Page 8 of The Lost Ones

She isn’t a part of the plan; we are supposed to gather as much information as possible about the son of a known local mafia leader, who no one has ever been able to get close to. The idea was to get to him through the students he sells to since he is a couple of years older than the students themselves. He’s supposedly selling drugs and guns to the kids at the local high school.

Our mission is dangerous. We are all highly trained for this kind of thing, but it doesn't make it any less dangerous. We all agreed though that now that we have met her, we want to get to know her and want to help her fight whatever demons she seems to be fighting by herself. All of us have demons that we have to deal with but having our brothers standing by us and helping us makes it a fuck-ton easier to fight them.

As we are discussing a few details to do with the mission all five of us suddenly get a sharp shooting pain in our ribs causing us all to yell out loud. We frantically pull up our shirts, shocked to find severe bruising that seems to appear as if from nowhere.

As we look to check on one another we notice that the bruising is in exactly the same place on every one of us. Glancing at each other in confusion we watch in morbid fascination as the giant purple bruise slowly fades until it’s like it wasn't there at all. We all sit in shock for a few minutes until Levi quickly gets up from the couch and tells us he's going to do some research about whatever the fuck just happened, to see if he can find out what it means. We all slowly nod before making our way up to our rooms for the night. Our brains spinning with possible reasons for the strange bruise to appear.

Chapter Four

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Son of a bitch, what is that fucking noise. My groggy and pain filled mind tries to fight through the haze of sleep and slowly succeeds. Once I’m somewhat more awake my arm slowly and painful creeps out from under the covers and I smack my hand down on the top of my beeping alarm.

Fuck.

I am in so much pain. I debate whether I actually want to attempt to go into school today but a crash from downstairs makes my decision for me.

To school I go!

I don't think I should let my walls down around the guys like I had planned. At least not today. I learnt yesterday that they are far too observant and will pick up on my distress and pain almost immediately. Especially since I'm going to have to move extremely slow and careful to avoid further injuring my battered ribs.

I should probably go and get them checked out by someone who at least knows a little bit more about medical stuff than I do. I don't know anyone though and I can’t go to the hospital, so my own self-diagnosis will have to do.

I take the pain killers I had the forethought to leave on my nightstand last night and wait for them to kick in before I slowly make my way to my tiny closet. There is no way I will be able to pull up a pair of jean shorts right now so instead I choose a pair of black leggings, a long black tank top and a long thin grey button up cardigan made out of jersey material that covers my butt. It’s too hot today to wear a cosy jumper, no matter how much I want to just for comfort.

I slip on a pair of black flip flops that I can put on without bending down. I carefully empty my book bag only leaving a pen,a thin notebook and the few pieces of homework that are due today, in an attempt to makeit as light as possible.

Wrapping my arm around myself for extra support, and because that arm is pretty much useless anyway, I quietly make my way out of my room and out of the house with no further incidents.

My mother obviously exhausted herself last night beating the crap out of me and is still sleeping.

I had to leave extra early this morning because it’s going to take me a long time to make the walk to school since I’m in so much pain. The morning is still crisp and the breeze is cold although the sun is starting to gradually warm it up. It's still early enough that only a couple of cars are out on the road and the silence is incredibly peaceful.I soak up as much of that peace as I can. Peace is a rare thing in my world.

I have to stop to rest several times on the way, but I finally make it to school with a few minutes to spare. As soon as I walk through the front gates, I can feel eyes on me, and I just know it's my guys.

No one else ever pays me any attention.

I straighten my spine and try to walk normally, even though it hurts like a bitch. I know eventually, if I want to get to know the guys better, I will have to tell them about this part of my life, but not yet. I want them to get to know me before they learn about my shitty home life.

A sharp pain stabs through my side and I inhale sharply, glancing out of the corner of my eye hoping the guys haven't noticed. They are all standing holding their left sides and wincing. The pain fades and I frown slightly as I walk through the doors to the school. That was extremely fucking weird.

The walk to my locker is painful but I do it and somehow manage to avoid the hordes of people pushing and shoving each other through the hallways. I grab the book I need for my first class and make my way to the classroom taking my usual seat in the back corner. It's not long before the chair beside mine is pulled out and Jax sits down next to me. I can feel his eyes on me and as much as I want to turn and talk to him, I can't. They are too observant and I'm not ready to share that part of my fucked-up life.I mean come on! I met them yesterday and we said, at most, three sentences to each other before I freaked out and bolted.

I want them to get to know me before they find out about all the shit that happens in my life. That way, maybe, they'll stay.

"Are you ok Sage?" Jax asks quietly, concern evident in his voice.

The fact that he’s concerned is like a balm to my battered body and I feel myself soften my defences against him, unintentionally. I turn in my chair slightly, hiding the cringe of pain that goes through me.

"I'm fine Jax, thank you though." I say softly.

"Are you sure sweetheart? I can't shake the feeling that something’s wrong."

I frown at him in confusion and frustration.