Hello .x

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Chapter Four

I didn't know what was happening to me. It was almost as if my body had shut down, and I could no longer function.

I was going through withdrawal.

"Evelyn?" The sound of my door creaking open caused me to sit up abruptly. A dull ache spread over my neck and I let out a low groan of pain.

"Ev, please talk to me." A small smirk appeared when I noticed the bruise that had formed on Danny's cheek. I pressed my lips into a tight line and folded my arms in front of my chest.

"Why? Shouldn't you be packing right now?" I sneered, gibing him a nasty glare. Danny winced and moved towards my bed, sitting at the end of it. I ignored him, as he looked over my disheveled form, not at all caring that I looked like a complete mess.

"I didn't have a choice." His voice was firm, as if he were trying to convince himself at the same time.

"Oh really?" I spat out. "You didn't have a choice on whether you were going to tell me or just go behind my back and make this decision without my consent in the matter?"

His eyes darkened and he clenched his hands together to form tight fists.

"Shut up, Evelyn. You just don't get it! You don't know what it's like to run a gang, to have any real responsibilities! Everything comes easy to you, and to top it all off, you are a proper bitch about it all the time!" He was breathing deeply at the end of it, and he ran his hand through his hair, something he only did when he was very upset about something.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, pulling myself out of bed. "Nothing comes easy to me."

"Have you ever killed someone? Have you ever had to take the life of someone? Or do you just play around and have fun, then leave the dirty work to the rest of the gang?" He stood up to his full height, and towered over me angrily.

"No! Because that's not my job, Danny! But don't you act like I haven't done my part for this gang. Just because I've never killed someone doesn't mean shit." I tilted my head to stare at him in a hostile manner. "You loved the power you got from being a leader, so don't act like this was all thrown on you at once."

"I am sorry Evelyn, I'm so sorry, but there is nothing I can do about it." Danny said, grasping onto my elbows. He looked so desperate, that it actually made me feel bad, only for a second that is.

"Just go," I muttered, looking away from him. "You have a lot of work to do before you go running off into hiding with your tail between your legs."

"Bloody hell Evie," Danny muttered, turning away from me and leaving my room without a second glance back at me.

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my bed, no longer finding the comfort in it as I had seen before. Letting out a sigh of exasperation, I walked into my bathroom and quickly stripped, climbing into the shower eagerly.

The warm beads of water massaged into my skin, and I let my eyes close and savor the relaxation and state of peace that it brought me. I was under so much stress that this was exactly what I needed.

As surprising as it may seem, I didn't hate my brother. He was my only true family left, and no matter what, I could never just write him off like that.

I let a whimper slip from my lips and quickly turned up the heat in the shower, hissing in pain as the water scorched my skin. My body collapsed forward, and I used my trembling arms to support myself against the tiled wall. My vision grew clouded as the steam filled up the bathroom, and I only chose to turn off the water when breathing became a struggle for me.

Stepping out of the shower, I gently wrapped a towel around my aching form. Wiping the mirror clear of the steam that had fogged it up, I noticed how lifeless I looked. My hair was drenched and hung low, looking absolutely horrendous. My eyes were void of the spark they normally had.

"What has happened to you?" I asked myself aloud, running my hand over my flushed face. Pulling on a shirt and loose shorts, I brushed my hair hopelessly, giving up when I realized I couldn't hold off any longer.

I had to apologize to Danny.

Scowling, I exited my bathroom and found myself walking downstairs to his office, shivering as I thought about everything that had happened there just recently.

Biting my lip, I debated knocking, before shoving the doors open and walking straight in. I was greeted by Nate's tired being, holding two boxes.

"Nate," I said, looking around, "where is Danny?"

Nate eyed me before finally speaking. "Why? So you can torment him so more?"

My lips parted a bit, before I gave out an annoyed groan. "Don't be dramatic, Nate."

"Dramatic?" He snapped, dropping the boxes onto the floor with a loud bang. "Do you even realize how awful Danny feels? Come on Evie, he was the leader of one of the strongest gangs in London, and now? Now he has to go into hiding and that absolutely kills him. And then, then he agrees to let Sebastian take you into his gang-"

"How is that okay? How is he protecting-"

"How is he not protecting you? You're going to be with Sebastian King now, under the protection of the Kings! There is no better protection around, and your brother is torturing himself specifically because he can't be the one to protect you anymore."

I hesitated, and frowned. "That may be true, but even if I am protected from those assholes trying to kill me, who is going to protect me from Sebastian?"

Nate sighed and pulled me into a hug. "It's going to be okay."

"He tried to kill me, Nate. What makes you think he won't try it again?" My voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

Nate pulled away, holding me at arm's length. "Just don't piss him off, Ev."

I let a giggle escape my lips and a smirk formed. "You know that's too much to ask from me." Nate grinned down at me, and his eyes broke away, looking at something behind me.

"Ah, just the big brother Evie was looking for." He said, making me turn around. "I'll just leave the both of you alone now."

I smiled gratefully at Nate as he picked up the boxes he had discarded, and left the room. An awkward silence followed, and I found myself looked almost everywhere else than Danny.

"If you're just going to bitch to me-"

"No!" I cried out, waving my hands around. "I, I'm not here to yell or, or say anything bad for that matter."

Danny remained silent, waiting for me to continue.

Chewing on my lip nervously, I finally built up the courage to admit my wrongdoing. "I'm sorry, Danny, I really am. I should have never doubted your reasons, and I really am sorry for making it harder for you."

Danny was staring at me with the utmost amount of disbelief over his features. I felt myself let out a sigh of relief when a smile danced across my lips, and he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry too Evie," he whispered."

"No, no," I said firmly, pulling away. "I understand why you did what you did. It's okay."

"No Ev, I mean I am sorry about the gang. You never wanted this, and now, it's gotten so screwed up that you may not even be able to ever have a normal life." He stared at me regretfully. "And for that, I am sorry."

I was shocked, to say the least. It was true. I really never wanted this, but being a part of a gang was something I had to accept.

"So when do you leave tomorrow?" I asked, changing the subject quickly. Sadness crossed Danny's eyes when he realized I wasn't going to open up to him, but honestly, he shouldn't have thought that I would to begin with.

"Uh, well," he scratched the back of his neck. "We should be gone by seven in the morning, so no one sees us."

I nodded my head in understanding, and gave him a quick smile. "Well, it looks like you have a lot of work left to do," I said, motioning around his box filled office.

"I take it that you won't be of any assistance," Danny said, a large smile spreading across his face.

"Right you are," I replied, walking by him. "I might go out tonight, but I promise to be back before you leave."

After leaving his office, I noticed how the sun was already dimming, and the cool evening was setting in. Going upstairs, I walked into my bedroom and into my closet, where I pulled out my suitcase.

I probably should pack now, for when Sebastian picks me up tomorrow.

My eyes darted around my closet as I pulled my clothes out, tossing them carelessly into my suitcase. My eyes zeroed in on a short piece of white fabric, and I inhaled sharply when I let my fingers run across it.

The last time I wore that dress was when I was five years old. When I truly was naïve and as innocent can be. Squeezing my eyes shut, I held the fabric close, as if it would slip away along with all the memories it held.

My stomach knotted when I finished packing, and I felt myself grow anxious. This was still too much for me to take in, and I still wasn't sure how I was going to get through any of it.

Am I going to live with Sebastian forever, or just until he gets fed up with me and kills me?

Shaking my head, I pushed away from my suitcase and looked around my room. I frowned as my eyes scanned over my blank walls. The absence of pictures was something I was always okay with, until now. I'm not one to get all emotional and sad, but it was really bothering me that I wasn't going to be able to have a picture of Danny and me.

I grabbed the dress that I had laid out for myself, along with the pair of heels that I knew I was going to regret choosing later. Walking into my bathroom, I quickly applied eyeliner and some mascara, before smirking at myself in the mirror.

The spark was back in my eyes, and I felt ready to go out and drown my liver in sorrow.

Danny seemed a bit reluctant to let me go alone, but agreed when Will offered to take me. Will and I never got along, in a sense that we constantly bickered and would torment each other till one of us died, but even then it had been decided that whoever died would come back to haunt the other.

"Any normal girl would have stayed with her brother and spend her last night with him, you know that right?" Will said as he started to drive.

Scoffing I continued to stare out the window. "You must know by now that I am not a normal girl."

Will smiled and nodded his head. "Course you aren't. Because your Evie Summers, the girl in a gang."

"Damn right I am," I smirked, allowing a silence to settle between us.

As we neared the club, Will decided to speak again. "So what's it going to be, out of your mind drunk, or till you physically can't function anymore drunk?"

"Shut up, Will, you and I both know that I'm not the lightweight between the too of us." I laughed evilly when Will's face reddened in anger, hopping out of the car just as it pulled into an open space.

"We'll see about that, Ms. Summers. We will see about that." Will called out from behind me, not bothering to catch up.

The sound of the music blaring mixed with the smell of alcohol and sweat was something that had been a part of my life for so long. I made my way to the bar, where Will was now sitting.

"I'll tell you what," I shouted over the music, "Since we won't be seeing each other anymore, let's have one last game, shall we?"

Will's eyes lit up and he smirked. "We shall. Now Evelyn, what were you thinking of?"

Looked at the hundreds of bottles that aligned the wall behind the bar, an idea popped into my mind.

"Drinking contest." I said, "Whoever gets wasted first loses."

Will's eyes narrowed and he seemed to be thinking it over. "Alright," he finally spoke. "Let's do this."

Flashing the bartender my signature smile and wink, I got us eight shots quickly, sliding four towards Will, who at this point didn't look too confident anymore. I downed the first two easily; watching as Will did the same. After taking the last two, I felt the familiar warmth spread throughout my stomach, and I closed my eyes, taking it in.

"Where's the bruise?" Will asked, staring at my neck curiously. I pushed four more shots his way before responding.

"To the power of makeup!" I cried out, holding up one of my shots in toast.

By the time we finished all of our shots, I was feeling only slightly buzzed. I hadn't been lying when I said I wasn't a lightweight. It actually took a lot for me to get drunk, and seeing as how Will was stumbling around, I knew it would be better if I didn't drink anymore.

Keeping my eyes on him, I watched as girls flaunted over him, pulling him to the dance floor. I laughed as he started dancing like mad.

Absolutely smashed, he was.

My eyes scanned the rest of the club, and came to a rest on the entrance, where a group of men clad in black were now huddled.

Good thing that doesn't look suspicious, I thought sarcastically.

My body stiffened when I realized who they were staring at-

Will.

Could these people be a part of the smaller gangs going after us? As if to answer my question, they all fanned out, slowly making their way to Will. My eyes were as wide as saucers by now, and I knew I had to think up of something quickly. Grateful that they had yet to notice me, I snaked my way through the crowd and to Will.

"Will, we have to get out of here." I said firmly, yanking on his arm. He looked down at me in confusion, before breaking out into a grin.

"Y-You want t-t-to dance with me?" He stammered, resting his hands on my shoulders.

Scowling, I knew that we didn't have much time. Pulling on his arms, I started making my way towards the back exit, praying that the men wouldn't notice. Once outside, I pulled out my phone and instantly began to dial Danny's number. I would have taken Will to the car, but I couldn't risk it. There could be more men out there and with Will in the state that he is, there was no way I would be able to handle them all.

I let out a shriek of shock when a gloved hand knocked my phone out of my hands. Fear and panic exploded in my stomach when I took note of the three large men that stood before me, all coming out of the back exit that I had used.

"I think it's our lucky day, men." The leader of the group spoke. "Not only have we gotten Will cornered, but it seems as if we have little Miss Evelyn Summers too."

I masked my face with confidence and glared at the men. "This has been fun and all, but we really must go." I said, stiffly pulling Will in the opposite direction.

A squeak of surprise left my mouth as I was knocked into the wall, and Will was pushed to the ground. One of the large men was now holding me against the wall, while the other two looked down at Will, grinning.

"Not so fast, Evelyn." I shuddered at the sound of my name coming from a man so disgusting as him.

I have never been one to give up, and let me tell you, I wasn't about to start any time soon.

I brought my heel down onto the top of his foot, and wasted no time in kneeing him in the face when he kneeled over in pain. I kicked him straight in the chest, knowing that he would collapse in agony after that. The two others moved to grab me, but I felt as if my body were on fire.

Dodging the first one, I punched the other straight in the gut, and then kicked the side of his head the second he lowered his guard. I fought mercilessly and hard, even getting hopeful that I would be able to get Will out of this, until I found myself facing a gun.

Blood dribbled from his nose down to his chin, and he came me a wicked sneer. "Didn't think you would actually fight off three men, now did you?"

The sound of a gunshot filled the air, and I prepared myself for an excruciating amount of pain to follow.

Instead, I heard a loud thud, and opened my eyes to see the man now lying on the ground, blood pooling around his head.

"I beg to differ." His hard, deep voice sounded throughout the alley. "It really doesn't seem like it's your lucky day after all."

From the shadows, the three most dangerous men in London emerged.

A small scream escaped my lips as I stared at the lifeless man before me, and found myself stumbling backwards and collapsing onto the hard pavement. The sound of footsteps coming towards me made me whimper and back away further so I was pressed into the wall.

"Get Will into our car and take him back to Danny's, Callum." Sebastian ordered, his dark eyes looking over the scene before him. He tucked his gun back into the waistband of his pants, acting so calm and collected that you would have never guessed that he just killed someone.

"Sebastian," Mason spoke out, his eyes focused on me. I quickly looked away when Sebastian's eyes met mine, and found myself curling into a tight ball. I remained silent while Sebastian walked over to me, and crouched down to my level.

"That was impressive," Sebastian said, giving me a small smile. My lips parted when I saw his smile, noticing how this was the first smile I had ever seen on his face. I had been so used to his smirks and angered expressions that I momentarily found myself unable to breathe.

Sebastian must have sensed something was wrong, and reached out to place his hands on the tops of my shoulders. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Sebastian asked, looking over my shaken form.

I just stared at him in response, and didn't protest when he gently pulled me up into a standing position.

To say that I was in a state of shock would be an understatement.

I stood there numbly as Sebastian looked me over, his hands lightly holding onto my waist, as if I couldn't support myself. My eyes moved away from him when I saw one of the men who had been knocked out, begin to shift and move.

A panicked expression crossed my features and I let out a gasp. Sebastian turned his head and saw what I was staring out, and before I knew it, Sebastian had me behind him and the wall, his body shielding mine.

"Mason," he growled out. "Get him before I do, because so help me God if I get my hands on him, I-"

Mason didn't let him continue any further, and immediately grabbed onto the front of the man's shirt and hauled him to his feet. Less than a second went by before he pinned the man to the wall, with a gun now pointed at his face.

"Who do you work for?" Mason asked, his voice dark and venomous. The man was still waking up from being unconscious, and stared at Mason with a look of confusion, before it turned to anger, then fear.

"I-I can't say." The man whispered, his eyes full of horror. He had yet to notice Sebastian, who was still standing in front of me, giving me absolutely no space to move.

"Don't make me ask again," Mason snarled out, slamming the butt of the gun into the side of the man's head. I looked away, anticipating what was going to happen next.

"I'm not telling you shit."

That man, let me tell you, he had a fucking death wish.

"Son of a bitch." Sebastian pushed away from me and shoved Mason out of the way before delivering a powerful blow to his gut, making the man let out a sickening scream of pain. I flinched and held my hand over my mouth as Sebastian continued to beat the man senseless.

"So," he spat out, yanking him upwards and back against the wall. "You want to tell us who you work for now?"

"No."

Bad move.

Sebastian smirked and yanked out his gun, and without breaking eye contact; he shot the other unconscious man.

The worst part? He effortlessly shot the man straight in the head.

"Do you want that to happen to you?" Sebastian seethed out. "Because it can. It can happen right now."

"The Black Knights." The man cried out, holding up in defense, his expression one that was of only dread.

An unamused laugh escaped Sebastian and he moved in closer.

"You know what's funny? Knights are known for owing their lives to their King." I felt my stomach tighten. "Mason get Evie out of here."

I held in my breath as Mason led me down the alley, and ignored the screams of pain and horror that echoed throughout the hallway. Just as we exited, I heard the unforgiving sound of a gunshot.

"Wait, one second." Mason said, looking over me with concern.

How pathetic are you?

"Get away from me, I'm leaving." I muttered, pushing away from Mason very quickly.

"I don't think Sebastian would want-"

"I don't care what Sebastian wants!" I cried out.

As if fate was against me, Sebastian chose that moment to walk out of the alley, blood splattered over his once white shirt.

"What?" He asked, "No thank you?"

Fuming, I whirled around to glare at him. "I didn't ask for your help, I didn't want your help, and I sure as hell don't need your help."

Sebastian glared at me and shook his head angrily.

"You know, love," he said, walking straight up to me. "It isn't a bad thing to need someone's help. You may not have wanted it, but you needed it."

Frowning, I looked away. "I'm just going to leave now."

"No, not so fast." Sebastian said, grabbing my arm. "I'm taking you home." He held up Will's keys and shook them in front of my face. Sighing, I knew not to try to fight him, and agreed to let him take me home.

After all, it was much better than walking.

Mason smirked as we climbed into the car, forcing me to sit in the passenger seat. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the silence in the car and found myself on the verge of falling asleep.

At some point, I must have dozed up, because I woke up to a hand lightly shaking me awake.

"Evelyn?" My eyes slowly opened and I stifled a yawn with the back of my hand. My eyes were finally beginning to focus onto the figure in front of me, whom just so happened to be the one and only Sebastian King.

"I'm tired," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"Okay, okay," Sebastian said softly, leaning into me as he unbuckled my seat belt. I must not have been in my right mind when I agreed to let him carry me into my house, past my worried brother, sleeping Will, and concerned Nate. He easily carried me into my room, and placed me softly onto the bed. I didn't protest as he pulled off my heels off and tucked me into the bed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Evelyn Summers." His voice was barely above a whisper, and I gave him a small smile before shutting my eyes all together.

Unsure of what tomorrow would bring, I embraced the welcoming escape of sleep.

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So much more to come!