Alice tried to swallow away the lump in her throat, but it refused to budge. It sat heavy, an unwelcome guest in her windpipe that only made it harder to breathe. She glanced up, trying not to make eye contact with any of them while feeling their eyes all over her.
With a sweaty hand, she smoothed down her skirt, regretting the choice to shift her legs and show off the curves of her thighs to the guy at her side.
None of the guys seemed surprised when the gang surrounded them.
Riley stood and fist-bumped a couple of the lads.
"A'ight?" he drawled before sitting again.
"We spotted them dudes who jumped Jay, down by the chippy," one of the lads said. He sniffed and wiped his nose before shifting on the spot, waiting to see what Riley would say.
"Felix?" Riley asked.
"I'll deal with it," Felix confirmed. As he stood from the benc
Riley dragged her for three blocks, never letting go of her wrist. The entire time her mind was dreaming up scenarios, imagining what he might do to her. What he might make her do.It wasn't so long ago she was in this exact situation, dreading what Adam would make her do next.'And you liked it,'her mind piped up.'You liked being at his mercy.'She had because deep down, she knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her too badly. He wouldn't ruin her. It had felt like a game—a strangely erotic and sometimes scary game—but a game nonetheless.This felt different. This boy had an aura of danger and death. One false move and someone could get seriously hurt. Either Mike, Adam or even one of his own minions—the triplets. They were a dopey pair, but she wouldn't want them to get hurt.When he finally stopped moving, they w
Jamie smiled to himself as he read the text from Ste. It had taken longer than he'd anticipated getting the reply, and it wasn't exactly an apology, but it was something. It proved he was still under his spell—a victim trapped inside his web.“Keep waiting,” it read. But the words were not important. The thing was, Ste had felt the need to reply. To keep the dialogue open. He wanted to talk and stay in contact, and it was only a matter of time before he was back under Jamie's thumb.'Back where he belongs,'Jamie thought.'Crawling at my feet like a dog.'The thought excited him. He thought about Ste a lot, especially when he was alone. He liked to picture his face covered in tears and snot and twisted in pain as he made himself cum. The sad fact was, it wasn't the same as having the boy’s lips wrapped around his cock, choking on it as he forced it down his thr
Alice dreaded the thought of seeing Riley in class. It felt as though she were two different people living two separate lives that were now overlapping. On the one hand, she was Alice: the professional and adult Design Assistant. But now she was also Alice—the newest member of a teenage gang of criminals.Was it going to be weird seeing him in the classroom?'A better question is... is he going to make it weird?'Alice thought. Her eyes met his as soon as she entered the classroom. He gave a slight nod as either Lex or TK shouted, "Yo!" She still couldn't tell them apart.Alice gave them an awkward wave as she passed through the classroom, feeling like every pair of eyes was upon her. Luckily, she had some cleaning to do in the back, as well as folders filled with protocols to read through.It was dull work, but at least it was easy."I assure you,
"Time to see what you're made of Miss Alice." Riley turned back to her, flashing an insane grin. "Wh—what?" Alice stammered, running after him. It was much easier to run in her sneakers, but it was still hard to keep up with the much taller boys. 'Like a bloody herd of giraffe,'she thought, panting as she finally caught up. "What do you mean? Where are we going?" she asked. "One of the lads we beat up yesterday reckons he's getting his brothers to deck us," Riley revealed, eyes flashing with crazed excitement. "I'm going to enjoying seeing the look on his face when I destroy his older brothers." Alice's eyes widened as she nodded. The guy seemed genuinely buzzed about the idea of not only fighting but beating someone to a bloody pulp. 'I really have to make sure this psycho stays away from Adam,'she though
Ste turned the corner of Eastwell Crescent. It meant taking the longer route home but also meant avoiding the walk past Adam's house. Even though Adam had forgiven him, he didn't like the way Mike eyeballed him every time he caught sight of him. That guy gave him the creeps, always had.He took a left down the alley and walked straight into Gary."Sorry," Gary cried, throwing his giant arms up as a reflex. He dropped them as he saw who he was talking to. "Oh. It's you."Ste thought he might have something more to say to him than that, but Gary was a man of few words. He turned and carried on his way without so much as a dirty look."Wait," Ste said, chasing after him. "H—how have things been since—""Since you tried to kill Adam?" Gary finished."I didn't want Adam to get hurt. I swear, man. I just... I dunno..."A
As Ste walked home, he couldn't stop thinking about Felix. He'd pushed his memories of Felix so far down in his subconscious they hadn't surfaced in years. Now, floating atop the murky depths of mind like a bloated corpse, he was forced to confront them.As he'd spent a lot of time watching Jamie during school, he remembered Felix and Jamie had crossed paths a few times. He recalled how jealous he'd been, seeing the pair together.'Maybe Jamie knows something about Felix's motives,'Ste thought. In his heart, he knew this was a sad and desperate excuse to engage with the boy who'd crushed his world. Still, if it helped Adam in any way, it was worth it.He found himself standing outside the front of Jamie's house but couldn't make himself ring the doorbell. His hand quivered as he raised it."Ste?" Alice said. She put down the newspaper recycling bin and walked down the side
As they gathered outside Adam's house, Alice prayed that Mike would take Riley up on his offer. Whatever was written inside the note he'd left on their table three days ago had to be better than the alternative. "Riley, can I ask you something?" Alice said, taking his arm and pulling him to one side. It was a diversionary and delaying tactic, but there was something she genuinely needed to know. Something that had been gnawing at her. "How did you about Adam threatening to gang-rape me?" "A little birdy told me," Riley said, tapping his nose with his finger. When Alice stared blankly, not happy with this level of explanation, he added, "Felix. It was Felix who told me about that. He pretty much knows everything. The guy's both a genius and a major snoop." 'Felix,' she thought. 'But did he get that information from my little brother?' The idea that her little brother mi
"Adam... don't go inside," Alice whispered.The look on her face and the tremble in her voice made him nervous, but he swallowed his fear. "It's my fucking house, Alice."She made a low-pitched whining sound as he barged past her."Don't look. Don't look," Mike cried. He was bent over, holding a bundle of towels.'Is that blood?'he thought, seeing the growing patches of red seeping through the fabric. The wall and mirror also featured a streak of red drips, as well as the new cushion. He remembered standing in the store with Zoe as she'd helped him pick out new furnishings. She'd insisted the mustard yellow cushion was stylish despite it being so damn ugly and bought it for him with a shit-eating grin on her face. Now it sat plastered in blood.He felt hypnotized as Mike lifted the bundle and a brown and furry leg fell out from beneath the folds.