———

CHRISTOPHER PETERS lived a rough life before the Peters adopted him. When they took him in, he was only 4 at the time Fallon was the same age. His father was so excited to finally have a son, he wanted to shape Christopher into the man he was and that's exactly what he did.

When Chris and Fallon were thirteen, he got caught trying to watch her while she was in the shower. He was pretending to use the bathroom and when she realized it, she told her father. Although Chris was his favorite, he couldn't let him get away with it. Jane threatened to tell someone which resulted in Chris being on the wrong end of their father's fist. Since that day, Christopher hated Fallon and she felt the same about him.

His girlfriend, Mariah slightly reminded him of Fallon. That's why he treated her bad, a part of him loved her but he just couldn't shake the annoyance that he felt whenever he was around her.

———

Grace sat up in her bed hearing the sounds of Fallon shouting. She crept to the top of the stairs and peeked over seeing her father hovering over Fallon as she attempted to slide past him. The two sisters locked eyes and Grace tensed up, she was upset with her sister. The moment she left, her father barged into Grace's room and began to punish her.

Fallon huffed her breath as her father scolded her. She stepped to the side and managed to get a head start up the stairs, she slammed her bedroom door and locked it hoping that he would just stay out but his loud footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. He banged on her door twice, hoping that she would open it. Instead, she grabbed her book bag and threw some clothes inside. She opened up her window and threw her bag down before grabbing her keys and carefully climbed down using the window sill as support. When she got to the bottom, she fell and hurt her ankle but she didn't let that stop her, she quickly got up and rushed to her car.

When she closed the door, her father heard the sound and tried to be quick as he ran down the stairs but by the time he opened the front door, she was pulling down the street.

As she drove, she called Rue. Hoping that she would answer. After two rings, she answered. "Hello?" She asked with a hoarse voice.

"Are you home? I need to come over." Fallon spoke in a rushed tone. Rue sat up alarmed when she heard the tone of voice she was using.

"Yeah, I'm home. I'll leave the door open for you." Rue said her goodbyes and hung up the phone as Fallon continued to drive.

Once she made it to Rue's house, she grabbed her back and went inside. Rue's mom waved hello to her as she went down the hallway. She opened the door and apologized seeing that Rue was getting dressed.

"Don't be. Put your things down, we're going to see Fez." She grabbed Fallon's wrist and led her back out to the car before her mom could say anything to them. The drive wasn't long so they were there within five minutes. The two girls walked up to the door and knocked. Ashtray answered with an annoyed look seeing Rue, he looked past her staring at Fallon who was feeling awkward. He closed the door and went back in but Rue pushed it back open and went in with Fallon following.

"What's up! Hook me up bro." Rue grinned as she plopped down on the couch. Fez looked at her before looking up towards Fallon with an awkward look. The two of them had a minor fling over the summer, it only lasted two months but they ended it with a lot of love and respect for each other. He waved in her direction before turning back to Rue.

"You gotta leave Rue. My guy is about to come and I don't want y'all here." He waved Rue off but she ignored him. Fallon lightly grabbed her arm about to speak.

"Maybe we should just come back later, I've got some bud to hold us off for a bit." She spoke gently although she was getting annoyed with her friend. Rue pulled her arm away and shook her head.

"Nah, man. I'll wait." She stubbornly crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch. Just as Fallon was about to speak, Ashtray ran into the room and motioned for Fez.

"Yo, he's here man." He spoke with annoyance. Fez groaned and pointed towards the girls. "Stay right here, don't say nothing." He glared at them one last time before going to open the door. Fallon squeezed her fists tightly as the two men walked into the room. One of the guys sat next to Fallon, she was in the middle of him and Rue. The other one sat at a small table in the back.

Fallon shifted in her seat as he gazed at her. A smirk tugged at his lips as he looked over at Fez. "These yo ladies?" The tattooed man spoke while pointing at the ladies.

Fez shook his head. "They my family." He slightly shifted as they interacted. The man that they now knew as Mouse stood up from his spot. He went through a bag and named the various drugs that he had for Fez. Rue's eyes widened as she looked over at Fallon who shared the same look on her face. The two men returned to the living room and sat in the same they occupied before. Mouse looked at the girls as they shifted once again.

"Y'all ever tried Fentanyl?" He asked glaring at the girls with a wicked smirk on his face. Fallon looked over at Fez who slid his hand further into the couch cushion where his gun was hiding. "Don't look at him, I'm talking to you." He tapped against her leg. She shook her head along with Rue. He pulled out a pocket knife that had a droplet on it, he motioned it up to Fallon's lips first. She trembled a bit as she thought about it.

"Nah, bro. She's good." Fez went to speak for them but Mouse stopped him. He sent him a warning glare before turning back to the girls. Fallon's breath was quickening as she thought about it, all she could think about was how shitty her day had been and maybe she could finally take a break from her shitty life but then she weighed out the cons and thought some more. Mouse pushed it a bit closer to her lips, she let out a deep breath and said a quick prayer before taking it. He reached over and went through the same process with Rue before she eventually took it.

After only a few minutes, Fallon began to feel like her body was weighing her down. She found herself leaning over onto Mouse who gladly allowed her to fall over towards him. Rue leaned her head back against the couch and let out slow breaths.

"That'll be another three hunnid." Mouse grinned as he looked over towards Fez. He turned to look back at the girls momentarily before continuing. "Unless they wanna come up with another form of payment." He gently circled his finger on Fallon's leg as she let out a light groan. Fez held up his hand and huffed his breath.

"I got it, man." He kept his eyes on Mouse as he spoke up once more.

"Matter fact, make it six hunnid."

He held out his hand as Fez sucked his teeth before speaking. "You really gonna do me like that man?"

Mouse raised a brow at him for questioning his request. He locked eyes with him and flashed him an annoyed look. Fez finally coughed up the money and handed it to Mouse. He gazed at the two girls before standing up from the couch. As he moved, Fallon's body fell over. She almost hit the floor but Fez rushed over and caught her before she could.

He glared down at the two girls as they lay there with their mouths slightly parted. He grabbed a blanket from the closet and covered them before going off to get ready for bed himself.