Page 41 of Past

"I'm going to kill your twin," she announces, making me look back at her.

"Should I ask why?" I laugh. I don’t want to know the answer.

She shows me her phone, which has three messages from Sebastian.

Sebastian: I'm back tomorrow and I want chocolate cake first. Then this strawberry one I found online (I sent links).

Sebastian: Wait, make this Malteaser cake instead, that shit looks awesome.

Sebastian Wait, hell, it doesn't matter. I can make a list on the plane.Oh, Maisy cut her foot in the pool today, thought you should know she has four stitches and antibiotics. She isn’t happy her pool time is cancelled, but she told me to tell you.

I laugh with Allie as I read them, wondering about the mental state of my brother. I’m sure Maisy is fine, but I know Allie likes to know she is okay.

"I best get you back home so you can make those cakes," I say with a grin.

"Oh, no you’re helping me. You can stay at my apartment if you want. I want to call Maisy when we are back, anyway. I know I’m being silly, but I worry," she says, looking shy and surprising me.

"I would love to stay, and you’re not silly. With everything that happened to Izzy and Maisy, even I am feeling protective of them. Maisy is like a sister to you, I get it,” I say honestly. I was so fucking worried about Izzy when everything happened to her. I struggled with accepting my new sister until I realised how much I love her.

I’m actually looking forward to watching Allie cook, now that I think about it. Getting to stay over at hers is a bonus.I’m glad she moved out of her father’s home. Not that he ever stays there. That’s why none of us were worried when Izzy became friends with Allie and started staying over. Arthur was never home, and if he was, Allie wouldn’t have let Izzy come over.

"Thank you for this. I’ll never forget a third date like this, and you get your reward when we are home," she says in a seductive tone and gently kisses me.

"I will never forget it because it was with you,"I tell her against her lips.

"You always had me, cookie." She laughs when I pull her to the ground and tickle her for using that fucking nickname. I laugh, myself, and I can't remember the last time I was ever this happy.

Chapter 18

Allie

All the things I've heard about The Cage in town run through my mind as Tristan drives me there. I've heard about the deadly fights, and that it looks like a big nightclub with rooms in the back to have sex in. I've heard about the amount of drugs you can find there, and the kind of people who go there to fuck or fight. None of it scares me more than the fact Elliot is the one fighting tonight, with his brother at his side.

It took me half-an-hour to convince Tristan to take me, and he only did because he knew I would go alone if he didn't. Elliot doesn't know I'm going to be there tonight, and I'm not sure how I'm going to cope with seeing him hurt, but I can't sit at home and pretend it isn't happening. I care too much now.

"Please change your mind," Tris begs me, pulling my attention to him.

"No, I have to be there, and I’m sure Dad will like the idea of me seeing more of his Cage. He isn’t in the country, so I won’t see him there, and if he asks, I will tell him I wanted to see who Elliot really was. I'll tell him Elliot scared me, and hopefully, he should leave Elliot alone," I say while he is shaking his head at me, muttering about stubborn women.

I snort to myself because Tris is just as stubborn as I am.

It's not long before we pull onto a long dirt road, which leads to a car park with a massive warehouse behind it. Looking at the worn-down warehouse, you would never think what lies underneath it does. It’s the perfect hiding place.

"It's so quiet," I say, but Tris ignores me by getting out of the car. I walk next to him through the parked cars, and I see how tense he is. He stops suddenly and turns to me.

"Stay close and don't do anything stupid. Fuck, this reminds me of that blond friend of yours. No wonder you two are friends," he says, and I scowl at him, wondering what the hell he is talking about. I don't have time to ask before he is walking again, and I follow.

Tris says nothing to the massive man standing by the big door, who just glances at us before looking away quickly. I stay close to Tris as he opens a door to a small corridor, with a large, metal door at the end. I can hear a slight bit of music as we get near, and Tris opens the door and waves me in.

The loud music blasts in my ears as soon as the door is opened, it’s worse than any club I’ve been to. The heat from the room makes me feel sick, but I look around anyway. There’s a massive, metal cage in the middle of the room, which you can't miss, and my heart screams when I see Elliot on the floor with a giant of a man straddling him. I rush forward through the crowd, shoving people out of the way, forgetting about everything until I hit the metal barrier, with screaming girls on either side of me. I can reach out to grab the bars, but Elliot is still so far away.

Elliot gets hit in the face twice, and I want to scream but, instead, I stand in shock. Luke suddenly appears next to him and kicks the giant dude in the head, making him fall off of Elliot with a smack on the floor. I am hopeful that's the end of the fight, but it looks like the giant has a bigger brother, who looks pissed off and is walking slowly over to the boys.

Elliot glances at Luke, who nods while backing away, and I watch as Elliot smirks and gestures for the giant to come to him. The giant charges, and Elliot pulls back and delivers one large punch into the giant’s face, which makes him stagger a little. Elliot doesn't waste time and kicks him hard on his right knee. I hear the bone snap as he cries out in pain. Luke comes next, kicking the other leg just as hard, and he collapses. Elliot kicks him one more time in the face, and it's clear who the winners are. The crowd around me goes wild, screaming Elliot and Luke’s names. I watch as they both walk out the back just as Tris finds me and drags me back to a nearby bar.

"I told you not to go far, that meant not running into a fucking crowd," he says tensely and then orders himself a beer. I order a large vodka and tell them to hold the ice. As I down my drink for courage, I text Elliot, knowing he is going to go ape, but I need to see him.

Me: I'm at The Cage at one of the bars. I'm going to dance, find me x

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