Eleven.

****

Samantha's POV

I got up early to go for a run; I just need a chance to think.

This whole week was horrible. Blake didn't bother me anymore, but I would always find him lurking around me. Kiefer is acting weird too, never really leaving me alone. For some strange reason I always felt like I was being followed.

I didn't know what was going on anymore.

I needed to get away, so go for a run was the only way I knew how.

I had my iPod, and blasted the music throw my earphones drowning out everything around me.

I ran and ran; I didn't even know where I was going.

It was when I pulled into someone's strong grasp that broke me from my trance.

I looked up to see a guy in his 30's grabbing me by my arm. He had a strong muscular body, a shaved head, and all tattoos in his arm.

He grabbed the earphones out of my ear, and threw my iPod on the ground.

I tried to struggle against him, but his arms were wrapped too tightly around me. I couldn't even scream because his hand covered my mouth. I looked around to see we were by some park, but the park and streets were empty.

"You made this too easy girly." He said with a low raspy voice, as he dragged me towards a black van.

I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks; I didn't know what I was going to do.

I licked his hands with my tongue and he immediately let go in disgust, his arm was still around me but loosened for a moment and I took advantage of it.

I ran as fast as I could, away from him.

I heard him curse, but I didn't look back to see him.

I ran and ran, but I could hear his fast steps behind me, and all of a sudden I was pulled back into his grasp.

I tried to squirm away but I felt a thin sharp blade held tightly against my neck.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

He said pulling me back

I could feel the cool blade pressed against my neck. He wasn't cutting me yet, but I knew just a little pressure and my neck would be bleeding.

"Let her go." A familiar voice said behind me.

The voice scared the man that held me, and he by accidently put more pressure onto the knife. I could feel the stinging pain on my neck but I wasn't focused on that.

Because when the man turned us around to face the person, I saw Blake there with 2 other person behind him.

A feeling of relief swept over me, but immediately was replaced by fear for him.

I could tell that the other 2 persons behind him were related to him, because they looked alike.

"I knew I'd find you all, I just didn't think it would be this soon. The boss wants her and I'm going to give her to him." The man said.

"It would be in your best interest to let her go." Said the boy with Blake.

"Or what?" The guy said with a smirk.

All of a sudden I was being pushed back, against a car.

"Stay here!" Blake demanded, with the look on his eyes that tell me not to challenge him.

I could see all of them gaining up the man that cut me; two more men came out of nowhere to help the man. Blake and the other two weren't aware of the 2 men's presence.

"Blake behind you!" I said, using all the strength I had in my voice.

Blake's attention turned behind him.

This was too much to take in. I don't understand what was happening. The next thing I remember is blacking out.

When I woke up I was in bed, but not my own bed. I looked around the baby blue room not recognizing anything until I looked over the window to see my house.

I was in Blake's room, why?

Then I slowly started to remember what happened, my fingers automatically went to my neck to feel a bandage over it.

I could hear shouting coming from downstairs.

I looked down the stairs to find Blake and Kiefer screaming at each other. One of Blake's sibling was trying to calm him down, while the other just glared at Kiefer.

No one noticed me standing there on the bottom step, until I screamed.

"Stop!" I screamed, but it came out scratchy and unsteady.

All eyes were locked on me.

"I want someone to tell me what is going on, and I want the truth." I said strongly, as I walked into the living room and stood in front of the boys and a girl.

After a moment of Blake and Kiefer sending glares at each other, Blake decided to talk.

"Me and my siblings joined a gang a few years ago, so we could get revenge on my parents killer, after we got revenge we wanted out. It was a sick gang, we couldn't deal with the things they did. The only way to get out is death, but we figured out a way to run away. The gang leader has been after us ever since. We always moved around, and last year we came here. We really thought that this time he couldn't find us, but he did. I knew we were getting too close so that's why I ended it that day. Someone must have been following us around because when I got home that day we were informed that they had pictures of me and you together. I knew they were going to want to use you to get to me, that's what I wanted to tell you. I told Kiefer trying to get him to make you talk to me so I could protect you but he said he would take the matters into his own hands and now were here." Blake said with no emotion.

I stood there listening to what he was saying. I couldn't believe this, they lied to me. My bestfriend lied to me.

"You both lied to me." I said with no emotion looking between Blake and Kiefer.

They both didn't say anything.

"I thought we didn't lie to each other Kiefer?" I said looking at him.

I shooked my head, I don't even know where to go to get away from them.

"I know this must be very difficult for you to deal with and I'm sorry for that, Blake didn't mean to drag you in our problems." Said a guy that looked like Blake.

"I'm Alex by the way and this is Alexa, were Blake's siblings." He said.

I didn't know how to respond at the moment.

"Hi." I said.

"Listen, I think that's enough for you to take in for one day. We will talk more about this tomorrow." He said.

I gave him a smile, appreciating the fact that I didn't have to deal this right now.

Without even looking at Kiefer and Blake I walked out the door.

I could hear Kiefer and Blake calling me from behind. Which got me to run towards them angrily.

"I need you both to just leave me alone. If I can't get peace in my own house, I'll go out somewhere. At the moment I don't care how dangerous it is." I said strong, which stopped Blake and Kiefer in their tracks.

I walked up to my room, laid on my bed and cried myself to sleep wishing that my father was here.

****

Samantha's POV

I woke up to see that it was 4:30 am. The day's events starting rushing back into my head. I couldn't believe that it was actually happening. That some gang leader is trying to steal me, like this is supposed to happen only in movies.

Usually in the movies, the good guys are supposed to win. The guy saves the girl and they fall in love. But this wasn't the movies, and to be honest I didn't really know who the good guys were.

You would think that the good guys were Blake and his siblings because they offer to help. But how good could they be if they're being chased by a gang leader. And as for the whole falling inlove scene, that's not happening with me. One, I don't believe in love and two, the one time I remotely got close to someone, I have to worry about getting killed by gangsters. So you could say I'm done with guys.

I stared up at my ceilings for what seemed like forever. I couldn't fall back asleep, I just kept thinking about all these questions I had.

A beep from my cell phone is what pulled me from my thoughts. I reached over to my night stand picked out my phone to see I got a text message from a number I didn't recognize.

I opened the text message to see that it was from Blake.

'Can't sleep? -Blake'

How did he know I can't sleep and how did he know my number?

I looked over to the window, to see I left the curtains open. When I looked at the window to Blake's I could see him sitting at the edge of the bed, with a smile on his face.

I was annoyed. Here I am worried about my life and he is there smiling. I was still mad at him for all the lying as well.

I sat on my bed furthest away from the window and texted him back.

"Stop being a creep and looking through my window. How did you get my number?"

A minute later he replied

"Can't help, I like what I see :) and I got it from Kiefer's phone when he wasn't paying attention.

I didn't understand why he was flirting with me. I wasn't in the mood to play this game with him; I have too many things going on. And the fact that he thinks he could playfully flirt with me over text after everything that happened between me and him got me anry.

'Whatever, Bye.' I replied back.

I immediately got another text back from him.

'No, wait we need to talk.'

When I read it, I knew it was true. We really did need to talk about everything even though I'd rather talk to a random hobo than Blake.

'When?' I texted back.

'Now, wait me outside.'

Ugh, I didn't expect that he was going to want to talk to now. I hated him too much at the moment, but I could see him already leaving his room to go downstairs.

I put on a pair of converse and grabbed a sweater, and then I climbed out my window and down the tree.

When I almost got to the bottom, the part where there were no branches, I could see Blake coming to help me. But I didn't want his help so I jumped to 5 feet and tried my best to ignore the shooting pain throbbing through my ankle.

He looked at me with questioning look, but I just rolled my eyes and walked to the front of the house.

"Isn't it dangerous to be out here late?" I asked with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, but you're with me so I'll keep you safe." He said with a smirk.

"Whatever." I muttered under my breath and followed him to his brother's car.

We drove in silence. I just looked out the window the whole time ignoring Blake. I didn't asked where we are going because I could tell that he was taking me to a diner that he brought me to before.

When we sat down in the booth, I ordered a hot chocolate and he ordered a coffee. After the waitress placed the drinks down in front of us I could feel Blake's eyes on me, I kept my eyes on my drink, my hands playing with the paper mat in front of me.

"So, you're not going to talk to me?" He asked.

"You wanted to talk, so talk." I said looking up from my drink to his beautiful eyes, which I knew was a mistake as soon as my heart beat quickened.

We stared at each other for a moment, before he let out a deep breath.

"Listen, I'm really sorry for everything. For dragging you into this, for putting you in danger, for saying those horrible things to you, for hurting you, for everything. You don't deserve this at all, and if I could take it all back and have never talked to you just to keep you safe, I would." He said, as he ran his hands through his hair.

I could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at me. I could also see that he meant everything he said.

"When I first met you, I thought you were like every girl I've ever been with, a one time thing. But when you told me you weren't I took it as a challenge. The first night I was with you I felt accomplished, and I thought I could forget you and leave you like all the other girls but I couldn't, I wanted more from you. I never expected to get actually close to you. But when I did, it felt so good that I kept ignoring the fact that it was dangerous. You have to understand that I've never had any friends my whole life, so when I met you I never knew how amazing it felt to have someone to talk to. When I finally realized that I was getting too close to you, I knew I had to say something to you to hurt you so you wouldn't try to talk to me again." He said.

I knew it was hard for him to tell me this. I could see it in his face as he struggled to explain it all to me. When he told me I was his first friend, I had mixed emotions. Happy that I was his first friend, and sad to know he never had any, but a little disappointed because I thought we were more.

We stood there in silence for a few moments. I need to think about everything he said.

"Please say something, the silence is killing me." He said looking nervous.

"I know you're sorry and I know you didn't mean this to happen." I said looking down, trying to think how to say the next few things that I wanted to say.

"I wouldn't take it back though.." I said in almost a whisper, but I could tell that he heard what I said as his eyes darted up to look at me questioningly.

"As much as I didn't want to admit it to you, or even to myself I care for you. We got close and you made me feel... comfortable. I know you said those things for a good reason, but they still hurt. I also could understand why you didn't tell me about any of this 'cause it's just insane, but that hurt too. I don't understand a lot of things, and I know you're keeping things from me, but I want that to end. I need you to tell me everything, 'cause

this isn't just about you anymore." I said looking into his eyes.

He looked at me for a few moments as if he was debating something in his head.

"I can't..." He told me as he bit his bottom lip.

"Why not?" I said in a whisper.

Without answering he shook his head.

"I have the right to know." I said.

"All you need to know is that I'll protect you." He said looking at me.

"I'm not dealing with you stupid secret and lies anymore." I said strongly.

I bit my lip holding back the tears I felt wanting to come out of my eyes. It hurts me to know that after everything, he doesn't trust me with this.

I didn't want to be there with him anymore, I wanted to leave.

So I slid out of the booth and walked away from him out the doors. I heard him call my name but I just ignored it.

Once I got outside, I took a deep breath. I leaned against the wall of the diner, just waiting for him to come out.

I swear if it wasn't a long walk home I would leave now. But I couldn't I am stuck here with him until he decided to take me home.

I heard the door opened, the bell on top of the door ring. I didn't have to look to see it was Blake.

He stood in front of me, his face was emotionless.

"Take me home." I said trying to hide every emotion that I was feeling at the moment.

"Not yet. We're not yet done talking." He said.

"Well, I am." I said trying to push pass him to get to the car.

But he just held my forearm and pushed me against the wall. I could see the anger burning through his eyes. His tight grip on my arms were starting to hurt, but I wasn't going to show him I am weak.

"Samantha, I care about you too much to let you know everything that is going on. It isn't your entire business okay? Me and my siblings deal with everything just fine, we don't need to drag you more to it when you already are." He said loudly.

"Don't care about me! Don't protect me! Don't do anything for me. You put my life in danger, all I want is to know what is going on with you and your siblings. If you can't do that for me, then just stay away from me." I said, struggling to pull away from his grip. I tried my best to hold the tears that were threating to pour out of my eyes but it was no use. I could feel the tears slowly dripping down my cheeks.

"Stop!" He said while now pinning my arms beside my head on the wall of the diner.

I didn't want to look into his eyes to see his expression as I cried. I didn't want him to see me crying, but I couldn't help it. Everything was just crashing down on me and I couldn't take it anymore. I kept my eyes on the ground, while feeling his gaze on me.

He gently put his fingers under my chin, and lifted my face so that I was looking at him.

I could see so many emotions on his eyes.

He took his hand from my chin and with his thumb he wiped the tears that was falling down my cheek.

I didn't noticed how close he was to me until now. I could feel his hot breath on my lips, making my knees go weak.

"I don't want to make you cry..." He said in almost a whisper.

His hand cupped my cheek and he was slowly closing the little space between our faces as his lips gently pressed against mine. At first the kiss was soft and gentle, but then it was urgent and passionate. I felt his lips moving with mine. I felt the electricity as his lips were against mine. His tongue moved against my lower lip, and I slowly parted my lips.

His hands traveled to grip my waist, bringing me closer to him. I took my hands and wrapped them against his neck.

Kissing him was one of the best feeling in the world. When my dad died a piece of me died with him, but kissing Blake made me feel whole again. It made me forget about everything was going on, it made me forget who he was. Nothing else in the world mattered except for him.

An alarm went off inside me once I thought that last thought. It was dangerous the way this boy made me feel. Nothing could happen between me and him; I couldn't even want anything to happen.

Using all the strength I had left I pulled away from him, leaving my lips cold and empty. I took advantage of his loosened grip and moved away from his arms.

I couldn't look into his eyes, I knew they would be filled with confusion, disappoinment and hurt. Mirroring the emotions in my eyes.

"Samantha.." He began to say, with my back turned to him.

"We should go, before anyone notices I am gone." I said making my way to the car.

The whole ride home I stared out the window, occasionally feeling his eyes on me.

When he parked the car, I opened the door without giving him a chance to say anything else. I walked to my house, climbed up the tree and through the window without looking back at him.

I laid in my bed thinking about him and that kiss. I knew it was wrong in so many ways. We were friends, and I wasn't going to continue the whole benefit things because I wasn't going to let myself get closer to him when I already am. Blake and his siblings will protect me till this whole thing is over and then I'll go back to living my life before Blake was in the picture. He will do shat he wants with no problems and that would be the end of me and him; whatever me and him were.

That kiss was a mistake and as much as I wanted to do it again, I knew it would never happen.