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There was another shake to the house. I stared at nothing, listening and wondering what he was doing. Hitting the walls?

“I’m not spending it all. He can’t possibly make that much.”

“You’re saying he’s stealing?”

“I know he is. And if he’s making that much, he should be paying rent.”

Gabriel grunted.

Suddenly, there were footsteps in the hallway and the room shook again, enough that Gabriel’s glass vials on the table rattled. Someone was banging on the door.

“Get up, faggot kid,” he yelled. “You’ve got that girl in there?”

“Shit,” Gabriel said, and he scrambled up. “Stay here. Hide under the blanket.”

I shoved myself under, embarrassed that I’d only kept on the bra and panties and that was it. If this guy walked in...

I found my phone in the sheets. I tugged it close, letting the screen light up. Should I call someone? Kota? Gabriel didn’t say, so I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t as convinced they’d simply go to sleep at this point. The guy seemed too wound up.

Gabriel went to the door, but instead of opening it, he pushed his back to it and then talked. “Go away.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” There was a shake, and the crack of wood. He was shoving himself against the door.

“Go to bed,” Gabriel said. “You’re drunk.”

“Pam!” The man shouted. “Tell your son to get his ass out here.”

“This is your fight,” Pam said from what it sounded like across the house. “You should go to sleep. You got us kicked out of the bar already.”

There was more banging on the door and more shouting. Gabriel kept his back to the door, but the more he held it closed, the harder the man outside pushed. The door was cracking.

“That’s it,” Gabriel said. “Sang, let’s go.”

There was a harder shove then. The door splintered at the handle and Gabriel fell to the ground.

There was a man standing in the doorway. He was mostly in shadow, but he was bulky, with a shaved head and big arms.

Gabriel hauled himself up and shouted, “Sang! Get out of here!”

I did what he said, getting up, but terrified. I didn’t want to go for the door. The man stood aside, seeming more interested in Gabriel.

Where else was I going to go? Climb out the window? Gabriel had mentioned it, but in the rush, I wasn’t sure that would be the fastest.

Suddenly, the man stood aside, seeming to allow me access. His fight wasn’t with me.

I fled, dashing around the man, hoping Gabriel would follow, and from the scuffle behind me, it sounded like he was trying.

My goal was to get to the door and get it open so he could follow and make a clean getaway with me.

I didn’t see Pam, but I was moving too fast, my eyes blurred with tears, scared. Was she leaving us to her boyfriend’s anger? Is this what Gabriel had to deal with?

I got to the door, opened it, stepping outside into the cool night. I only then I realized I was still in my underwear and barefoot.

I didn’t want to go back for my things. In my panic, I walked out onto the porch, but didn’t dare move further.

Gabriel was suddenly at my back, pushing me down the steps. “Go!” he shouted.

We ran together into the darkness, I stumbled at first, until Gabriel took my hand and lead the way.

I looked over my shoulder. The man stood at the door, shouting, waving his arm. He slammed the door closed. The yelling continued but he wasn’t going to run after us.

My heart raced, my eyes were wide and everywhere as we made our way through the night. I was holding onto my phone.

I’d tell Mr. Blackbourne. Gabriel shouldn’t have to deal with a drunk man who wasn’t his parent yelling at him. Anger swept through me, for Gabriel’s sake.

At least we’d escaped.

RICH OR POOR

Gabriel didn’t slow until we were nearly to the main road at the end of the neighborhood. He held onto my hand, pulling me along if I slowed. Finally, he stopped at the edge by the main road, looking up and down along the street.

I shook where I stood, chilled by the cool November air, the cold ground under my bare feet and the fear still circulating through my body. The wind was damp, and the sky was overcast, threatening to rain but it hadn’t started yet. It promised to be a cool day.

“Shit,” Gabriel said. “Forgot my phone.”

“Here,” I said, passing him mine. I moved closer to him, trying to steal his body heat.

He let me get close, using one hand to dial on my phone. He put one arm around me as he held the phone to his face. “Hey Victor!” He said into it quickly. “Come pick up Sang and me. No, the old man Pam is dating had a fit. No, Pam should be fine. He doesn’t want to actually fight, he just wants to yell and scream. I didn’t want Sang there.” After a few minutes, he hung up. He looked down at me, and then yanked at his ribbed tank shirt, pulling it off. “Here,” he said. “Wear this.”

I wanted to refuse, but he kept pushing it at me, relentless. I pulled it on. He wore only his boxers now, and my legs and arms were exposed, but my stomach was covered. I guessed he didn’t want to go back for clothes either. I’d left my book bag with my clothes behind. Victor would help us, but my cheeks blazed as I thought about him driving up and seeing us like this.

We stood there, arms wrapped around each other as we waited for Victor to arrive. I wanted to say something, but I was shaking too much, too cold to focus on what to say.

Gabriel grumbled. “Shouldn’t have let you stay with me,” he said. “We should have stayed somewhere else.”

“I wanted to stay with you,” I said. “We don’t get to spend time together often.”

“I keep saying that,” he said. He pushed his face to the top of my head, his lips brushing against my hair. His palms rubbed up and down my back, trying to warm me. “I should talk to Mr. Blackbourne,” he said.

“I did,” I said.

“Huh?” he asked.

He meant about spending more time with each other, right? I lifted my head so I could look at him. “I was talking with him before I came to see you today. I was telling him how I didn’t get much of a chance to see you. He said he’d make arrangements so we got more time together.”

“Oh,” he said. “I meant I should talk to him about moving out of Pam’s house, especially if you’re going to be visiting more. I barely sleep there as it is, mostly because of Pam’s boyfriend. I stop by to check on her, but...” He sighed. “She likes to pick up real jackass boyfriends. I think she has a thing for bullies. She likes the drama. She thinks it gives her power to try to keep her thumb on and nag at a loud, obnoxious boyfriend.”

“Oh,” I said, too cold to think of another response. I put my head down, closer to his body. We probably looked crazy, standing around in our underwear at the side of the road. I hoped other people were asleep and weren’t paying attention to us. I wasn’t even sure what time it was.

“So,” he said quietly, still rubbing his hands along my back. “You wanted to spend more time with me? That’s how you ended up on my doorstep this morning?”

I nodded against him. “Yes,” I said.

He chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling through his chest. “You’re so crazy.”

I giggled against him.

A shining light down the road distracted my attention. I looked, spotting car headlights.

Gabriel started toward it, but then pulled me back against a tree. “Just in case,” he said. “I mean, I don’t want it to be McCoy.”

I stepped carefully around to hide behind the tree, holding onto it and getting a few scratches from the rough bark. I didn’t want it to be Mr. McCoy. Or Volto. Or anyone other than Victor. I was too tired and stressed to run any more.

A silver BMW pulled up and Victor hopped out quickly, looking right at us standing by the tree. “Sang?” he called out. “Gabriel?”

Gabriel stepped out first, holding out

his hands. “That was quick,” he said.

I stepped out from behind Gabriel and did a short wave at Victor, happy to see him. At least we’d both sleep somewhere safer tonight. I wanted to talk to Mr. Blackbourne, too, about Gabriel moving somewhere else. Maybe tomorrow.

Then I gritted my teeth, recalling everything else I needed to talk to him about. I sighed. Being part of this family was a lot of work.

Victor’s wavy hair was a mess on the side, like he’d been sleeping. He had on his usual white Armani shirt and black slacks, though they were wrinkled, like he’d thrown old ones on. He eyed us, noting our half-naked state. He moved to the trunk of the BMW and opened the back. He pulled out another two shirts, just like the one he wore, and two pairs of slacks, one black, one tan. “Here,” he said. “Put these on. Why are you two naked?”

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