as the man glowered down at me.

"You should have minded your own business!" he grunted as he wiped the blood from his face.

"My family is my business," I spat confidently. If you showed these men even an ounce of fear, they'd exploit. That was something my father taught me, and one thing I'd never forget.

Chuckling, his eyes raked over my body. Nothing was on display, but I knew what was going through his mind, and I'd be damned if I let him touch me like that. Glaring, I slyly tucked my hand in my back pocket, clutching firmly onto my knife. If it came down to it, I'd slit the bastard's throat.

Possible jail time, or rape victim? I didn't even have to think about it. The motherfucker would be cold on the ground before I let that happen. It almost did once, and I was never going back to that place.

"Ha, look's like Andre's girl is finally gonna get hers," a spiteful woman sneered from the sidelines. I ignored the urge to look at her because I was too busy watching as the prick in front of me began to process what she'd just said.

His eyes connected with mine as he stepped back, questioning, "Y-You're Andre's daughter?"

Rolling my eyes, I tried to stand up, gritting my teeth as my side inflamed with pain. Swearing under his breath, he felt the need to clarify, "Shit, I didn't know."

"Whatever," I grumbled, walking over to my mother. Cradling her face gently, I whispered, "Come on, Mom. Let's go."

"Man, Shai is gonna kill me if he finds out."

With a scowl and absolutely zero patience for this man, I barked, "Then fucking get out of here!"

"But-"

"Leave, now, and I'll make sure he never hears of it," I bargained.

"Done," he agreed before rushing out the room and out of the house. I could hear his car engine starting as I helped my mother up, trying my best to support her weight. Despite some of these women hating me for what my father did to them, and what I was never forced into doing, I didn't want to leave them with Paco still there to abuse them further.

"Mmm, where are we going?" my mother mumbled into my neck while I struggled to keep us from falling down the steps. No one offered to help, but I didn't ask, so I couldn't be too pissed off at them.

"The hospital. You got pretty roughed up in there," I answered, frowning when I caught a glimpse of the red swelling taking place all over her slender face.

It was only when I got us out of the house that someone provided some aid.

"Ash! What the hell happened in there?!" Ronnie exclaimed, his brown face contorted in worry. "Paco came out like the house was gonna fuckin' blow to bits or something! I thought he might have killed someone!"

"Nothing happened, just..." Gesturing for him to help, his eyes fell to the woman slowly dragging me to the ground with her and then he hurried to my side and picked her up, holding her in his arms. "...can you drive us to the hospital?"

"Of course."

Author's Note:

Don't worry, guys. Things are going to get interesting in the next chapter. Perhaps two hurting souls will finally meet again. Fingers crossed, even though the chapter is already written!

-Mac