Episode 2

"You boys are grounded." Yelled Mr. Hawk as he glared at Mike and Eric. Mike rolled his eyes while Eric groaned, pulling a cigar from his mouth. Mr. Hawk yanked the cigar from his hand, "And no smoking in my home. I've said that countless times Eric. You both knew they were coming and you both knew what time, I am very disappointed with the both of you."

My younger brother clung to my leg, and I patted him on the back for comfort. As soon as I heard Mr. Hawk climb the stairs, I sprinted behind the wall. I hid carefully with my younger brother in my arms, telling him to keep quiet as Mr. Hawk passed inches by us and headed to the Master Bedroom. When his door shut, I let a long exhale escape my mouth, and I allowed my brother to speak.

However, hearing a conversation between Eric and Mike made my ears perk.

"That bitch snitched on us," Eric roared, slamming his fist against the wall.

Mike pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and as he lit up the end, he mumbled, "No doubt about it."

"It's our fucking house."

"No doubt about that either," he replied unfazed, allowing Eric to have a drag.

Eric felt his entire body relax under the cigarette. "I wish Mandy, Dad's ex-girlfriend never left—"

"Mandy was a bitch," Mike hissed, not allowing Eric to speak any good about her. "She was a good for nothing whore."

Eric had hit a nerve, and when he noticed the glare from his brother, he shook his head, "Sorry."

"And also," Mike's voice grew louder, "If you want to listen on into our conversation you can come down here, it's easier to hear."

My heart skipped a beat.

Mike opened his arms wide, staring towards the stairway, "I can hear your fucking breathing."

He was speaking to me. I showed my brother my index finger over my mouth, directing him to remain silent and wait until I return. I then marched towards the edge of the stairs, and met both their gazes.

"Why the fuck are you listening in on us?" Mike cursed with a nasty glare on his face. "Your mother got us in shit already and I don't need you to hurt us even more. My business will go into shits for the next couple days because your mother couldn't keep her trap shut."

At first I was shocked at the manner he spoke to me. However, I soon began laughing and made my way to the floor below.nAs I approached them, with my hair tied in a bun, my baggy shirt and my short, my lips tightened into a small line.

"Nice to meet you, I'm August," I said, crossing my arms.

He glanced towards his brother who shrugged his shoulders. His gaze soon returned to mine, "August you said?" However, the more his eyes stared at me, the more I felt violated. He examined every single details on my body, and he was not afraid to make it obvious. I noticed his hungry eyes searching for food at my breasts, and his teeth biting his bottom lip.

I nodded my head. He began marching towards me, and as instinct, I started walking backwards, until I hit a wall. He placed his palm right next to my head against the wall, and leaned in as if he was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes and sucked in my breath, holding it in for a few seconds.

"Don't get in my way." I opened my eyes to find him with gritted teeth, glowering at me before he blew the smoke from his cigarette directly at my face. He then turned and descended from the floor, and I paused for a moment, seeing the change in behaviour from when he greeted my mother, to the dark energy that occurred now.

Mike was very scary.

***

"I wanted all of us to sit down and talk, since we were not able to do that yesterday."

I glanced around the table: Mr. Hawk sat next to my mother at the end of the table, my younger brother sat beside me, and opposite from us, sat Mike and Eric. The smile on Mike's face appeared terribly genuine that it caused shivers along my skin. He met my gaze, and a bright smile was sent in my direction. Eric, on the other hand, appeared bored and unbothered, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"I'm aware neither of the kids had met beforehand. We are glad that you have chosen to come stay with us. Mike and Eric, please introduce yourselves," Mr. Hawk motioned.

"I'm Michael Hawk, twenty-three."

"Eric Hawk, twenty-one."

"August Devinez," I said, "Twenty. And this is William, he doesn't talk very much, but he's six." My younger brother glanced in my direction, then waved at them.

Mr. Hawk smirked, "And August, Eric attends University of Eastbird, which is near the other side of the city, fifteen minutes max. That will be the University you will attend, which is also where Michael graduated from."

Never thought he would have even graduated high school with his criminal attitude. Nonetheless, a big smile was presented to me from his corny lips. I chuckled nervously, and turned back to my lap.

"William, you will attend elementary school that is pretty much around the block. Think you could walk there on your own during mornings or do you need your mother or myself to walk you?"

William did not reply, instead he merely stared at Mr. Hawk who chuckled nervously, glancing at my mother who simply shrugged.

I cleared my throat, "I could walk him, no big deal."

"Are we done? I have shit to do," Eric said, annoyed.

Mr. Hawk shook his head, "I heard you were going to meet up with friends later."

"We were gonna go out but now I'm grounded, thanks to you—"

"Bring August." My eyes widened.

"Excuse-me?" My mother responded, as surprised as myself.

Eric shook his head, "There's no way."

"She needs to associate with people around her age, and meet friends. Good way to meet people that will attend school with her."

"Mr. Hawk," I inserted, "I'm fine."

"It's only an opportunity to get on people's good side."

"Dad." Eric's tone tightened.

"And it's only for tonight, right? We are heading to a dinner reservation any way with William, I don't want you to stay at home by yourself. Enjoy the new change, why not?"

"She's not coming with me," Eric protested.

"I'll take her." Mike's voice finding my ears caused me to turn with a frown. He stared back at me with a suspicious gaze, biting his bottom lip before he returned to his father, "She can come with me."

"But Michael—"

"Eric, shut up," he hissed, an evil glare disorganizing his features, "You're annoying. She's coming with us." Surprisingly, Eric's mouth slammed shut. However, it was apparent that he was boiling in anger, since he slammed his fist against the table and stood from his seat, storming from the dining room.

I attempted to protest as well. "Mr. Hawk, I-I really appreciate the concern, but I really don't mind staying at home—"

"Yea well," Mike answered instead, his violet eyes piercing through me, as if it could read all my thoughts and see that I feared him slightly, "You're coming whether you like it or not. Be ready by ten alright? We're leaving then."

With that, he also left the dining room, and I sat in silence, wondering why he had stared at my lips, and what clothes I was going to wear.

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