Page 12 of We Are Yours

“Don’t make me out to be the bad guy, Julius. You know I’m right. She’s covered in blood. Why do you think that is? You may as well spray paint ‘Cops, look here’ on the front door. Better yet”—he paused for effect—“how about I go buy a can and write it for us? Then the element of surprise would be gone.”

“They’re not going to come here, Kraven. Relax.”

Through a clenched jaw, he countered, “There’s an unconscious teenage girl on our dining room table. You lose your shit when I miss a class, but this, this you’re calm for?”

“Kraven… not now, okay? Can you give me a break? Please,” I stressed, unable to justify my answers with a response because he was right.

This was dangerous, and I was being reckless, putting everything we worked so hard for in jeopardy for a girl I didn’t even know.

However, I couldn’t admit to that. He turned his determined stare at me, shaking his head while opening the door from behind him. The loud rumble of the train behind our house came like a warning.

With his voice firm and unnerving, he cautioned, “When all this comes to a head, don’t say I didn’t warn you...”

I grabbed his hoodie that was covered in her blood off the table, tossing it at him, but he let it fall to the floor by his feet. He left it there, slamming the door behind him, and took off. It was what he did best.

Except this was where the lines were drawn.

This was where it all started.

* * *

This was only the beginning of us battling over her.

Chapter

Five

Isla

My eyes fluttered open, only to be met with nothing but darkness. I tried to get my arms and body to move, but it was no use. I was too weak. My lips were dry, my throat raw and burning, making it hard to swallow, let alone scream out for help. I tried to process what was going on, what had happened, and how long I had been out, but I couldn’t push through the haze.

I was so tired, so dizzy, so out of it that panic couldn’t even set in. My head pounded heavily as if it weighed a thousand pounds. All I could hear were my own thoughts. My warm body lay on something soft, but I still felt numb until everything went black again, and I took comfort in the darkness.

The next time, I was startled awake from the hard, jagged footsteps heading down the hall. Boots pounded onto the floors, vibrating through the space between us, getting louder and louder with each passing second.

I opened my eyes, peering around the room that was now pitch black. I couldn’t even see an inch in front of me. Nightfall had taken over. It took me a moment to remember where I was and what had happened.

My mind was still groggy and filled with unanswered questions that never seemed to stop.

All irrational thought vanished, and my flight instincts kicked in…

I need a weapon.

It was my last thought before I heard familiar voices coming from the other side of that door.

Kraven announced, “Julius, she’s been passed out forever.”

I waited, steadying my quivering breath and praying they didn’t hear my heart because it was beating out of my chest. I felt it ringing in my ears, hammering into my clammy skin. I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard the doorknob click over. It was about to open.

But Julius intercepted. “Kraven.” It sounded like he pulled him away from the door. “Leave her alone.”

I wanted to flee.

To run.

Except my body decided to pass out again, whether I wanted it to or not.

I didn’t know how much time had flown by when I jolted awake, gasping for air. Desperately trying to find my bearings as dizziness washed over me like a bucket of cold water.