Abby

"Mommy, I'm scared." I watch as my mother and father shift on their bed, rolling over to opposite sides to turn on their own lamps.

They slept in the middle, holding each other as if there were nothing else in the world.

"Abigail?" My mother's sweet voice called out to me.

"What's going on?" My father's rough voice booms shortly after.

I adjust my stance, hugging their doorway closer to my body.

"There's a monster under my bed." I can hear my mother whispering softly to my father, followed by a soft deep chuckle.

Dad stands his entire height and walks right over to me. He stops just before my bunny slippered feet and bends down enough to be eye level with me.

"Know what I do when I'm afraid of the dark darlin'?" I shake my head, clutching the wood of the door frame tighter. "I fight the monsters head on."

I narrow my eyes at him, causing another deep chuckle. I'm lifted up in his arms and turn to see my mother blow me a kiss goodnight. Daddy takes me back to my room, setting me softly on the tiny purple bed, then hands me my stuffed bear.

"Won't ever let anything happen to you, know that right Abigail?" I nod yam head, holding the bear to my face. "Alright, then let me take a look at this monster that's givin' ya a hard time." He grabs my sword located next to my bed that Shane had bought me last summer and hops down onto the floor.

He sticks the sword under the bed several times, shouting that he was King of this castle and that they aren't allowed in here anymore. After a few moments, I begin giggling at his antics until he finally gets up, putting my sword back in its place. Sitting back down onto my bed, ha takes my face in his hands, kissing each cheek then looks down at me.

"Anytime you get scared darlin', you just think of me. Think of how daddy is always gonna protect you. Got it?" I nod my head, content with his victory and lay back against my pillow. I hear him stand and head towards the door but call out his name before he crosses the threshold.

"Daddy?"

"Yes darlin'?"

"You promise to always be there when I need you?"

"Always Abby. Always."

"Abby!" Someone shouts in my ear.

"Abby baby look at me." I shut my eyes tight, allowing the old memory to fade away into nothingness.

Blinking back the tears of a once upon a time I can no longer have, I look up to see Chance in my face. We are back in his room at the clubhouse. I am on the floor with him laying above me. He grips my face in his palms gently touching my lip with his thumb.

"Fuck babe, thought I lost you for a second." His breathing is hammered and when I hear a round of gun shots I remember why I was so afraid.

"Chance, are they here?" His face contorts into anger as he looks towards the door.

"Yeah babe, need to go and check on everyone. Need you to stay here"

"No, Chance please don't leave me. Please." I beg, holding his waist tighter to my body.

"Need you to be strong for me Abby. I'll come back for you, I promise." I look into his eyes, watching as they dance with worry.

He needs me to be strong.

I nod my head reluctantly and watch as he jumps up quickly. I can hear a few men yelling and shouting and when more gun shots ring out I scream. Chance is back by my side instantly, covering my mouth with his palm.

"Get under the bed baby, I'll be back when I can. Stay down okay?" Another nod from me and he kisses me senseless. I relish in his embrace, but it almost feels like a goodbye kiss. Without another word, he moves like lightning out the door where I can hear even more boots follow.

I stay under the bed for several minutes. My mind goes through thousands of scenarios. My body is shaking, and I feel sick to my stomach. I rock back and forth until I no longer here gunshots, footsteps, yelling or shouting. Everything is quiet, and I don't know if I prefer that or not. Everyone spent the night here last night which made it perfect for Alberts and his brother to attack us. I think of Lyla and Shane's daughter Adrianna and how she could lose both her parents, I think of all the old ladies that helped raise me, I think of Candice and Austin and them no longer having a bundle of joy to bring home in a few months.

Always Abby. Always.

I nearly shout when I remember that my father was here last night as well. Chance told me to stay put but knowing Bone may be out there and needing me has my anxiety skyrocketing. What if he is hurt? What if he is dead.

I can't lose them both.

I scrunch my eyes closed as tight as I can, counting down from one hundred. Once I reach my goal and continue to hear nothing, I open them and brace myself. I have to check on my father, I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to him and I could have helped.

Pulling myself out from under the bed, I look around the room quietly for some kind of weapon. Finding a small switch blade in Chance's drawer, I head for the door and turn the knob with shaking hands.

Walking out, I notice everything is still dark. The power is out and it's eerily quiet. Walking down the hallway, I traipse slowly with caution. I hold the knife downward in my right hand and stop just before the threshold of the common room.

Pluck, one of the prospects, lays on his back flat on the ground. I run over to him and kneel, noticing how much blood is pouring out of his chest. Immediately I use my fingers to try and find a pulse in his neck blowing out a shaky breath when I feel a light trace. I leave him be, hoping I can get some help to him.

Heading towards the kitchen, I duck under the table when I hear more yelling followed by loud gunshots outside near the window. I hear deep breathing to my left behind the island and move toward it.

"Shit, Mindy." I rush over to her, placing my knife down on the ground and hold down onto her wound located on her left shoulder. "Were you shot?" She cringes when I grab a clean towel from one of the drawers and push down on it hard.

"I think so. It fuckin' hurts. I don't know where everyone else is Abby. Slice told me to stay here in the kitchen but that was ten minutes ago." I nod my head; worried things may be worse than I can imagine.

"I have to get you out of here." I look around, not able to see much in the common room. The kitchen thankfully has some light in it from the bright moon reflecting through the glass of the window. I have to get her and Puck some help, but panic is begging to settle in my bones, and I don't know what I can do.

"Wait Abby don't"

I'm suddenly pulled from behind by my hair. I go flying backwards and land hard on my back against the cold tile. I can hear Mindy screaming, crying out for someone to help us. Looking up I spot who I assume is the man the guys have been looking for. Benjamin Alberts looks very much like his older brother. Same dark brown hair, same dead brown eyes. His hand finds my shirt and he pulls me up along with him.

"You the one that was supposed to be mine huh?" He whispers then smirks.

Oh my God. Alberts was going to give me to his brother? It all makes sense now. That's why he needed me alive.

"Let me go." I struggle from his hold, but his strength is no match for mine. I attempt to knee him, but he deflects it and head buts me.

Darkness surrounds my eyes as pain radiates through my skull. I feel sick to my stomach when I hear Mindy scream my name once again.

"Troublesome bitch." He snarls pulling me into what looks like the common room and towards the front door. I struggle again only to have him grip my throat tightly. Black dots cloud my vision as I attempt to fight him to no avail.

"Let her fucking go!" I hear shouted from the door. Ben turns with me still in his arms, now cusping a giant knife to my throat. I can feel a prickle of blood flow down my neck and close my eyes with how close to death I am. "Abby, baby look at me."

My eyes fly open to spot Chance standing near the hallway, gun pointed towards the man that holds my life within the blade of his knife. Chance has a few bumps and bruises along his face and has a deep gash along his chest, but it's all ignored as he breaths heavy and narrows his eyes on Benjamin.

"Think you're bullet is faster than my knife?" His heated breath says from behind me and I cringe when his hold tightens.

"I know it is fucker, now let her go."

"Or what?" I try to move again but stop immediately when I feel even more pressure on my neck from the knife.

"Actually I think that would be fun, don't you say Benjamin?" I look over Chance's body and see John Alberts walking through the threshold of the front door. His stance mirrors that of his brothers but instead of me in his grasp he holds the only thing I have left in the world.

"Daddy!" I scram but Ben pulls me closer.

"Don't fucking move bitch."

"Abby, look away baby, look away." My eyes close with the booming memory knocking me over.

"Mommy." I cry out.

"Abigail, look away baby." Mommy says quietly but I can't. I can't look away from her.

"Don't, I'm tellin' you the fuckin' truth. We don't got the drugs here."

"Last chance old man, tell us where the drugs are, or your old lady and kid die."

"I am telling you the fuckin' truth."

Their words go back and forth but my gaze does not lower from my mother, or the giant gun that is pointed down at her face. Tears keep flowing down my cheeks as I begin to scream out for her.

"Mommy!" I cry but get pulled back once again by the man with the gun to my chest.

My mother looks over to my father, nodding her head in some kind of understanding, then brings her gaze back to mine. My heart us stammering in my chest, I am shaking so badly it feels like an earthquake, but my mother, she smiles. She smiles at me like she always does whenever she looks at me.

"Love you." She mouths. "It's going to be okay."

"Abby baby look away." I blink a few times and comes back to reality. Chance is standing there looking perplexed as he makes eye contact with John Alberts. My father is trying to break free from him but looks too badly wounded to put up a decent fight.

"Daddy?" I call out and that's when it hits me.

My mother was protecting us both.

I know what I must do.

"Come on you pathetic son of a bitch." I shout grabbing the attention from everyone. "You're so goddamn weak that you have to grab hold of a girl? Thought you were supposed to be this big bad wolf that was going to own me? Guess we know which brother has the bigger balls."

I can feel the anger radiating off Ben in waves as my trash talking goes to what I've just learned about his current job predicament.

"It's not wonder your boss got rid of all your men. He'll come for you too, and there won't be a rock you can crawl under to hide yourself from him."

"That's it you stupid bitch."

I'm shoved to the ground hard, body landing awkwardly on my ribs. I clutch my stomach breathing heavy as I watch Benjamin take the knife and aim it at me.

Every moment slows do as if in slow motion from the newest action movie.

Chance screams my name, turning his body towards Benjamin, my father shouts for me and when I turn I can see John Alberts eyes bulge out of his head. He knows what's happening. I look up at my father and a smile graces my face. ThisThis is what my mother felt the moment she knew she was going to die. She was at peace with her choice, much like I am.

Shots ring out all around me. I look up once the sound of gun fire ends. Chance is directly above me, helping me to sit up. I cringe when I feel the suffocating pain in my side. Looking around, I take in the site around me.

Benjamin Alberts is dead. His body, mere inches from mine, lays still on the cold concrete floor. Bullet holes align his chest and blood pours from around him. My vision goes straight to the front area where I spot John Alberts. His fate, very much like his brothers. His body on the ground as well, half up against the door frame. Austin standing right above him with his gun still trained, a man in a suit beside Austin now bent over to check the pulse of John Alberts. When he looks up at Austin, he shakes his head, a clear indication that we no longer have a threat.

But where is.

My heart stops beating as I take in my father's form. He is laying on the ground still with blood pouring off him as well. Gunshot wounds lodged into his chest.

"Abby." Chance calls out but I can barely hear him, his voice is blocked by a loud shriek, only when his land claps onto my shoulder do I realize it's me screaming.

"She's going to faint." I hear but before I can match the face to the voice, darkness finds me.