Maybe you'll save me
You're gonna take me from this crazy I've been painting

Chapter 10 ~ The Middle

Owen Bailey

When we returned to the apartment in the ungodly hours of the night, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to Raven. My wishes were blatantly disregarded, though, because Raven rushed to my side to scorn me for leaving when I was injured. I wasn't really listening to what she was saying nor was I caring about what she was saying. I wanted to get high, really high, so I could momentarily forget about all these fucking traitors in my life.

Midway through her rant, I pushed past her and ambled over to the bedroom we shared—one that I didn't want to be sharing tonight. Naturally, she followed me and began to talk even louder than before. I tried to ignore it, but her voice just kept ringing in my ears. "Shut the fuck up, would you?" I barked at her. "I don't wanna fucking talk to you. Isn't that obvious?"

Her eyes widened, showing the icy blue color of her irises. "Owen, what—"

"Get out!" I screamed with every inch of breath in my lungs. The volume of my voice frightened her a bit because she immediately stumbled backwards, but she seemed to get the not-so-subtle hint I was sending her. I didn't even care that her bottom lip had started to quiver or that her eyes had gotten glassy due to the tears threatening to fall. All I cared about was the peaceful silence that followed when she finally left.

I tossed my current blood-stained shirt into the trash and swapped it for a new one before I slowly inched into bed and switched off the beside lamp. With the room now bathed in absolute darkness, I laid back in bed and stared at the ceiling, finally letting my thoughts
roam freely for the first time that day.

These late hours were seriously taking a toll on me. Before this, I only had to worry about where I would get my next batch of weed. Now I had too much on my plate: Trey, Ake, Lucifer and Raven. It seemed like the only person I didn't have to worry about was Jonah because he was surprisingly low maintenance.

I truly hated having to be the father figure all the time. I didn't want to worry about anyone else, only myself.

I put up this front. I made everyone around me believe that I was capable of dealing with everything the universe sent my way, but I really wasn't. Had I known this would be my future, I would've never agreed to Lucifer's offer four years ago. I would've gotten a regular job and I wouldn't have the biggest drug lord in the city desperately trying to kill me.

I was more tired than I anticipated because after minutes of contemplating what my life would be like if I had made smart decisions, I drifted into a deep sleep and became immersed in an alternate reality that seemed too real to be a dream.

"Owen, I would like you to meet our new addition to the team," Lucifer announced in his deep, baritone voice as he shoved a scrawny kid towards me. The boy toppled onto the floor and hung his head low, allowing his black hair to conceal his face from me. "He's gonna be our prostitute."

I lifted my eyes from the boy to look at Lucifer—the man who had taken so much from me. "What are you talking about?"

"I want to expand my clientele pool," the dirty-blond stated as though the answer was obvious. He stood with such authority and confidence like he didn't have a single care in the world, but maybe that was because he didn't. He hired people to do his dirty work for him. The only deed that he saw fit to execute for himself was killing members who were disloyal. "Instead of just selling drugs, we can sell sex, too. This boy's perfect for the job, don't you think?"

My gaze fell to the boy, again. He had finally lifted his head to look at me with terrified brown eyes. His hair clung onto his forehead and his eyes were bloodshot red, like he had been crying for hours. He was young, very young, probably no older than seventeen. Pressing my lips into a thin grim line, I cleared my throat and tried to remain as objective as possible. "Sure."

"Great." He kicked the boy in his side and the boy howled in pain while he tried to clutch the injured area to soothe the pain. "Because you're gonna break him in for me."

"What?" I questioned, completely taken aback by his request. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's simple. You're gonna fuck him and tell me if he'd be a good prostitute or not." Lucifer shrugged his shoulders with so much nonchalance that I started to wonder if he was capable of feeling remorse. I knew the answer was most likely no, but I refused to believe that a person could be as cruel as he was. "I've got other obligations, but when I get back, you'll be done right?"

I stood to my feet. "Wait, no! I'm not gonna do that."

Lucifer smoothed out the wrinkles on his tuxedo and tied his hands behind his back just as he raised a questioning brow at me. "Are you defying my orders, Owen? We both know how that'll end. I'll gladly make you the prostitute instead of him, if that's what you want."

"No, that's not what I—"

"Good." His lips peeled into a sinister grin. "You have an hour. And just in case you decide not to obey, I'll happily remind you that his room is filled with cameras." He gave me a short nod, then he turned on his heel to walk out of the bedroom that he had so graciously bestowed on me, leaving me alone with the whimpering boy.

I swallowed a lump in my throat and adjusted the collar of my shirt. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to hurt the little boy just like Lucifer had hurt me, but not following his orders meant even worse consequences for me. I would do anything not to have that sick bastard touch me ever again.

But the boy kept crying, making it awfully hard to follow my orders. "Hey, stop that. Look, I don't wanna do this to you, but I have to. Stop crying."

If it was possible, he cried even harder.

"Stop," I groaned.

He didn't.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, I sauntered over to the boy and picked him up by the collar of his shirt. As soon as we made eye contact, he sucked in a harsh breath and started to hyperventilate, taking short breaths that didn't seem to be adequate enough for him. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It'll be fine. You'll be fine. I have to do this or he'll kill us both."

"Please don't," he choked out. "I wanna go home. I want my parents!"

"Me too, kid," I said softly, "me too." For a few moments, I let the boy cry his eyes out until I decided that I couldn't afford to wait any longer. "Hey, what's your name?"

"M-Matthew," he stammered between sobs.

"Matthew," I repeated, giving him a reassuring smile. "My name's Owen."

"Owen," he whispered. "Please d-don't do t-this. P-please. I beg of you!"

I grabbed the sides of his face and forced him to look at me. "This is horrible. What I'm going to do is awful, but I h-have to. I promise I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I'm gonna protect you. I won't let him lay a hand on you. I won't let anyone make you feel like this ever again, do you hear me? Never."

Matthew brought his deep brown eyes to me and slowly nodded. "Please don't make it hurt."

"I'll try my best," I assured him and before I knew it, I was stripping him of all his clothes and violating his personal space.

And I hated every minute of it.

As soon as I became aware that I was reliving a moment that I certainly didn't want to relive, I jumped out of my sleep and screamed, "Matthew!" as though I had somehow expected him to answer me. My thoughts instantly went to him, wondering where he was and what he was doing and hoping that be was okay. That night, I made it my duty to protect him and even though I didn't work for Lucifer anymore, I planned to keep my promise.

But it wasn't like he needed much protection. Chances were he was currently sleeping with a grimy, old man in exchange for some extra cash. The day I met Matthew, he was shy, quiet, and scared. Nowadays, he never missed an opportunity to make a sexual innuendo or flirt with anyone who was worth looking at.

It was almost laughable at how much Lucifer could change a person and make them forget about who they used to be.

I was unaware of Trey's presence in my bedroom until he said, "No, it's Trey, but I guess that's close enough."

I kept opening and closing my eyes to confirm that the black boy was actually sitting at the edge of the bed. Sure enough, the soft yellow-ish light from the lamp beside me illuminated the room, indicating that he had been here for quite some time if he bothered to turn the light on. After a while, I managed to make the distinction that this was real life and not another elaborate dream. "What do you want?" I spat, which was my go-to response whenever Trey looked at me with that inquiring look.

"Me? You're the one who was freaking out in your sleep."

I stared at him for a very long time until he became uncomfortable and looked away. "No, I wasn't," I refuted even though there was a possibility that he was right.

"Yeah, you were," he insisted. "Raven wanted to check on you, but she said that you were mad at her, so I came instead."

I faked a smile. "Great, you can leave now."

"Why so hostile?" Trey continued to question despite my efforts to make him go away. "You know, I did just save your life. I thought we developed some kind of friendship."

Burying my head in my hands, I grabbed onto tufts of my short hair and groaned. "Why are you still here!"

Trey's face drained itself of all its previous amusement and was replaced by an unfriendly glare. "You were having a nightmare, so stop being a dick and let me help."

"How do you intend on helping?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

He was stumped by the question based on the way his eyebrow furrowed and his face twisted in deep thought. "Well, when I had nightmares when I was little, my nanny used to cuddle with me until I fell asleep." As soon as he suggested the idea, a somewhat amused grin crept onto his face.

I didn't even try to hide the laugh that followed. "Yeah, no, I'm fine."

"Are you?" Trey asked. "Besides, it's not like it's gay or anything. I mean, you let two dudes suck your dick and you're still convinced that you're straight."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I fixed my posture to sit up properly. "I never said I was straight. I just said that I wasn't a faggot."

His eyebrows rose. "But you are, so it appears as though you're speaking in contradictions, Owen."

I wanted to counterattack with a just-as-offensive comment, but I wasn't nearly energized enough to think of anything coherent. Choosing not to spend my time and effort on him, I rolled my eyes and slumped under the sheets until my head finally hit the pillow. Almost simultaneously, my eyelids fluttered shut to prepare themselves for the long night's sleep ahead, but I couldn't sleep with Trey still staring at me. "Are you planning to leave anytime soon?"

"Not until you agree," he said. "Plus, my room kinda smells like dog shit."

I mentally rolled my eyes, but I still found myself turning onto my side to give him space on the futon. He didn't get the hint immediately, so I had to point it out for him. "Come on."

I should've expected the smug grin that came onto his face seconds after. He crawled onto the futon and settled into the empty space beside me. When he quit tossing and turning relentlessly, I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his waist. Surely, if I was this close to him, then there was no way I would have another dream about my past life.

"Yeah, this isn't gay at all," he felt the need to comment.

"Stop talking."

He did, for only a minute. "Your breath stinks, by the way."

"Go to sleep," I ordered.

I expected him to respond with another smart comment, but I didn't stay awake long enough to find out.

And oddly enough, I didn't dream about Lucifer.

*  *  *

Everything hurt. When I found the strength to peel my eyes open, all I was able to gather was that I was in a severe amount of pain. The first noticeable indicator of my discomfort was that I had a headache. My temples were throbbing so loud that it echoed throughout my eardrums, resonating at an uncomfortable frequently in my head and subsequently, making my headache worsen. The second indicator was my chest, which despite the series of gauze bandages and t-shirt rags I had placed on the wound to stop the bleeding, stung like someone had doused my injury with acid.

On top of that, my entire body felt comatose. It took all of my strength and willpower just to sit up enough to catch a glimpse of Trey sitting at the edge of the bed, beside my feet, with my water pipe clutched tightly in his hands.

"Don't touch my stuff," I attempted to hiss, but it sounded more like a sluggish groan.

"Oh, hey, you're up!" Trey exclaimed with an odd amount of enthusiasm in his voice. He set the bong on the bed and gave me a toothy grin. "You slept like a rock. Honestly, I thought you were dead."

My sight was blinded by the flash of sunlight peeping through my blinds, so I held a hand up to my face to block it. "What time is it?"

"A little bit after one. Like I said, you were out for a long time."

Groaning once more, I slowly raised my fingers to my temples to massage my headache away. "I don't understand you," I voiced in which Trey's response was a delicate tug of his eyebrow. "You could've gone to the police last night, but you didn't. You're supposed to hate me, but yet, you're looking for ways to get into bed with me?"

"Well, you haven't done anything to hurt me," he affirmed. "Once my parents pay the ransom, which I know they will because it's not like it'll cost them anything, then I believe that you'll safely return me to my mansion. So I guess while I wait, I'll take your advice and get off my high horse." Trey grabbed onto the bong again and waved it in front of my face. "So teach me how to smoke this."

I studied him with my scrutinizing gaze, hoping to find something off about his little charade, but admittedly, my brain was fried. I didn't have the motivation to complain about his sudden change in mood, so I just snatched the bong from his hands and grabbed onto the lighter on the bedside table. Not even minutes later, we had fully immersed ourselves into what was known as "getting super fucking high and not caring about it" with the both of us taking turns to take a hit.

"Does your brother know about what you do?" Trey asked in the middle of nowhere.

"No," I answered, short. "He just thinks I smoke weed. He doesn't know about Lucifer or my past. It's better that way, anyway. He'd worry about me too much."

A small smile came onto his face. "Wanna know something funny?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me anyway."

"I know Liam. He's the boyfriend of this really cool guy that I used to like."

I must say I was slightly surprised at the revelation. "Oh, yeah, that superhero kid?"

Trey nodded. "That's the one..." His gaze fell to the floor as the remnants of a deep recovered memory surfaced in his mind. "I have such bad luck with boys. It's almost laughable. First, it was Scar who was supposed to be the straightest person to ever exist. It would've been much easier to deal with the rejection if he was straight, ya know? But no ... he had to be gay for Jamie. Then it was Max, who I was almost sure would like me back, because, I mean, he's Max! He likes anyone with a dick. But nope, he rejected me too. And now there's you, but you hate me."

I simply stared at him as he placed his mouth into the tube to inhale the marijuana smoke and breathed it out on a large puff of air. "This is where you say, 'Oh no, I don't hate you'."

I shrugged. "I do hate you."

Trey's shoulders dropped along with the smug smile he was wearing. "Wow, gee, thanks."

"But after you saved my life yesterday when you could've left me for dead, I'd say that I hate you a little less." Trey's deep umber eyes lifted to meet mine at those words and suddenly, his smile was back again. "But don't take that to heart, doesn't mean that we're friends or anything."

"Right," he agreed. "We're just strictly platonic non-friends who hate each other, but sleep in the same bed."

I smiled. "Exactly."

He rolled his eyes, trying his hardest to suppress the smile that was coming to his face. Unfortunately for him, he failed indefinitely and ended up smiling, anyway, and a crimson red color rushed to his cheeks. Suddenly becoming aware of his current disposition, Trey cleared his throat and set his attention on the floor. The intensity of which he stared was slightly odd. He was gazing at the carpet so intently, like he believed it would give him the answers to his questions.

Before I could comment on his clear flustered state, the bedroom door creaked open with Raven inching into the room with a cup holder carrying two coffee cups and a paper bag with what I assumed to be some sort of pastry. She was dressed in her usual ensemble: white tank top that stopped just above her navel, ripped skinny jeans, and black converse. "Hi," she greeted me with a smile. Her eyes briefly skimmed over Trey's position on my bed, but they snapped back to me in record time. "I bought your favorite."

It was clear that Raven was trying to make amends for what she had done, but strawberry crumb cakes weren't going to solve the problem. I thought I could trust Raven with my life and my secrets because she was the only other person who knew what I went through and I expected her to keep it that way. If I couldn't trust her, then who could I trust?

Taking a brief glance at Trey, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood to my full height. "I need to go to town today."

Raven's mouth fell agape. "What? No, you're not. Owen, you were shot! You need to be resting!"

"If I don't get this stuff done, then who will?" I bit back at her.

She paused, taking a moment to process my words. "I will. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it." Stifling a laugh, I turned away from her to walk over to the closet. For some reason, Raven had an inexplicable need to prove to me that she was capable of carrying out my errands because she trailed behind me even when it was evident that I wanted her to leave me alone. "I'm serious, Owen."

"Sure you are," I drawled, "so you can betray me once again. You might as well just tell Lucifer where I am." Pulling a plaid shirt from the rack, I slipped the sleeves out of the hanger and tossed the hanger at her in which she responded by stepping back and
releasing a frustrated groan.

"I only told him so that he would see you the way I see you which is a strong, brave, young man who looks out for other people," she explained briefly and ended her sentence with a short laugh. "By the looks of it, I succeeded since you two were hugging each other all night."

I gave her a forced smile. "You sound jealous."

"I'm not jealous," Raven scoffed, "I just want you to believe that I would never betray you, Owen. We're ride or dies, remember? You look out for me and I look out for you."

Could I forgive her? I'm sure I was physically capable of doing so, but I wasn't quite sure if my mind was there, yet. She was right; we had known each other for nearly eight years now and she stuck by my side through the thick and the thin. How had I gotten so paranoid to think that Raven, of all people, would betray me? The answer sat at the tip of my tongue, but I refused to admit that this was all Lucifer's doing. He was the one who planted those ideas in my head.

Sighing, I balled the plaid shirt in my hands and folded my arms against my chest. "All right, so you wanna be useful?"

Her sky blue eyes gleamed with excitement. "Yeah?"

I snatched the cup of coffee from her hands and took a sip, hissing at the burning sensation of the hot liquid on my tongue. "Go to town and meet up with Diablo. He has a package for me." Raven turned to leave, but I quickly added, "And take the kid with you."

She peered over her shoulder at me. "Why?"

I shrugged. "He needs some sun."

"He can hear you," Trey commented with irritation lacing his words.

We both decided to ignore him while I retrieved my car keys from my pocket and placed them into her hands. "Make
sure he doesn't run away."

She rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. "So, are we good?"

I thought over her question for a moment. Whether or not it was important to note that Raven had spilled some very important information about me to our hostage, I knew that hating her would only get us nowhere. If I wanted to find Ake, get my money back, take care of Trey and escape Lucifer all at the same time, I needed her help.

So with a reassuring nod, I sent her the most authentic smile that I could muster in that moment. "We're good."

________

a/n: well after you guys continued to pester me about a new update, fear not, here it is! it might be a huge grammatical mess because idk how to proofread. enjoy the errors!

Just because I'm curious...what was your favorite part of this chapter? Mine would be the scene with Raven and Owen at the very end because I strongly support their relationship. But it'll only be a matter of time before they split ... oh well.

Did you enjoy this chapter? Great! Then why don't you leave a comment and a vote! Thank Ya!

Until next time,
Lara <3