RECAP:

"Oh my days." I gasped, walking to the entrance of the room.

"It's the room." My heart raced.

"Shanae-"

"It's the same bloody room." I stepped in and surely enough, there was a broken pipe from where I had freed myself, two chairs, the dim lights. It was that same room. We heard voices and hid in the room till the voices got quiet again. Stepping out cautiously, I followed the voices from before. I turned the corner and was stunned by what I saw. James was sitting on a chair with a bunch of DDK members. I gasped and turned around.

"No! It can't be!"

"Shanae, calm down." whispered Reuben.

"It can't be true!" I was in tears. I peeked around the wall. What I saw didn't change. I sighed, resting my head on the wall.

"God no."

"DDK! DDK!" they chanted repeatedly. That only made me feel worse.

"Alright, alright!" I heard James say. Me and Reuben peeked our heads around the wall, watching them. James was standing up facing them, with a bottle of Moet in his hand. "Listen fellas! Shanae is out of hospital now. And by what you've told me, she can put up a mean fight. Not to me of course, as I'm her daddy." they all laughed. I felt sick to my stomach at his words. "But seriously men, we have to take her down. She's a liability. But we can use her, to get to South Souljas. Men, we shall fight to claim what is rightfully ours; the South! And when South Souljas hear we're coming, they're gonna be shitting themselves. We're gonna take em out. We're gonna take em all out."

"He's the leader of DDK." I whispered.

END OF RECAP

I couldn't believe it. He thinks of me as a threat? How am I a threat? I wanted to just die there and then, it was too much.

"Come Shanae." Said Reuben. I couldn't move, my eyes were fixated onto James. Next thing I know, I'm being carried bridal style into the living room.

"Where's your room?" Reuben asked me. I gave him the directions and he walked with me there.

I sat on the bed, I was still in shock, I couldn't process anything.

"Shanae talk to me." Begged Reuben, kneeling down in front of me.

"I'm the daughter of your enemy." I said, looking deeply into his eyes.

"That's not your fault."

"He wants to take everything away from you."

"But he won't succeed."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Have you seen my men? They're a lot better skilled than DDK." I just nodded. I took off the heels and put on some white trainer socks. I wiped my face and noticed my stomach rumbling.

"You hungry?" asked Reuben. I nodded. We walked to the kitchen and he fixed me some toast. I sat at the counter and ate while he went up to my room to use the toilet. I finished eating and was washing my plate when I heard James's voice.

"See you later men!" I heard him chuckle as he closed the front door.

"You look nice." I whisked around to find James standing in the kitchens archway. He made my blood boil. He raked his eyes up and down my body and sucked in a breath. "Really nice. You look sexy." I turned back around to rinse the plate and he gasped. "That arse." he commented. I felt his eyes burn into me and I squirmed under his glare. He was such a dickhead. I kissed my teeth and dried my hands.

"What? I gave you a compliment." I ignored him and rolled my eyes. Turning back around, James was right in my face. He placed his hands at either side of the sink, trapping me. I sighed.

"Remove your arms, dickhead." he chuckles. "My boyfriend wouldn't like this." I added. His smile faltered slightly.

"How kind." he commented. I smiled sweetly and he stroked my cheek gently. "Maybe if you respect me a little more and show me some kindness, I won't hurt you." he whispered in my ear, sending cold shivers down my spine. I wanted to throw up on his face.

I smiled. "Okay. Can you move your arms please?" I screwed him. "Dickhead."

"That's not my name."

"It should be." I retaliated. He chuckled. He grabbed my wrists and squeezed them hard. I tried not to show any signs of me being in pain and stared emotionlessly at his face.

"Do not, make a mockery of me in my own home Shanae. Do you understand?"

"Nope." I replied simply, popping the 'p'.

"No?"

"Uh, uh."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Mhm."

"Think again." He striked me hard with his fist and I held my face. Grabbing me by my hair again, he forced me to look at him. I felt the blood slowly drizzle out of my nose.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"No-" he pushed my face into the counter top and I groaned. Still holding me by my hair, he made me look at him.

"Do you love me?"

"Never." He dragged my head across the counter top and it collided with multiple objects. Plates and bowls clattered and smashed to the ground, causing a ruckus.

"Do you love me?"

"Not in a million years." I spat. He picked me up and placed me on the counter. He pulled down his trousers and I got the gist. He tried to pull my dress up and I slapped him as hard as I could. I got off the counter top and attempted to run away. He grabbed me and we tumbled to the floor. He flipped me over and pulled my dress up. I was becoming helpless and grabbed the object closest to me, which was a now handle-less mug, and dashed it at his head. I crawled out from underneath him and fixed my dress, breathing hard. James was groaning and picking himself up off the floor.

"Woah, what happened in here?" asked Reuben behind me. I turned around and his face was nothing but concerned. He ran towards me and cupped my face. "We need to get you cleaned up." he said.

"No, I'm fine."

"Shanae-" He started. James groaned as he got himself up. He looked at Reuben and smiled.

"So, you're Reuben. I so would have wished we wouldn't have met like this." he chirped. Reuben stared at him and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly.

"Mr Kelsey, I do not appreciate you putting your hands on my girlfriend. My pregnant girlfriend. She's especially fragile now."

"Putting my hands on her? Why would you say such an absurd thing?" James put on a confused face.

"Her face is dripping blood, and look at the state of this place." said Reuben, pointing at the smashed plates on the floor.

"We just... got into a little disagreement." James looked at me. "Didn't we Shanae?" I looked down and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. Oh my days! That's so much blood! The little arsehole, kmt. "Shanae." he called, his voice hard.

"Don't talk to me." I looked up at him.

"Come on now darling, don't be like this." he smiled.

"I've had enough of this, let's go." said Reuben, screwing James. I walked behind Reuben and felt a hand squeeze my bum. I turned around furious and punched James as hard as I could.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled at him.

"What's going on here?" Patrice spoke from the top of the stairs. I kept my head down, staring at my feet.

"James why are you bleeding?" He pointed at me and Patrice turned me around, gasping at the sight. She cupped my face gently, inspecting it closely.

"Darling, what happened?" she asked.

"Well this demon child of yours-" started James.

"Not you James." said Patrice in a cold tone, shooting daggers at him. She looked back to me.

"Babe, what happened?"

"James happened." I whispered. She nodded.

"Let me get you some water and a flannel and I'll clean you up, okay?" she said. I nodded. She patted my shoulder and walked towards the kitchen.

"What the FUCK happened to my kitchen!?" she screeched.

"James happened." I called.

"James, clean this up, NOW!" she yelled.

"In your dreams, Patrice." he called back. She came storming back and if looks could kill, jheeze man, James would've been a goner. He kissed his teeth. "Okay, fine, I'll do it." he walked off.

"You're paying for the replacements too James." called Patrice, laughing slightly.

"Whatever." muttered James.

"Come on." she patted my shoulder and I followed her upstairs into my room, Reuben behind me.

I sat at the end of the bed and Reuben lay down, next to the sleeping Dean. Patrice pulled the desk chair and placed it in front of me and sat on it. She started cleaning my face and I couldn't help but to wonder why.

"Why are you caring for me now?" I asked. Her facial expression didn't even change.

"Because, you're my daughter." she said plainly.

"That's never stopped you neglecting me before."

"Yeah well, things have changed."

"In what way?"

"For starters, you're pregnant. I can't let anything happen to my grandchild. And you know, you've developed."

"Developed?"

"Yeah. You've got a bum, hips, thighs, boobs now."

"Not that much boobage but okay."

"James is coming onto you. Hard. He sees you and he's got an erection, just like that. I don't want you to be touched my him. I want to be able to help you when he does hit you. And I want you to fight back."

"I try to."

"That's good. Don't let him take advantage of you Shanae." she looked at Reuben. "Like this bloodclart did." I looked down embarrassed.

"Patrice?"

"Yeah."

"Can Reuben stay the night?" I asked. She screwed. "It's just, I don't feel too safe around James and I don't want him to try anything while I sleep. Since he already missed out today."

"Yeah, and I don't feel too comfortable leaving her by herself. I want to protect her." Reuben added. She sighed and kissed her teeth.

"Fine. Only this one time." she muttered.

"Thank you." we chorused.

"Yeah yeah yeah." she muttered, smiling slightly. She put the desk chair back and walked out the room, closing the door behind her. I turned around and grinned happily. Reuben laughed and I crawled over and hugged him. We kissed deeply and the door opened, causing us to jump apart. "Try any funny business," she pointed at Reuben. "Me thump yu, piss blood." she threatened in a Caribbean accent. I laughed. "Goodnight Shanae." she smiled warmly at me.

"Goodnight Patrice." I returned her smile. She looked at Reuben, screwing.

"I'm watching you." she did that thing where you point to your eyes and then point back at the person. She closed the door. I looked at Reuben and he actually looked scared, it was hilarious. I changed into a vest top and shorts, wrapped my hair, turned the lights off and crawled into bed. Reuben stripped till he was wearing his wife beater and his boxers. I lay between Reuben and Dean, my back to Reuben. He put his hand on my stomach and pulled his body close to mine. He mimicked my body position and snuggled in closer. A kiss came to the back of my neck and I laughed. He pulled my body closer to his and I slightly felt his boner on my bum. I smiled. I changed my position slightly, making sure I grinded on him. His breathing increased in speed slightly.

"Sorry." I whispered, holding in my laugh.

"It's-it's okay." he stuttered. Lol! This is jokes. I did it one more time and he sort of growled, tightening his grip on me.

"Sorry." I whispered again.

"That wasn't an accident, was it?" he questioned. I smirked and turned around to face him.

"No, no, it was." I said. He nodded.

"Well maybe this is an accident too." before I could question what he meant, he put his hand under my vest and grabbed a boob. I gasped. "Or maybe this is an accident." he kissed my neck. "Or this." he sucked on it. "Or maybe this." he grabbed my bum and sucked my neck in a certain spot. I gasped and my breathing got quicker.

"Stop." I whispered.

"Why?" he asked, holding some skin with his teeth.

"We might wake up Dean. And Patrice can see us." I answered.

"Nah, it'll be fine." he whispered back. He put his hand in my underwear, rubbing me.

"Reuben, stop."

"No way."

"You have to." I moaned continually. "Oh my gosh, I'm gonna wake him up." I said. Reuben latched his lips onto mine, suppressing my moans.

"Ay! What did I tell you!" Patrice said. I gasped. I didn't even hear her come in!

"Oh my gosh." I yelped. This was so awkward, Reubens hand was still in my underwear. "Remove your hand." I whispered to him.

"I trust you two not to do anything and look what you guys are doing!" She shouted. Dean started to stir.

"Okay Patrice, we're sorry. We're not gonna do it again." I said.

"You better not. If I see you doing anything again, you're never gonna see each other do you hear me?" she said. Oh my days, that's well mean! She can't do that. "Are you deaf? Did I not just ask a question? Do you hear me?" she repeated, sounding every syllable.

"Yes."

"Good. Go to sleep." I nodded. She turned the light back off and left the room. I looked at Reuben.

"See! I told you!" I whisper-yelled. He just laughed. We fell asleep, my arm around Dean, and Reuben's arm around my waist.

I was woken up by someone calling my name.

"Shanae, get up." Patrice was shaking my foot.

"Why?" I groaned, my face hurting.

"You have school." she replied. School? Who the hell tells their child they're starting school, the day they're starting school!?

"School?" I asked.

"Yeah, get up." she said. "I'll have someone come in to do your makeup."

I groaned and removed Reuben's arm from me. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, and went back to the room. A woman stood by the door and smiled when she saw me. She sat me at the desk and did my makeup, hiding the evidence of James' beating. A uniform was set on the bed for me. There was a white fitted school blouse, a blue, black, red and green checkered skirt, a black tie with red stripes, thick tights, some ballet pumps and a black school blazer. This uniform was terrible. I mean, I don't mind the shoes and the tie, but thick tights? It's summer! And why is it a blouse and not a regular school shirt? And a black blazer. The skirt is the worst though. It makes me want to hurl. I decided not to wear that uniform that was there and wore the uniform that I knew. I wore my regular school shirt, my black school skirt, black socks and Kickers. I wore a tie (3 stripes) and held my blazer. I did my hair in a high top knot bun and went downstairs for breakfast.

Patrice was in the kitchen and so was this other lady who I guess was the cook. She had just finished making some waffles and hot chocolate. Oh my gosh, it looked so good! Patrice saw me and smiled. I finished eating and stood up. She gasped when she saw my uniform.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's my uniform."

"It's not the one I gave you."

"That one was nasty."

"It's the uniform for your school."

"It's a uniform for a school, not my school."

"You've moved school."

"I still want to go to my regular school." I moaned. She sighed.

"You can't. This is your new home and the uniform I put there is for your new school. You're not going back there. I know this is hard on you but this is for the best. Trust me." she smiled at me. "Now go put on that uniform." I sighed and changed my uniform. I still wore my Kickers though. I grabbed my school bag and went back downstairs.

Patrice was going to work so she was taking me to the school. I waited as she got dressed. She came down wearing a grey structured midi dress and black courts. Her hair was down and it was the first time I noticed she had a bob. It looked nice.

"You ready?" she asked. I nodded. A thought crossed my head.

"What about Reuben and Dean?"

"What about them?"

"Who's gonna take Dean back?" I asked.

"I'll take him." His morning voice is so sexy. I smiled. Reuben was coming down the stairs with no shirt on and grey jogging bottoms, holding Dean's hand.

"Will you?" I asked when he reached me.

"Yeah."

"Thanks." I smiled. I kissed him and gave him a hug.

"Have fun at school yeah?" I laughed.

"I will. Hopefully. Bye baby." I kissed him on the lips again and Dean said "Ew." and covered his eyes.

"Bye Dean." I kissed his forehead and gave him a hug. Patrice and I made our way to some other part of the house and oh my days, there were more cars. She walked to a white Range Rover Evoque with black alloys and heavily tinted windows. I sat in the passenger seat. Jheeze man, this car was nice.

"What's the name of this school?" I asked as we pulled out of this other garage.

"St Michael's Private Catholic School."

"Private?!" I almost screamed.

"Yes, private."

"Why private?"

"Because." She replied. I sighed.

"You'll like this school." she commented.

"Definitely not." I spat. It was about a 25 minute drive to get to the school. I was shocked when I got there. The school looked old. It was very big, however. The grass was freshly cut, the floor was whitewashed stone. The buildings were an orange-brown colour. I looked at the people from the car. I have yet to see one black person. Not that I don't like white or Asians, I do, just, why are there no black people?

"Come on then." said Patrice, stepping out the car. I felt so awkward standing there, everyone was staring at me.

We walked to some building and the principal was waiting for me. She shook my hand.

"Hello. Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed. I smiled.

"Likewise." I replied.

"I'm Melissa Quintaro, the principal." she was a woman in her sixties, by my judgement. She had wrinkles but she wasn't small. She was quite plump and had her grey hair styled in a pixie cut. She wore a navy blue suit and black ballet shoes. "I will take you and your mother around the school for a tour-" she was cut off by Patrice.

"Oh, no. I'm afraid I can't stay, I've got to get to work." she explained.

"That's completely understandable. Have a good day Mrs Kelsey."

"Thank you." replied Patrice. And she ran off. Cha, she didn't even say bye. The principal took me around the school. Everyone, e-very-one, was staring at me. At the end of the tour, she pointed me to my tutor room, where she said I would meet my 'first week friend', whatever that meant. I walked into the room just as the bell went, the door creaking in the process. All the students stared at me, surprise surprise.

"You are late!" the teacher said, her back to me. This school is proper old school you know. The chairs are wooden, students have separate desks, and oh my days, they don't have a smart board or even a projector on a white board, they had a black board! The ones where you use chalk! Chalk! I sighed and the teacher turned around facing me. She was a young woman, skinny but not scrawny. She had brown hair, tied in a low ponytail, and was wearing a blue blazer, a blue blouse and a blue pencil skirt, that was a little loose due to her body shape. And guess what colour her shoes were...blue. They were those ones that have come back into fashion, them gold toed pointy toe shoes, with no platform.

"What is your excuse for being late?" she asked.

"I was getting a tour from Principal Quintaro." I replied. I already got the feeling this woman wasn't going to like me very much.

"Take a seat." she said. I walked to the only empty seat in the class which was in the middle. I was sitting down when the teacher yelled out "Halt!" I sat down and she stormed over to me.

"Did I not say halt young lady?" she yelled in my face.

"Yeah."

"Then why did you not halt?" she shouted. I screwed her.

"How was I meant to know you were talking to-"

"How dare you talk back-"

"You asked me a question so I answered."

"Go to the principal's office, I don't want you in my classroom." she commanded. I stayed in my seat.

"Go to the principal's office now!" she shouted. I noticed one of the students at the front slipped out of the classroom.

"For what?" I asked taken aback.

"Firstly, you came in late, secondly, you didn't follow instructions, thirdly, you talked back, and now you're giving me attitude!"

"How am I giving you attitude, you're not making sense."

"You don't have any sense!" she yelled at me. Is she dumb? Does she want a slap, cos I'll gladly backhand her quick time.

"Miss Murphy, what is going on?" asked Principal Quintaro from the door. Oh, so that's her name. Miss Murphy stood up straight and turned around.

"This student," she pointed at me. "turned up late, failed to follow simple instructions, talked back and gave me attitude." she reported. "And, she has a uniform infringement." Principal Quintaro looked at me. "She's wearing socks. And look. Her footwear."

"What about it?"

"Don't you think it's a bit too, urban?" she asked.

"There is nothing wrong with her choice of footwear and it certainly isn't too urban. Be ashamed of your misconceptions. Adele, ease up on the girl."

"Yeah Adele, ease up." I chirped. Everyone looked at me and Principal Quintaro smiled at me.

"Have a lovely first day Miss Kelsey." she grinned.

"Aww, you have a good day P.Q." I replied.

"P.Q?"

"Yeah. Principal Quintaro's a bit long so I shortened it."

"Oh. Alrighty. And this is your first week friend." She patted the shoulders of a short girl with long blonde hair, down to her bum, green eyes, a small nose and plump lips. She walked out of the room, talking to herself. "P.Q. Hm. I like it." The girl smiled at me and sat back down in her seat at the front. Miss Murphy glared at me and sat at her desk.

She started talking to the tutor group about how annoying new students are, and lawless students, and students that don't know how to follow the rules and blah blah blah. This teacher needs to shut up, making indirects towards me. Kmt. Finally, after a lifetime, the bell rang. Everyone stood up and walked out of the room. I gave Miss Murphy a fake smile as I left. Hehehe. Outside the classroom, my first week friend was waiting for me.

"Hi." I greeted.

"Hello. I'm Liliya (A/N: Lee-lee-ya). I am your first week friend." she had a strong Russian accent and she smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth and deep dimples.

"Shanae." We shook hands. "What does a first week friend do?" I asked.

"Well, we get the same timetable as you for a whole week. We stay with you and help you to settle into the school a bit better than if you were by yourself." she explained. I nodded. "The first lesson is Maths."

The first few lesson went pretty good. It was nice having Liliya there. It came to lunch time and we found a table to sit at. We quietly ate our food. I was stunned by the quality of food, it was amazing. We were having Thai roast chicken with apple and mango salad, and malt chocolate ice cream as a dessert. A girl walked in and everyone stared at her. She had a tan and bleach blonde hair to the middle of her back. She was wearing fake eye lashes and had on hot pink lipstick. As she stood, she stuck out her bum and breast. She had her skirt up way too high, showing far too much thigh. She wore black patent high heels with thick white thigh high socks. She smiled as if she was the most amazing person on the bloody planet.

"Who is that?" I asked. Liliya sighed.

"Vanessa Wilson. She's the head cheerleader and her father pays for nearly half of the school's resources." she informed me. Oh wow.

"Oh. So she doesn't need to follow the rules?" I asked.

"Well you didn't and that worked out fine. But yes, she doesn't follow any rules. The school doesn't say anything because they don't want her father to withdraw his funding. But, I have heard her father is having financial issues and is bankrupt."

"Makes sense." we nodded.

"Another man has been paying her fathers part and his own."

"Oh really? Who?"

"Mr Kelsey, I believe his name is. Yes, James Kelsey." No fucking way was she talking about the same person.

"Oh crud." I muttered under my breath. She walked to the table we were at and threw me her bag.

"New girl, make yourself useful and carry my bag." she commanded, walking on. Psh, what? I put her bag on the floor and everyone gasped.

"No thanks." the cafeteria went silent. I pushed her bag to her, watching it slide across the floor. Again, gasps filled my ears.

"Did you just put my bag on the floor?" she asked.

"What? Are you blind? You just saw me put it on the floor and slide it to you." she took a deep breath in and walked towards me.

"Listen here new girl, I didn't ask you to carry my bag, I told you." she looked me up and down.

"And quite frankly, I do not care what you tell me." I replied, digging into my chicken. She scoffed and sat down next to me.

"Look, if you want, I can pay you. Maybe that can get you out of the ghetto, darling." she smiled smugly.

"Or," I proposed. "you could keep that money and help your father bail himself out of bankruptcy. Wouldn't that be nice?" I returned her smug smile and watched her face fall. She stared at me silently. The trick had no comeback. "I think you should carry your own bag Vanessa. No one works for you, and even if anyone did, you'd still have no money to pay them." I returned back to my food.

"You know what-" she started.

"Just stop Vanessa. You need to stop treating people like they're not important. You may have a father that pays for part of the school, but that doesn't give you the right to be treating everybody like they're your slave. They're-" piped Liliya before she was rudely interrupted by Vanessa.

"Oh darling, you bore me half to death with your speech. Why don't you just go back to your country, nobody wants you here."

"Leave her alone, man. She didn't do anything to you." She was picking on my friend and I wasn't liking it.

"Don't let me start on you little Miss Hood chick. You come in my school, acting like you own the place. You think that by standing up to me you will get street cred or whatever you call it. You are nothing. I am far better than you cretins. This is my school, I play by my own rules, and you play by my rules."

"Whoever told you that you're better than us lied. If you were better, your daddy wouldn't have to rely on mine to pay for the school, would he?" her eyes widened.

"Your father's Mr Kelsey?" she asked, flabbergasted. I nodded, my eyes closed and my hands clasped together.

"That would seem apparent." I replied. Out of nowhere, she just slapped me. She already made my blood boil and I stood up with her. I grabbed her hair, dragging her to the floor. We scrapped about for a little while, before two boys pulled us apart. I grabbed my bag, and rushed to the toilet, with the help of Liliya.

"Ugh, I can't believe her!" I shouted once we reached the toilets. I redid my hair and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Well she's going to make you an enemy now, that's for sure. You guys are officially at war."

"Are we now?"

"Yep."

"If she wants a war, she's going to get one." I wiped all of the makeup off my face, revealing the bruises and cuts from the night. Liliya gasped and put her hands to her face.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Nothing." I wasn't gonna tell her. I guess she clocked cos she stopped talking. We walked to the next lesson, I walked with my head down so no one say my face.

"Shanae! To the principal's office now!" yelled Miss Murphy. When we got there, I kept my head down.

"Miss Kelsey, what is this I hear about you fighting? On the first day?"

"I didn't start it."

"She bruised my arm!" piped Vanessa.

"That's great." I said flatly.

"I did nothing to her!" she added.

"Nothing? Really?"

"Absolutely nothing." she said confidently.

"I beg to differ." I replied, lifting my head up slowly. Principal Quintaro gasped when she saw my face and like Liliya, put her hands over her nose and mouth.

"Vanessa, how could you!?" exclaimed Principal Quintaro.

"What?" asked Vanessa. She slowly turned and looked at me. "I didn't do that!" she protested.

"Well who else did! As you stated, you two fought. So it is elucidate that you inflicted these injuries upon her."

"But I didn't!"

"Well who else did? No one else fought her!" Shouted Principal Quintaro. Vanessa stood there silenced.

"I'm sorry to say this Miss Wilson, but I have to suspend you." she sighed.

"What?!" screeched Vanessa.

"You were fighting. And look at what you have done to Miss Kelsey. For goodness sake! It's her first day!"

"But I didn't do it!"

"You clearly did!" Principal Quintaro typed furiously on her computer. A sheet of paper came from the printer and she handed it to Vanessa. "It's notification of your suspension. I'm suspending you for 2 weeks. Give the letter to your parents when they come home."

"What!?"

"Or would you rather I telephoned your father now and told him?"

"I'll give it to him." muttered Vanessa after a while of silence.

"Right. You are to leave site immediately." Principal Quintaro told her. Vanessa turned around and walked out, not before glaring at me and whispering "I'll get you for this" in my ear. As Vanessa closed the door, P.Q stared at me.

"Oh honey. I am terribly sorry for the distress you must be facing. Are you okay?" she asked. I nodded.

"I will send your parents an email on today's events. They'll get back to me in a jiffy. They always reply to an email immediately." she added.

"We must get you to the nurse at once." she commanded, standing up.

"Oh that won't be necessary."

"But what about the baby? What if something's wrong?" she asked. My face fell and I looked to Liliya who was standing in the corner of the office. My mouth was dry and I cleared my throat.

"She told you? Patrice told you?"

"Your mother was very apprehensive about having you attend this school, or any school for that matter, due to your condition. I reassured her that it'd be fine if you were to be educated here." I swallowed my spit and forced a smile.

"Well, thank you for your concern, but I don't need to see the nurse."

"Shanae-"

"It's okay, P.Q. I really am fine. I'll just be heading to my next lesson, if you'd excuse me." I said politely. She stared at me with a worried expression before waving her hand dismissively.

"You are excused." she sighed.

"Thank you." I smiled, walking out the office. Liliya shut the door behind her, and I leaned on the wall.

"You are pregnant?" she whispered, although the hallway was empty. I sighed and nodded.

"But why?" she asked.

"Things happened, that's why." I murmured. We walked in silence till we were outside the classroom.

"You don't want to go in, do you?" asked Liliya, hopeful.

"Nope." I replied flatly.

"Great!" she jumped up and down. "I know a great place we can go to in the mean time." she grabbed my hand and we ran out the school gates.

We got a bus and got off after 10 stops. Liliya, who was still holding onto my hand, dragged me into Nando's. We stayed in there, eating for the duration of the next 2 lessons. Liliya is amazing. We just ate and laughed at each other the whole time. I definitely need to introduce her to Courtnee. I learnt that Liliya's was one of five children. She had 3 brothers and 1 sister. Her sister is called Darina and she's 18. Her youngest brother is 4, and he's called Dmitriy. Her next youngest brother is called Alek, and he's 12, and she's got an older brother, Ivan, who's 19. Her mum died in a car crash when Liliya was 13. Anyway, it was nearly time for Patrice to pick me up so we made our way back to school.

15 minutes later, Liliya's dad came and picked her up, but not before we exchanged numbers.  I waited for Patrice for another 30 minutes and she didn't show up. I waited another 3 hours, now it was 19:00 and Patrice still hadn't come. She finishes work at the same time as Liliya's dad, and they work together. I don't understand why it took him that long to get here and Patrice still hasn't turned up. Even the cleaners had started going home and I was forced to wait outside the school gates or they'd lock me in. Finally, after waiting another 15 minutes, Patrice pulled up. I got in the car, slamming the door and staring out the window.

"What's got you in a bad mood?" She asked. I ignored her. She gently turned my face. "What happened to your makeup?" she asked. I ignored her and faced the window again. "Shanae, tell me what happened." I huffed. "If you don't tell me-"

"You already know what happened, so stop trying it. And why were you late to pick me up?" I asked.

"Well, I had a meeting." she said.

"And you didn't think to tell me in the morning so I could've asked Reuben to pick me up or something?"

"I guess, but-"

"You didn't care."

"Shanae!" gasped Patrice.

"What? Don't act like you don't know it ain't true. Just do what you came to do, and take me back to your house then." I spat. I could feel her stare on me but I continued to look out the window. After a few minutes, she sighed and pulled off.

Once we got into the garage, I jumped out of the car and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door. I lay on my bed, thinking about every possible thing under the moon, when knocking on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"WHAT!" I shouted, annoyed. The door opened and Patrice walked in.

"Don't you want to eat dinner?" she asked.

"No. Leave me alone." I kissed my teeth. She sighed.

"Look, I don't know what, I have done for you to be showing me so much attitude today-"

"Why did you tell?" I shouted. She looked at me confused.

"Tell what?"

"You told the Principal that I'm pregnant!" I yelled.

"Well, yes, I had to." she replied simply.

"You had NO right! No right!" I yelled.

"I needed to inform the school."

"It is not your place to say anything! You can't just go around telling people I'm pregnant!"

"First of all, it was  my place to tell her. Secondly, I had to inform them, they are your school and they need to be able to protect you and the baby. And thirdly, I don't go around telling people." she retaliated.

"Whatever." I muttered. She rolled her eyes and sat at the end of the bed.

"Erm, would you like to tell me why you had no makeup on?" she asked.

"You already know, don't act like you don't open emails from P.Q immediately." I huffed.

"Fine. I just want you to talk to me for once." she said in a pained voice.

"I never knew you guys were so rich." I stated. She looked at me perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. How much you pay for."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about James paying for the school."

"What?" she was flabbergasted.

"And paying for Mr Wilson."

"How the hell do you know about that?"

"That's not the point. The point is you guys have all this money and when Trey and Sean were struggling to pay the bills etcetera, you guys couldn't sent a little bit of money to help?" These people had to be the worst 'parents' on the face of the planet.

"We didn't know you were struggling-"

"Lies! You did, cos I know Trey and Sean called you and told you."

"Well, they handled the situation, did they not?"

"Yes, by becoming thugs." I informed her. Her head snapped to me.

"Thugs?" she questioned. I nodded.

"Yep! They rolled around in a gang, sold drugs, burgled, took out hits-"

"Hits?" Patrice shouted. I nodded. "As in killing?" I nodded again.

"Anything they could to get us a little squilla."

"Oh my word!"

"That's not even the half of it. Sometimes, they took me with them. I'd be surrounded by their friends, all getting high and shit. And when they burgled, I sat in the car with their friends, waiting for them to return. When they took out hits, now that was the worst. Seeing them look so sinister and evil. They had no remorse for who they were killing. I hated it. I hated watching them pull the trigger, I hated the sound of a lifeless body hit the floor. I hated their pleas, and last words of love for their family. Patrice, you have no idea how bad it was."

"Shanae I'm sorry."

"It's a little too late to apologise now, don't you think." I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything."

"Okay, well I guess I'll just leave you then."

"Go ahead."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"If you must." I replied flatly. She sighed and walked out of the room. I didn't feel anything for her. She was a terrible parent and I wasn't going to forgive her any time soon. She didn't deserve my love again, she'd just end up hurting me again.

The Next Day

School's such a wasteman, having me wake up early and go to sleep late. Ugh. As Patrice rolled up into the school, everyone was staring. As I got out of the car, students started approaching me.

"Well done for getting Vanessa suspended." a boy said as he patted my shoulder.

"Absolutely brilliant!" someone else chirped. A crowd formed around me and people congratulated me, applauding my accomplishment. Fake arse people. Liliya rushed over to me and pulled me away from the crowd.

"Have you heard?" she panted.

"Heard what?"

"Mr Kelsey is coming in today! He's going to be looking at the classes with Mr Wilson!" her eyes were so big, it was hilarious.

"Okay, what's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal!?" she almost screamed. "They can decide whether to withdraw their funding or not! If they choose to withdraw their funding, the school will shut down! And that means I get sent back to Russia!"

"What?"

"Yes! I only came to this country to be educated, and this is the only school my father found fit for me. If it closes, I'm going back to Russia!" she held my shoulders and stared at me with a worried expression.

"They're not going to close the school Liliya, don't worry." I reassured her. We started walking to tutor.

"But how do you know that?" she asked.

"I don't. But I could try to make sure it stays open."

"How are you going to do that!?"

"I'll talk to James." I sighed. She gasped.

"You called him James! But oh my gosh, you can't talk to him, you're a student!"

"I'm also his daughter." I informed her. She stopped walking.

"You're Mr Kelsey's daughter?" she yelled. Conversations around us stopped and everyone stared at me. I sighed.

"Oh my days." I muttered. I nodded. As soon as that happened, everyone rushed to me, asking me questions on whether the school is closing or not and blah blah blah. After getting the crowd to disperse, Liliya started talking again.

"How did I not notice that?" she asked herself.

"Psh, I don't know. It's kind of bait, since we have the same surname." I laughed.

"Oh, you do don't you!? Wow, I'm oblivious to everything." she giggled. We walked into tutor and Miss Murphy gave me a dirty look.

"What?" I asked, looking her up and down. Before she could answer, I kissed my teeth, cut my eyes, and walked to my desk. I plopped my bag on the edge of the chair and rested my feet on the edge of my desk. I folded my arms across my chest and sat back and low in my chair. It was like 10 minutes into tutor time when the door opened. P.Q stood with James and Mr Wilson behind her. Mr Wilson was actually really good looking. He had dark brown hair, stubbly facial hair, thick eyebrows, and piecing blue eyes, and a magnificent jaw. He looked like an older version of Tyler Hoechlin, AKA Derek Hale in Teen Wolf, but with blue eyes.. Miss Murphy stood straight as they walked in.

"Miss Murphy." James spoke, looking at her.

"Mr Kelsey." she responded. His eyes scanned the room and settled on me. He nodded slightly and I screwed him.

"Miss Kelsey." he stared at me.

"James." I replied with attitude. Gasps filled the room, and quiet chatter soon followed, with me as the topic of conversation.  I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Shanae!" gasped P.Q

"Yes?" I asked simply.

"Don't address an adult by their first name!"

"It's okay Melissa." said James, his deep voice booming through the classroom. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she calmed down.

"Who is she?" asked Mr Wilson.

"Shanae."

"As in your Shanae?" he asked. James nodded, still staring at me.

"My word, she's gorgeous." smiled Mr Wilson, revealing otherwise invisible dimples, that were really deep when he smiled.

"I know." laughed James, making me feel sick to my stomach.

"You and Patrice make some good looking children." laughed Mr Wilson. "How come I've never seen her before?" he enquired."Anyway, we shall be off!" he announced, clasping his hands together. "We have some important discussions and decisions to make." he looked at me. "Nice to meet you Shanae." I smiled back. He turned around and spoke to James. "Look at her, legs up on her desk." he said.

"I can hear you!" I said loud enough for them to hear. They turned around and Mr Wilson laughed.

"Fiesty. Just like her mother." he commented.

"Oh please, I'm nothing like her."

"If you say so. We really must be off." he replied, walking out of the classroom. I got out of my seat and went after them.

"James!" I called. He turned around and I caught up to them.

"Are you going to close the school?" I asked. His eyes widened.

"That's none of your business, get back to your tutor room." he ushered.

"Don't close it, don't make that decision." He towered over me with an angry expression on his face. He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him as he walked. "What the hell man, let go!" He dragged me into an empty classroom.

"Don't ever tell me what decisions I should or should not make! You are not my boss!"

"Didn't say I was-" I muttered.

"Are you talking back?" he asked. I've never seen him angry like this. I stayed silent. "That's what I thought. Get back to tutor." I stared at him. "NOW!" he yelled. I stood there for a few more seconds. If I was going to go, I was going to go on my own accord. I was just about to leave when he grabbed my neck and held me against the wall.

"Try embarrass me in front of my business partner again, you're arse will be mine." his hand tightened around my neck and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. "Understand?" I didn't answer and fought to remove his hand from around my neck. It got tighter and I pulled at his fingers.

"James." I gasped.

"Understand?" he repeated, his tone harder.

"Let go." I gasped. Tears sprung to my eyes.

"Do you understand?" he sounded every syllable. I looked up at him. He looked me up and down, then scanned my body.

"You know," he said looming over me. He moved his head to my ear. "I've always wanted to fuck a student." his hand stroked my thigh, and my breath hitched in my trachea. "Now's my chance." I batted his hand away and he chuckled. I was trying to stop him strangling me and stop him from raping me at the same time! If I wasn't batting his hand away, he would touch me, if I weren't trying to loosen his grip on my neck, he would be crushing my airways.

"See, you should wear tights like the other girls. It's safer."

"So you admit you're dangerous." I uttered.

"Absolutely not. We both know you want me-"

"Never." I spat. He slapped me so hard I fell. He picked me up by my neck and held me up on the wall.

"You're so in denial baby."

"I'm not your baby, and I'm not in denial, crazy arse." He squeezed my bum and I kicked him in the stomach. His grip on my neck tightened as he placed his other hand where I kicked him. I gasped for air.

"Let go!" I pleaded.

"Or what?"

"I'll scream."

"Go on then." he shrugged. I opened my mouth to scream and he shoved his tongue in my mouth. I bit it as hard as I could and he groaned in pain. I tasted his blood and he took his tongue out my mouth. He spat blood and looked at me. He punched me suddenly, and I struggled to pull his hand off my neck. He started touching me again, and I let the tears fall.

"Why do you hit me?" I sobbed.

"Because you're bad."

"How?"

"In every way." he answered. He lifted my skirt up and was taking my shorts and panties off when the door opened.

"There you are!" exclaimed Mr Wilson. James let go of my neck and I dropped to the floor, spluttering and coughing hard.

"What happened in here?" he asked James, who was wiping his tongue blood as it drizzled from the corners of his mouth. James pulled me up by my arm and I stared at him, crying. His face showed anger, but I didn't care. I fixed my skirt.

"Shanae, are you alright?" asked Mr Wilson. I shook my head and continued crying. James kissed his teeth and turned to me.

"Stop crying." he commanded, in a low voice. I continued and he raised his arm into the air.

"Stop fucking crying!" he yelled. He brought his hand down on my face and I fell again.

"James, what the hell are you doing!?" asked Mr Wilson astounded.

"Showing her who's boss." he muttered. He proceeded towards me and I scrambled away from him.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled at him. His foot connected with my stomach and my arms instantly caressed my tiny bump.

"Don't tell me what to do, bitch!" he yelled back.

"Alright, that's enough James." Mr Wilson held him back.

"Oh my gosh, my baby!" I sobbed. James stared at me, frozen.

"Her baby?" asked Mr Wilson perplexed. His eyes widened slightly and he looked at me. "Oh my God," he muttered. "She's pregnant?!" he exclaimed. James said nothing and stared at me. Mr Wilson rushed to my side and helped me to stand up.

"We need to get you to the nurse immediately." he said. We walked past James and he tried to grab my arm.

"Shanae." he croaked. I looked at him and he had tears in his eyes. For what? Kmt, wasteman. "I'm sorry-"

"Fuck you, you fucking dick, I hate you, fucking son of a bitch." I spat.

Mr Wilson took me to the nurse's office which was completely modern compared to the rest of the school. She gave me an ultrasound but confirmed the baby wasn't harmed. I let out a breath of relief, before saying thank you to her and Mr Wilson. I made my way back to tutor wiping my face. Everyone stared at me as I walked in. Liliya stood up.

"Are you okay?" she whispered in my ear. I nodded and sniffed before looking at her with a smile on my face. I went to my desk and sat down. The bell went quickly and I stood up and grabbed my stuff. I was the last out and Miss Murphy stopped me.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, her voice thick with concern.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Course not. But I don't want teachers to know about my business."

"If you want to talk-"

"No thanks Miss." I turned and walked out of the classroom.

"But-"

"See you later Miss." I called. The day went so slow, I didn't talk the whole day. I could tell Liliya was concerned but she said nothing. At the end of the day, Patrice was again late to pick me up and I climbed in the car silently, looking out the window.

"Someone had a bad day at school I see!" she laughed. "Oh. What's wrong?" I ignored her. "Shanae? Nae?" she turned my head and gasped. "Who hit you?" I didn't answer. "Fine tell me at home." she drove off.

As soon as she parked up, I jumped out the car and went straight to my room. I lay on the bed and there was a knock on the door. Patrice walked in.

"Shanae, what happened?" I sat up and looked at her, tears filling my eyes.

"I don't want to live here Patrice." I sobbed. She came to my side and sat next to me, rubbing my back.

"Why?"

"I want to go back to my friends, I want to go back to my brothers."

"Shanae, we've been through this already. You'll find new friends, I mean you have already right? Liliya? I work with her dad and he tells me you two are getting on great. And it's not safe there-"

"It's not safe here! I don't know how much more turmoil I can take, Patrice. I am scared to come out of this room, I'm even scared to come home. I can't bear to be living in the same house as James, or even be around him. I won't take anymore beatings, I won't be his punching bag. I don't want him near me, I don't want him to touch me. Patrice, I'm scared he's gonna take advantage of me like Reuben did, and I'm not ready for it! I don't want it to happen again." I cried.

"Okay, okay. Erm, let me think. You live with us for the rest of the week and see how it goes, if you really can't take it anymore, I'll take you to go back to your brothers." she said.

"Really?" I gasped. She nodded.

"I don't want my baby getting hurt." she hugged me. "Plus I hate seeing you cry." she added.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? You're my daughter. I don't want to see that my daughter is crying and is hurting. I should be able to protect you from that, and if I don't, I'm not doing my job right am I?"

"Not gonna lie, but you have been a shit mother, Patrice."

"I know. And I'm gonna make it up to you, I promise." she said, still hugging me.

"Lol, you lie." I laughed weakly.

"No, I am being serious. There's nothing more important than for me to make what I did wrong, finally right." she said. I nodded. A question popped into my head.

"When were you gonna tell me about James?"

"What do you mean?"

"That he's the leader of DDK." She jumped back.

"How do you know that?" she shouted.

"That doesn't matter."

"How do you know?"

"That's where all his money's coming in right?"

"Shanae, how did you find out?"

"I saw him. He was holding a meeting with all of them, the night we came from the party." I informed her. "I'm the fucking enemies daughter."

"Enemy? You're in South Souljas?"

"Not really."

"Not really? How can you not really be in a gang? Are you a member or not?"

"I'm the leaders girlfriend."

"Right, so you are then."

"When were you gonna tell me he was even part of DDK?" I enquired.

"I wasn't. I didn't want you to find out that your dad runs a notorious gang, that's horrible. I didn't want to scare you off so I wasn't planning on telling you." she said. "You still haven't told me what happened at school today." I looked down. "Who hit you?" she asked.

"James."

"James did this?" she stood up, pointing to my face. I nodded.

"At school?" I nodded and told her everything. By the end of it she was fuming. "James, get your arse in here now!" she yelled. A few seconds later, James walked into the room. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she placed her hands on her hips.

"Nothing." he replied. At the same time, I said "Everything." he glared at me.

"How are you going to hit her while she's at school? It's a public place for crying out loud! Any student could have walked in and found you abusing her! Imagine what would have happened then!"

"I said sorry." he acted like everything was fine.

"What? So that makes it okay, does it?"

"No, but-"

"She could have lost her baby!" she yelled.

"You didn't want her to have it in the first place!"

"Things have changed, and I approve of her decision to keep the baby."

"She's still gonna get beatings, whether you guys like it or not." he announced.

"For what?"

"She's a bad child."

"Are you fucking crazy? We hardly know the girl because of our mistakes. We never got to learn what she's like because you decided to fucking abuse her-"

"You're not any better, you just let it happen."

"Don't fucking put this down to me, I never used her to get aroused did I?"

"Well you didn't do anything to stop it happening-"

"Because I didn't care at the time, I didn't want her-"

"What? And you do now?"

"Yes, she's our daughter-"

"So what?"

"So it's time we finally be parents to her, like we were for Trey and Sean." she shouted. He stayed silent and looked at me.

"It's hard to break old habits Patrice-"

"Well, you better find a way to break 'em, cos I'm not having you abuse her anymore." she said firmly.

"You can't tell me what to do, Patrice, it's my life."

"Shanae's got her own life, and you still told her what to do."

"So?"

"I can tell you what to do. You know, you're lucky Paul stopped you when he did. If he had seen more, he could have called the police."

"You already know he's my lawyer. In return for keeping my true job under wraps, I pay for his part of the school."

"Yeah, I know that, so does Shanae." as soon as she said that, he looked at me.

"You know?" he asked. "How?" he walked over and bent down to the height I was at.

"Well-" started Patrice. I cut her off.

"Well, I saw you escorting them out of the house."

"That doesn't explain how you know about him being my lawyer and me paying his part."

"I didn't know he was your lawyer or that you paid him to keep your 'true job' hidden, but I knew you paid for him and your real job."

"How?"

"That doesn't matt-" he cut me off by slapping me.

"James, what the hell!" shouted Patrice.

"How do you know?" he shouted. Patrice pulled him away from me.

"What are you doing? Stop hitting her. Hit her again, and I'll hit you." she threatened.

"TELL ME!" he yelled. I flinched at the anger in his voice.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Patrice. Like a bull, he charged towards me, and effortlessly picked me up by my neck, crushing my throat. I clawed menacingly at his hand.

"How the fuck do you know, stupid bitch!" he yelled at me.

"James, let her go!" urged Patrice.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he shouted back. By now, I was finding it very hard to breathe. I could feel myself getting weaker, but I continued to thrash around in his grip to try and get free. Patrice looked at me.

"Oh my gosh, James let her go, she's gonna pass out." she said to him. He kept his insanely tight grip around my neck as my thrashes died down. Out of nowhere, I saw her kick him directly in the stomach. He doubled over and released me as he used his hands to nurse his stomach. I heaved air, thankful for it. Patrice rushed to me and stroked my face, helping me to stand up.

"You're gonna be okay." she soothed. James turned her around, and boxed her straight in the face. Her head went back, but she didn't fall. He charged towards her and I jumped on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. James was a hench, chunky man, it was a struggle to stay on him, as my legs couldn't wrap around him very well.

"Don't touch her!" I shouted. He reached back and grabbed my blouse, causing a few of my top buttons to pop off. He pulled me over his head, and slammed me into my desk.

I groaned as my bones hit the hard wood. I arched my back in pain, causing myself to fall off the desk. I looked up to see Patrice knocking the daylight out of James. His blood was all over her hands. He tried to block her blows, but she was too quick.  His back was to one of the windows. Patrice dropkicked him, sending him flying. Part of his body went through the window, but he held onto the edges of the window frame to prevent himself from falling through.

"I could kick you one more time and kill you, if I wanted to." she stood up. "But I'm not." she helped him back in. "I love you too much." she announced. She stared into his eyes and sighed.

"What happened to us, baby?" she shrugged.

"I mean, look at us! You're all bloody, I'm bloody, Shanae's bloody, like what dysfunctional family have we got here?" she threw her arms in the air wildly. "We're not the same couple we were 19 years ago. We're not the same people that got voted 'Best Couple' on prom night." she stroked his face and I saw tears in her eyes. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean? Pats, I'm still the same guy." he placed his hand on top of hers and clasped it, kissing it gently. She shook her head.

"You've changed, James. A lot. You're, you're cold, deadly, aggressive," she looked at me. "Abusive." she looked back at him.

"Where's the James Kelsey that I know, huh?" she asked.

"He's right here-"

"No he's not. The James I'm thinking of is the James that told me he loved me every single day. He's the one that spent all of his pocket money getting me shoes that I liked, he was sweet, kind, and caring. He told my parents he'd go to the moon and back for me. He's the one who was crying after I said yes to marrying him."

"He's here Pats-"

"He's not. I haven't seen him in more than 10 years. When you see him, if you see him, tell him I miss him. And I want him back, because" she chuckled sadly. "Because this man standing in front of me right now, he's not the man I fell in love with." her voice cracked. A few tears trickled down her face and she turned around.

"Pats-" she waved her hand dismissively and hurried out of the room. He looked at me desperately and his eyes widened as he looked down my body. He tensed his jaw. "You need a new blouse." he said as he walked out of the room. "Pats! Babe!" he called, closing the door behind him. I blinked twice. Rah, well, I wasn't expecting that. I looked down and sure enough I did need a new blouse. My cleavage was showing as I didn't have my first 4 buttons. I stood up, went to the mirror and looked at myself. My cheek was a little red and swollen, and the bruises I obtained were fading away, but the new ones were bright purple. I sighed and crawled into bed.

I was woken up by my name being called.

"Shan, wake up." James was tapping me. I jumped back.

"What're you doing, get out of my room!" I shouted, pulling the covers over me.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want you to eat something."

"Fuck what you want!"

"Look, I'm not having you go to sleep without dinner 2 nights in a row, now get up." he stared at me eagerly. I noticed his eyes were puffy and red.

"Were you crying?"

"What? No, I'm a man, I don't cry. Psh, what'd you think this is? Now get up." I did as he said and got out of bed. "Erm, can you change your blouse or something? I don't want to be staring at your cleavage." Woah. I wasn't expecting that either.

"I'm wearing an under top, it's fine." I walked to the kitchen, with James behind me. He took out a plate from the microwave and placed it in front of me. I stared at the curry goat and rice on my plate. I looked at him and he smiled.

"You used to love curry goat when you were little." he commented. I nodded, and stared at the plate. "Aren't you going to eat it?"

"Well, how am I to know that you didn't put some drug in there that makes me pass out, or something?" I asked.

"He didn't." said Patrice, walking into the kitchen with a mug. She went to the sink and started washing it. "I made sure of it. I watched him make it. And I had some too." she added. She dried her hands.

"I'm going to leave you two to mingle." she smiled and walked over to James, placing a hand on his shoulder. He placed a hand at the small of her back and they kissed. "I'll be waiting." she said seductively. She walked off and James slapped her bum. Ew.

"I'll be there soon." he called, staring after her. I started eating, and boy oh boy was it good! I started crying and James stared at me. "Are you okay?" I nodded.

"It's just that, I haven't had this in so long, and it tastes so good. It just brings back memories." I said in between sobs.

"Memories? We left you guys when you were like 4. How do you remember?" he asked. I shrugged and continued eating.

"Listen, Shanae, I'm sorry about what I've done to you, I really am. All the beatings, and coming onto you, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it, especially when I've got a fine woman to play with." I cringed, and he laughed.

"Sorry, it is cringy, I admit. But serious, I really don't know why I did what I did. I've only seen now how much I hurt you and how much physical and mental pain I have caused you." I wiped the tears that started falling down. "I watched the video of me hitting you and your mum today, and I couldn't believe it. I can't believe I slammed you down on the desk like that. I can't believe I punched your mum! That was obviously a huge mistake cos I got my arse beat! But anyway, I'm sorry for hitting on you, you're not my punching bag. And you're not a toy, I shouldn't have touched you or forced myself on you. You are ultimately one of the bravest females I know, standing up to me at times and taking the blows. I'm going to try to be a dad to you Shanae, I'm going to try and stop seeing you as a toy, because you're not a toy, you're my daughter. And I should respect you enough to not hurt you." he said. I sat in shock, staring at him.

"Erm, Earth to Shanae, can you hear me?" he waved his hand in my face.

"You're going to change?" I whispered. He nodded. "So, no beatings, no touching, no attempts at raping me?" he nodded again.

"I want to be a dad, not a bully." He said. I looked him in the eyes and saw he meant what he said. I started bawling and he held me, which was really different. "Shh, shh, it's okay. I'm going to change for the better." he released me.

"I don't trust you yet." I said.

"That's completely understandable. If someone had done to me what I did to you, I wouldn't trust them yet either." He nodded.

"Thanks for the dinner." I smiled.

"You're welcome."

"Goodnight." I called, walking out of the kitchen.

End of the week

I had managed to live with James till the end of the week, which I never thought I would be able to do. But he's really changed, so it seems. Patrice is going to take me back to the ends to see my peeps, after school. Ahh!!! I'm so excited! And after, I'm going to dinner with Patrice and James.

End of school

I had gone to the toilets to change out of the school uniform and into my own clothes. Psh, I couldn't let them see me in that horrific uniform! I changed into the outfit I was going to wear to the restaurant. I changed into a burgundy midi dress, a black quilted moto jacket with a gold chain around the perimeter, and I also wore my black quilted block heel ankle boots. Oh! And my bag was black and quilted. I wore a long gold chain necklace, and gold hoop earrings. My hair was slicked up into a high bun. I emerged from the toilets and everyone stared, as always. Oh yeah, Liliya was coming too! She was wearing a white peplum bodycon dress, with gold sequin detailing, which showed off her banging body, and white and gold block heel ankle boots. She had the same jacket as mine, haha, but in white. She tied her hair up into a slick high ponytail, and wore gold studs. I chuckled and we walked to the school gates. Patrice pulled up in the Audi A8 and we climbed in. She looked at our clothing.

"Wow, you look nice!" she gasped.

"Thanks." she pulled up outside my old school and people stared at the car. Liliya and I got out and received smiles. I hugged a few people and exchanged numbers with those I wanted to stay in touch with.

"Mr Miller?" I tapped his shoulder and he turned around.

"Oh my goodness, Shanae! Look at you! You alright?" we chatted for a bit and I went inside the school to look for Courtnee, as Mr Miller informed me that she had a detention. Typical Courtz. Me and Liliya found Courtz in a room with a whole bunch of people and she was arguing with the teacher.

"Look yeah, I didn't do anything, so there's no point in me being here. You're just wasting my time."

"No, you're wasting your time arguing with me." the teacher said.

"Oh my days, you're such a wasteman, you only have people in detention cos you can't teach and we prove it to you-"

"Courtnee, I will just extend your detention to an hour and a half."

"Then you have to call my parents."

"I'm not going to phone home-"

"Then you can't keep me back! Legally, you can't keep me back for more than 15 minutes, without informing my parents. And 15 minutes is over, so I'm out." she stood up.

"Courtnee, sit-"

"Don't tell me what to do, you ain't my mum!" she shouted.

"Courtnee-"

"Fuck you bitch. With your dry pussy, crow face, pit bull looking arse. Fuck your life Miss!" she shouted. I walked into the classroom as the other students fell about with laughter. I smiled. "Shanae!" she screeched. She jumped on me and I laughed.

"Hey Courtz!" she got off me and stared at me.

"Ooh child, you're looking FINE! Where you off to?"

"I'm gonna go restaurant with my parents and my friend. Oh right. I want you to meet her. This is Liliya." I pulled her into the classroom and the boys gasped.

"Rah, white gyal got back! I beg you send me your number." he said.

"Ew, never." she replied. Wait, I know that voice. I looked around and sighed.

"Edmond, shut up." I said to him. His friends giggled.

"What the? Who called me by my government name? What have I said, my name isn't Edmond, it's Tyrone!" he shouted. I laughed and stood from in front of Courtnee. He stared at me. "Woah." was all he said.

"Your name ain't Tyrone, I'm never gonna call you that Eddie." I smirked. He stood up.

"Shanae, baby! Is that you yeah? Looking all sweet." he walked over and hugged me.

"Eddie! I see you're still tryna get girls out of your league." I commented. Eddie was a good friend of mine, I only called him Edmond when I wanted to embarrass him. He laughed.

"Not even. I tried to get you remember?"

"Yeah, and did you succeed?"

"No-"

"Exactly my point."

"You're looking fine, baby!" he commented.

"Really?" I gave a 360 and the boys all stared in awe.

"Uh huh. Real fine! Man wants to tap that still!" I looked at him horrified.

"Ew Eddie! Imma tell Reuben you said that."

"Oh my days, nah, I beg you don't tell him!" I laughed at him.

"I kid, I kid."

"You know what Tyrone, if you want to get a girl, you gotta be like this." my other friend Reece stood up. He was a chocolate boy, with light brown eyes and cornrows. He bopped over to Liliya and took her hand.

"Hello pretty miss. I'm Reece and I couldn't help but admire your beauty. I was wondering if you'd maybe like to hang out with me sometime. As a friend to start with. But please say yes. I don't want to let a queen like you go." he said. Liliya blushed and smiled, showing her dimples. "Aww, you're bare cute." he said, making her blush more.

"Yes." she said.

"You would?"

"I would. Do you want to exchange numbers?" she asked, her accent showing. Courtz and I talked a bit before I had to head off. We visited Reuben and he was so excited to see me. We chilled for a little bit before Patrice started honking the horn rapidly. When we got down, there was just bare mandem taking pics on the car as if it was theirs, lol! Patrice drove us to some really posh restaurant where we met James. It was a good time, the food was good, oh my was the food good! Woo! Ever since James said he was going to change, my relationship with James and Patrice had gotten better. We joke around with each other a lot and stuff and they have suddenly become a lot cooler. Now we had dropped Liliya off at her house, and we were going to see Trey and Sean. They didn't know we were coming so it was going to be a surprise.

"You excited?" Asked Patrice.

"Duh! I ain't seen 'em in so long; I miss 'em to death!" I squealed. We pulled up to the house and I got out before all of them. I knocked on the door and Sean opened it.

"Sam?" he said perplexed. I grinned and jumped on him.

"Sean!!!!" I screeched, longing out his name. I got off him and walked into the house.

"What you doing here?"

"I came to see you, duh! Look, I'm sorry about what I said at the hospital, I didn't mean it, at all. I really really miss you guys, please forgive me for my words, I really want you guys back in my life." he just looked at me confused. I looked around awkwardly.

"So where's Trey?" I asked. His eyes widened.

"Um, er, he's busy." stuttered Sean. I looked at him funnily.

"Okay, so he's upstairs." I laughed. I started walking up the stairs when Sean grabbed my arm.

"Shanae, he's busy."

"Not busy enough to see his own sister." I scoffed, shaking him off me.

"Sam, you really don't want to-"

"I want to see and apologise to my other brother." I walked to his closed bedroom door.

"Shanae don't-" I cut him off with a glare. I smiled and opened the door. My face fell at what I saw. He looked at me, shocked.

"Fuck, Trey. Why'd you stop?" she said.

"Sam?" he said. I stared at him as she continued riding his dick.

"Sam?" she turned around and faced me, smiling. "Oh hey Shanae! I never thought I'd see you in this house again."

"Don't talk to me, trick." I felt myself shake with anger.

"I believe my name is Sharnell."

Well there's chapter 15. Sharnell is something else, I tell ya. And Liliya's a darling! Lol, Edmond. Anyway, I apologise for the lack of updates. I've been busy revising cos it's GCSE season right now, which is why it has taken me nearly a month to update. Right now I have 4 left, my last one's on the 23rd June, so I'll update more after that date. :) Uhhhhh, do you lot think James has really changed or not? And Vanessa? We'll see more of her later...

Comment, Vote, Follow Meh! Share, you better share! Stay beautiful lovelies! Mwah!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I'm out.