Page 5 of Kidnapped

But I don’t want Trick up worrying about me, especially since I am more okay now than I was before.

“Trick, I promise that I’m okay, and if something happens where I’m not or I need backup, I will call you,” I say honestly, hoping that he believes me because I have no idea how to make him believe me otherwise.

“Okay.” He replies, “I’ll try not to worry so much, but knowing what your dad is up to and the kind of shit that he’s doing, makes me want you out of that house.”

I sigh, “Trust me, I want out of that house more than anyone, but it’s not possible at the moment. I don’t see any way that I can leave the house without it causing more problems for me and potentially meaning that I end up in the foster system until I age out. I haven’t got long until I turn eighteen, only a couple of years; I can stay put for that long.”

“I don’t like it; I wish you didn’t have to put up with his shit just so that you can stay with us.” he practically growls.

“Me neither,” I reply honestly.

“Just stay with me as much as possible, you know I don’t mind, my parents don’t mind at all and if you’re worried about them looking too closely at things then we can just say that your parents are traveling, they very rarely if ever see them anymore so we should be able to get away with it fairly easily.” Trick suggests.

Honestly, it would be amazing to spend even less time at home, and I love staying at Trick’s place.

“Are you sure that’s okay? With your parents and with me invading your space?” I check; I really don’t want to overstay my welcome, which is why I don’t stay as often as I’d like to now.

Trick nods, “Are you joking, dude? Of course I’m sure, stay as often as you think you can get away with without your parents kicking up a fuss.”

I smile, “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it; just promise me that if you get fed up, you’ll tell me so I can fuck off for a bit before you end up hating me.”

Chapter Five

Luc

Isay it like a joke, but it’s a genuine concern of mine, and his reaction and reply will mean a lot to me and determine whether I can actually use his offer as often as he’s said.

Trick chuckles, “I think it’s pretty unlikely that I’m going to get fed up with you, man, we’ve been friends since we were toddlers, but if it makes you feel better, I promise that I’ll tell you if you piss me off, just like I have always told you if you piss me off.”

Something settles inside me as I realize that he means what he’s said, and I grin as I say, “Yeah, you make a good point.”

I don’t think he realizes just how much that meant to me.

“I always do,” he jokes.

“Are we heading straight to school?”

Trick shakes his head, “No, we’re going to get everyone. We’re just doing it the other way around.”

“Fair enough,” I reply.

Trick

Itried to reply to his question in a way that would let him know how ridiculous the question was without taking away how important it was to him that I answer, and it was important to him. I’m not entirely sure why, but I picked up on it almost immediately, and I knew that I needed to answer it honestly and not in a sarcastic way. I’m almost certain that there’s more going on with him than what he’s let on, things that his father has said to him that have had more of an impact than perhaps he’s even willing to admit to himself.

But he’ll talk when he’s ready, and if he’s ever ready to tell me about it, I’ll be here to listen.

We push all the serious talk away as we pull up outside Rafe’s place; he’s already waiting outside like usual since I messaged and let him and Riot know that I’d be picking them up before I got Jensen and Cash. Of course, they immediately asked what was wrong with Luc and if he was okay. I filled them in with the information that I had, but all of them were just as worried as I was.

None of us like Luc’s situation, but all of us realize that there isn’t really anything that we can do about it; we effectively have our hands tied.

“Everything okay?” Rafe signs as soon as he gets in the car.

“I’m all good,” Luc replies, knowing that the question was aimed at him and not me.

Rafe doesn’t sign anything but does raise his eyebrow at Luc, which makes me smirk. He has a unique way of getting his point across without signing anything and pretty much only using facial expressions.

Luc smiles, “Honestly, I’m good. Nothing happened apart from I got some more information on my father that we can hopefully use to take him down at a later date. I think Trick got far less sleep than I did.”

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