L A N A

"His parents bought the Takumi house?" Isha asked, dropping down next to me on the couch at my apartment which was now free from Jake's threats. I had Jada to thank for that.

Jada and Carmen were seated on the carpet and we were surrounded by boxes of pizza, chips, ice cream, and candy. This is what we always did when one of us was going through something. We listened to music, ate snacks, and took Buzzfeed quizzes. This time, it was me who was going through another spiral. It started with me feeling down, then I started forgetting things, lost my appetite, stopped coming to school, and in the end, I had no motivation to get out of bed.

"It does make sense. Nobody has left this town recently. The Takumi house has stood empty for years," Carmen said, biting into a slice of pizza.

"I'm surprised they could afford it. His parents must be loaded," Isha assumed, pulling her knees up below her chin. 

"They're both doctors. I saw them both at the hospital when I went to check on Ali the night The Lions kidnapped him," Carmen told us, munching on the pizza bite in her mouth.

"Well then it makes sense how they could afford the Takumi house," Jada said, grabbing a box of strawberry ice cream and a spoon before scooping up a huge bite and shoving it inside her mouth. As the ice cream melted in her mouth, she closed her eyes and made a noise of delight.

"So how's life, guys? Tell us anything. Who wants to go first?" Jada asked, changing the subject.

Isha went first. "I saw mom at the store today."

I glanced at her. "Oh, shit."

Jada rolled her eyes. "Ugh."

Carmen sighed. "How bad was it?"

Isha pressed out a stoic smile and said, "Mom looked at me this time. Dhruv is apparently visiting from college acted like I wasn't even there."

Isha left her house when she was thirteen and Jada and Carmen took her under their wing because her mom and her brother didn't accept her after Dhruv caught her kissing a girl at a party and discovered that she was gay. After all of her mom's plans for her once-perfect Indian daughter were crushed, and her brother turned her back on her, Isha left her house for good without looking back. However, this was a very small town and all the residents bought groceries from the same store.

"Maybe they'll understand one day, but not now. You just have to let it be. Don't beat yourself over it," Carmen said, grabbing a spoon and scooping up some strawberry ice cream from the box in Jada's lap.

"Yeah. I know, I know. I guess I'm still not over Dhruv's reaction. I mean, I get mom's response. She's a desi middle-class woman who grew up in India. She doesn't understand it because it wasn't considered normal when she was growing up. Plus, she's super religious. But Dhruv bai? I believed he'd get it. He's worse than mom."

I wrapped my arm around Isha's shoulder and rubbed her arm as she leaned against my side with a sigh.

"Okay, let's move on. Jada. What's up? Isha asked before any of us could talk more on the matter. Isha was like that. She always tried to escape her negative emotions. She used other people's problems as escapism and a way to protect her heart.

As for Jada, she rarely had anything going on in her personal life. She didn't date because she didn't like boys or girls romantically and she didn't have any family problems because she lost her family when she was twelve.

Her mom died in front of her eyes after her abusive and alcoholic dad pushed her down a staircase. He died shortly after of alcohol poisoning, and she fled from her foster home when she befriended Carmen. After Carmen's dad took her in, she created the gang The Sirens, which was completed when Isha and I joined. After that, that's all Jada ever had going on in her life. The Sirens and a handful of enemies on the streets of Lakewood.

Jada was a good person. Yes, she was cruel to others but who in this town wasn't? If you weren't cruel in this town, you got stepped on and thrown away. I had first-hand experience with that.

"Nothing much. Just trying to track down Zayn," she replied with a shrug.

Zayn. The guy who jumped me. Also, the guy who Everett saved me from. I cleared my throat and asked, "Any clues?"

She sighed and made a noise of frustration. "Not really. I have no idea where he is. He has left town but I'm pretty sure he'll be back soon. I have the money I owe him but I just need to find him."

"It's no big deal. I'll figure it out. Carmen?"

She smiled and for a moment I thought I saw a sparkle in her green eyes. "Nothing much. Just bike-racing and hanging out with Diego."

Isha grinned. "Nice. Looking forward to meeting Diego though."

Carmen shoved another spoon full of ice cream into her mouth. "I'll introduce you all to each other soon. Promise."

I felt sudden warmth spread within my chest when I saw a genuine smile across Carmen's face. That meant things were going well with this Diego guy. We had been seen him around town, both at school and at the Laker, but never really spoken. He seemed to give off a good vibe from all I knew and I guess the happiness on Carmen's face proved that. 

Then, Carmen glanced at me curiously across her eyes. "Lee? How's our little dumpling doing?"

I smiled briefly just for them. "I'm fine. I've eaten so I'm good."

They all scowled before Isha deadpanned, "Aree, year. Stop pretending. We all know another spiral is coming. You don't have to hide it. Not from us."

When I remained silent, the girls sighed as they understood that I didn't want them to push the topic about another spiral. It was true. They got it right. I didn't want to talk about how once again depression and grief had started controlling the hell out of my life, emotionally, mentally, and physically.

"How's the council been treating you?" Jada asked.

I shrugged. "Kevin hates me. Liv and Sonya are terrified of me. Ali is cool. Everett is friendly and too nice."

"How is he friendly and too nice?" Jada asked, brows furrowed.

"He's going to get the elevator fixed for me after the opening day."

Confusion clouded Carmen's face. "For you? Does he know the whole school is terrified of you and us? Of The Sirens? Did he just like to forget that?"

"His answer to everything is, benefit the students. Always benefit the students," I said, repeating his words.

"Well, that's a new one. That Easter bunny is full of surprises," Isha admitted.

Jada snorted. "Let's see if he sticks to his word. Saying it is one thing. Doing it is a whole other story."

Honestly, I deep down genuinely believed he would go through with it. He would pull it off. The guy had been surprising me and the whole school pretty much every day with his words and actions since he arrived to town.

"Tell us if you need help with dealing with Kevin."

He did annoy me, but it didn't bother me that much. Everett said he would talk to him. I had a feeling he would. It wouldn't probably help much, but at least Everett could give it a try. It would be better for him than dealing with The Sirens' wrath.

I was cut out of my thoughts when Jada's suddenly phone started vibrating on the table. When she checked it, her eyes widened. "It's Zayn. He wants to meet."

"Wait, what? When? Where?" Carmen snatched Jada's phone and her gaze swept over the screen. 

"Now."

"Now? Right now?" Isha was bewildered.

"You sure it's him or a trap?" I inquired.

Jada met my gaze. "I'm not sure but I'm gonna find out."

~

Ten minutes later, we were in the alley behind Laker Pop. Jada turned to us and planted her hands on her hips with that signature excruciating look on her face. She was ready to take on whatever we were up against.

"Okay, you know the plan. He's nearby Arjun's base. Isha and Carmen, we'll go together and Lana will stay behind in the shadows to keep track of us."

"Okay. Let's do it!" Isha sounded excited as we huddled together for a group hug. While Jada and Carmen made a headstart and  I climbed up the brick wall, Isha stayed behind. She watched me gather my feet and launch myself off the brick wall and up to the nearest tree branch.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking up at me with her round brown eyes and a small frown displayed on her face.

I smiled. "I'm fine. I promise."

"Hey!" She called after me as I got ready to jump. "You still gonna skip school and sleep the whole day tomorrow?

I shrugged and launched myself off the tree branch, and landed on the next one. I wasn't sure about what tomorrow was going to be about because this moment was all that mattered right now. Jumping from tree to tree and sneaking through these alleys like a shadow unseen and unbothered.
Up here, I chased the wind. Grounds didn't exist. I was boundless and unstoppable. Fear wouldn't reach me up here.

The most important thing though, was The Sirens. I had their back. They had mine. In the past, we all went through different kind of shit by ourselves, but our pain was the same. Surviving through the dark times was hard when we were by ourselves but when we were together, we saw light at the end of the tunnel. That light made us push through every downfall together. We always had each other's backs.

After my parents died, all I used to have were dull nights and dull mornings. Then I got accepted into Jada's gang and I met these girls. These girls were not my family but they thought me what true friendship was and that's why they had felt like family since day one. That's why I found it peaceful here up in the shadows, but also with The Sirens. Especially with The Sirens.

****

Author's note: Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry for the late update! I still hope you enjoyed the chapter and the friendship of The Sirens!

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