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“It’s not,” I groan, pulling harder at the ropes. “Untie me,” I order.
“And then I can take you upstairs?”
“And then leave!” I shout with enough anger to make him retreat slightly.
“But then how am I meant to show you that you’ve made a huge mistake?” He rests a hand on my naked thigh, too close to my core. “You know when you give yourself to me, I’ll make you feel so good, Jake will be a distant memory. It’s only a matter of time.” I tremble at his words.
“Get the fuck out of my house, fucking creep,” Rose’s cold voice breaks the eye contact between me and Nathan.
He straightens up and looks down at me with a knowing smile. When he turns to Roy and Carlo, they start executing his orders. One breaks a lamp with the bat while the other starts hitting the TV.
“What the fuck,” Rose shrieks. “Nate!” She goes to grab Carlo’s arm, but Sam grabs her by the waist and lifts her up easily. He pulls her away, caging her with his massive form.
“Leave it,” he orders.
“Stop! Let go. This has nothing to do with us!”
The panic in her stare as she turns her eyes to her older brother breaks my heart.
“You already got what you wanted,” she protests in a broken voice. Her eyes fill with tears but as usual, none of them fall. “Nate, please,” she whispers in defeat. “They only wanted to take care of us. They’re good people.”
His smirk is bright as he walks to Sam and her, putting a hand on her cheek. “And we’re not, Ozy. You got a taste of the good life, but it’s not for us. Time to get back to reality.”
By the time the ambulance siren rings down the street, the Diaz brothers are finished with the whole ground floor of the house, Rose is sitting on the floor in a corner of the room, Sam standing in front of her, so she doesn’t even think of making a move. My eyes are strained, trying to look for the uneven rise and fall of Jake’s chest. The four men make their way out calmly, not without Nate telling Rose to bring the signed papers to Bianco by the end of tomorrow.
“Make sure he doesn’t put blood on them,” he chuckles. “Oh, and you know the names to give for the home invasion.”
She nods in response and they all leave without looking back.
Rose unties me before the ambulance comes in and I jump up, ready to run to Jake but I fall suddenly, and she catches me just before I hit the ground.
“My legs are dead.” I look up at her in panic.
“You’ll be fine,” she whispers back to me, running a hand up and down my back.
I think this is her attempt at being reassuring. I sit back down on the chair and try to wiggle my legs as much as possible until they feel like I can stand again.
There are multiple knocks on the door until we overhear the police forcing their way in. Rose is on Jake, trying to talk to him and making sure he is still responding. He’s talking to her, but I can’t discern his words. All I hear is her broken voice.
“I’m so sorry, I had to,” she repeats for the second time. “I had to sign.”
A police officer shouts to put her hands up when they barge into the living room. First responders are following closely. Rose slowly gets up, but she doesn’t put her hands up. “I live here, asshole.”
I can understand the confusion. She’s hunched over a beaten body, wearing tight black jeans and a tight black turtleneck. She has the typical burglar look on her right now.
Jake is put on a stretcher and they take him away. I will my legs to work and I start running after them while another police officer talks to Rose. I can hear her insults and overhear him ask if she’s inebriated or under the influence.
I run into the cold night in Jake’s t-shirt and reach the ambulance just before they close the door.
“I’m coming,” I shout. The condensation from my breath in the night air makes me realize I’m shivering, bare legs, only wearing Jake’s large tee and nothing else. I extend a shaking hand to hold onto something and get in, but the medic gets in the way.
“This is an emergency, miss, and we can’t take minors in here with us. We’re going to the Silver Falls ER, you can meet him there.”
“I-but…I need to be with him.” My bottom lip trembles at the thought of being separated when he’s in this state.
Another medic comes forward. “Miss, I’m gonna need you to step back so we can leave. This is for his safety.”
I take a step back automatically and watch as the ambulance drives away, the flashing light and siren making it look surreal. I take another step back when it hits me that I’m not actually a minor. Tonight, I’m eighteen.
Happy Birthday to me.
