RECAP: 

"My mum. She's in hospital." 

"And that makes you happy!!!??" I say startled. She doesn't answer. "So she's in hospital?" 

"Yeah." she replies. 

"This one?" 

"Yeah." 

"Oh. Did she fall down some stairs?" 

"Yeah. How did you know?" 

"I heard my doctor talking about it." I lied. 

"Oh." 

"I don't know if we are talking about the same person though. Is she in The St Jonathan Ward?" 

"Yeah." 

"Room 237?" 

"Yeah." I screw her. "What? Why are you lookin' at me like dat?" 

"Cos you're lyin'." 

"No I'm not. She is in room 237." 

"Oh. Are you sure?" 

"Yes!" 

"Really?" 

"Absolutely!" 

"Sharnell, WE'RE in room 237!!!" I exclaimed. She stayed silent. After a while, she whipped out her phone and read from it. 

She put it back and said "Oh. My bad. It's room 273, not 237." 

"Stop lyin'. Well, where are you goin'?" 

"I have something to do." 

"But you just got here!" I whined. 

"I know. And the next time I come back and visit, I will bring something for you. Okay?" she says backing away quickly, towards the door. 

"I don't care about that. I just want you here." 

"I have things to do. I'm sorry, I have to go." 

"No, don-" 

"I can't stay. I'm sorry." 

"Stay for a little." 

"I need to go." 

"You're gonna leave me." 

"I have to." she said putting her hand on the door handle behind her. 

"That's not fair." 

"Bye." she says opening the door 

"Don't." 

"Bye. Bye!" she says stepping out. 

"Sharnell!" I call distressed. 

"I'll call you." she says closing the door. What the heck? What was so important that she had to lie like that? 

END OF RECAP:

1 month later

I've been here for a month and I really want to go home now. Trey is so over protective of me. He hired two big chunky men to stand outside my hospital door. He thinks that "Reuben", my "attacker" might come after me again. And since he has to work, he can't be there. He also fitted my phone with a panic button, "just in case." I mean, it's not like I'm scared that Tashard aka "Reuben The Attacker" will come back to the hospital to see me again. After what happened last time Tashard came, he would be a dumbarse to come back."Can I go home now Doctor Wells?" I ask.

"Yes, of course you can." he replies. I jump out of the hospital bed and start pulling some clothes out of my Paul Boutique bag. "Right after you have some rest." I sigh, throwing my clothes onto the end of the hospital bed.

"But whhyyyy?" I whine, looking up at him.

"Because we want to make sure you are alright to go home. And we need to see if you are healing properly."

"I am."

"You're putting strain on yourself."

"I am not." I protest.

"You are. You're walking around with a broken ankle. Without crutches! If you put too much strain on it, it might not heal properly."

"Oh."

"Yeah." I retreated back into my bed. Doctor Wells smiled. "That's all you have to do. For 1 more day, then I will consider releasing you. But as of now, keep that ankle rested."

"For the whole of tomorrow?"

"Hmm. Yes, that's a good idea! I was thinking to release you tomorrow, but since you want to stay the whole day, you can!" Doctor Wells beamed. My face dropped.

"What! No! That's not what I- I was only askin'! I wasn't givin' you ideas!" Doctor Wells laughed hard. I stared at him as he doubled over, his face going red. He calms down and stands up straight with a massive smile on his face.

"Oh! You-you should have seen your face! That was priceless!! Oh! Don't worry Shanae, I'm going to release you tomorrow at midday, if you're good."

"I'll be good! I'll stay in bed and rest till you release me. I will. Trust." He looked at me, puzzled.

"Trust what?"

"Me."

"Then why didn't you just say that?"

"Cos I say trust. It's the same as 'believe me'."

"Oh-kaaay. Well I'll check on you tomorrow, but you have to promise to stay off that ankle." he says backing towards the door.

"I. Promise." I smile at him and he smiles back.

"Bye Shanae."

"Bye Doctor." He opens the door, walks out and closes the door behind him. I sigh. It's been a month and Sharnell hasn't called or visited me again. I'm here, all alone in this hospital room, and my best friend hasn't come to see me. Everyone else has though. My room is filled with so many balloons and "Get Well Soon!" cards. It's nice that people have come to see me. It means I'm not so lonely. One of my friends that came to see me, is such a joker. Instead of bringing a "Get Well Soon!" card, or any card along those lines, he got me a card that said "It's A Boy!" I don't understand why, but he said "walahi." It made no sense, but he's mad funny. I take my phone from the little table next to me and call Sharnell. It goes to voicemail. I call again. And again. And again. Still going to voicemail. I sigh again. Maybe she's busy. But then again, she can't be busy for a month. She ain't revising, she never does until 2 days before the exams. And she's like, mad lazy. I look at her WhatsApp and it says that she was last seen today at 21:39. It's 21:40 right now. So I know she ain't busy. Why is she ignoring me? I put my phone back on the table and fall asleep.

The next day

I can't STAND being in this bed any longer! It's 11:40 and I have managed to stay in bed. Doctor Wells really doesn't want me to get out of this bed. He checked up on me at 10:30 and I needed to go toilet. I said I needed to go but he didn't let me. Instead, he called in Nurse Doggald to put an adult nappy on me! Can you believe that? I tried protesting but Doctor Wells wasn't having any of it. I knew I would have to wear it, otherwise I would have to go home later. Nurse Doggald came in, ready to put on my nappy, when I took it from her and told her that I could do it myself. I stared at them, waiting for them to leave. Eventually, they left the room. I put on the nappy but it was soooo uncomfortable! It felt NOTHING like a pad. I did my biz, but it was soooooooooooooo awkward, even though I was the only one in the room. I am never sharing this terrible experience with ANYONE. I lie in the bed, bored as ever when Doctor Wells walks in.  

"Wag wan Shanae!" I look at him stunned.  

"What?"  

"I said, wag wan Shanae!" he replies.  

"Yeah I know dat, but why you sayin' it?"  

"Cos I'm young innit."  

"You what?"  

"I'm young! Dunno! Reppin' da endz!"  

"Say what?"  

"Oh my DAYZ fam! You're supposed to be young too! Don't you understand what man's tryin' to say?"  

"Naah, I understand it clearly, but don't understand why you are talkin' like dat."  

" It's cool blud. Anyway, since you've been takin' it easy, I'm gonna let you go." I jumped up and hugged him.  

"Ah, thanks man!" I say as he hugs me back.

" It's alright. Anyway, I'm going to call one of your brothers to come and pick you up, okay?" His normal accent and vocabulary returned.  

"Okay. And thank you!" I say releasing him.  

"You are most certainly welcome. You will come back for physio, won't you?" 

"Of course." 

"You better." he says, exiting the room.

I pull off my hospital gown and changed. I take off that nasty nappy and dash it in the bin. I go to take a quick shower since we are supposed to be leaving at 12:00. I put on underwear, grey jogging bottoms, a blue t shirt and a grey hoodie. I sat on the bed and put a sock on my right foot. I was going to put a sock on my left but realised it was encased in a cast. I put an air force on my right foot and grabbed my crutches. I practiced walking with them around the room. It was hard to do at first, but I improved after a while. I realised that I hadn't done my hair and tied it in a neat-messy bun on the top of my head. I did some more practicing until my door flung open and my brothers walked in. They ran to me and hugged me tight.

"Heey guys!" I say to them after we finish hugging.  

" We bare missed you." they say together.  

"Aww." I say.  

"We woulda visited more, but, we have to make that money." says Sean, sweeping his hands down his shiny blue suit.  

"I understand." He nods.  

"Look what I got!" shouts Sean. He holds up a white plastic bag. I look in to see a large food bag filled with cinnamon rolls. I could also see some red jelly in a massive plastic container along with cups of hospital pre made hot chocolate and a huge tub of ice cream. I gasp! These boys were just too sweet.  

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I squeal, grabbing the bag.  

"You're welcome" they reply together.  

So, aren't we going?" I ask excitedly.  

"Yeah, yeah." says Trey.  

"Okay." Trey grabs my Paul's Boutique bag and closes it. Sean grabs all my balloons and cards. He then opens the door for me.  

"Thank you." I say to him smiling.  

"No problem."

I hold the white bag by my wrist and walk out with the help of my crutches.

We walk down the long blue corridor and pass the receptionists desk. "Shanae?" calls the receptionist. We turn around and face the receptionist. We walk to her desk.  

"Yes?"  

"These are for you." she says. She reaches under her desk and pulls out a bouquet of roses. They were the most dazzling roses I had ever seen. The bouquet was filled with roses, dyed rainbow colours. The other roses were natural hot pink. They were stunning. A wide grin spread on my face. I picked up the bouquet and smelled the roses. They smelt sweet and gorgeous. In the middle of the roses was a little golden envelope. I took it out.  

"Well, ain't you gon' open it?" Sean asks staring at me.  

"Was it you guys?" I ask.  

"Naah. That's why you should open the envelope." Replied Trey. The receptionist and my brothers were staring at me, waiting for me to open it.  

"I'll open it when we get home okay? I'm not gonna do it with you nosy people watchin'." I tell them.  

Sean scoffs. "Well we're your brothers so we have a right to know who is sending this to our sister."  

"And I could have just chucked away the envelope and kept the bouquet for myself. But I didn't." says the receptionist. I stay silent.  

"Open it!" They urge.  

"Stop. Pressurin' me. I'm opening it at home okay? By myself." I declare, putting the envelope back. They look at each other and nod. "Good. Can we go now?" I ask, giving the bouquet to Trey.  

"Yeah." he replies. I say thank you to the receptionist, but she stops us from leaving again.  

"This is for you too." She goes under her desk and pulls out a muffin basket. My eyes widen and I grab the basket.  

"What. The Flip. When I was in hospital, I never got shit like this." complains Trey. I giggle.  

"You were only here for a check-up." I inform him, laughing. Sean laughs with me. We calm down and I give the basket to Sean. We say bye to the receptionist and make our way to the elevator. We walk out the hospital and into the car park. I follow my brothers confused as they don't have a car. Trey looks at me and smiles, while whipping out his keys. They have the Bentley Logo on them. I give him a puzzled look as to why he has those keys. My brothers lead me to an all black Bentley Continental Gt. I gasp. Blacked out tinted windows, black paint job, black alloys.  

"No way!"  

"Mhm." says Trey coolly.  

"No flippin' way, maan!!!" I yell excitedly.  

"You best believe it." says Sean coolly. I squeal and move quickly to the Bentley, as Trey unlocks it. Sean opens the passenger side for me. I say thank you and slide in with my crutches outside. Sean takes them. I sink comfortably into the dark cream seat. A smirk appears on my face. I close the door and put my seat belt on. I look to my right and Trey looks at me.

"Well, aren't you going to start it?" I ask him. He nods. He puts on his seat belt and puts the key in the ignition. The sweet hum of the engine amazes me. It sound nice. I look behind me to see Sean smirking at me while nodding his head.  

"Believe it." He says.  

I turn back to the front as Trey drives off. Do you get that feeling when you get into a different car for the first time and the ride just feels so smooth? Like the tyres are so smooth that you can't even feel any bump in the road? That's what it feels like. (A/N: It felt like that the first time I got in my mum's Mercedes. She was driving us to school and it was just so...Smooooth) I couldn't help but smile. Trey then turned on the Stereo. He turns it up. YG - I'm 4rm Bompton starts playing.  

"Whoooo!! This is a tuuuunneee!!!" I burst. I turn up the stereo louder. I start rapping along.  

My brothers look at me in awe when we stop at a traffic light.  

"What?"  

"You know the lyrics." says Sean.  

"Yes."  

"That's soooo sick."  

"Thanks." I reply smiling. I carry on rapping along and my brothers join me. We rap along till it ends. I put the stereo cord in my phone, playing music. We finally arrived home, after Sean gave Trey wrong directions back to our house. He switched the engine off.  

"When did you get this?" I asked Trey, rubbing my hand on the dashboard.  

"When you were in hospital. Thought that when you wanted to go out, I could take you, in style." I huff, annoyed.  

"What?" he asks.  

"You're planning take me everywhere."  

"Well, not really."  

"Yes. You're not going to let me have any freedom."  

"You will have freedom. When I'm right there with you."  

"Ugh. Whatever."

Sean got out and opened my door for me. He then handed me my crutches. I undid my seat belt and climbed out of the car.

I walked to the house with the help of my crutches. I waited for someone to unlock the door. Finally, Sean unlocked the door and I walked in. Surprisingly, the house was looking good. Everything had changed. Instead of having that nasty, old, dirty cream wallpaper, the wallpaper was smooth and was painted in a dark matt grey. I turn and move into the living room.

There are 2 couches, in black leather. In the middle of the room, there was a black shiny table. The walls were also painted grey. I look up and a small chandelier is hanging from the black painted ceiling. On the wall is a big picture of my brothers on either side of me hugging me. The picture is in a silver frame. Next to the picture is another big picture of me. I am in a mirror, my hair is slicked up in a high pony tail. The pony tail cascades down the right side of my face. My eyes are in a black and silver smoky eye and I have dark burgundy shiny lipgloss on. I am wearing a black dress with jewels all around the neck. I look so sick.

I exit the living room and go into the kitchen. The fridge is silver and the table tops are silver. The cupboards are black with silver handles. The walls above the cooker and above the sink is tiled. The tiles are a metallic grey. I walk out of the kitchen into the hall, greeted by my brothers. I grin at them.

"How did you do this?" I ask. They don't answer and just smile. "Well, it looks amazing so be proud." I say to them. I turn around, about to make my way upstairs.

I stare at the bottom stair before whipping back around to face my brothers. I smile weakly at them. They nod. Sean takes my flowers and bag into the kitchen. Trey rests my crutches on the staircase and tells Sean to take them up when he's done in the kitchen. I wrap my arms around Trey's neck and jump into his arms using my free leg. He catches me and carries me upstairs.

We arrive at my room and he opens the door. As soon as he did that, he closed it again. I looked at him, an inquisitive look on my face. He sighed and put me on the chair next to the door. He kneeled down.

"I'm sorry. We didn't clean up in there. We wanted to, but it just brought back bad memories. I mean, we didn't want to reminisce our little sister unconscious, leaking blood from everywhere onto her bed." He said solemnly. I nod my furrowed eyebrowed head understandingly. "Man, seeing you like that scared the SHIT, out of me." he continued. "We tried to wake you up but you didn't. You were so lifeless, so pale," he paused. "Which is a big thing for a black person." he said lightening the mood abit and chuckling. "Your blood was just gushing out of your body. It was horrifying! Anyway, I just couldn't handle seeing you like that, an going in that room reminds me of that moment." he looked up at me then looked away quickly, embarrassed. A slight pink tinge arose on his cheeks. My heart melted. A smile spread on my face. I carried on looking at him as his eyes darted around the landing, avoiding me. Leaning down abit, I grabbed his head and hugged it to my chest.  

"Awwww, you are just too adorable!" I let go of his head. He looked at me confused. "Listen, try and get over it okay. It's been a month since it happened."  

"Yeah, but it's still fresh in my mind."  

"Well don't let it be. Look, I understand that it is hard to forget and move on from what happened. I mean, a month isn't actually that long. There will be times when things will remind me of what happened. Like passing the alleyway or seeing him again. But I don't want to be reminded of that moment when I'm in the comfort of my own home. If you carry on like this, I won't ever be able to move on. I don't want to have constant reminders of it." Trey sighs melancholically.  

"It's not that easy Shanae."  

"For my sake. Please?"  

"Shanae I-"  

"Now look here." I say sternly, pointing a warning finger at him. "Stop actin' like a little BITCH, and grow up."  

"What the flip? Sam?" he said taken aback.  

"Stop actin' like such a PUSSY, and fix up man!" I whisper-yelled. He stared at me for ages, every once in a while, opening his mouth to speak and forcing it shut again. I had to be harsh on him. I didn't want to but it was the only way. If I cuss my brother and say he is something, he will do whatever it takes to be the complete opposite. I look at him, waiting for an answer to be given. He sighs again.  

"Ugghhh!! Fine man. Gosh. Bare violating man and ting." I smiled happily.  

"Tee hee!" I laughed.  

"Don't laugh. You proper hurt mans feelings you know." he said in a hurt tone.  

"Oh. Sorry. It was the only way to make you go in there." I said apologetically.

"I don't need to go in there actually." I looked at him confused.  

"What? Yes you do. How else am I supossed to get in there?"  

"You coulda just asked Sean you know."  

"Oh. Yeah."  

"Mhmmmm." He took a deep breath and exhaled, putting his hand on the door knob. He removed it. "I'm gonna go change."  

"What?"  

"I can't stay in my work clothes forever."  

"Fine, fine. Be quick." I say waving my hand. He comes back wearing a tight white v neck and black jogging bottoms with black socks. He opened the door and stared at me intently.  

"What?" I questioned cautiously.  

"You sure you want to go in there?" I nodded. He exhaled deeply again. He shook his head. "Okaay." he replied, slight nervousness bubbling up in his voice. I raised my arms and clasped them around Treys neck. He lifted me up effortlessly but gently, and carried me into my room.

He sat me down at my desk and I let go of him. I took off my trainer.He stood infront of me so that I could not see my bed. I tried looking at my bed to the sides of his body but he moved with me. "Trey!" I huff.  

"I'm joking, I'm joking." he says quickly. "Are you ready for this?" He asks.  

"Yes, yes, I'm ready." I reply fast paced. He sighs and steps to the side, revealing my bed. I stare at it wide eyed. The once hot pink heart on my black quilt cover is now a burgundy brown colour. My hot pink silk pillow cases are covered in large splotches of now brown dry blood. I stand up and nearly fall, staring at the bed. Trey catches me and holds me up. I start walking to my bed, using Trey as support. I pull back the quilt to reveal my bed sheet. It is stained with the same burgundy brown colour. A line of the same colour trails to the side of the bed and I follow it with my eyes. The trail goes all the way down the side of my bed. I look to the pink rug underneath the trail to see that the pink has turned the burgundy colour too. I gasp.

"You okay Shanae?" I hear my brother say, concern in his voice. Tears start welling up in my eyes as I stare at my bed, the memories of that event flooding my mind, consuming me. "Shanae?" I hear Trey call, his voice sounding distant and quiet. I suddenly feel light headed. I try to concentrate on Trey's voice but my thoughts won't let me. I hear him repeating my name. But each time, his voice is getting quieter. My thoughts cloud my mind, cutting off Trey's voice, my vision, my balance. My heart thumps erratically in my chest, my breath quickening rapidly into a state of hyperventilation.

I look around and see that I am in the alleyway again. I feel Tashard punch me in my stomach again. I feel the sting of whips on my body. My head hurts from the sudden pain in my head. I close my eyes, wanting everything to stop. I let out an ear-splitting scream and open my eyes. Tashard is standing in front of me, he steps closer to me. He puts his hand on my face and kisses me on the lips. He pulls away and slaps me. He then walks out of the alleyway. He stops at the entrance and fires a gun. I can't see hear or feel anything now. Fear paralyzes me, sending my body backwards. I suddenly feel strong arms catch me, and hold me, his arms supporting me by holding me under my pits by his forearms. I gasp loudly, feeling a sense of security.

My vision returns along with my hearing. I looked up to see Trey staring down at me. I look away and inhale and exhale deeply repeatedly. I whimper slightly, as tears of innocence run down my face. Trey pulls me upright, so I am standing. I wipe my eyes before he sees. He turns me around and I stare at his sympathy filled face. He looks at each of my eyes, back and forth. I try to contain my tears as sadness possesses me. I fail to contain my tears and water falls out of my eyes and I don't make a sound. Trey grabs my shoulders and pulls me to him. He wraps his arms around me as I hug him back. "I knew you wouldn't be able to handle it." says Trey. I pull away from him slowly. "You don't need to sleep in here if you don't want to, you know." I sniff.  

"I-I-I want to. I don't want what happened to affect me anymore." I say quietly, looking down. Trey puts a finger under my chin and gently lifts my head up, forcing me to look at him.  

"I understand. I don't want it to affect you anymore either. But don't force yourself to get over it so quickly. Give yourself some time to heal COMPLETELY. Physically and psychologically." He says wisely.  

"Look at you, talking all smart and wise." I coo, lightening up the mood. 

"It's cos I am smart and wise." He replies. We laugh. Trey suddenly turns serious. "But seriously though, give yourself time." I sigh.  

"I will."  

"Good."  

"Can you clean my room up so I can sleep?"  

"The ef? Sam!"  

"What?"  

"Too soon! I said give yourself time! You ain't sleeping in here."  

"But where am I gonna sleep?" I moan.  

"You can sleep in my room." Trey says.  

"Aww. Thanks."  

"No problem." I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and look at the screen. It's Reuben. I answer quickly.

"Hey baby." I say smiling.  

"Baby?" repeats Trey.  

"You alright Shanae?" Reuben's deep voice fills me ear.  

"Yeah, I'm good."  

"Good. I've missed you." I place a hand on my chest as a grin emerges on my face.  

"Aww, babe! I've missed you too!" He chuckles. I love it when he does that. It sounds so sexy.  

"Babe?" Trey repeats.  

"You could have come and seen me you know." I say into the mouthpiece. I hear him kiss his teeth.  

"Yeah, well man had stuff to do innit." He replies rudely.  

"Okay. But like, I was in hospital for a month and you couldn't come and see me?"  

"Like I said; man had stuff to do."  

"For a month?"  

"Yes, man. Gosh."  

"What have you been doing?"  

"Stuff."  

"Like?"  

"Stuff."  

"Why ain't you telling me?"  

"Do I have to?" he asks angrily.  

"Well, no-"  

"Then stop asking questions!"  

"Okay! Why are you getting so angry?" I ask taken aback.  

"Just leave it." he replies with annoyance.  

"You could come and see me now if you like." I change the subject. I look at my watch and it reads 13:05. "Oh, wait, you're in school. How are you managing to talk to me while your in lesson?"  

"I'm not at school, I'm at home."  

"Oh. Then you can come over. I miss your hugs."  

"I miss your lips." I laugh.  

"I miss yours too."  

"Well in that case, I'll be there in 5 minutes." I giggle at his comment.  

"Can't wait." I whisper.  

"Mm. Don't need to tell me twice." I giggle again.  

"I'll see you later." I say.  

"Yes you will." I giggle and hang up, a smile still on my face. I put my phone in my pocket and look up.  

"And who was that?" questions Trey.  

"Er, my friend."  

"Of which gender?"  

"Male."  

"More than a friend?"  

"Yes."  

"Boyfriend?"  

"Erm, can you help me downstairs please?" I ask changing the subject. Trey gave me a stank face. "Please Trey." He just stared at me. "Trey!"  

"Sean!!!!! Sam's got a nigga!!!!" yells Trey.  

"What!" Sean yells back.  

"Trey, what the heck?" I screw him. He picks me up suddenly and runs down the stairs. He puts me down and I grab my crutches. He runs into the kitchen as I follow behind. Sean cooked pancakes. When he sees me, he hands me a plate of pancakes, smothered with maple syrup. Trey takes it and puts it in the living room. I follow and sit on one of the couches. I start digging into my food.

"So you got a boyfriend huh?" asks Sean. I point to my mouth, indicating that I can't talk with my mouth full. I continue filling my mouth whenever they ask a question. I finish my pancakes in no time.  

"Can you lot stay out of the living room so me and my friend will have some privacy please?"  

"Naarh, I don't feel safe leaving you in here with a male stranger." says Sean. Trey nods in agreement.  

"First of all, he's not a stranger, he's my friend. Second of all, I will call you for help if I need it. Plus I can hit him with my crutches if I really need to."  

"Fine. But I will check on you guys every now and then." says Trey.  

"Thaanks!" I squeal. The doorbell rings. "He's here!" I shriek. I grab my crutches and go to the door. I open it to reveal my boo. "Reuben!!!" I yell.  

"Shanae!!!" Reuben whisper-yells. I drop my crutches and hug him tight. I don't let go and he laughs, his chest vibrating. He closes the door with his foot.  

"Reuben?" I hear voices behind me say. I let go of my babes and turn around to find my brothers looking mad as hell. They both have their hands clenched in tight fists.  

"Wait, don't." I say knowing where this is going to go. My brothers move to us. Trey pushes me to the side hard, causing me to lose my balance and hit the cabinet by the door. My rib hits the edge of it and I fall to the floor. The pictures that were on the cabinet fall on me along with the candles that were there. I turn around to see my brothers punching Reuben. He falls to the floor.  

"STOP!!!!" I scream. Trey stops and turns around to face me, his hands still in fists.  

"How dare you invite him to come into my house!!! After everything he has done to you!!!" Trey picks me up by my shoulders and throws me into the wall. I hit the wall mirror and it shatters. I fall and pieces of glass fall on me.  

"Shanae!!!" Reuben calls.  

"SHUT UP!!!" says Trey. He then stomps on Reuben's stomach. He screams and groans.  

"Reuben!" I call.  

"You BITCH!!!" says Trey. He kicks me in my stomach and lifts me by my shoulders again. He pins me to the wall. I start crying. He gets right in my face. I can feel his hot breath on me as he talks.  

"Don't you ever think Shanae!!! How are you gonna stay in hospital for a month and then invite the person that put you in there, INTO YOUR HOUSE!!!" He holds me by my throat and uses his other hand to punch me in the face. I cry harder. Sean doesn't even realise what his brother is doing to me. He's too busy beating up Reuben. "Don't cry! This is YOUR FAULT!!!" He squeezes my neck and I squirm around in his grip. I try to loosen his grip, using both of my hands to tug at his fingers. I gasp for air. I claw at his hand but he doesn't let go. I try to kick him but it's no use. He finally let's go and I crash into the hardwood floor..

"SHANAE!!!" Reuben yells. I feel pain everywhere. I see Sean staring at me and Reuben is on his hands and knees scrambling towards me. His beautiful face is bloodied, red and bruised. Blood pours from his right eyebrow and the corner of his lip. His eyes are red and puffy. He cups my face in his hands. I taste blood. This is all so familiar to me. "Shanae?" he calls. He stares into my eyes. His face scrunches up and tears start to fall down it.

"Get off her!" Trey commands. Reuben ignores him, too caught up stroking my face. A hand pushes Reuben away. He stares at me and repeatedly asks if I'm okay. I smile weakly at him and he returns it. I am suddenly pulled so I am lying on my back. I open my eyes more, seeing Trey hovering over me. He suddenly steps on my stomach. I scream. "This is what you get for disrespecting me! I put two big arse men outside your hospital room for a month! A month Shanae! I put a panic button in your phone in case you saw him. And then what do you do!? You throw it back in my face by inviting him over!!!" Trey was furious.  

"No, Trey. It's not like that! It-" I was cut off by a hard kick to the stomach. I clutched my stomach.  

"What do you have to say for yourself now, Shanae? That's right nothing!" yells Trey.  

"It's not him." I say, panting. My brothers look at me in shock.  

"What do you mean?" asks Trey.  

"It's not him. He didn't hurt me. He wasn't-" I breathe deeply and continue. "He wasn't the one that beat me up." Once I said that, Sean helped Reuben up onto his feet. He kept on apologizing to Reuben.  

"You're lying!" accuses Trey.  

"I'm not!"

"You are!" he picks me up and slams me to the wall.  

"Ay, Trey, stop!" says Sean. He and Reuben try to pull Trey off me. Trey holds me by my neck.  

"Ay fam! Let her go!" shouts Reuben.  

"She's lying!" yells Trey.  

"I'm not! I swear!" I tell him. I finally managed to control my tears and stop crying. He stares in my eyes and I stare back. He suddenly let's go and I again drop to the floor.  

"Shit, she's telling the truth." I hear Trey say. I cough and breathe deeply, trying to catch my breath. I get on my hands and knees and continue coughing. I sit on the floor and look up at Trey. He stares at me and I break down. "I'm so sorry Sam, I am. I'm so so sorry. Please forgive me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Trey says. He steps closer to me and I cry harder.

Please! Please don't hurt me. Don't hurt me." I look to the floor not wanting to see Trey's face. Reuben comes to me.

"Shit, why'd you beat her up Trey?" asks Sean.  

"'Cos I thought she was disrespecting me! How is she going to invite the person I've been protecting her from, into her house?"  

"But it wasn't him though, was it!" shouts Sean.  

"Yeah, well that's not what Tashard said is it!"  

"Tashard?" asked Sean confused.  

"Yes! The boy that said it was Reuben that beat her up!" replied Trey angrily. Sean was silent, thinking. "I'm sorry Shanae. Here let me help you." Trey leans down to my level but I feel scared that he might do something. I look away and he grabs my arm. He didn't grab my arm hard, but it hurt. I pull my arm away. Trey looks at me hurt. "Sam?"  

"Please don't touch me." I say to him.  

"What?"  

I take a deep breath and repeat myself more ferociously. "Don't. Touch me." I stare into his eyes, blasting him with anger.  

"Sam, I said I'm sorry."  

"I don't care." I say back. I turn my head and look up at Reuben. "Can we leave please Rubes?"  

"Yeah, sure." replies Reuben. We stand up.  

"Er, where d'you think you're going?" says Trey, standing in our way. I ignore him and Reuben hands me my crutches.  

"Can you pack me some of my stuff please?" I ask. Reuben nods and heads upstairs. Reuben has been here before, just not when my brothers have been in. A few minutes later, Reuben comes down the stairs with a big suitcase and my air forces. He puts one on my foot and puts the other in the suitcase. I send him to the kitchen to get my flowers and everything else I got from the hospital.  

"Where d'you think you're going?" Trey repeats himself. I ignore him. Reuben hands me my bag with all the food in and he takes everything else.  

"Sam, where are you going?" asks Sean.  

"Away from you guys." I mumble.  

"You're not going anywhere!" shouts Trey standing in front of the door.  

"Excuse me." I say to him.  

"No. You ain't going nowhere."  

"Move out my way, man." I say annoyed.  

"No! Why do you want to leave?" I look at him like he is crazy.  

"Are you mad? You expect me to stay here after what just happened!? You beat me up and my boyfriend and you ask why I want to leave!?"I shout at him. What kind of chupidness!?  

"I'm sorry!" Trey says, his voice cracking a little.  

"Fuck you Trey. You too Sean. I fucking hate you." I spat. Tears start falling and I wipe them away, probably smearing blood across my cheek. They were silent. "Move Trey." I say quietly. He doesn't move.  

"Ay fam. Let her go. We did wrong. We should let her cool off for some time." Sean says to Trey. Trey stares straight ahead. "Come on man, move. She'll come back." Sean says pulling Trey out of the way.

Reuben opens the door and we proceed to walk out. I hear snivelling behind us. I turn around to see Trey staring at me with tears streaming down his face. I have never seen my brother cry before. I always thought he never cried and never would cry. Ever. I was so wrong. My heart collapses. I start to sob. After a minute, I pull myself together, wipe my tears and turn around. I look at Reuben.  

"Let's go." he nods quickly. We leave the house with the door open.

We make our way to Reubens house. It would usually take 10 minutes to get from mine to Reuben's, but since I am on crutches, and Reuben is hauling a big suitcase, it took an extra 10 minutes. I look at the floor as we walk. We finally arrive at Reubens block of flats.

We walk to the elevator and I press the button. As we wait, a group of boys walk down the stairs. I don't make eye contact.

"Yo, what's good." Reuben says. I look up and he spuds someone. He then goes around the group spudding people.  

"Ay blud, what happened to your face?" a boy from the group asks. He wears a navy hoodie with the hood up, grey jogging bottoms and white air forces. Reuben kisses his teeth.  

"Ah, nothing man." he replies.  

"Sure don't look like nothing."  

"Well I'm fine, so you don't need to worry."  

"Okay. That's good. Why you waiting for the elevator? You know that thing takes like 5 minutes to come down after you press the button right?" The boy laughs.  

"Yeah, I ain't stupid Marques." retorts Reuben. Marques stops laughing and puts on a straight face. The other boys from the group laugh. 

"Don't refer to me by my government name." 

"Haha. Why?" 

"Everyone refers to me by my tag. You ain't no acception." says Marques with attitude. A boy from the group yells out "Watch it!" while others go "woo." in a shocked way. 

"Well then Flags, haha, Flags! I have to take the elevator." 

"But you can just take the stairs. It's quicker."  

"Yeah, I know, but" he stops and points to me.  

"Woah! What happened to her?" says Marques wide eyed. His mouth was hanging open too.

"Nothing." replies Reuben.

"What!? That ain't nothing". Not tryna be rude but, she's mash up." The boys from the group snicker at Marques' comment. 

"Ay, shut up, man. It ain't even funny," says Reuben. 

"The way she looks is funny." says Marques laughing. The rest of the boys laugh too. 

"Stop man. You don't know shit 'bout what happened to us." Reuben tries to keep his cool. 

"What? Did man dem try rush you or something?" asks Marques giggling. The boys in the group don't laugh this time, leaving Marques laughing on his ones. 

"You know no-one can rush me." 

"If you say so. Don't look like it, but if you were me, and you had the tag 'Flags', no-one would touch you. Do you know why I've got the tag 'Flags'? 'Cos everywhere I go, people surrender. They don't wanna mess with me. They show me that white flag." This guy was so full of himself. 

"I didn't get rushed man." 

"Really? Tell it to your bruk up face and your mash up woman!" exclaims Marques. 

"What!?!!?" Reuben pulls out a gun and places it on Marques' forehead. The boys and I look on in horror. 

"You wanna say that again fam?" says Reuben slowly. 

"Nah, nah man. I was only joking." says Marques. 

"Apologise." 

"Ay man, I was only joking. You know Flags doesn't apologise to anyone." He looked so scared and looked like he could cry any second. His eyes popped out of his head. Reuben's breathing became heavier. 

"Apologise." repeated Reuben. 

"Man, you know I don't apologise." This just made Reuben angrier. 

"Apologise. You got 5 seconds." He started counting down. "5,4" He took off the safety on his gun. "3, 2-" 

"Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry man! Please don't shoot! Please, please! I'm sorry man!" This fool Marques was begging for his life. Marques had tears streaming down his face. By this time, Marques was on his knees. A smile crept up on Reuben's face. He cocked his head to the side. Marques stood, wiped his eyes, sniffed a bit and glared at Reuben. Reuben let his arm drop from Marques' forehead but still stared at Marques. After a few seconds of silence, he talked. 

"1." he said. A loud gunshot sounded, Marques screamed and fell to the floor. He clutched his leg as blood poured out.  

"All you had to do was do what I said first time I tell you to do it. That's all you had to do bruddah." says Reuben. I trembled with fear. "Take this as a warning yeah? Don't try disrespect me. Especially infront of my woman. Don't disrepsect none of my shit. Remember, your tag might be Flags, but mine is Murder."

Sorry if I got some of the lyrics wrong! Moving on.....................Woooooaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! Reuben shot Flags!!!!! Woooooaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! Shanae got beaten up AGAIN!!!!! 

Woooooaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! Reuben got beaten up!!!!! 

Woooooaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! Shanae left Trey n Sean!!!!! 

There's more to come people! Thanks for reading! Stay blessed! 

Love from Samantha 

xxx