Chapter 4

4

Perrie – Age Eighteen

Giggles echo from underneath my door, and I tense my jaw, trying my hardest not to snap.

Ever since Cassidy told me about Mom’s affair, I cut all ties with Andrea without any explanation. She showed up here, at my home, sobbing to my mother that she hadn’t heard from me in a month, that Cass stopped her from attending my father’s funeral.

And what does dear old mother do? She invites her in without any care in the world, then proceeds to chew me out.

I’ve barely said two words to her since, spending most of my nights at the apartment above the gym.

I shove some more clothes into my duffle, then grab the photos of my dad off my vanity.

I can’t stay here any longer. All I see is my dad and the memories of him; all I hear is my mom’s fake laughter for a girl she probably wishes was her daughter and who spends way too much time here.

Bitter? Maybe, do I care? Not really.

She acts like the heartbroken widow, but how can you be when you screwed someone else for a year, encouraging that man to leave his wife only to say “sorry, no thanks”, then allow your ex-lover's daughter to force her way into your daughter’s life?

I grit my teeth and go to my jewelry box, placing it in the bag just as someone knocks on my door before it opens. I turn, ready to tell off whoever’s there, thinking it’s Mom or Andrea, but I furrow my brows when I see Cassidy.

Her hazel eyes are empty, her face pale as she twists her fingers together.

“Cass?” I question with concern, and her tears fall.

I rush to her and take her in my arms as she falls apart, sobbing. My heart races, my pulse racing with concern.

“I-I, I have to leave, Pez,” she sobs, and I pull back to look at her. Anger hits when I see a bruise on her collarbone.

“Did Steal do that?” I ask, nodding to it, but she shakes her head only to then admit, “But he did hold a gun to my head and told me to leave town…. He-he believed Faith, Perrie, over me….”

That son of a ? —

“Wha…” I start, but she stops me from asking what happened.

“I have to leave, Perrie.” She sniffles before handing me paperwork. I frown and look at it, but my eyes widen when I see it’s the deed to the house. “It’s all yours,” she looks at the bag, “though I’m guessing you're going to the apartment above the gym, so maybe just sell it, let Mom figure her life out for once; the place hasn’t been the same since Dad died anyway….”

I swallow hard and beg, “Don’t leave me, Cass….”

Her tears fall harder before she kisses my head and whispers, “I don’t want to, but I have to. I can’t have him come after you.”

Like hell he would; the jackass loves her, I know he does.

This has to be a misunderstanding, right?

Cassidy pulls back, taking a good look at me with despair shining in her eyes, before she turns and grabs her suitcase. My tears fall as she leaves, knowing I won’t hear from her after today.

She’s scared, and she’s running. I don’t know what happened, but my sister is the most caring person I know. She wouldn’t do anything unless she had to.

I’m going to kill Steal!

“My daddy misses you,” Andrea whispers as I get to the bottom of the stairs, my duffle hanging off my shoulder, my heart in tatters.

She’s really gone….

Anger shoots through me at the bitch’s words, and I grip the strap on my bag over my shoulder tighter. “It’s been two years. Maybe you two can try again….” Andrea continues.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but my husband, though mad at me, was the love of my life. What happened with your father never should have happened, and you know this. Now, Perrie doesn’t know, even though Cassidy does, and I need to keep it that way, so please don’t discuss this again. I don’t want to hurt her; she loved her father, and I’d lose her if she ever found out,” Mom replies, and I scoff silently, knowing she doesn’t want to lose her only income.

I turn and open the front door.

“Perrie?” I hear Mom shout from the kitchen as I slam the front door and head to the Mustang.

“You’ve got to go faster than that, Dad,” I giggle as my dad races some idiot in a Ferrari next to us, and my dad laughs, going faster….

I blink back the tears and swallow the lump in my throat before opening the driver’s door, throwing my bag in the back, and climbing in.

I notice Mom in the doorway, looking at the car and then toward me, but I ignore her and start the ignition before I pull out of the driveway.

Cassidy is gone. She’s left because of Steal, leaving me alone. I need to let my anger out, and there’s only one way I know how….

“Daddy,” I scream, “please don’t leave me!”

I press my hands firmly on his chest, counting to thirty before I blow two breaths into his mouth, and then continue with compressions, my tears falling hard.

I swing my right fist, hitting Franky in his jaw, making him grunt, his long ginger hair falling over his face as memories of my dad consume me.

Franky, who has wanted to beat me for the past three years, swings back, his left fist going to my ribs, sending shockwaves through me, but I ignore it, and I spin, bringing my elbow back and hitting him in the neck, making him cough, before I drop to the floor, kicking my legs out, knocking him off his feet.

He stumbles, just catching himself, and runs toward me, his green-blue eyes firing daggers when I smirk at him. He screams, throwing a left hook, but I dodge it and swing my right fist to his face, hitting his temple and causing him to fall with a bang , his head bouncing off the ring.

I can hear his twin brother Austin screaming from the ropes, “Get up, you fucking idiot, don’t let that bitch fucking beat you again and make you look weak, she’s a fucking girl!” I tilt my head at Franky, watching as he struggles to lift himself, coughing. “I swear to fuck, Franky. We’ve bet over $50,000 on you winning, fucker!” he shouts louder, and I grin as the ref starts to count, the crowd screaming my name, before my arm is grabbed and lifted up.

“And your winner yet again—Tinker!” the announcer shouts into the mic, the crowd going wild.

I breathe heavily, ignoring the death glare from the idiot still on the floor, struggling to get up. I bend and climb underneath the ropes, shoving past his brother, who’s glaring at me.

Honestly, it’s his own fault for betting against me again. He knows I’m the best fighter here. I’ve been part of the fight club since I was fourteen, and my father had been training me without him even realizing it.

So had Ollie, though he goes by Acid now.

It’s how I managed to earn so much money for the gym behind Dad’s back, all while my big sister cleaned me up when I got too many hits. She helped several other fighters, too, so she could earn extra money for college.

The Rebel’s MC owned the fight club and was very reluctant to allow me to fight, but with it being illegal, there’s no age limit, and the fact I took down five of their men, they were happy for me to fight, and now they earn shit loads of money from me.

People pat my back as I make my way to the hallway, but I ignore them, accept the envelope of cash from Viking, a Rebel’s brother who stays in New York, and head to the changing rooms.

“ Time of death, seven fifty-five,” the doctor says as I run into the ER room, and a scream escapes before arms wrap around my waist, my sister sobbing as she holds me back.

“No, no, please, I got him back, please!” I scream, and the doctors look at me with sympathy before a crash can be heard from behind me.

“She’s fainted,” someone says loudly, but I ignore them and continue trying to pull out of my sister’s fingers to get to my dad.

He’s not dead, he’s not ? —

I blink and open the door to the empty dressing rooms, willing the memories to leave my head.

I can’t escape them, no matter how hard I try or how hard I fight, they consume me.

Unwrapping my knuckles, I throw the straps on the bench before the door opens, and I turn to see the twins, Austin and Franky.

I raise a brow, crossing my arms over my chest, and state, “You know the rules, get out.”

No men are allowed in here alone with a woman; it’s one of the only rules other than “no killing” that the Rebel’s abide by.

Austin sneers as Franky looks me up and down, and something cold shivers down my spine, the look of a predator in their eyes hitting me hard. I drop my arms and get into stance, knowing they’re about to hurt me, before Austin runs over to me, tackling me to the ground before I can even swing my fist.

I grunt at the impact on my chest before he’s suddenly sitting on my upper back, pressing my hands above my head.

He chuckles. “Not so fucking tough now, are you bitch?”

I thrash beneath him and threaten, “Get off me, or I’ll kill you!”

He laughs before I feel hands hook into my gym shorts, and I freeze for a moment in shock when I realize they are not going to kick the crap out of me. No, they’re going to?—

Austin’s grip tightens as his brother removes my shorts and panties, and I kick out, screaming, hoping to knock him off and get someone’s attention.

Austin quickly moves, grabbing my hands with one of his and placing his other hand over my mouth.

I bite him hard as I kick my legs, making him growl and grab my hair, lifting my head before slamming my head on the concrete floor.

I groan in pain as Franky parts my legs and thrusts inside me. Sharp, shooting pain hits, and I scream out again, Austin once again covering my mouth.

“Fuck, Aus, she’s a virgin, or was,” Franky laughs, and tears fall as he thrusts into my dry entrance, taking my virginity.

I thrash and scream behind Austin’s hand, not willing to give up, trying to escape, but all they do is laugh.

I feel Franky come inside me, and everything in me stills as horror takes over.

He raped me….

“Fuck, you have to feel how tight she is, brother; her blood coating your cock is an amazing feeling,” Franky grunts, and I thrash again, adamant to get away.

I catch Austin off guard when I thrash, and he wobbles, falling off me, causing him to curse but soon gasp in pain as I spin, ignoring the pain between my legs, not allowing myself to even think about what just happened yet, and boot him in between his legs hard.

Franky grabs my hair and punches my face. Dizziness takes hold but I ignore it as I lift my foot, kicking him in the stomach, making him grunt before he tackles me to the ground.

I scream and try to headbutt him but fail as he sits on my chest. I thrash my legs about when I feel hands gripping them before I’m violated once again, and I sob.

Franky grins down at me as his brother rapes me hard and fast, brutally thrusting as punishment, and I still, my body going cold, allowing them to get it over with, already feeling the wetness that I can only assume is blood on my thighs.

Austin moans a few minutes later, also coming inside of me, before Franky slaps my face hard, then sneers, “Should have fucking just let me win, bitch….”

That said, he stands, and both brothers leave, laughing while I lay on the floor, my tears coating my cheeks, my stomach aching, and my legs hurting.

They raped me, all because they lost….

Swallowing hard, I slowly turn, trying to ignore the pain, and crawl to my bag.

I grab my phone and press on Acid’s contact information. I barely speak to him since he turned me down, mainly out of embarrassment and shame because I ruined our friendship, but I need him. Cass is gone, Mom is, well, Mom; I need him….

The phone rings several times before voicemail answers, and I let out another sob, dropping my phone.

Dad is dead, Mom’s a cheating whore, Cassidy’s gone, and Acid is no longer in my life–I’m all alone.

I feel myself shutting down, coldness taking over, but I don’t stop it; I don’t stop my heart from hardening. Instead, I slowly stand and walk to the showers.I turn the water on as hot as it will go before scrubbing myself red raw, causing my skin to bleed while promising to get revenge, promising never to let anyone near me again….