(DEENA AVENA)
"Hey guys I'm here!...Mom? James?...Gabby?"
"DEENA!" Cried out James from the silence, he was dashing down the stairs to give me a hug. Gabby came out right after James to also welcome me, but not before calling out to mom, and letting her know that I had arrived. This is what always makes my day, seeing these two kiddos.
"Hey Deena. How was your day, baby?" Asked mom, leaning in for a hug.
"It was fine just- wait...mom? Have you been smoking?" My smile quickly turned sour as I started to question her.
"No, what makes you think that?"
"Cause you smell like pure ashy shit." I snapped back.
"Hey watch your mouth. You know we can't swear in front of the twins."
"Oh I'm sorry, I mean pure ash do do."
Both of the twins chuckled.
"Ok. You know what kids, could you go up stairs and play in your room please, I need to talk to sissy alone."
"Ok mommy." Said the twins running up stairs.
We both stood there silent until we heard the twin's door slam shut behind them.
"Look Deena, I might have had one or two cigarettes, but I promise I didn't smoke in front of the kids."
As those words came slowly out her mouth, I felt a slight sliver of peace with that response, but a part of me still felt a little shaken up.
"Are you sure they didn't see you?" I asked.
"I'm sure."
I began to relax, I knew my mom was telling me the truth. All my mom ever does is try and keep this home like a safe haven for her kids, so I don't know why I shouldn't trust her. I kissed my mom on her cheek, and started heading upstairs.
"Hey Dee, Where's Jamie?" Called out mom.
"Probably hanging out with her biker friends."
My mom just responded with an "Okay", not like she can do much anyways. Jamie is always going to do what she wants, when she wants. Honestly I feel bad for my mom. She deserves so much.
"Hey mom, by the way I'm leaving later this afternoon with the NSB girls."
"Okay, well get dressed quick and then come down to eat with us."
I still keep thinking about how my mom was smoking while the kids were home. I do trust her, I really do, but just the realization that she almost might have exposed the kids to that, scares me. Look, I know my mom is an adult and is allowed to do whatever she wants, but I really want her to be careful around the twins, because they are the only pure thing we have in this household.
Even my sister Jamie agrees on this with me, which is really surprising because Jamie and I don't really get along, but we both want what's best for Gabby and James. We want them to grow up in a stable home, not a broken one.
It's been twenty minutes since I got home, and all I really did was put on a black high waisted skirt with a long sleeve maroon top, and my favorite black high heel boots. I didn't do much for my hair, just left it curled and put on a black hairband, if you couldn't tell I love the color black. For jewelry, I just put on a diamond choker and a pearl ring that belongs to my grandma-ma.
People tend to get fooled by the stuff we own. They think that just because we have a nice home and nice things, that we must be living life, when in reality we are as broken as ever. This house isn't even ours, it belongs to my uncle. He decided to let us live here as long as we want. My dad travels for business deals a lot but even his job doesn't help us win money. Even most of the stuff we own comes from my uncle too, he buys things for us most often.
Well except for the pearl ring, it was a birthday gift from my grandma-ma when I turned six. It's one of the last things I have of her. Ok, anyways I really gotta stop thinking about everything that's so tragic about my life and just focus on tonight.
"Everything has to go perfect." Those words keep echoing through my mind. I feel nervous that everything won't go as planned, so nervous that I just keep staring at myself through the mirror wondering what would happen to me if it didn't.
"Dee...."
As I slowly came back to reality, I could hear someone calling my name.
"Deena....?"
The voice just gets louder and louder.
"Hey Dee!?..."
I could make the voice out now. It sounds like...Oh no.
"HEYYYY!"
"JAMIE!?" I yelled.
"Yeah bitch, it's me." Responded Jamie, her voice is super annoying to hear.
"You know you're not allowed in my room Jamie. Now what do you want?" I was obviously pissed. I can hardly stand Jamie being next to me, and especially after she began a relationship with my ex.
"Come down stairs already, mom wants you to eat with us before you leave."
"I'll be right there. Oh and Jamie, don't ever come in here again."
Jamie just walked off with a little smirk on her face. Damn, sometimes I just wanna slap her across the face.
Usually mom wouldn't bother us as much about eating as a family, especially when I'm about to head out with my girls. Instead she would normally wait till I got home so we could eat together while everyone was asleep. I know this sounds weird, but I assure you it's not.
Mom never really got to live out her teenage years as she would have wanted. Whenever I would come back from going out with my friends, mom would stay up just to hear about the fun I had. I could always tell that my mom was a bit upset about missing all the fun she could have had as a teen, she tries to hide her feelings so that I wouldn't feel bad.
It never worked though. I blamed myself for ruining my mom's life. If she never would have had me, her life would've been a lot better. As I got closer and closer to the dining room...I heard his voice. I entered the room and there he was.
"Dad?"
"Hello Deena. I'm home."
After a few awkward moments of just sitting not saying a word to each other, I finally was able to start a conversation.
"So why are you home so early?"
He took a very long pause and responded with.
"Well that's a very long story but, let's just say my boss was feeling generous and decided to give us some time off."
"How long?" I asked with a concerned voice.
"Six Months."
"SIX MONTHS?!!" I screamed getting up from my chair.
"Yes, six months. Why, got a problem with that?" said dad with his eyes wide open.
It gave me chills whenever he looked at me like that. You never wanted to see my dad upset or angry, cause things might not end well for you. With my gaze to the floor, I told him "No". I could tell that I was annoying the hell out of him with these questions. So I excused myself.
"I'm gonna go now, the girls are waiting for me to pick them up."
Mom did try to stop me and convince me to stay a little longer. I managed to get her to let me go. Everyone said goodbye to me, well except dad. So I just turned around and left.
I decided to pick up Mari first. She was wearing a nice gray long sleeved shirt, with black jeans, and these nice high top shoes. Her shiny black hair was perfectly straightened.
Next was Vonney. Now Vee's vibrant red hair is naturally curly and gives off nice round bouncy curls, so it's no surprise that she just decided to leave her hair as is. Vee wore a spaghetti strap maroon red slim dress that complemented her deep almond complexion, and a pair of black strap heels.
Last but not least, were Emiya and Jericho. Jericho decided to have a sleepover at Emiya's place, which really worked out for me because I don't want to have to deal with her strict psychotic mother staring me down. Emiya wore a nice white dress and a white pair of sparkly heels. Emiya's hair was curled with two braids coming from the sides of her head connecting at the back with a small flower pin.
Jer loved to twin with Emiya, except her dress was a light purple color, and she had paired it with white sneakers. She also had a black velvet jacket while Em brought a beige cardigan with her. Jericho's hair is really short so all she did was curl it down. I'm still a little worried about telling the girls what the meeting is about, but they're gonna figure it out sooner or later.
"Ok girls. So are you ready to know what we're doing tonight."
"Yes finally, are you gonna stop leaving us in suspense." Says Vee all excited.
"Hey, I told you guys that I would tell you when I picked you up, didn't I? Now listen carefully, so I'll try to keep it short but today we are going to be meeting with...Felipe Mendoza."
" ...WHAT?!!" Damn these bitches, they almost burst my gosh dang ear drum.
"Oww, can you not do that!?"
"Well sorry but, we're all just surprised. Deena do you even know who Felipe is?" Said Mari, sounding concerned.
"He's one of the biggest drug dealers in America." Says Jericho.
"Yeah, I know." I responded.
"Then what in the MOTHERLY FUCK is wrong with you!?" Responded Mari who was already pissed off with me.
"Look you guys, don't you ever wish to get out of this life we're in. A man that is willing to pay us if we just work with them. Let me put it this way. We all need money to help out our families, right? I mean come on, Mari your folks don't have the necessary money to support you and your sister, Jericho's parents are munching off of Emiya's family who let's face it have to work twice as hard to keep their own businesses running, and Vonney who might not even make it into college with her grades, let alone a scholarship. So I don't know about you guys but I don't want to keep living under my uncle's savings for the rest of my life, so I'm begging you, please let's just give him a chance."
All the girls were a little hesitant, but after thinking about it for a while, they agreed to do it since I actually do have a point, we began going to the destination that Sammy had sent me.
"Deena?"
I turned to lock eyes with Emiya who's body language wouldn't give it off at first glance, but by looking deep into her eyes you can see how nervous she was.
"What do you need Aya?" I asked with concern.
My voice was able to form a more sympathetic tone when responding to Emiya. I don't like seeing the girls upset or anxious, so I manage to find ways to make them feel reassured in what my answer might end up being.
"Do we have to sleep with him?"
Hearing Emiya say such a thing made me want to stop the car just to give her a hug. There was no way in hell I would ever make my friends do something that will put them in harm's way. I mean I may be a bitch at times to my friends, but this is different, they aren't just my friends. They're my family. I will do whatever I must to protect them.
"Oh god no. You guys don't have to worry about that."
"What do we do then?" asked Emiya.
"Well it's not sleeping with him that's for sure, he's just gonna have specific jobs for us to do. Now I don't know what type of jobs he's gonna provide for each of us, but I promise you that being a slut ain't one of them."
"How did you even get in touch with him anyways?" Asked Mari.
Oh fuck. This was the question I was dreading hearing. I'm usually prepared for anything, but now. I'm not prepared to answer this question, nor prepared for how Vee will take the answer. I have to tell them though cause they might be more pissed when they find out later.
"Well. Why don't you ask…Sammy." I said cautiously.
"What does my brother have to do with this?" Responded a confused Vee.
"Well Vee. Your dear brother…is the one who gave me the idea."
Vonney's ora felt unnerving. She didn't want to believe it, I mean being a protective sister can make you blind to the truth. I should know.
"Why would he do that?" Questioned Vonney.
I don't know how to explain to Vonney that her own brother is involved with this mess too. She is my girl, and I can't keep lying to save Sammy's behind.
"Because Sam, our dear baby boy Sammy, also works for Felipe. He is who I've been getting directions from."
"WHAT!!!" The girls cried.
Not again. I swear these girls are gonna break my motherfucking windows with their high pitched screams. I looked straight at them from the rearview mirror, giving them a wide eyed expression, I looked just like my father with that face.
"Do you guys want me to crash the car?! Jesus you all should be in the opera, maybe then we don't have to go through with this job."
"Sorry but...how could my brother hide something like this from us, from me, his own sister." said Vonney, a bit upset.
"Vee look, don't be angry at him he wanted to tell you, he didn't know how though."
"Then why bring us here if he was just gonna keep it a secret."
"He didn't want you involved in this. He was fine with the idea of me and the others doing it, but he knew that no matter what you wouldn't let us do this without you, including if it involved a way of helping your families out."
"Deena, how long have you known about this?" asked Jericho.
Well these fucking questions just keep getting better don't they? Sometimes it's better not to ask anything at all, since too many questions can lead to your grave being dug deeper, and deeper to shame.
"-I've known since…the beginning of Sophomore year."
I could tell by the sharp painful feeling on the back of my neck that Vonney did not like that answer.
After telling Vonney about her brother's secret job, the whole car just became silent and we arrived at a secure part of the road. I texted Sam to see if he was close.
After waiting a few minutes Sammy arrived with two other guys. The men asked us to put on these black blindfolds that they were extending out toward us before we got in the car.
I was a little worried about leaving my car in the middle of the road where someone could try to rob me, but Sammy reassured me that no cars hardly come around these parts. I felt more calm knowing that Sammy's presence is here with us. I kept an eye on Vee, I could see she was trying to ignore her brother most of the time. I know that she's angry, but she had to have known what her brother had been doing.
How does she think he was affording all those flashy clothing he kept buying? After a few seconds it was time to put on the blindfolds and get in the car. The bodyguards accompanying Sammy, went into another car separate from us.
(MARI VAZQUES)
Oh. my. god. This is officially the weirdest car ride I've ever been in, and include that with being blindfolded, how I wanna scream. Okay, I know that in this situation people like the one we're about to meet, would rather keep their whereabouts on the down low, but I'm still a little salty about it.
I'm at least happy that Sam is gonna be with us, I feel more secure with him by our side. I'm not condoling him for working along side a fucking drug dealer, but who are we to judge, I mean look at us, we're practically doing the exact same thing. We are helpless sheep walking into the lion's den. Though the cause for this is more important, I'm willing to do anything if it means keeping my family together.
Can this car go ANY FASTER! Damn I feel like I'm going crazy just listening to my thoughts here. How convenient It seems that the car is finally stopping.
They started pulling us out of the car very slowly and gently.
Not gonna lie, I expected them to treat us like some kind of ragdolls. It felt nice, that was until I heard him.
"Listen up muñecas. Before you take off anything, I want you to hear what I have to say very carefully. If anything, and I mean anything goes wrong, all I have to do is shoot. Remember that."
WHAT THE HELL!!! What have you gotten us into Deena? I could hear Sammy aggressively step into the conversation.
"Why don't you just fucking calm down man. There's no reason for you to be scaring these girls."
"What do you mean pretty boy? Who says I'm trying to scare them? I'm just telling the truth."
This man has some real nerve just saying that. His deep voice, and the way he talked made him sound like a major psychopath.
"Lason, if you fucking think I'm gonna let you touch a single hair on these girls head. You can be sure I will send you so far down to hell first, that you can even say hello to Satan himself for me if you'd like."
Sam sounded furious, but who could seriously blame him. Thanks to the commotion happening, I at least was able to find out one main detail about this mystery guy.
Lason? So that's the scumbag's name.
"Oh Please Sam, you're punk ass wouldn't even hurt a fly if you tried. Why are you even defending these girls, man?"
This man was really aggressive, hopefully Lason sir is a weak man, because maybe then Sammy might have a chance against him if it becomes a physical issue.
"Because these girls that you see here are not things. These are human beings, and for a bonus point, they are women too. Which means they need your full respect no matter what. Even the boss knows that."
As these guys were arguing, another guy decided to step in.
"That's enough. You two come with me."
What is happening, who was the Random-dude that interrupted the argument, and why won't they just remove these DAMN BLINDFOLDS NOW, I SWEAR IF THEY DON'T TAKE THIS OFF NOW, I'M GONNA STICK MY FOOT SO FAR DOWN THEIR A-
"Oh and please, may you remove the ladies' blindfolds now, and escort them inside. It's probably cold for them out here." Said Rando-dude himself.
Let's pretend I didn't say anything before and just move on. They finally took our blindfolds off and the sight we saw was beautiful. It was a huge mansion that looked more like a mall to me, with a huge driveway, not even a driveway, it could pass off as a parking lot with how large it was. It led from the mansion, all the way to these tall, white gates. In the middle of the driveway was a big fountain, almost as big as the car we arrived in. There were trees everywhere too which make sense since we were in the middle of the woods, the trees made it look even more enchanting. This is amazing, this is the kind of dream house every little girl wants. The guards start escorting us inside and as we are walking up the stairs to enter, I can see from the corner of my eye three men talking.
I turned to look at them and see that Sammy was talking to two other guys. Of course it's no surprise that the first thought I had in my head after seeing them was that one of those guys has to be the douche Lason, and the other must be Mr. Random-man. Though I couldn't really tell who was who. To make it worse one of them, let's call him dude number one for now, had his back towards me, so I couldn't really see his face at all, the only thing I could see was his fancy black suit he had on. Meanwhile the other guy, let's call him dude number two, was easy to make out since HIS BACK wasn't turned to face me. Anyways, dude number two was a tall, handsome darker complexion male. He also had a nice suit on too, but his suit was more of a navy blue color.
Dude number two noticed me looking at him. Our eyes locked on to each other. I tried so hard to look away, but I couldn't. So we just kept looking at each other for a few seconds until I felt someone coming straight towards me.
"Hey Mari!?"
I jumped up and turned to look at who it was, it was just Emiya making sure I was okay…
"Woah, what's wrong with you girl?" Asked Aya.
"Nothing I'm fine, just a little shaken up."
"Okay. Well we should head inside, they're probably waiting for us."
"Yeah, you're right."
Emiya grabbed my hand and we both started walking inside. My mind was still a bit loosened with what just happened, but when entering the mansion, my eyes were more pleased to see how beautiful it was inside as it was outside. Everything in my head just went away. Then a nice lady who seemed to be working here started leading us to the dining room where apparently the meeting was taking place. The girls were already sitting around the huge ass table, in this huge ass dining room waiting for the meeting to start. I went up to Deena to see what was happening, the only people I saw in the dining room were the girls and some staff just cleaning up and placing food all along the dining table.
"So where is this Felipe at?" I asked.
"Don't worry yourself Mari, he'll be here." Responded Dee.
Huh, she makes that sound easier than it actually is, that bitch. After that I just decided to take a seat. My eyes were still wandering all over admiring the inside. I looked at all the crystal ordainments in the room, and eventually saw the five huge chandeliers over me. To be honest the one in the center was bigger than the ones surrounding it, but still the others were bigger than my whole body. Just imagine that. I started letting out a slight cheer smile. My beautiful view was soon shrouded by the gaze of the man in the navy blue suit. I quickly reverted back to face the plate in front of me. The man in the black suit started walking to the head of the table to sit.
"Hello mi niñas, I'm Felipe Mendoza. I would love to welcome you to my palace. Let me start off by apologizing to you for my friend's behavior earlier. I won't let him lay a hand on any of you."
Wait...WHAT! If he's Felipe then that means the other guy I locked eyes with, was the scumbag Lason. My eyes are disgusted with me. I'm gonna wash them out with soap when I get home.
I was so shocked but I had to keep myself cool. I took some major deep breaths, and after a while I felt better. After a few seconds the staff started to serve us food. Not gonna lie I felt like a queen. Thinking about it, I might slightly not despise the idea of working here. Hey if it means living life as a queen, I might be okay with it.