Tortured Souls (Rebels of Sandland 2)

tle lives without me.

Not her though.

I saved my visits to her for the night-time. I liked knowing she was in her house, thinking she was safe, but she wasn’t. None of them would ever be safe again. Not if I had my way.

I sat with my hoody down low over my face as I swigged on a can of cheap, knock-off Coke and sat on the wall a few feet down from Ryan’s garage. They never noticed me. I’d sat here a few times, sometimes for hours, watching them working, laughing, joking about like they didn’t have a fucking care in the world. They didn’t though, did they? They didn’t have the law coming after them, ready to send them down for a crime they didn’t commit.

Bare-knuckle boxing wasn’t illegal in our country, so why the fuck was there a warrant out for my arrest? The last time I’d spoken to Pat Murphy, the guy who’d organised the fight, he’d told me to lay low. Told me it wasn’t worth showing my face around Sandland. That’d been weeks ago, and I was still hiding like the freak she was painting me out to be. Enough was enough. Shit had to start changing real soon, and I was going to change it.

I watched as a car pulled onto the forecourt and then she got out, her blonde hair whipping in the wind as she stomped over to the workshop where Kieron was.

What the fuck was she doing there?

I leant forward as she took something off the workbench then marched over to a van parked in front of the office and started banging the shit out of the windscreen.

This chick was crazy.

Fucking nuts.

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at her. What the fuck was she doing, kicking off at the Hardys like that? I thought I was mental, but she definitely had a screw loose. Face of an angel and temperament of a psychotic bitch. I had to admit, deep down, it turned me on. In a fucked up, I’d never go there, she’s completely insane, kind of way. But still, it did something to me. The girl had balls. I liked girls with balls.

She lifted her arm up to hit it again, and like a crap reality T.V. show, I couldn’t bring myself to switch off or look away. This shit was too entertaining.

Then Ryan, Emily, and Ryan’s dad, Sean, charged out of the office. Ryan grabbed her round the waist and moved her away from the van, shaking her hand until she dropped the tool she was holding. Sean looked mortified, grabbing his hair and shouting, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I could guess, but I was just that bit farther away to hear it. I liked Sean; he’d always been good to me. Treated me like his fourth son, and he’d always done everything he could to help me and my nan out. So, seeing him get shit on by the likes of Harper Yates didn’t sit well with me. Sure, I’d laughed at first, but she’d crossed a fucking line giving Sean grief. This wasn’t his battle to fight.

Harper had her back to me, but I could see her shoulders sag. Defeat was taking over. About fucking time too. And then I bristled with anger. What the hell were they doing taking her into their house? Was this some kind of sick joke?

I gritted my teeth and held myself back, when what I really wanted to do was go over there and tell them all what I thought about them. The girl had ruined my life, was bad-mouthing me all over Sandland, and they were inviting her in for tea and biscuits?

I always knew Ryan was a pussy for Emily, but Harper too? Was he looking to start his own harem for all the broken girls of Sandland?

I bit my nails and waited. Only my nails were non-existent, so I was just biting the skin around where my nails used to be. This feeling of being helpless, of watching and not being able to act, made me feel pointless, worthless even.

I decided there and then that I needed to pay Kian a little visit. Maybe Finn too. Out of all of them, they were the ones I trusted the most. Finn, because he got me. He always had, and he barely spoke anyway, so nobody would be quizzing him for what he knew. And Kian? Kian could hack into anything if you asked him. If I wanted anything sorting that was technical and I wanted to bypass our resident computer whizz Zak, Kian was the man. He would sort me out, no questions asked. I wouldn’t tell the fucker anything though. He was a good kid, but he never knew when to keep his mouth shut.

About a half hour later, the door to Ryan’s house opened and Harper came out, looking saner than she had when she went in. Emily called out to her and she turned around, then I watched as Emily hugged her. Fucking hugged the bitch that had ruined my life and destroyed everything. So, she smashes up a van on Sean’s premises, tries to get me put away for life, and she gets a fucking hug? I make one mistake, and I’m out. No passing go, no collecting two hundred pounds. Just fuck off, Brandon. We want to forget you even existed.

No way.

I wasn’t going to take this lying down. I would have my say. If she could fuck shit up for Sean, I’d fuck shit up for her.

Watch out, little Yates. I’m coming for you.

“Oh my word. I can’t believe it. What on Earth is happening to this lovely town?”

Mum looked up from her phone to give Dad a worried glare over the breakfast table.

“I think we need to move house, Andy. This place is going to the dogs.”

“What happened?” Dad was picking over his eggs, but any fool could see he had zero appetite.

“Someone set fire to the Lockwood’s cars last night. They think they were petrol bombed on the driveway while the family slept inside. They’re lucky they didn’t target the house too. Who would do that?”

I knew who.

Dumb move though. Everyone knew they had CCTV in every corner of that estate.

“Have they caught them?” Dad asked. “Don’s security is pretty tight all over that place. I can imagine the police are on that today.”