Chapter Five: Calm

When I slowly open my eyes, I immediately feel pain everywhere.

I try to remember what I did to cause such pain but nothing comes to me.

I lie on my back even though it's killing me and look around trying to grasp information about the situation I'm in.

Thia isn't my room. I try to remember why I'm in this foreign room but nothing comes to mind.

Slowly I loose my grip on reality as my chest becomes more restricted with each breath. My throat feels as if I've swallowed pieces of glass.

I raise my hand to press on my throat but my hand won't stay still. I try to calm myself but my breathing becomes heavier and I find myself wanting to be sick.

I spot a bathroom in the corner and try to get to it.

As soon as I take a step, my legs collapse out from under me, leaving me in a heap.

The feeling of uselessness consumes me as none of my efforts to move succeed.

Subsequently, fear flooded through me and filled me. Colourful spots dance through my vision as I stop hyperventilating and start choking.

The door bursts open and a figure runs towards me. That was all I could tell as the figure approaches me due to my colour distortion.

"Think calm. If that's hard just focus on my voice." The voice is deep and slightly gritty. I think it's a man but I'm not that sure.

Calm. 'Think calm' he says. He thinks it's that easy.

"Breathe in through your nose and out through you're mouth." He says.

I try to calm down and follow his instructions. While I'm doing this he keeps repeating the word calm.

Gradually I calm down and I manage to regain control of my shaking body.

A sense of fatigue envelopes me like a soft and inviting duvet.

I mutter a quick thatnk you to whoever helped and drift off to a land of dreams

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The first thing I see when I open my eyes is a ceiling with peeling white paint.

Ignoring the seering pain jolting through my body, I get up and evaluate the room.

Instead of black and blue walls I had grown up with, the walls are white and peeling just like the ceiling. There is a tiny wardrobe and a door which is open and showing a poorly kept toilet and shower.

I sit back on the bed which is probably the best kept thing in the room, and bring my knees up to my chest.

Memories off the earlier and yesterday come flooding in.

I don't cry but remain motionless as I remember what exactly happened yesterday.

The extreme beating and the kidnapping.

I don't exactly know what to feel. I'm angry that I've been kidnapped and lost my freedom but on the other hand I want to cry for the same reason.

I don't even understand why this all is for though. How could I possibly help with his stupid gang anyway?

I try to get up to wander around the amount of pain coursing through me causes me to hiss and ease myself back down.

I don't want to give up easily but what can I do while I'm in so much pain? Every inch of my body hurts so fucking much. Sure I said somethings but honestly, did I deserve to be thrown into a wall, kicked in the belly then spat on the face?

I hear the door unlock but I'm in too much pain to actually see who it is. If it's Jax though, I have more than a few words to say to that motherfucking bastard.

I feel the bed dip and see Maia with her best friend Cara.

"Hey Destiny," I close my eyes as I don't respond to her. Maybe if ignore them they'll go away.

I refuse trust anyone that is in a gang. I don't care if they act nice like Maia is trying to, they'll probably end up betraying me in the end.

"How are you feeling?" I stare at her with a straight face. That's probably the most stupid question I've ever been asked.

I can't hold in my comment after.

"I'm feeling as great as a person kidnapped and beaten up would feel." I say as upbeat as I can without hurting myself, even managing to do a small hand movement with my none hurting arm.

"Aww the poor little bitch is helpless. " my eye twitches as it processes what she says. The poor thing just can't catch a break.

I ignore her and concentrate on Cara. I'm not in the mood for any of her bullshit.

"Oh okay." There's a long pregnant silence. Cara laughs at my pain and I just watch her.

How I would like to use her hair to strangle her.

"I brought you some food and medicine." She lifts up a bag and pulls out some foods.
I look ravenously at the fingerfoods. I haven't eaten is so long considering I didn't get the pizza I was promised, I'm sure it was yesterday.

She hands me a fork, helps me to sit up before I tuck in immediately. She coughs to get my attention so I motion for her to carry on before giving all my attention to the food.

"I know you have no reason to trust me but know I'm here and that about 3 years ago I was in the same place you are now." She pauses to see if I'm listening then continues when she realises that I am. Well partially.

Cara gives her a death glare as she realises what she is going to say.

"I fucking swear Maia, if you tell this bitch what happened, I will never speak to you again."

You'd think for someone in a gang she would come up with better threats.

Maia looks at Cara for a bit before turning to me and continuing her story.

"Back then, the gang was in New York. Cara and I were 16. Cara is my adopted sister so we were both constantly together. I was a nerd that majored in hacking while Cara was a jock that was especially great in gymnastics. Jax came to our school and the instance Cara saw him she fell in love with him."

Cara grunts and shakes her head in denial muttering 'I'm going to kill that bitch.' I don't really understand if she's calling me a bitch or Maia but Maia didn't care. She didn't even stop.

"She was lovestruck. When I say lovestruck I mean she was forcing me to fund out everything about him and she snuck into his house several times.

I tried to show her that he wasn't good news but she was too blinded by her 'love' for him that Cara ended up getting us both kidnapped. We tried to get away but we didn't get very far."

Cara shouts her protests about how she tried to run but Maia was too slow and they got into a mini argument.

Is this how all best friends act?

"We were trained and now here we are happy and working for him." Maia finishes.

"You're happy working for him?!"I splutter. Wasn't expecting that.

"The pay is good and it's fun." I stare at Cara weirdly as she picks her nails while casually saying that sentence.

"Don't worry, you'll end up enjoying it just like we do!" Maia reassures me. Like it worked. I will never ever enjoy working for Jax. Hell, I'm not going to work for him.

"Ha ha no thanks." I laugh off their glares at me.

"Did you have any other family members apart from Cara and your parents?" I ask trying to reditect the conversation. They are currently my only source of entertainment.

"Yeah, I had 3 older brothers and an older sister." She has that many family members and she gave up that easily?! Surely if you has that many family members you would have something worth over fighting for.

When I finish my food, she hands me some water and some capsules. I don't know if she is trying to hurt me but knowing she friends with Cara, the possibility that it is poison is high.

I pretend to take it and say a forced thank you to them. Maia smiled while Cara decided to just grunt.

They walk out soon after.

Good riddance. All this talking, glaring and the occasional eye twitch are beginning to get on my nerves.

Being with humans makes me fill stressed.

I rest my head back down on my pillow to sleep again when the lock on the door clicks and someone walks in.

"What now!" I cry out to my self softly.

I take, a peek towards the door and immediately scowl.

The person that walked in just happened to be the person I hate most in the world.

The one, the only, Jax!

"I see you learnt your lesson" He moves forward and pinches one of my bruises and a hiss escapes my mouth.

"Which was to..." I'm not going to submit to him. Not now or ever. He can break my bones, do whatever he wants, I am not going down without a ship.

"Don't play dumb with me! You know you learnt to never ever disrespect me." Right. Keep thinking that.

"Are you sure? Because I think you're a fucking prick that doesn't give a shit about other people's feelings." I just went there.

His hands whips out and punches my jaw. I wince but try my best not to show any of the pain I'm in. As instinct my hand instantly reaches out and backhands him like I saw once on TV.

Yoy could here the sound of the smack bouncing of the wall.

"Look Destiny," he grips my neck, lifts me up and starts choking me. "I could strangle you but I'm not going to" his grip slightens by the tiniest bit. "But I don't want my soon-to-be wife with too many bruises."

"Soon to be wife?! Hell no! What on earth made you think I'd ever even consider marrying you?!"I scream at him. The thought sends disgusted shivers through me.

"We were meant to be. Anyway, it doesn't matter what you think. You see you are on a tiny piece on a gameboard." He moves closer to me than he already is and he was basically on top of me be.

"Let's think of it as chess if you will. I am the King. The highest and most important piece." That's wrong.
"You are all but a pawn. I do not need the Queen piece because you will never be of any true value or hold any true power. You are simply but arm candy."

I keep my eyes blank but my mind is all filled with so much hatred for him it's unbelievable. I honestly hate this bastard so much. It's like he thinks of me as a pawn. Not just any pawn, the gang leader's pawn.

I then smirk as I realise what true power I do actually hold over the situation.

The King is highest in nothing but title. It is the rooks, bishops, knights, pawns and Queen that hold actual power.

One piece can make that one different during a game. If a pawn reaches it eigth rank it can be promoted to a Queen if choosen and the Queen is the most powerful player.

I am going to be that pawn. Seemingly useless until the time serves right for me to upgrade.

He has come to a battle of wits unarmed. Too bad I don't care.